The Caldwell Commentaries Podcast

Matthew 15:39-16:12; Mark 8:10-26 In the next two chronological steps of Christ's earthly ministry, we have a picture of His battle with both complete and cloudy spiritual vision.  As He returned to Galilee from the area of Decapolis, He again encountered a battle with the willfully blind Jewish religious leader, who tried to tempt Him so as to discredit Him publicly.  They were (1) completely sightless (spiritually speaking).  Next, the Lord dealt with His disciples, who received their spiritual sight by their faith in Christ, but still had what we call (2) cloudy sight.  There were yet many things about Him, His plan of redemption, His Church, and His Second Coming they did not understand.  When He warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, they thought he spoke about actual bread.   Finally, in the Lord's healing of a blind man in Bethsaida, we have a picture of (3) cleared sight.  The blind man actually pictured the disciples, who spiritual sight would gradually clear (especially after the Lord's resurrection).  This is the only miracle Christ ever performed in which "the healing" took place gradually!  Learn how that unique miracle illustrates an important spiritual truth for all of us!

Matthew 15:29-38; Mark 7:31-37. In this lesson, we learn the Lord's traveling schedule demonstrated that though He came to reveal and present Himself first to Israel, He also came as the Saviour of the world.  His ministry among Gentile people (i.e. Tyre, Sidon, the ten cities of Decapolis) was a "sneak preview" of the extension of His Kingdom to the entire world.  Jesus performed many miracles while in the area of Decapolis (the Gadarene demoniac had spread word in Decapolis about the great thing he did for him), but two specific miracles are recorded and discussed in this lesson.  They are the healing of a deaf man (Mark 7:35) and the feeling of the 4,000+ (8:7-9).

Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30 This is the account of the Lord's deliverance of a demon from a Syrophoenician woman's daughter.  The woman had a desperate request, which she took to the right Source, the Lord Jesus!  He, however, seemed to be against her!  He did not speak a word to her pleading request for His mercy.  His disciples were rude to her.  She did not give up.  She overcame all kinds of obstacles (her nationality, her gender, Satan - who had done his part to attack her precious daughter, and the Lord's seeming apathy), but then Jesus said to her these strange words, "It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs"!  YOU HAVE TO HEAR THIS LESSON SO YOU RIGHTLY UNDERSTAND HIS WORDS AND WHAT JESUS WAS DOING WITH THIS WOMAN! Amazingly, the Syrophoenician woman humbly accepted her place in God's providential plan of things (Jew first, then the Gentile).  She was fully accepting of the divine order.  She willingly accepted God's plan and submitted to it.  She put away pride and became an illustration of the millions of Gentiles who have been blessed and saved by the Messiah of Israel.  She became the only woman the Lord Jesus is recorded to have commended for her GREAT FAITH!!  Her daughter was not only delivered, the woman was saved!  

John 6:59-71; Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:1-23 The Lord Jesus had fed 5,000+ people with only five barley loaves and two fish.  It was such an amazing miracle, the people tried to crown Him their King, but their motive was wrong and their understanding of His Kingship and His Kingdom was wrong.  In His "Bread of Life Sermon," which He preached to the people the next day, He revealed Himself as the True Bread of Life (spiritual bread that gives eternal life).  The response of the people was resentment when they heard Him speak of eating His flesh and drinking His blood to receive everlasting life.  He was using metaphoric language to speak of the need to receive Him personally into the core of one's being to experience the New Birth.  The Jews murmured when they heard His claims to Deity in the first part of His sermon, but they aggressively began to argue among themselves when they heard His words about eating and drinking His flesh and blood. Jesus was finished with His message.  He said to the people, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.  I am that Bread of life" (6:47, 48).  As always, there was division among the people when He finished.  Most of the people rejected His words and, subsequently, rejected Him.  Only a small minority received His words and determined to remain with Him.

This is the fourth lesson on the very important "Bread of Life Sermon" of John chapter 6.  It is critical to rightly interpret this discourse.  Much of Christendom follows a false interpretation of it, which has led to millions of people participating in a false doctrine called Transubstantiation!    

From John chapter 6; the Lord's continued teaching on "The Bread of Life Sermon" (Part III).  A very important sermon to understand on many levels, particularly when it comes to having correct Bible doctrine (literally multi-millions of people have been led astray about the significance of the ordinance of Communion due to improper interpretation of this critical sermon)!  

After feeding the 5,000+ people with five barley loaves and two fish (an amazing miracle), the Lord Jesus then presented a powerful message in what has come to be known as His "Bread of Life Sermon" of John chapter 6.  We present this very important discourse in four parts (of which this is the first).   This sermon was a defining moment in Christ's life, for after hearing it and misunderstanding what He taught, most of His followers turned and walked no more with Him.  It is critical to rightly interpret this sermon, which we do!

