Critics find criticisms. (Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; Luke 7 )

Matthew

8:2

"And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." How did this leper worship Jesus?

• He made his way to Jesus. There was a "great multitude" following Him. It might have been easy for the man to say to himself that there were too many people or that he shouldn't trouble Jesus. There may be obstacles to our worshipping Jesus, internal or external. We need to make our way to our Savior no matter what is trying to prevent us.

• He was earnest. The leper was sincere. I'm sure his condition made him desperate to be healed. Hopefully, we don't have to be in this same desperate situation to realize that we need Jesus just as desperately as this leper. We can learn from his example of sincerity.

• He demonstrated faith. There was no question in his mind whether Jesus had the power to heal him. The only question was if Christ wanted to. He had a testimony of Christ's power. We can learn from his sincere faith.

• He submitted to Christ's will. Along with exercising faith, he did understand that it might not be God's will that he be healed. I almost wish I could see what would happen if Christ didn't heal him. Would he still be as faithful and determined to follow Jesus? I hope he would but maybe not. We all want to submit to God's will for us regardless of the consequences.

We can learn from this man's faith and how he truly worshipped the Lord in a single interaction.

8:6-13

This is a very interesting interaction. "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him. And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." I want to focus on the centurion's feeling of unworthiness. Why did he feel this way? It could be that he was sinful. It might be that it was because he was a Roman. Whatever the reason, he felt unworthy for a visit from Jesus.

How do you feel about Jesus visiting your home? Are there any feelings of unworthiness? If I heard that Jesus is coming to my house, my first question would be "why." Why would he come to me? I am no one special. I'd feel unprepared. I can relate with the centurion.

We have to get over these feelings of unworthiness. Why WOULDN'T Jesus come visit you? You're not no one. You're a child of Heavenly Father who stands to inherit, just like Jesus, all that the Father has. You are important.

The centurion's faith was fashioned by his experience. He knew that, if Jesus was a powerful prophet, he could simply command that his servant be healed. His presence wouldn't be necessary - the same way that the centurion's presence wasn't needed for an order to be followed.

Jesus was impressed with the centurion's faith and said that he had "not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Jesus uses this opportunity to point out that all are welcome in the kingdom of heaven. There were Israelites who felt that they were the only ones going to be saved and the rest of the world were going to hell. Jesus is clearing up that misinformation.

He takes it further to describe how there would be "children of the kingdom" who would be cast out into outer darkness. This likely sounded blasphemous to those who believed they were the superior race. Christ was breaking that invented, corrupted belief. Again, we shouldn't believe that, because we are members of the Church, we get a free pass.

8:19-20

"And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Life as a disciple wasn't comfortable.

Many might have thought that, if they were with the Messiah, their lives would be free of discomfort. It wasn't the case. A life with Jesus was a life as a homeless wanderer. It wasn't glorious in any worldly sense. It wasn't comfortable.

Think about the day-to-day. They would set up camp somewhere, figure out where to get food, sleep on the ground. I'm sure even his apostles were confused at how little comfort there was.

His ministry was not about glory. It was about service. It wasn't about leisure, it was strenuous. In many ways, it was to suffer.

His life and ministry illustrated the purposes of life. This is about giving up worldly comforts for heavenly potential.

8:21-22

"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." At first glance, this seems kinda harsh. But, when I really think about it, is it?

Imagine that Jesus Christ was walking the earth and invited you to follow him as he is getting on a plane. Imagine that your father had just died and the funeral was the next day. Would you ask Jesus to wait and let you go to your father's funeral?

I don't think I would ask Jesus to wait. I love my father but there is no comparison between following Jesus or attending a ceremony. To prioritize the funeral over following Jesus would mean my perspective is way out of whack. If I understand the plan of salvation and His atonement and resurrection, a funeral is insignificant. My father still lives and will be resurrected because of what Christ did. My relationship with my father would last for eternity. The ceremony has little importance when compared with the opportunity to follow the person that made all of this possible.

Those who don't have this eternal perspective and testimony of Jesus would be considered spiritually dead and would place more importance on the funeral.

