by f ziamond | Mar 8, 2025
#ThisVerseFitz relating to modern time, modern concerns, prophecy, protecting the children and the harvest of the wheat with the weeds.
On this tenth Sunday of 2025, March 9, we enter the book of Matthew or the Gospel according to Matthew. This book could be labeled the screenplay for “Jesus of Nazareth” the movie. The book of Matthew tells the entire story from the birth of Jesus to the resurrection of Jesus as seen through the eyes of Matthew. The significance of Jesus’ teaching through stories is mentioned throughout.
Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
The birth of Jesus in the manger in Bethlehem of Judea. These were the days of Herod the King. Herod had plans to destroy the baby Jesus because of who Jesus was to become. Herod planned to have the wise men assist him in finding the birth place. Matthew 2:9-12 – “After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.”
Born in a Manger
Matthew 2:16 – “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time he ascertained from the wise men.”
When Jesus was a young man and after Herod’s death, Joseph brought the family to Nazareth. This was around the time John the Baptist preached in the wilderness of Judea, where John was to “Prepare the way of the Lord”! There is a song by Elevation worship called “Lion of Judah” which repeats this phrase several times. It is well worth a listen.
Lion of Judah
The Baptism of Jesus occurs – Matthew 3:13-16 – “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
The Devil came to tempt Jesus – Matthew 4:1-10 – “Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. But he answered, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and, On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
Temptation of Jesus
Jesus went on to begin his ministry and met the first Disciples, Simon/(Peter) and his brother Andrew. And James and his brother John. They ministered to great crowds, inclusive of the famous, “Sermon on the Mount”, a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus that emphasize his moral teachings, one being how to pray the Lord’s prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 – “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:9-13 – “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Our Father
For the book of Matthew speaks of Matthew and a lesson to be learned. Following Jesus’ healing of a paralytic – Matthew 9:9-13 – “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means. ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus sends the twelve apostles out to spread the word. He warns them they will be persecuted to the extreme. He also tells them to fear not. Their mission is important and not everything will be known right away. Matthew 10:26-33 – “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
This is reminiscent of another Elevation worship song entitled “Jireh” where it is said – “If He watched over every sparrow, how much more does He love you?” There is a very important message within the verse to acknowledge him and he will acknowledge you. Jesus tells Peter that he will deny him three times before a rooster crows in Matthew 26:34.
Parables are brief stories that teach moral and spiritual lessons using relatable characters. Jesus told parables as a way to teach his followers. There are many in the Gospel According to Matthew. If we had to choose just two greatest Parables, they are laid out in Matthew 13. After one of Jesus’s teachings where he introduces the disciples as his mother and brother’s to the people, we hear The Parable of the Sower and The Parable of the Weeds.
The Parable of the Sower: Matthew 13:1-9 – “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
The Parable of the Sower explained: Matthew 13:18-23 – “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds: Matthew 13:24-30 – “He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The Parable of the weeds explained: Matthew 13:36-43 – “Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
During these times of discovery of evil beings amongst the good, the weeds amongst the wheat, a verse that “fitz” more than ever is in chapter 18. It refers to those who cause harm to children. Ironically we have a cartoon from 12/30/2023 quoting the verse. Matthew 18:5-6 – “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Matthew 18:6 – 12/30/2023
Following the verse comes the parable of the lost sheep where the ninety-nine is mentioned. Matthew 18:12-14 – “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”
This verse inspired the line from another favorite song, “Me on your mind” by Matthew (coincidentally Matthew) West. It goes, “I’ve read the words in red, how you leave the ninety-nine, to find the one missing, feels like it was written with me on your mind.” The next line of the song is from the prodigal son story. A story for another day.
We recently went through the book of Revelation and the prophesies of end times. In Matthew 24 and 25 many of these points are mentioned again. One well known section of verses comes from Matthew 24:5-8 – “For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ’, and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
Another well known verse pertaining to the times is Matthew 24:36 – “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
Revelation
One of the most told stories would have to be regarding the last supper. It is also known as “The Institution of the Lord’s Supper” in Matthew 26:26-29 – “Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after the blessing he broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said “Take, eat; this my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
We mentioned earlier “Peter’s denial”, which Jesus informs Peter would be coming. He mentions it at the Mount of Olives following the last supper in Matthew 26:34-35 – “Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”
Last supper
In Matthew 26:69 Peter then denies Jesus three times before hearing the rooster crow reminding Peter of Jesus’ word. Shortly after, Jesus was delivered to Pilate with the assistance of Judas who gave Jesus up for thirty pieces of silver. Judas is so ashamed of what he has done that he throws the blood money back to the priests and elders. They felt it would be unlawful to put the blood money into the treasury and instead purchased a potters field and called it “Field of Blood”. We touched on the subject in a previous “ThisVerseFitz” entry:
Acts 1 is an introduction and mentions each Apostle. It has a short mention of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Acts 1:16 – 19 “Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, (Field of Blood).”
thirty pieces of silver
from Acts
After the death and burial of Jesus, the story of Easter, the Resurrection takes place. This is the greatest story ever told and takes place in Matthew 28. Following the Resurrection, The Great Commission takes place.
Resurrection
The Great Commission – Matthew 28:16-20 – “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
God Search in Words – Print N Play
“God Search in Words” works exactly as a normal “Word Search” with a somewhat higher level of difficulty given the Biblical terms. Once all the words are found, the leftover letters repeat a phrase 6.9 times (meaning the phrase is present 6 times and 9 letters of the phrase are left over). We call this the “AfterPuzzle”
PrintNPlay
Print N Play, Have some fun and Read your scriptures.
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Lion of Judah
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