Category Archives: Matthew

“Our Father”

There’s nothing in the biblical witness like the prayer that Jesus gave His disciples. It is located in the heart of the SOTM (Matthew 6:9-13), yet in terms of the overall organizational flow of Jesus’ message, the prayer is somewhat of a deviation. The central idea of 6:1-18 is the importance of not doing thingsContinue reading ““Our Father””

Something To Think About

The Beatitudes are rich with multiple layers of meaning.  Here’s a paraphrase I did a while back in an effort to uncover some of the treasures found in them.  I hope it makes you think.  Better yet, maybe it will make you want to try coming up with your own paraphrase! Blessed are those who recognize their spiritual poverty apartContinue reading “Something To Think About”

Revolution

You say you want a Revolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world. You tell me that it’s evolution, Well, you know, We all wanna change the world.  John Lennon sang these words in 1968 in the Beatles’ classic, Revolution. Our country (and much of the world) was going through turbulent times—not a lot different than today in manyContinue reading “Revolution”

The Challenging Beatitudes

Matthew’s gospel alternates between six narrative and five teaching sections (5-7,10,13,18,23-25).  Each of the teaching sections conclude with a statement to the effect of when Jesus had finished saying/teaching (all) these things (7:28,11:1,13:53, 19:1,26:1). Some think that Matthew laid the teaching of Jesus out in five sections to mirror the five books written by Moses.  That mayContinue reading “The Challenging Beatitudes”

Jesus And Virtue Signaling

Dictionary.com defines virtue signaling as “the action or practice of publicly expressing opinions or sentiments intended to demonstrate one’s good character or the moral correctness of one’s position on a particular issue.” Although social media has certainly provided the means for this to be done on a larger scale than ever before, there is absolutelyContinue reading “Jesus And Virtue Signaling”

Aaahh, Joseph!

The angel tells Joseph that his beloved Mary is pregnant not by another man as he has supposed, but by the Holy Spirit of God (Matthew 1:20). Matthew lines their situation up with Isaiah’s prophecy, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,” (1:23/Isaiah 7:14). Joseph has two things to do: accept MaryContinue reading “Aaahh, Joseph!”

A Sandcastle Faith

There will be storms for the disciple.  When Jesus speaks of them in Matthew 7:24ff, it is a when rather than an if type of statement that He makes.  This shouldn’t surprise us, the Scripture promises believers will have their share of difficulties and hardships (Acts 14:22; 2 Timothy 3:12, etc.).  They are part of the tapestry of our faith. Continue reading “A Sandcastle Faith”

Forward By Backward

The Torah (law) came through Moses.  The call to return to the law came through the prophets.  Men such as Elijah called Israel away from their idols and back to God (see 1 Kings 18).  It’s no coincidence that after John appeared on the scene, Jesus identified him as the Elijah who was to come and restore all things (Matthew 17;Continue reading “Forward By Backward”

When Jesus Sang

It’s one of those “orphan” verses in the Bible.  You know, the kind that sit by themselves, alone, isolated—usually because what comes before or after grabs our attention.  In fact, it might be one of those verses that someone unfamiliar with the Bible would notice before a regular Bible reader because regular readers tend to read inContinue reading “When Jesus Sang”