Christ, in a single sentence, was proving this potential disciple. He was giving this man a chance to sacrifice at the beginning of his discipleship. He was also teaching what was important in this mortal life. Most of the events of mortality are meaningless when viewed with an eternal perspective. As the writer of Ecclesiastes said, "all is vanity."

8:24-27

"And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!" Reading this, it's easy to question why the disciples were concerned. They should have been at ease being with the creator of the universe!

However, the trials that are in front of our faces are always hard to ignore. We all get stressed about the events in our lives and seem to forget the big picture.

What are the stressful things in our lives that make us upset?

• We lose our job.

• A loved one dies.

• We get seriously ill.

• Our spouse leaves us.

• A child rebels.

• We flunk out of college.

• Our house burns down.

All of these things are upsetting. But, I think we sometimes lose perspective and overreact. We all see these events as the end of the world.

None of them are. None of these horrible situations is permanent. They all will end. From an eternal perspective, none of us perish. Not one. We are already saved. Christ did that for us. We need to keep that in mind when life throws its worst at us. We may be upset but we should never lose the stability that comes from knowing that all of our stories end well.

8:31-32

"So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters." This is an interesting conversation between devils and Jesus.

What's really fascinating is that Jesus allows them to enter swine. They asked and he allowed it. Why?

I think that Jesus has compassion even for these disembodied spirits. They were also children of Heavenly Father who were cast out. They are now our enemy. Jesus even demonstrates mercy to his enemies. As he taught, "love thy enemies." He is demonstrating this perfectly...of course.

Mark

2:14

"And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him." This is Matthew, the tax collector. He was invited and followed Jesus immediately.

As a tax collector, he likely wasn't a member of the local synagogue. He likely wasn't a scriptorian. In fact, he was probably an outcast with the Jewish people. And yet he followed.

How did this happen? On paper, he isn't spiritually prepared. He doesn't fit the mold to me of what an apostle's background would be. But isn't that what makes his story beautiful?

He didn't fit the mold but he was obviously spiritually prepared. He made a good living as a tax collector. So, he gave up a lot to follow Jesus. Whatever his past, when the time came, he followed.

It should give us pause if we are tempted to judge someone based on their background, appearance or current life situation. Jesus could see into Matthew's heart. We can't.

• We can't assume that, because someone has tattoos or piercings that they aren't more spiritually in tune than we are.

• Because someone has had a checkered past, it doesn't disqualify them from an important role in building the kingdom.

I'm sure Matthew wasn't perfect. He likely didn't feel worthy. Here was a person who was ostracized by his Jewish brothers and sisters but was chosen by the promised Messiah!

Ironically, he was the gospel writer who wrote from the perspective of a faithful Jew. He quotes past prophecies more than any other writer. He obviously became a study of the scripture. He took his weakness and made it a strength and so can we.

2:16-17

"And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Jesus wasn't concerned with being seen with the wrong crowd.

He knew his role was to teach the gospel to those who would receive it. He wanted sinners to repent. For that to happen, he needed to interact with them.

If we insulate ourselves from sinners in our daily lives, we aren't in a position to influence those who may need our influence. We need to emulate Jesus by trying to see through the outward appearance and even behavior and see the child of God underneath.

2:21-22

"No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles." What is this about? To me, this is about being set in our ways vs. being rigid and unteachable.

This is part of why Christ chose apostles who weren't Pharisees and Sadducees. He didn't seek out those who were already set in their ways. He didn't choose those who were well established in the Jewish religion.

We all have biases that are strong. Our biases make us rigid. Our biases make us inflexible. We become like an old garment or bottle. We have a hard time evolving. The saying, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is based on this principle.

For us to be successful in this life and throughout eternity, we must be teachable. It's one of the key principles that will determine our eternal progression. We can't let our bottles or garments become old. There is always going to be something new to learn.

2:27

"And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." The church leaders of the time had put so much importance on the scriptures, rites, rules that they actually began worshipping the rules. A person's purpose became following rules.

They lost sight of that the rules were set up to allow for progress. The system is set up for God's children. God's children don't exist to support the system.

We can't lose sight of this. We don't worship the sabbath day or the Church or our leaders or the scriptures or the handbook. We worship Jesus Christ.

