Matthew 28

When we last left Jesus, He was lying in the tomb. Now it’s Sunday morning and the women have come to grieve. After another earthquake, there they are in front of an empty tomb with an angel talking to them. They are told to go and inform the disciples that Jesus has risen. He told them that was going to happen (20:19) and yet only Mary and Mary are there and they seem surprised at what has happened. Didn’t anybody listen to Jesus while they hung out with Him?

We have seen Jesus’ authority and His power throughout the book of Matthew. He can heal illnesses, He can bring the dead back to life. He showed the ultimate power last chapter when He bore the sins of the world on the cross. Now He shows even more power by coming back himself. Last chapter, Satan won. He killed the Son of God. This chapter, we win. The price of sin is paid and Jesus is alive!


Jesus has all the authority in the universe. He is the Son of God, which He just proved by the resurrection. Now He gives this authority to the disciples and to us. The commandment is to go to “all nations”. This is a notable change from chapter 10 when Jesus sent out the disciples to only the Jews. That’s good news for us. What a wonderful promise He leaves us with. “I am with you always.” Hallelujah!

Matthew 27

There is so much in this chapter. It’s the climax of the entire gospel of Matthew. Yet I find it difficult to find anything to say. The text itself is so powerful, I have little to add. I will just point out some things that I found interesting.

Judas is overcome with remorse at his betrayal of Jesus. He tries to rewind everything he’s done by giving back the money, but it doesn’t help. He took the first step by admitting he had sinned, but he left it at that. I believe if he had asked for forgiveness, it would have been granted. Instead, Satan who had overtaken Judas killed him by suicide. This follows the full progression from James 1:14-15. Temptation gives way to desire, desire leads to sin, and sin leads to death.

Is Pilate innocent? I think not. He did all he could to avoid making a decision about Jesus, but no one can avoid that. We all have to come to a decision about Jesus. 16:15 - “Who do you say I am?”

A man named Simon became the first person to literally take up a cross for Jesus.

I love how Matthew still fills his narrative with OT references proving the fulfillment of scripture in Jesus. Everything that happens to Him does so for a reason.

Right up to the moment He died, Jesus was totally committed to doing the Father’s will. He was in constant communication with God, praying and crying out while He hung there. At the moment of His greatest pain and despair, He called out to the only One who could comfort Him.

Obviously, the events in the chapter are not new to me except one thing. Verse 52-53 “The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Wow! I have never heard that before. Dead people came back to life? But they didn’t do anything until Jesus had resurrected. What is that all about? I don’t find this mentioned in any of the other gospels.

An interesting point from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the chapter - after Jesus died He was not touched again by enemy hands. He was taken down from the cross, prepared for burial, and placed in the tomb by those who loved and followed him.

Basketball update

In case you missed it with all the posts in Matthew, I have been updating the basketball games week by week. The recaps can be found here.

Rachel improved very much this season. It was a lot of fun to see her play aggressively. With her height she should be a force on the court for quite some time. She finished the season with 10 points in 7 games for an average of 1.4 ppg. Way to go Rachel!

Drew is a smart player. You can tell by watching him that he knows whats going on out on the floor. Basketball is a game of positioning, and he seems to be in the right place much of the time. His height was also an advantage, and he became quite adept at rebounding. Unfortunately, as a fifth grader he has graduated from Upward, but I think that he could be a valuable power forward on a school team. He scored 50 points on the season for an average of 7.1 ppg.

Matthew 26

Wow, 75 verses! Here I thought this might be a quick chapter. Maybe tomorrow. We start off with Jesus briefing the disciples on His impending arrest and crucifixion. I like the way he starts it, "As you know..." In other words, "I have taught you and shown you enough that it should be obvious to you what is about to happen to me. Be prepared for it." Were they? No, I don't think so.

The woman with the perfume is not identified by Matthew, but John's better version of the events (John 12) tells us she was Mary, sister to Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. (Matthew didn't see fit to tell us that story either - I wonder why?) She extravagantly offers both the gift of the perfume and I think also her dignity, by wiping Jesus' feet with her hair (again, see John 12). This could only be an expression of love that she had for Jesus. He had done so much for her personally that she wanted to honor Him with her gift. The indignant disciple (Judas) who was concerned about the money is also unnamed except by John.

