Article archive
08/11/2010 15:54
Jerusalem was preparing for the yearly feast of the Passover. The first Passover took place near the beginning of Israel’s history as a nation when God raised up Moses to lead them out of Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to let them go. A series of plagues was thrust on Egypt the last of which was...
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07/28/2010 17:01
Jesus and the disciples and a seemingly large crowd of people have been travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover. Throughout the trip (starting in chapter 17) to this point in chapter 20, having just crossed back to the west side of the Jordan, Jesus has been teaching about the way in...
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07/14/2010 09:52
Jesus, his disciples, and several others are journeying south along the main road just east of the Jordan River. They are headed to Jerusalem for the Passover. Their discussions so far (as Matthew presents it) have all been on the same theme—a combination of recognition of the equality of...
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06/30/2010 10:49
Matthew 18 instructs us on how to approach some fellow Christian who has sinned against us. We pursue that Christian in love just as Christ pursued the lost sheep. If that one who sinned has no interest in love relationship and reconciliation, even to the point of standing against his/her...
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06/12/2010 09:26
Matthew 18 must be read and understood in context together. The question of greatness at the beginning leads to the warning not to cause stumbling, which itself leads to the lost sheep, the stages of reconciliation, and the forgiveness parable. When we remember that the whole chapter is connected,...
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06/04/2010 08:50
The last incident related in Matthew 17 provides us with a significant clue about the timing of the event. Verse 24 of that chapter informs us that collectors of the annual half shekel tax were about their duty. The half-shekel tax has its origin in Exodus 30. In that passage Moses is on the...
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05/27/2010 09:26
Christ’s ministry to his disciples was in two parts. Part 1, from when he called them to chapter 16, was to teach them who he was – Messiah, God, King. Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God, gave evidence that he, at least, understood that message. Through God’s...
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05/22/2010 10:33
Back when they had arrived on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus had told his disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees, the disciples misinterpreted. And Jesus said that they misinterpreted because of their little faith. We should try to understand what’s happening here...
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05/13/2010 09:04
Matthew 16 opens with another attack by the Pharisees and Sadducees who view Christ as a threat to their control of the perspective of the Jews. The Pharisees and Sadducees were philosophical enemies. The Pharisees were highly concerned with the conduct of life according to the established...
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04/21/2010 11:28
As we found last time, the central point to the book of Matthew—which is also central to the Gospel in general, to the New Covenant, and to the very purpose for creation—is to glorify God. Everything about Christianity ultimately points to that focus. But here’s the problem—we are sitting on...
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