God's work and glory isn't to set up rules. Everything's he does is to "BRING TO PASS the immortality and eternal life." He is working diligently on what is needed to bring this to pass. Every aspect of the gospel is to bring to pass our salvation.

3:2, 6

There were lots of folks that had a vested interest in Jesus failing. "And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him." I'll always be amazed that there were actually people who were actively looking for violations perpetrated by Jesus. Even as Jesus was performing an actual miracle, they were looking for a technicality so they could accuse him. How proud and fearful do you need to be to do this? "And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him."

3:11-12, 22

"And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known." It wouldn't have helped his ministry to have possessed people bearing testimony of him. It would have been easy for those who wanted to twist everything he said and did. I can hear the Pharisees saying, "Look, Beezlebub testifies of him! He is from the devil!"

In fact, they attempted this very thing in verse 22, "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils."

I also think that he didn't want those who had a sure knowledge "making him known." He was protecting the spiritually unprepared by ensuring that they would have to exercises faith and put in effort to understand what he was teaching. Only the spiritually enlightened would understand his parables. "And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples." He knew that not all would understand.

This protection is still in effect today.

3:13

"And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him." It's interesting that he called his twelve apostles to come to the mountain. It reminds me of Moses going to the mountain to see the Lord.

To see Jesus, we must make the effort. We need to rise. No one is going to carry us up the mountain. It's always a solo climb.

3:21

"And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself." Even his friends didn't believe. That would have hurt. Those close to him could not believe that he was the Messiah.

3:25

"And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand." We can apply this to a couple of things.

• We can't serve God and mammon. We cannot expect to hold onto the iron rod and hold onto our favorite sins. We cannot focus on worldly success and spiritual progress. We cannot be both selfish and selfless.

• We must be united as a married couple. I met with a couple this week who are mixed faith and engaged to be married. I told them that a key to a successful marriage is to have the same goals. They should agree to what the purpose of life is. This would unite them and put their lives in an eternal perspective. It's impossible to have a united marriage when you're both walking on separate paths throughout life.

3:28-29

"Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation." Why is sinning against the Holy Ghost the unforgivable sin?

I think it has to do with KNOWING that Jesus is the Savior and rejecting him. It is denying him once you know, body and spirit, that he is the way. You know but you're choosing another direction.

I don't think this happens a lot in this mortal life. I think the majority of sons of perdition will be identified once the veil is lifted. Just like there were those who rejected God's plan in the premortal world, there will be those who reject Him in the next life. They will be deceived to believe that another path is the right path for them. This path will halt their progress. In other words, this path leads to eternal damnation.

3:32-35

"And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother." It appears that the crowd was, rightly so, assuming that Christ's mother and brothers would receive a priority treatment from Jesus.

Jesus was making the important point that we are all brothers and sisters. The important thing isn't what family we were born into. Our genealogy doesn't matter. Our race doesn't matter. That's all just a mortal construct.

The only thing that matters is who will submit to the will of God. That is what matters in eternity.

4:3-9, 15-19

I love the parable of the sower. There are four situations described. In each, we should consider ourselves the soil:

1. "Some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up." Dallin Oaks said, "They are like teachings that fall upon a heart hardened or unprepared." These seeds don't stand a chance. Their hearts are so hardened that the seeds never reached them. Jesus said about these, "And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts."

2. "And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away." This describes so many members of the Church. These are they who join the Church with excitement. They love the missionaries or the initial feeling of excitement of conversion - but put no effort into really studying the gospel and looking for opportunities to serve. They don't put effort into their testimonies. It is also those who are lifelong members who also don't actively nurture their testimonies. As soon as a trial of faith happens, their testimonies wither away. Not because the seed wasn't good, it's just that they didn't nurture the seed. Jesus later said, "And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

3. "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit." This is caring more about the things of this world. Jesus taught, "And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." Riches aren't bad. But when we seek after them more than righteousness, it's bad. When we love riches more than God, we are allowing thorns to choke the seed. When we are allowing the millions of distractions to take over our lives, we're letting the thorns in.

4. "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred." Jesus was explaining that there were different degrees of harvest. "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." Some disciples will be more productive than others. I believe this also represents the three degrees of glory - perhaps specifically the degrees of glory within the celestial kingdom. At the judgment, many will choose to choose a path that leads to a thirty fold harvest. Others will choose sixty fold and others ninety fold. Righteous people can have varying degrees of righteousness. As a result, there will be varying degrees of glory.