Perhaps this incident made Judas overly concerned about the money so he sought additional income of his own. He sells out for 30 pieces of silver, which I understand was a mere pittance. It is said that every man has his price. For most of us that price is unconscionably low. We are willing to betray Jesus for momentary pleasure, for money gained illegally, for a secret tryst, for unwholesome abuses of power. I don't know Judas' motive, whether it was money or power, but he sold his soul for something fleeting. He ignored Jesus' admonition from Matt 16:26 "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" What good indeed.

Like any condemned man, Jesus had a final meal. He shared it with those close to Him, the disciples. All twelve of them. He knows what's brewing with Judas, yet He doesn't treat Judas any differently than the others. Judas is still invited to the Passover meal.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that most of the following paragraph is paraphrased from last Sunday's sermon.) Jesus tells the group that not only will He be captured and crucified, but one of the people in that very room will turn on Him. They all ask in turn, "Surely not I, Lord?" v22. There are two points of interest here. First, nobody outright suspects Judas to be the traitor. Nobody says, "Oh, right. It's clearly Judas!" Jesus treated Judas the same as the others. Based on how Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, there is a good chance that Judas was sitting in the seat of honor next to Jesus. Judas had equal responsibility to do whatever tasks were required of the disciples. He was just one of the flock. Second, each one questions himself. They all asked "not I" because they all knew that within themselves they were capable of betrayal. And so are we.

Thus far when Jesus talked of His death, He simply mentioned that it was going to happen, and how it would happen. He hasn't told why. With the institution of Communion, He explains the purpose of His death. Verses 26-29 explain the significance of Jesus sacrifice, that He will pour out His blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus was entirely willing to die for us. He was willing to follow the Father's will completely.

When Judas arrives in Gethsemane, he approaches Jesus. Jesus tell him, "Friend, do what you came for". Friend? Even now, Jesus calls Judas friend? I think that Jesus is even now offering Judas a way out, telling him to reverse course. Alas, just as Jesus says, the scriptures are fulfilled.

Matthew 25

The parable of the virgins is another that seems self explanatory. Back to the end of chapter 24, be vigilant and prepared.

The parable of the talents. I know that in the story a talent is a portion of money, but I find it useful to look at it as a talent, a skill or ability. I don't have many unique talents, but I can do some things well. I can juggle. I can do math in my head. I can play trombone.

I use my talent for music as a service for the church. I'm in the orchestra, the band, and whatever other ensemble they invent for me to play. I don't know if it's a valid analogy to this parable since I don't really have any tangible return on my "investment", but I hope that someday I can receive the ultimate recognition for using my talent for God. I long to hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful servant!"

The sheep and the goats. The part that jumped out at me was more exposition on the Golden Rule. "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." We need to treat others like we would treat Jesus, because He will treat our actions as worship of Him. If we bless others with our serving, He is glorified.

Matthew 24

I don't have much to say about this chapter, but I've come this far so I have to write something.

This seems to me a list of things that have not yet happened.

Not even Jesus knows the hour of His second coming? What about John 30:10 - "I and the Father are one"? Wouldn't that indicate that Jesus does know the hour? I'm not sure it really matters, since I don't know the hour, but I'm still curious. Be vigilant, and be prepared for His coming.

Matthew 23

Matthew's text and Jesus' teaching are becoming more and more profound. I am finding it more and more difficult to interpret and summarize it. For better analysis, I refer you to Dan's blog.

Jesus is really egging on the Pharisees, isn’t He? He isn’t pulling any punches at this time. I’m sure this is a small part of what Judgment will be like, Jesus listing off transgressions while we are unable to provide any rebuttal. Woe to all who do not have the righteousness of Jesus to counter the stain of sins. Forget our outward appearance and concentrate on cleaning our hearts. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Matthew 22

Obviously the parallel to the wedding banquet is Heaven. It’s so clear to me I don’t think I need to expound further.

Jesus is a real shocker sometimes. Verse 22, verse 33, verse 46 - He astounds the audience with His words, and even stuns them into silence.

Our church mission statement has been reduced to 4 simple words, Love God, Love People. The real version is much longer of course, but for simplicity it’s become that. No doubt it came from Jesus’ explanation of the greatest commandment. Like I said before, He can really summarize pretty well.

Matthew 21

I wish I had the time and energy to devote to this chapter. I'm really hitting the wall these days and I know that the rest of the chapter is chock full of activity. I know this next week is going to be tough.

