October 4th~Have Faith and a Rest

Matthew 8:5-13

Luke 7:1-17

Matthew 11:1-19

Luke 7:18-35

Matthew 11:20-30

Luke 7:36-50

Jesus healed the servant of a Roman officer, raised a widow’s son from his coffin, spoke about John the Baptist, and forgave a prostitute of her sins, among other things. In the meantime, we discovered three important truths regarding the Gospel. Let’s take a look at each of these truths.

First, the Gospel, salvation, is received by faith. When the Roman officer asked Jesus to heal his servant without going to her, Jesus pointed out that He had not seen faith like that in all of Israel (Matthew 8:10). When an immoral woman washed Jesus’ feet and anointed Him with perfume, He responded by telling her, “Your sins have been forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” (Luke 7:47-50). Peace with God, or right standing before Him, only comes by faith in the grace of God. However, that faith is not something that we conjure up ourselves; it is a work of God. Salvation is not an act of human effort but comes by the grace of our Lord (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Second, though Jesus came to the Jews, salvation would be extended to the Gentiles. When He saw the faith of the Roman officer, He replied, “Many Gentiles will come from all over the world and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites — those for whom the Kingdom was prepared — will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:10-13). Paul would later expound on this phenomenon, that the hearts of the Jews would be hardened for a time, so that salvation would be extended to non-Jews (Romans 11).

Third, we saw again, this time from John the Baptist, that there was confusion about the purpose of the Messiah’s arrival. John sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3). John had preached that Jesus would come in judgment, but Jesus was going about teaching and healing. John was confused. He was not wrong about Jesus’ mission, just the timing. He and many others did not understand that Jesus would come twice. In His second coming, Jesus would bring final judgment to men.

Daily Reflection

Jesus prayed, “Thank you, Father, for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever and for revealing it to the childlike” (Matthew 11:25). We cannot force our way into the Kingdom of Heaven (v.12) or earn our salvation by our own doing. We will always fall short. Sinful people cannot rid themselves of sin; they have need of a Savior to do it for them.

That’s why it is faith, not works, by which we receive the gracious gift of salvation. That’s why Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (v.28-30). Have you come to Christ by faith or have you been trying to save yourself? Are you resting in His work or your own?

Just as Christ grants you rest in regards to salvation, so does He grant you rest after salvation. You do not have to earn His favor by doing religious activities. Because of Christ, you will always have right standing before God. Have faith in His great work on your behalf and rest. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

BiAY.org | Day 277 — 88 Days to Go