4:23-25

"If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." Those who receive the gospel, more will be given. This is true about responsibility, opportunities to serve, and understanding itself.

Those who exercise faith will be given more faith. Those who are valiant will be blessed with the ability to be even more valiant. There is a compounding effect when it comes to righteousness.

This is also true for unrighteousness. Those who have little faith, who don't attempt to strengthen that faith, will eventually lose what faith they had. I've seen this happen again and again in my life - in my own family.

Luke

7:19

"And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?" This is a little confusing to me. John knew exactly who Jesus was. They were cousins. John had pointed out Jesus as the Messiah. He admitted that he wasn't worthy to unlatch his shoes.

It appears that possibly John is getting impatient. He knew the messianic prophecies. Perhaps John was encouraging Jesus to fulfill his mission.

7:23

"And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me." This is such a relevant scripture today. How many people are offended by Jesus Christ today? If you walked into a party and said, "I would like to talk about Jesus, who would like to join me?" How many would take you up on it? If you walked up to a stranger and said, "I want to tell you about Jesus." Would you be received warmly?

Somehow Satan has switched things around so that talking about Jesus is offensive in many situations. I'm not sure how he pulled that off but it's the case. I think it makes us hesitant to bring Jesus up in conversation.

At the dinner I had with old friends, I talked about how Jesus can literally empower us through the Light of Christ. It was received well but I felt some anxiety as I started testifying of Jesus. We all need to get over that discomfort and know that those who are prepared will not be offended by Jesus Christ.

7:28

"For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." What a compliment from the Savior! But what's interesting is the second part - the part about the least int the kingdom is greater. What does that mean?

I think it has to do with what is considered great in eternity. Some of us have big, important roles in the gathering of Israel. Some of us have small roles. The greatest position of influence and the smallest position don't matter. What matters is being willing to submit to God's will and being selfless. If we can develop those qualities, we will truly be great in the kingdom of God.

Very few of us will be General Authorities. It doesn't matter what positions we've held. What matters is if we are willing to follow God's plan through this life and eternity. That's what matters. I believe that Jesus was making this point.

7:33-34

"For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" Jesus is making an important point about those who desperately want to find faults.

He's saying that the Pharisees criticized John that he was wild because he wasn't civilized. On the other hand, they criticized Jesus because he was too civilized. No matter who the person was, if he or she threatened them, they were going to find fault.

We do the same thing. If we want to be critical, we will definitely find something in every human to be critical about. We could apply this to our spouses. If you are determined to find fault, you'll find it. If you're determined to look for the things that you adore about your wife or husband, you'll find it.

7:41-43, 47-48

Jesus had dinner with a Pharisee named Simon. A sinful woman came in and washed his feet with tears and wiped his feet with her hair and anointed him with ointment. The Pharisee thought to himself that there is no way that Christ could be a prophet because he wasn't discerning how sinful the woman was. If he knew, he wouldn't let her touch him. In response, Jesus gave this parable.

"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

I've seen this in my own life. Those who have lived obedient lives from childhood vs. those who have required sore repentance have a different type of thankfulness for the Savior. In some ways, the past sinners are often more earnest in their love and thankful for Christ's mercy. Repentant sinners understand Christ's atonement in a different, more personal, way. I would never recommend someone choose a rebellious path - but there are some benefits to coming from that.

In verse 47, we read what Jesus said to her. "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven." She obviously was repentant and grateful for Jesus. Obviously, she was sincere in her repentance and committed to changing her ways. Her sins were forgiven.

7:50

"And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." We can't save ourselves but we must choose to be saved. God is not going to force us to be saved. It will always be our choice and it will be faith that leads to that choice.

Repentance is about changing direction. It's turning from our sinful ways and following Jesus. When we repent and turn towards the Savior, we should feel divine peace. We shouldn't continue feeling the burden of carrying those past sins. Peace is so good. It feels so amazing. To know you're heading in the right direction is peace - no matter what turmoil is happening in your life. We will always have the choice to go in peace.