Use Your Keys: Finding Purpose in LifeSmakprov

A Little Background

Have you ever read a passage in the Bible hundreds of times, but then one day it hits you differently? You just stare at it, and the magnitude of what God said shakes you to your core? This is called biblical illumination, and it is incredible. I experienced this recently when reading through the gospel of Matthew. The Lord showed me something amazing about our purpose in life, and I can’t wait to share it with you. First, I want to give you some history about this book.

• No one knows for sure when it was written, though theologians argue it had to be sometime between 50AD and 100AD.
• Traditionally many believed it was the first gospel written since it comes first in the New Testament, but now it is accepted by most that Mark’s gospel came first.
• No one knows for sure where it was written but most likely either Palestine or Syria.
• Even the author is controversial. The consensus is that it was written by the apostle Matthew, who was also called Levi, the tax collector from Capernaum.
• This book was written to the Jewish people.
• The Old Testament is quoted at least 62 times!

The author wanted the Jews to know that Jesus was the Messiah, even though He looked different than what they were expecting. You see, the Jews expected Jesus to come as a royal king who brings his giant army to overthrow the government and deliver them from their oppressors.

Technically, Jesus did those things … just not in the way they thought.

When this passage was written, Jesus was about two years into His earthly ministry. He had done several miracles, healed many people, given a bunch of sermons, and had a lot of followers. He was also deeply hated by the Pharisees. What I am trying to say is that His name was well known.

At this exact moment, He was in Caesarea Philippi, a quiet town on the Sea of Galilee. In this area, there were mainly Gentiles, which leads us to believe He was probably looking for somewhere to spend time alone with His disciples. There were other reasons as well … many there believed in alternative gods, such as Baal, the god of fertility and weather, and Pan, the god of nature. The Gentiles had altars for these gods and special rituals they’d perform to please them.

I believe this setting was chosen for this interaction because of an even deeper meaning. Jesus was showing us that there are a lot of things that can interfere with our faith in Him—a lot of distractions.

What are some things that are distracting you from your faith today?