Matthew 15. Are you following the contrast Matthew is painting for his audience? Chapter 14 gave us several pictures of crowds following Jesus, desperate for his teachings… Read more “Unclean Hands, Impure Hearts”

Matthew 14 recounts an extremely challenging day in the lives of the disciples. Anger. Fear. Grief. Exhaustion. Weariness. Despair. They are beaten and battered. This awful day… Read more “Exhaustion and Grief”

Matthew 13 marks a shift in Jesus’ ministry as He beings to teach in parables. “Why do you speak to them in parables?” asked his disciples (13:10).… Read more “Seven Parables”

In Matthew 12 the conflict between Jesus and the religious elite grows, heightened by two controversies over the rules of the Sabbath. We should remember that God… Read more “Sabbath Controversies”

Matthew 11 brings us back to the character of John the Baptist, whom we have not heard from since chapter 4. We do not know exactly what… Read more “Signs of the Messiah”