We just finished the book of Matthew today!!! I want to post the teaching material as we go for each book so you can find the material for Matthew below. We are going to take a break from our Christian Living Series. We plan on starting back up in late October. I will post and email an announcement when we are ready to start. When we come back we will start in the book of Acts!!!

I am taking a break to work on the course material for our new website!!! The new site will include courses with videos and written material! I am so excited to share more with you all as we go!

Matthew, Acts, James, Romans, and Ephesians

Part One: Matthew

Introduction to the Series

Hello and welcome to our new series. My mom, Patty Johnston, and I have spent a lot of time writing the material for this new series and we are so excited about presenting it to you! Last year I started thinking about what would be most helpful for people who are looking to build a firm foundation in their Christian walk. That led me to asking myself what had been most helpful for me and the immediate answer was the Bible and Bible studies. For me the most helpful tool has been studying the Bible and then applying the lessons from the Bible to my own personal life. That is exactly what we want to offer to you!

We plan on going, chapter by chapter, through the books of Matthew, Acts, James, Romans, and Ephesians. From these books you can learn about the Life of Jesus and how He is our perfect sacrifice (Matthew), how the church was created and the purpose it was created for (Acts), answers for daily living (James), what it really means to be saved/salvation (Romans), and how to handle spiritual warfare (Ephesians).

We are offering, through this series, a firm foundation for The Christian Life. It will be a chapter-by-chapter study to pull out lessons that will help create a firm foundation for your Christian Life. The videos will be shared in our Facebook ministry group (Fullness of Joy Ministry), website (Fullnessofjoyministry.com), my personal page, and ministry page. The typed outlines will be uploaded to the FB ministry group, and you are more than welcome to download them, print them out, and use them for your own study time. They will also be shared on our ministry website.

My suggestion is to read the chapters prior to each lesson and then use our material as a supplement to your own personal reading and study time. This study is not a replacement for your own personal reading and study time.

Introduction to Matthew 

The book of Matthew introduces you to Jesus and helps you get to know Him on a deeper level. I want to encourage you to read the all the chapters of Matthew on your own before you watch/read our material. Our series does not replace your own reading time. It is to be used in conjunction with your own personal reading time.

As you are reading and listening to this lesson think about how it relates to your own personal life and how you can apply what you are learning to your life.

Matthew is one of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They all four talks about the life of Jesus while He was on the earth. The four gospels were written by four different men with four different perspectives. That is why they tell the same stories but sound a little different from one another.

The Focus of Each Gospel

Matthew: What Jesus said and Jesus as the King of the Jews.

Mark: What Jesus did and Jesus as the Son of Man.

Luke: What Jesus said and Jesus as the Savior of the world.

John: Who Jesus was and Jesus as the Son of God.

Date Written: Between 60-65 CE

Author: Matthew (also called Levi). His name means gift of God. 

Setting: Matthew was a Jewish tax collector who worked for the Romans at Capernaum. He became one of Jesus’ disciples. Since he was a tax collector it is very likely he was not well liked among his fellow Jews. Many of the tax collectors overtaxed the people and were swindlers so they were not well liked. When Jesus asked Matthew to follow Him he left everything behind and followed Jesus. He was an eyewitness to Jesus, His life, and His entire ministry.

This Gospel is a connecting link between the Old and New Testaments because of its emphasis on the fulfillment of prophecy in the Old Testament. More than 400 years had passed since the last OT prophecies and faithful Jews were still waiting for their Messiah. They had been waiting for a leader, the Messiah, who had been prophesied to come. They believed He would rescue them from their Roman oppressors and establish a new kingdom on earth. They believed that as their king He would rule the world with justice and set them free from Roman rulers. Matthew wrote this gospel with the purpose of showing Jesus as the King of the Jews, the One who fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament. It had been 600 years since anyone had been on David’s throne. There had been kings, but none of them had an ancestral claim to David’s throne.

Some people view the Bible as the Old Testament and the New Testament being two separate books, but the Bible tells one story. It is one book, and we see Jesus through it all. It is all about the blood covenant between God and us. With the very first sin of Adam and Eve they learned to approach God through the blood covenant. The Old Testament is a picture that represents God’s salvation message that we find in Jesus. All the rituals, customs, celebrations, feast days, and holy days point to Jesus. 

God made a covenant with a man named Abraham. He told him that he would make his decedents as numerous as the stars in the sky. Through his bloodline the children of God were birthed-the children of Isreal, Hebrews, the Jewish people. The children of Israel ended up as slaves in Egypt and God choose a Hebrew man named Moses to set His people free. Through God’s power Moses led them out of captivity to the land that God first promised Abraham.