Palm Sunday has always been a little bit of a mystery for me. Which people are the ones enthusiastically greeting Him? Why are they so thrilled with His presence? Verse 10 says they asked, "Who is this?" They are cheering the entry of an unknown person? Talk about your first century rock star.

Even in the midst of His confrontation with the moneychangers Jesus finds time to heal and comfort those who came to Him.

Faith can move mountains. I wonder how many people really believe it.

Matthew 20

Just a couple of quick thoughts. The parable of the unfair employer is a good one. I see the parallel to the church today. How many churches are there that don’t participate in outreach? They are like the ones hired first. They got theirs and they claim it all. They don’t want to share with newcomers who don’t deserve it. God doesn’t do things that way. Even those who have a deathbed conversion are heirs of the blessings of God. I for one am thankful for the generosity of God.

Jesus tells even more detail about His upcoming crucifixion. Why doesn’t Matthew tell more of the story? I would love to hear their reaction to that.

Is Mrs. Zebedee being prideful or is she asking for blessing she thinks she deserves? Does she honestly believe her sons had earned the place of honor in heaven?

In a nutshell, this chapter teaches us to be a servant and humble ourselves.

Goodbye

10/30/1926 - 2/21/2007

Matthew 19

I couldn't decide if this chapter was more like a TV show rerun or a singer's greatest hits album. Either way, it's deja vu all over again.

Topic - divorce. See Matthew 5:31-32.

Topic - the importance of children and childlike innocence. See Matthew 18:2-6.

Topic - giving up material possessions and denying yourself for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. See Matthew 6:19-24,7:24-27,16:24-25.

Matthew 18

The opening section of the chapter is a good reminder for me as a parent. Jesus expounds on the importance of teaching and leading children. I know it’s a lesson on humility and innocence but it reinforces to me the responsibility have to be the spiritual leader of my family. I don’t want to be the cause of sin in my little ones. I would rather be the one who treats them like Jesus.

This chapter as a whole shows us many character traits of God. Jesus is teaching with the point being our transformation into a person more like Him. If we live our lives the ways He is teaching us we can’t help but posses His characteristics.

He is holy. God is so pure, so holy that He can not even tolerate the idea of sin. This is the second time Jesus has told us to mutilate our bodies to avoid sin. Sin is so abhorrent to God that we need to remove anything that causes it. Fill in your own blanks. If ____ causes you to sin, remove____. Like we were told in chapter 16, what would be the benefit if we gain _____ , at the cost of our soul? It is better to live a life with nothing at all than to be cast into hell.

God loves us and protects us. He demonstrates it with the parable of the Lost Sheep. God has guardian angels for all people, but Jesus specifically mentions the ones who watch over the little ones. Why would God give angelic protection to sinful people who have not made a decision to follow Him? Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He would leave 99 sheep to find the one that was lost. That one was, or is, you.

He forgives us. How many times does He forgive? 70 x 7 times. We can’t outlast His forgiveness. It is so easy to be the servant who fails to forgive others with the same grace he himself received. Only Jesus can be so perfectly gracious to forgive when wronged. The servant’s lack of forgiveness comes around when he is given his due justice for his transgression.

The whole chapter points to God and how we should live to transform ourselves to His likeness. He is holy, loving, protecting, and forgiving. He is also just, and will give punishment if it is deserved. That is why I am glad He is also gracious.

Matthew 17

The section title in my Bible calls the first part of chapter 17 The Transfiguration. Wouldn’t a more accurate title be the Reconfiguration? Or the Reestablishment? Or the Restoration? This is the first time that Jesus’ glory is allowed to come through in His earthly body. He is being restored to the state He was in before Mary birthed Him.

I find it interesting that the heavenly declaration given here is the same as the one given immediately following His baptism, save for the admonition “Listen to Him!” Evidently the listening wasn’t getting done. If Jesus is beginning to speak about His death and we are told to listen to Him, then perhaps His death is an important thing. (It is!)

Maybe it’s a little bit of schadenfreude, but I helps me to see the constant reprimanding of the disciples for their lack of faith. Knowing that the ones in Jesus’ inner circle still had their moments of humanity eases the guilt of the same struggle in myself. It doesn’t excuse it, but I can see that Jesus was graciously patient with them and He will do the same with me.

The temple tax story is an odd one. Only Matthew recorded it. From what I’ve read, this is the only miracle Jesus performed for His own benefit. It’s also the only one involving money. I’m not really sure what conclusion to draw from that, I just found it interesting.

