June 28, 2026 -- Matthew 15:29 -- After brokenness, full, wonderful restoration

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there.

Matthew 15:29 ESV
 
Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee and the mountain nearby that place is called Mt. Tabor. You wouldn’t necessarily know that place. But the Jewish people would. It is a place that is significant because the female Judge of Israel, Deborah, assembled the people at Mt. Tabor and with the general, Barak, they went on to defeat their enemies. Then their enemies were Sisera (the general of the army), the army of the Canaanites, all of whom were ruled by Israel’s enemy, King Jabin (Judges 4). It was a huge victory for the people of God and Deborah sang unto the LORD. It is the picture of God’s people rescued by God appropriately celebrating His goodness.
 
However, Mt. Tabor is also a place of humiliation and defeat. According to the prophet Hosea, Mt. Tabor is the place where the people spread out offerings in their worship to false gods. They shamefully bowed themselves to the very gods who in the past had been defeated by the LORD. Mt. Tabor became a place of humiliation. It was a place of historic shame that reverberated to the present. Why would Jesus go there?
 
Jesus saves the people who can’t save themselves. He goes up that mountain of shame, of defeat, to bring His victory to the place of Israel’s humiliation and wickedness. The people were locked in their union with evil and Jesus broke the curse. He preached (which is what is indicated when he sat down—the posture of preachers in those days). He broke the curse as He healed all those brought to Him. As it was then, so it is today, Jesus frees His people from the curse of sin. He lifts the eyes of His people from condemnation and shame and grants them a measure of glory. In Jesus Christians are counted as sons and daughters of the Living God. In Jesus Christians are given the powerful Holy Spirit to live in them so that sin can not rule believers and cast them back to everlasting ruin. In Jesus believers recognize the very sins which once held them captive, the source of their shame, has become the place where the power of God was made evident and it is the place where they declare:
I bless You, O Lord, my God. You have rescued me from death.
You have broken the curse of sin and shame.
You have reconciled me to Yourself through Jesus.
You have given me new life.
Blessed be Your Name O God, because added to all these great blessings You have added the gift of the Holy Spirit, by Whom I am united to You, so that Satan can never again control my life.
Glorious Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the crowning blessing of all, is to belong to You, and be secure in the knowledge that eternity will be such joy indescribable and wondrous because it will be the place where I can fully be in Your presence. You Yourself, Mighty God, are the richest blessing. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/4oVwY8q31s0?si=Okkbvwuz7LmpgneT My Jesus, I Love Thee
 

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