John chapter 6, "The Bread of Life Sermon" (Part II - continuing look at verses 26-40).  The main point Jesus wanted the people and His disciples to understand through this discourse was that His Kingdom is not a political or even an earthly issue, but a spiritual one.  The crowd had wanted to crown Him King after the miraculous feeding, but He evaded their efforts.  They needed to understand He did not come to be a political King to free them from Roman bondage, but as a spiritual King (the only King of Heaven and Earth) to set them free from much more serious bondage - to sin and death!   In this lesson, He taught them how He is the True Manna from Heaven and that He is far superior to Moses.  Manna was only for Israel and it was temporary.  He is the Bread of God Who gave His life for the world, and it is permanent.  Moses was merely the human instrument God used to feed the people, as the disciples had been Christ's instruments to distribute the food to the people the previous day.  Christ performed the miraculous miracle in His own power.  Manna was the shadow; He is the Substance.

In this lesson from our 8-year Life of Christ study (through all four gospels), titled "Cresting and Resting the Stormy Sea" in the accompany commentary-book ("Life of Christ Vol. 3), we discuss the Lord's amazing deliverance of His disciples from sure death in a very violent storm.  The Lord calmed that storm by simply getting into the ship with His disciples, but there was another miracle that occurred at the very same time!! That simultaneous miracle is mentioned so briefly, it is OFTEN NOT NOTICED AT ALL.  It also took place quickly (in the twinkling of an eye), and may very well serve as a beautiful prophetic picture of THE RAPTURE (and/or the individual Christian's "home-going").  The ship and all "on board" were instantly on the shore of safety (i.e. Heaven)!    

John 6:1-15; Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-40; Luke 9:10-17 The feeding of the 5,000 men (plus women and children, so more likely at least 15,000 people) is the only specific miracle recorded in all four gospel accounts other than Christ's resurrection!   It was a spectacular miracle that produced a peak in the peoples' interest in Jesus, even causing them to want to crown Him king, but for the wrong reasons.  This is why after we discuss Part I of this lesson, "Jesus Feeds the Multitude," we then look at Part II, "Jesus Flees the Multitude".  Many spiritual lessons were taught the disciples of Christ through this miracle; they also apply to us today!  A "must" listen message!  

Matthew 14:1-12.  We come in this lesson to the death of one of the most fearless men of God who ever lived, John the Baptist.  In this same episode about the godly, fearless Baptist, we learn about a godless man who feared just about everyone except God!  His name was Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea; the man responsible for the beheading of the Baptist.  This is a great lesson to illustrate the truth of Proverbs 29:25, "The fear of man brings a snare".  It is also a good lesson on the human conscience, as well as on the very serious danger of lust and peer pressure.

In the final section of the Lord's "Ordination Sermon" to His men, found in Matthew 10:24-42, His words apply to all believers.  In fact, in this interesting passage, we find some of His most definitive teaching on the true nature of Christian discipleship in the New Testament.  He "pulled no punches".  He "painted" no pretentious pictures when it came to revealing what is involved when a person chooses to follow Him.  He spoke about the blessings and the bruises; the promises and the persecutions, and the rewards and the rejections. This is the key passage in Scripture on Christian discipleship, which is the great task of the Church!  IMPORTANT LESSON

In this next section of the Lord's "Ordination Sermon" to His Apostles, Matthew 10:16-23, we find that the Lord really had something important to say to all His "helpers" (followers), not only the ones present with Him at that time, but also to those who would serve Him in the future (us and the Tribulation believers). As we cover the information of the Lord in verses 16 to 23, we will discuss His words of warning about the opposition of the "wolves" His disciples can expect to encounter (then, now, and in the future).  He forewarned that the opposition to their message about Him would come from the religionists, the rulers, and their own relatives.  So very true! The persecution the godly believer can expect to encounter will give him or her opportunities to witness.  Jesus assured His men (and all future disciples) they need not be concerned what to say in those situations, for the Spirit would speak through them (10:19, 20).  We also hear the Lord talk about the disciples' obligation to withstand.  We discuss what He meant by His words, ". . . but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (10:22b) - often misunderstood.

In this lesson, we further discuss the Lord's "Ordination Sermon" to His men.  We discuss the men in their groups of four and then in the pairs by which they were sent forth.  Also important is why they were to travel in pairs - we talk about the various wise reasons for that.  Jesus explains to them what their ministry was to be, as well as the message they were to give and the miracles they would be empowered to perform.  So, too, He talked about their "means" (to trust God to provide) and their method(s) they were to use as they went to towns and cities and stayed in homes, etc.  There is a lot of practical information for us today as we go forth in the name of Christ, proclaiming Him to those of our communities and beyond!

Matthew 9:35-10:42.  This is the record of the very first ordination that ever took place among those who would serve as the foundational, living stones of Church, the lord's Apostles.  In the fourth recorded sermon of Christ's ministry, He gave the ordination charge to His men before sending them out, in pairs, on their first mission venture without Him.   To this point in His ministry, Jesus was doing everything (teaching, healing, preaching) on His own.  His men were merely observers and learners, but not participators in His works.  They needed to learn how to also become directly involved as "laborers" in the ministry of sowing seed and harvesting souls for the Kingdom of God.  The Lord's time with them was getting short.  They needed to have some "hands-on" training!  