Matthew 16

The demand for a sign is not something unique to Jesus’ audience. People today are constantly seeking proof of God. Bertrand Russell once said that when face to face with God he would say, “You didn’t give us enough evidence“. As Paul said in Romans 1:20, creation alone is enough evidence of God. We don’t need another sign.

This chapter contains the only verse in Matthew that I had underlined previously. Matthew 16:15, “Who do you say I am?” I like this verse better than John 3:16 because I think it presents the gospel better. This asks the most important question you will ever answer. Who is Jesus, and what am I doing about Him? Peter answers the only way we can. “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Amen.

After this, Jesus begins to talk specifically about His upcoming death. He tells of who will kill Him, why they will kill Him, how long He will be dead, and the method used. And yet Peter (the prized pupil) tries to stop Him. Jesus promises them that they will see the Son of Man come into His kingdom. That comes in the next chapter during the Transfiguration.

Matthew 15

People are stupid, myself included. We need to have the same lesson repeated time after time. The disciples were given the exact situation as the previous chapter and they fail in exactly the same way. They do not have enough faith to believe that Jesus can miraculously feed the crowd. He can and He does, of course.

What is unclean? This is the same lesson He gave in the Sermon on the Mount. The things in a man’s heart are what matter to God. The outward actions are not as important as the inner character. The list given in verse 19 cuts straight to my heart. “Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” How many of these am I guilty of even today?

What can we do? As fallible humans we will act this way again and again. We need to follow the example of the Canaanite woman who falls to her knees and begs Jesus for help. Her “great faith” (despite being a Gentile!) results in her request being granted.

Matthew 14

This story has always disgusted me. A girl, who knows how old, is convinced by her mother to ask for a dismembered head on a platter. The depravity of the human race is astounding at times. Also, what is the point of being king? (or governor, or whatever Herod was) Like Darius with Daniel, the man in charge is trapped by someone to do something he is uncomfortable doing. Can’t he just say, “Never mind!” ?

Jesus is grieved by John’s death so He wanders off to mourn in private. The ignorant crowds follow Him like He’s a first century rock star. The impressive thing about Jesus is that , in the midst of His mourning, He has compassion on them and healed their sick and taught them. He even goes so far as to feed them miraculously. Matthew doesn’t give us much detail about the boy who gave his lunch to feed the crowd. Like the widow in Mark 12:41-44 who put two small coins in the offering, this boy gave all he had to Jesus to use, and he didn’t even have any guarantee that he would receive any benefit from his own gift. We today give a tithe, or even a little better than a tithe, and we feel pretty good about ourselves. Do we have the absolute faith to give Him everything we have? Do we see a need and fill it with all we have? He took this boys sacrifice and multiplied it to the point that there were significant leftovers. The promise of Malachi 3:10 in action.

Is the purpose of Jesus ministry to teach His disciples to have faith? Despite what they have seen so far, they still don’t trust Him to feed the 5,000 when the time comes. Then as soon as He’s performed a miracle in their presence they lose faith again out in the water. All except Peter. He exhibits enough faith to jump out of the boat. Then he doubts….

Oh that I would have enough faith to climb out of the boat . “Truly you are the Son of God”

Matthew 13

This is where He starts to lose me. I thought chapter 5 was tough to summarize in one post. Seven parables in one chapter is pretty difficult, and two of them are explained for me! Studying the parables takes a lot of concentration.

I have wondered since I was a child why Jesus taught in parables instead of using simple language. Let me quote Warren Wiersbe:

"The condition of the people's hearts made it necessary for Christ to use parables. (A parable is a story in which something familiar explains something unfamiliar.) Christ quotes Isa. 6:9-10 to explain why He was using parables: the heats, ears, and eyes of the people had become dull, hard, and blind. By using parables, He was exciting the curiosity of the concerned, those who really wanted to know the truth. But He was also hiding the truth from the rebellious; He would not cast these pearls of truth before swine (7:6). The parables did not keep people from learning the truth; rather, the parables excited their interest and encouraged them to learn. This is a fulfillment of 11:25 - the proud will not see, but the babes will learn the truth and be saved."

What do I think the point of these particular parables is? I see a continuation of the lesson from chapter 7 with the narrow and wide gates. There will be a day of judgmentent and many will perish. There is much, much more here than I can glean in this fashion. The chapter should take about a month to dissectect properly.

