Matthew 14:22-24
New International Version 1984
(NIV1984)
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and
go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a
considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was
against it.
Remember the setting? Jesus had just found out that his cousin was
beheaded and He had tried to be alone but a crowd was their wanting His
attention so He spoke to them so long that they needed food so He performed a
miracle feeding more than 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two
fish. Now I call that a long day! Have you ever had a long day where you just
wanted to be alone? I am sure it doesn’t
compare to the long day that Jesus had.
So let’s look at what He did.
It says that He retreated to a
mountain. Awwwww, the Colorado mountains
are a great place to retreat to! I know,
He wasn’t in the Colorado mountains but that is what I think of when I hear the
word “mountains”! Have you ever gone into the mountains and
spent time with the Lord? I can tell you
from experience, it is magnificent. As a
child, teen, and adult, I attended camp in the mountains of Colorado. It was fun being around the people but we
also had our quiet time where we could go by ourselves and find a spot to have
time with the Lord.
Going to the mountains doesn’t get
us any closer to God but being around His beautiful creation, taking in the
fresh air, smelling the pine trees, hearing the birds sing, just slowing down
and recognizing that He is the creator of all makes you feel a little bit
closer to Him. Just a thought, but maybe
the mountains are just a little taste of Heaven, Jesus was homesick so He
retreated to a place that was just a little like home. Or, maybe it was the only place He could find
where people would not follow Him. It is
hard work climbing a mountain and not many people are willing to take that uphill
climb. Much like life wouldn’t you
say? So many will follow Jesus until
they begin the ascent up the rough rugged road of life and then they just stop
and don’t follow anymore. Whatever the
case may be, Jesus was on the mountainside by Himself.
Note
it the scriptures why He went to the mountainside by Himself, to pray. Jesus didn’t want to just be alone, He wanted
to spend time with the Heavenly Father.
Even though Jesus is God incarnate, a part of Him was not there with Him
and He had to have communion with Him. Just like those of us who have the Holy
Spirit indwelling in us but Jesus and the Father are not directly with us like
the Holy Spirit is. What is Jesus and
the Father doing? Let’s look at Hebrews 7:22-28, New International Version 1984
(NIV1984)
22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
26
Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart
from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27
Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after
day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed
for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28
For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came
after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Jesus, our high priest, not someone
who is weak but someone who has strength.
Not someone who has to continually find ways for us to be forgiven, but
the one who paid the price for all eternity for our salvation. Wow, He is strong, He is blameless, and He is
forever.
Although Jesus is not physically here on this earth with us, He
has sent to us a part of Him that is and that is the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at Romans 8:26 -27, New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we
ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that
words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our
hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints in accordance with God’s will. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:%2026%20%2027&version=N1984)
If
you read the verses before this you will find that life is not always going to
be perfect but we have a future hope that is.
If you read the verses following you will find that God works out
everything for the good. We find that
God is with us and that no one can do anything to separate us from Him. Yet, just like Jesus needed to retreat to
that mountainside to spend time with God, so must we do the same. Jesus, God incarnate, needed that alone time,
probably anticipated that alone time, longed for it, and so must we. The Father
knows our inner most being, He searches our hearts. How much do we know Him?
Seek Him and find Him, learn to know Him through your
quiet time with Him. Be it on the mountainside,
in your prayer closet, or in your easy chair, make sure you have that quiet
time with Him. If it was important for
Jesus all the more it is important for us.
Remember what God says in Psalm
46:10 New International Version 1984 (NIV1984), 10 “Be still, and know
that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the
earth.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2046:10&version=NIV1984)
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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