Matthew 9:32-34 The man spoke.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 4, 2019, Matthew 9:32-34
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”
(Understanding the Text) Here Matthew adds to the variety of miracles that Jesus performed in this chapter’s list. This time it is a demon possession that restricts speech. Jesus casts out the demon, and the man spoke. Guzik says “In the Jewish understanding of demon possession, this man could not be helped. This was because the rabbis thought that you could not cast out a demon until it told you its name, and a demon that made a man mute could never be made to tell you its name. But Jesus had no problem, the demon was cast out and the mute spoke.” This is the reason why the crowds marveled, and the Pharisees got defensive. “For this reason, this miracle was particularly amazing to the multitudes, and showed not only the complete authority of Jesus over the demonic realm, but also the weakness of the rabbis’ traditions.” Not only had Jesus done what everyone thought was impossible, He had shown that the Pharisees’ ideas and sayings could not be trusted when it came to their traditions. He showed them to be superstitious fools who did not understand the basics of how spiritual warfare worked. No wonder they attacked back.
(Understanding the Text / Prayer) Again, Matthew adds the idea that this was well known and many people witnessed it and marveled. However, he adds that the Pharisees said that the miracle was not from God but from the devil. It is sad how when someone does something wonderful from God, people turn it around and make it horrible. People will malign others’ motives and impute their own greed and evil onto the innocent. I see it today all the time. People blame real and non-existent problems on scapegoats and opponents. It’s a spirit that is increasing, and I fear that someday soon, it will be turned on SDA Christians because they choose to follow You instead of the world’s leading. Right now there is no danger of this because so many SDA Christians blend in with the worldly pack, but as more and more begin committing to following only You, I can see how the spirit of this age will be easily turned on them. The mentality of the Pharisees is alive and well today.
(Application / Revelation of God) My application for myself is not to be upset when I am falsely accused. I hate this promise for the implications, but Jesus gave it knowing that I would need it. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12). Jesus was the recipient of lies about His motives and methods. In fact, people lie about God all the time, especially His own people called Christians. Thus, I can even expect friends to lie about me. I don’t like it, but Jesus said it would happen and that I should be happy because it is a good sign. I still don’t like it. My other application is that whether people lie or disbelieve, it does not change the fact that Jesus performed a miracle, and it does not change my standing in God’s sight, and that is all I need to worry about. However, many times I judge my standing in God’s sight by how other people view me. I need to stop doing that, and be confident that God is happy with me. I guess blessed means that God is happy with you.
(Application / Prayer) My other application for myself is to not judge whether something is impossible by the world’s standards and wisdom. The world’s wisdom is full of superstition, bigotry, and partisanship. Simply go ahead in faith towards the goals that Jesus gives me and ignore the naysayers. I pray to succeed through Your power and to serve You as You desire, not as the bean counters count and the world judges. Help me to have faith.