Matthew 12

A great many thought are bouncing around in my head and few of them are landing. My take on this chapter really doesn’t differ much from Dan’s. God desires mercy, not sacrifice. It is more important to follow the spirit of the law than the letter of the law.

One thing I like about this chapter is that Jesus refers to Jonah as a factual event in history. Many people today, and probably even in that time, consider the tale of Jonah to be a parable. But Jesus refers to Jonah as a real person and to the three days in the fish as a real event. One question though, verse 40 says that “the Son of Man will spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”. Friday night to Sunday morning is only two nights. What am I missing here?

Matt 12:50 “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”. It’s nice that my brother is my brother.

Matthew 11

John the Baptist seems like quite a character with an unusual lifestyle. He was some sort of relative of Jesus but they didn't travel together. Evidently John didn't know Jesus very well because in this chapter he is moved to ask Jesus if He was in fact the Messiah. John has been announcing the imminent arrival of the Messiah, and then he apparently doesn't recognize Him when He comes. So he asks a direct question. "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Based on the way Matthew's writing has gone so far, I would expect Jesus to reply with Old Testament prophecies proving that He is the Messiah. He could mention some prophecies already fulfilled such as being born in Bethlehem, born to a virgin , from the line of David, coming out of Egypt, living in Nazareth, etc. You want to know if I'm the Messiah? Check me out against the scriptures you know. Instead, he replies with a list of things He's done. Tell John the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the sick are well, and the dead live again.

Jesus doesn't give a biblical proof of Himself, He gives anecdotal evidence. This is what the world today doesn't understand. They want a proof of God. "Science can be proven, or at least tested. Can you do that with God?", they ask. I can not prove to you that God exists and acts in our lives, but I can show you what He's done. It's the classic analogy of the wind. You can't see it but you can see the effects of it. That's what Jesus did here. He didn't say, "I'm the Messiah because of ___", instead He said "I've done these things. Do YOU think I'm the Messiah?"

Matthew 10

What a job description. Jesus called the disciples a couple of chapters ago, and now he tells them what their lives will be like. You will be homeless, penniless, frequently unwelcome, flogged (in the synagogue!), betrayed by your family, and generally persecuted. Well, sign me up! It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure! Like I mentioned in my chapter 4 post, I am impressed with these men who took on a future like that, and kept with it when the persecution happened.

Among the first commands He gave were to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. All tasks that we just read about Him doing. Matthew has shown us how to live by using Jesus as our example. We face temptation, Jesus faced temptation. We don’t know how to pray, Jesus gave us a prayer template. We have trouble following the Old Testament law, Jesus gives us a new approach to Christian action. We wonder how to minister to others, Jesus shows us where to meet the needs of people. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect - be perfect like Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples that persecution would come their way. After telling them this he also announces the presence of a comforter. They will face trouble but they can handle it. I believe that other than the dove at Jesus’ baptism, here is the first appearance of the Holy Spirit(v. 20).

Take up your cross and follow me. What significance did Jesus' mentioning the cross have to the disciples? Did they have any inkling of what the future held for their teacher? Did they know He was going to die that way? Did they realize that soon He was going to take up His cross for them?

Matthew 9

Faith and authority. That’s the theme not just in this chapter, but all through the entire book thus far. Jesus has the authority and we need to have faith. Everyone who encounters Him recognizes and respects Jesus’ authority , and everyone who shows great faith is rewarded for it.

Right from the start of the chapter I’m curious. He gets off the boat and “some men brought him to a paralytic”. Who were these men and was that the reason Jesus went to that place? He exhibits His authority not by healing the man but by granting him forgiveness for his sins. (Was that forgiveness requested?) It was given because of their faith.

Verse 4 made me chuckle a little when I read it. “Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said…” I had an impression of Jedi mind tricks happening. “Your thoughts betray you…”

The crowds were all impressed with Jesus’ abilities and activities. He healed people, He forgave sins, He resurrected the dead. Wow! I can’t even express the wonderment I’m sure the people felt. HE RAISED THE DEAD! I think it’s quite the understatement in verse 26 and again in verse 31, “News of this spread through all that region”. Gee, you think?

Why did He insist that no one tells of His healings? I have heard it said that it was not yet the right time for the public to really know about Him. But if that’s true, why was it the right time to perform these compassionate acts? Surely He knew word would spread. Good news travels fast. I wonder if at least a part of it had to do with performing acts in secret that only the Father knows.