There are two kinds of blindness that afflict the human race: physical and spiritual.  The Lord encountered both types in this lesson, "Binding Blindness".  He healed the physically blind eyes of two man whose eyes may have seen nothing, but whose spiritual "eyes" were enlightened to "see" the Light of Christ! The Lord also encountered the spiritual blindness that abundantly existed in Israel, particularly among the citizens of His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6a).  Sadly, Jesus encountered far more cases of spiritual blindness than ALL the other types of physical deficiencies and diseases put together! There are two miracles discussed in this lesson: the miracle of sight to two blind men (Matthew 9:29) and the miracle of healing a dumb demonian (Matthew 9:33).

Mark 5:25-34 (also Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48) is the record of the Lord's encounter, as He was on His way to Jairus' house to see his 12-year old daughter, who was dying, with a woman who suffered from an issue of blood for 12 years.  Not only did the woman suffer physically (never finding any physician who could help her), but she also emotionally and socially.  Her ailment made her ceremonially unclean, so in Jewish society this meant she would be excluded from all social gatherings, including to worship in her local synagogue. The woman heard about Jesus and His incredible healing powers.  Thus, when she found out He was in her hometown of Capernaum, she carefully joined the thronging crowd around Him as He made His way to Jairus' house.  She believed that if she could just reach out and slightly touch His clothing (not Him), that she would be made whole!  When she managed to touch the hem of the Lord's clothes, the Lord felt power issue forth from Him.  He knew someone had reached out to Him in faith, and when the woman came forward to share "all the truth" about her situation and what she had done in secretly touching His garment, the Lord, on the only occasion in the gospel accounts, called her "Daughter".  Then He said to her, "Thy faith hath made thee whole" (5:34).   It is a beautiful story about our Great Physician!

Mark 5:22-24, 35:45 (also Matthew 9:18, 19, 23-26; Luke 8:40-42, 49-56).  This is the account of the "healing" by Jesus of the third humanly incurable situation in Mark chapter 5 (the first two were the healing of dehumanized demoniacs - Lesson #61 and the healing of the disgraced daughter of Israel - Lesson #62a).  The third consecutive healing miracle of the Great Physician (Jesus) in this chapter was the most "incurable" of all.  Jairus' dying 12-year old daughter actually died before Jesus made it to the home.  After the delay with the woman with issue of blood, the Lord arrived "too late" (it would seem), for the little girl was dead and the professional mourners had already arrived!   If you don't already know this story, you will be richly blessed; if you do already know it, you will also be richly blessed.  Why?  Because we can never hear enough how our Great Physician Saviour, Who is incarnate God, can "heal" every humanly incurable situation, including the worst of all, death!  Halleluiah!

Mark 5:1-20.  The fifth chapter of Mark is often referred to as the Bible chapter for "incurables" because it contains the written record of Christ's confrontations with three humanly incurable cases. First, He had "a divine appointment" with two men who were mentally deranged because of demonic possession.  That will be the subject of this first of a three-part study on "The Great Physician".  The Lord's second encounter was with a physically disabled woman who had gone to every doctor she could find, and none could cure her of the issue of blood that plagued her for 12 years.  The third situation was the most "incurable" of all, from the human perspective,  It was death, in this case it was the death of a 12-year old girl, the daughter of a man named Jairus.  Both of these situations will be discussed in the second part of this study (see Lesson #61a and b). The three humanly incurable situations of Mark 5 picture man's incurable situation regarding sin.  Apart from the healing/saving power of the Great Physician (Jesus Christ), men are the hopeless, helpless victims of Satan (first case of this chapter), of disease (second case), and of death (third case).  

America, and, in fact, the world, is in the midst of a "storm" this very hour.  These are unsettling times as we face the potential for World War III or some kind of nuclear or cyber attack, terrible inflation, open borders, anti-Semitism on the rise, inflated grocery prices, the continual possibility of another pandemic, government corruption on every level, the dangers of AI technology in the hands of evil people, the expansion of extreme Islam and Communism into the Western world, the push for globalism, the apostacy of much of Christendom ... and on and on.  How are Christians to respond?  Well, actually, the same way we should respond to all the rest of life's storms!  It is often said if you are not in a storm, it is either because you have just come through one or one is waiting ahead!  Storms are a natural part of living in a sin-cursed world.  There is no way to avoid them, but there is a very calm way to "ride them out" free of fear and full of faith - not faith in ourselves (or we will surely sink); not faith in all the resources of government and science (we will still sink, for there are storms greater than mankind's combined intelligence and strength), but faith in the one Person Who is able to guide us safely through any and all storms.  There is no reason to fear the furies and floods of life if you have invited Jesus Christ "on board" to be the Captain of your ship!  He will see you safely to your final destination, no matter what is happening in your personal life or in the world today. This lesson comes in our "Caldwell Commentary" series "Life of Christ Vol. 3" (available through www.scripturetruth.com   and Amazon.com