Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Year 9, Day 183: Matthew 9


Theological Commentary: Click Here



Continuing to look at Matthew 9 through the lens of leadership, Jesus continues much of what He did in the prior chapter.  He works with a paralytic.  He has dinner with a tax collector and invites him int a discipleship process.  He readily goes into a house where someone has recently died.  He happily touches a woman who has a flow of blood that won’t stop, which would make her unclean.  Jesus continues to move among circles of people who need His help and have very little ability to increase His own social standing.  Jesus continues to show us that leadership is about other people, not increasing His own position.



What is interesting is that Jesus doesn’t see to mind when people don’t treat His leadership in the right way.  The woman touches Him without permission, drawing power away from Him.  The blind men blatantly ignore Jesus’ request to keep the healing quiet and tell everyone what happened.  Jesus gets accused by the religious leaders when he sits down to dinner with a tax collector.  He gets accused of working with demons when He performs a miracle.  So often people get upset when people don’t act as they should.  Jesus, on the other hand, seems to take it all in stride.



In fact, what does Jesus have to say about this fact?  Jesus looks to the crowds with compassion.  Instead of being upset, he has pity.  He tells His disciples that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.



What is Jesus’ point?  The world is full of people who could benefit from having a good leader in their life.  The problem is that there just aren’t many good leaders.  There aren’t leaders that are willing to put others ahead of themselves.  There aren’t many leaders who will lead without an eye for what is in it for them.  The world of Jesus’ day could use strong leaders; it still could.  Instead, the world gets selfish leaders who only think about their own agenda and their own goals.


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