Oh, and welcome to Matthew. He’s finally introduced 9 chapters into his own narrative.

Matthew 8

Now we move into the action. The Sermon is done and Jesus meets the people. He starts healing the afflicted. He calms the storm. He's got some power to go with his authority.

Here we see the first example of the golden rule in action. Peter's mother is healed and immediately begins to wait on Jesus. She is exhibiting a servant's heart and also probably thanking Him for healing.

Faith is a big part of this chapter. (Duh, it's a big part of Christianity.) The leprous man, the centurion, Peter's mother all had it. The man who needed to bury his father and the disciples in the boat didn't have it. Do I?

Matthew 7

I'm losing steam at this point, but Jesus isn't. He wraps up His SOTM in great fashion. He continues to cut to the heart with His words. Am I a hypocrite with my interpersonal relationships? Do I trust God and seek His guidance for my life? Do I totally follow Him? Does my life bear witness to God's glory? Every section of the chapter is worth much more time than I am giving it. There is plenty of meat in there for several sermons.

I can't get past the first two verses. When I interact with non-believers this is the argument that comes up time after time. Something like "Who are you to judge me?" Those without sin cast the first stone and all that. It's nothing more than a simple rationalization to justify their sin. I don't know what the Greek is but I like to apply the verse this way. "Judge" defined not as to give an opinion on, but "judge" as in to issue a sentence. I read it as "Do not condemn others or you will be also condemned." That still gives me the right to call your sin sin, but I can not assign any punishment to you for that sin.

The high point of this chapter is solid gold. I read that as many as 8 major world religions contain something akin to the Golden Rule given in verse 12. I can't even come up with 8 religions, but I don't doubt it's true. It sums up the Law and the Prophets. The whole entire Old Testament summed up in one phrase. This Jesus is a pretty good teacher.

Matthew 6

Shhhhhh! Keep it down! It's a secret!

This chapter is a gut check. It's time to analyze my motives. Three times we are told to act with the mindset that only God is watching. He sees what is done in secret, and if our motives are right, rewards us. This hit home a little for me. This blogging exercise is the first real attempt for me to study the Bible with the intent to share. I have to admit that part of my motive is to compose a "wow" analysis that will impress my reader. That certainly isn't doing it "in secret". While I don't intend to stop this exercise, I will have to approach it a little more cautiously here on out.

Every one of the 5 divisions in this chapter emphasizes pleasing God. Each section challenges us to check our motive. Like I said in the previous chapter, God sees our heart. If we act to please Him and trust Him to provide and protect for us, we are doing well.

Matthew 5

Smack! That's the sound of my study hitting the wall. There is no way Matthew 5 can be dissected and analyzed in one post. Any decent pastor will tell you that there are at least 10 good sermons in there. I can't even do it justice.

I will skip the Beatitudes and leave that commentary for scholars more learned than I. I have always struggled to understand the purpose and application of them. Perhaps that is all the more reason for me to spend time there, and maybe I will, but not on this forum.

The theme I see throughout the Sermon on the Mount is fulfillment of the OT. Matthew has structured his narrative so far with OT quotations establishing a foundation on which he places Jesus' authority as a teacher. Or more accurately, Jesus places himself, as Matthew is now quoting Jesus' own words. "You have heard..." "It has been said..." Jesus is the one doing the OT quoting now and He uses it as a basis of His authority.

Jesus references two of the 10 Commandments regarding murder and adultery. He changes the focus for us from following the letter of the Law to following the spirit of the Law. Sin at it's core is a heart issue. God looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). I may not have killed anyone or been unfaithful to my wife, but have I been angry at someone or lusted after another woman? God knows my intent and the state of my heart. (Why is it that immediately following the text on adultery, Jesus tells us to cut off the offending body part? Ouch.) Interestingly enough, these two sins are used in one of my favorite passages in James 2:11.

Moses allowed for divorce, but God doesn't like it (Genesis 2:24). Jesus re-emphasizes the covenant bond of marriage, and announces that divorce is akin to adultery, which He just denounced. This must have been radical thinking to his audience. Why, even Jesus' own father had contemplated divorce. (Of course, Joseph's reason would have been for the exception given here.)

I always enjoy when I discover the biblical origin of a common idiom or phrase. Obviously Matt 5:41 is where we get the expression "to go the extra mile".

Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. This is God's Law. These were given to Moses in Exodus 21. They seem harsh, don't they? Where's the mercy? Now Jesus is telling us that that isn't necessary anymore. Instead of equal retaliation, we are told "do not resist an evil person". Turn the other cheek. Show love. Be meek. Be a peacemaker. Be persecuted for righteousness. Oh....there's the mercy. God has established a precedent. There is a standard, there is an offense, there is an equal punishment for the offense to provide restoration between the offended parties. Ok, that sounds good. I can accept that. Now bring Jesus into the picture. The standard, God's perfection. The offense, our sin. The equal punishment....we can't do it. Restoration is impossible. Jesus can do it. That's why He has to authority to teach this lesson.

Love your enemies. What more needs to be said? THAT'S a sermon topic.

Great verse: "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?" What did Matthew do for a living again?

What do you know. Maybe I can dissect the whole chapter in one post.

Matthew 4

Temptation. I know I'm not alone in dealing with it and giving in to it. How plainly Jesus give us the example of how to deal with Satan and his lies. Draw your Sword and fight him down. Every single time Satan launches a salvo, Jesus answers with Scripture, all from Deuteronomy. That must be what He was studying for the last 40 days.

I am intrigued by a seemingly throwaway phrase in verse 12, "When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison he returned to Galilee". Whoa, what? John's in prison? That fact isn't significant enough to give any detail about? Obviously, Matthew is telling Jesus' story and only Jesus' story. He emphasizes it once again with OT prophecy.

Regarding the call of the first disciples, the question I am left with is, why? Why would these men literally drop everything and follow Him? Hindsight being 20/20, we can understand that hey, it's Jesus! Of course you follow Him! But at the time? Quite a feat.

Matthew 3

Again I find myself wanting more information. How did John come to be homeless? I would like to hear about it. I know, I know, it's not his story but I still am interested.

Another OT reference to show fulfilled prophecy. Matthew knows his scripture.

John's statement to the Sadducees sounded familiar to me so I looked it up. Jesus says the same phrase (you brood of vipers) to the same people in chapter 12. I wonder if He did that in reference to John.

I can relate to John's reaction when Jesus asked to be baptized. Me? Baptize YOU? I'm not worthy! It underscores God's grace to us. We are all unworthy to have a relationship with Him and yet He called us to one. That is the salient point of this chapter to me.

Matthew 2

Day 2 and I'm already behind. I would have posted yesterday but I was stuck in a time loop in some tiny hamlet in western Pennsylvania.

The key players in chapter 2 are foreigners from "the east". How far east I wonder? Perhaps the area around Babylon. Daniel was placed in charge of Nebuchadnezzer's magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. (Dan 2:2,48) It seems logical to believe that these "wise men" were academic descendants of the charges of Daniel. Surely he would have taught them Messianic prophecies. It is a wonderful example of God's ultimate plan spanning generations in order to fulfill His purpose.

I am familiar with the "Christmas story" so much to the extent that I don't really stop to ponder the details very often. The absolute horror of Herod's holocaust is jarring. I can't imagine that order getting carried out. As a parent, that gives me chills.

I like the way every division in this chapter contains an OT quote in order to show the prophecy fulfilled.

Matthew 1

Knowing myself, I will not blog for the next 28 consecutive days, but I can at least do one in a row, so here it goes. Apparently in contrast to my brother, I find Matthew 1 to be well, kinda boring. It's a list of names, most of which I can't pronounce.
The most interesting thing I found was in my footnotes. I guess in the interest of numerical symmetry Matthew either omitted or assumed several generations in the genealogy of Jesus. I was always under the impression that this list was literal and exhaustive.
I also find it curious that he names five women in the list. Some of these weren't the best women to be associated with. Tamar, who seduced her father-in-law, Rahab the prostitute, Bathsheba the adulterer, and Ruth and Mary. Dawn has impressed upon me the fact that they are in the line of Christ due to God's grace. (She has read a series of historical fiction by Francine Rivers on these five.)
I have always longed for more information about Joseph and Mary and the circumstances of their betrothal. He must have been very shaken when he found out his betrothed was pregnant. As an assumed adulterer, Mary was due to be stoned for that offense. Joseph wanted to "divorce her quietly" to save her that sentence. I don't think Joseph gets enough credit for his character and his faith. He is as important as Mary as the choice for Jesus' earthly parents.
All in all, chapter one is a good scene setter. We know where Jesus came from and who his parents were. Let's see where he goes.