God made a covenant with the children of Isreal. He taught them how to worship Him, live for Him, and be in a relationship with Him. He established animal sacrifices for all their sins to cleanse them. The only one who could kill the animals for the sins of the people were the priest. The animal being sacrificed had to be a perfect lamb, goat, dove or bull. The shed blood of this animal sacrifice would pay the price for the forgiveness of their sin and restore their relationship with God, but they had to do it over and over. The animals were not a one-time sacrifice. That is why they needed a Savior. Someone who could be their perfect one and done sacrifice. One who’s blood was perfect and would cover sin for all eternity. The only One who could do that was Jesus because He is the perfect Son of God.

Matthew stresses the Jewishness of Jesus. He puts His story in the context of God’s purpose and promises for Israel (God’s chosen people). He is trying to bring the Christians and the Jews together in one belief which is Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the long awaited Messiah.

Key People: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, John the Baptist, the disciples, the religious leaders, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Mary Magdalene

Purpose of the Book: To prove that Jesus is the Messiah, the eternal King and to explain God’s kingdom.

Key Verses: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Matthew 5:17.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Matthew 28:18-19.

Chapter Outline

1-4 Birth and Early Life of Jesus

5-20 Ministry of Jesus

21-28 Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Matthew Chapter 1

The Genealogy of Jesus V. 1-17

Matthew begins by giving the genealogy of Jesus. The OT prophesied that the Messiah would be the Son of David. Matthew wanted to prove that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and David. God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and He told David that he would father the line of kings. This promise of a future king coming from his lineage pointed to the Messiah. This was important because it showed that Jesus was born from the line that the OT said He would be born from and was a legal heir to the throne of Israel. Some of the OT prophecies had been given 1200 years before Jesus was born, some 800 years prior, and others 500 years. The Jews had been waiting all this time for their promised Messiah.   

Jesus is Born V. 18-25

Matthew points out another prophecy that was fulfilled in verse 18. Isaiah 7:14 foretold of Jesus being born of a virgin. He was not born from the sinful nature like we all were. He was birthed by Mary, making Him fully man, but was conceived by the Holy Spirit making Him fully divine. The name Jesus means The Lord is salvation. Immanuel means God with us.

Why would Jesus leave heaven and come to this sinful earth? Verse 21 tells us why, “He will save His people from their sins.” He did it for us. He came to save us because we cannot save ourselves. In the OT the only way for sin to be forgiven was through the death and shedding of blood of a perfect animal sacrifice. Once Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood His sacrifice was the only one ever needed. He paid the price for our sins to be forgiven so, animals no longer had to be sacrificed. He was the perfect once and for all sacrifice.

Background Information on Wedding Practices in the Bible

In Jewish culture at the time of the Bible, there were three steps to marriage. Step one: the couple would become engaged to each other. That could happen when they were young kids, and the parents arranged the marriage which was a very common practice at the time. Step two: the couple would become betrothed. This was a timeframe of one year before the marriage was consummated. It was official and binding. During this one-year period, the couple were called husband and wife. However, they were not intimate with each other because this was supposed to prove that the woman was not pregnant by another man. A betrothal could only be broken by divorce because it was a binding contract between the two. Step three: at the end of the one-year period a wedding would take place, and the marriage process was complete.

When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant it would have been during step two of the marriage process. Joseph was going to send Mary away when he found out she was pregnant, but when the angel of the Lord visited him, he believed the angel and stayed with her. That had to take a lot of faith.

Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Shown in Matthew Chapter One

Prophecy – Belong to the tribe of Judah.

OT Reference – Genesis 49:8-10, Micah 5:2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 1:1-3

Prophecy – Be born a king from the line of David.

OT Reference – Isaiah 9:7, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Jeremiah 23:5, 30:9

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 1:1

Prophecy – Be born of the seed of Abraham.

OT Reference – Genesis 17:7-8, 26:3-4

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 1:1

Prophecy – Be born of the seed of Isaac.

OT Reference – Genesis 17:19, 21:12, 26:2-4

NT Fulfillment-Matthew 1: 2

Prophecy – Be a rod out of the stem of Jesse.

OT Reference – Isaiah 11:1-2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 1:6

Prophecy – Be born of a virgin.

OT Reference – Isaiah 7:13-14

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 1:18-23

Prophecy – Immanuel, God with us

OT Reference – Isaiah 7:14, 8:8-10

NT Fulfillment-Matthew 1:25

Matthew Chapter 2

The Jewish people were looking for their Messiah to be born. They had the prophecies that we now call the Old Testament, and they knew a Redeemer and Deliverer was coming. They just did not know when He would come or exactly what way He would come. They thought He was going to come and overturn the Roman rulers and give them victory in that sense. They did not really understand why He was coming and the victory He was sent to give them and in turn give to us. They thought He was going to set up an earthly kingdom. That is part of the reason why many of the religious leaders did not even recognize Him for who He was. They expected Him to be a certain way and do certain things and when He did things completely differently they rejected Him. He came to set them free from spiritual bondage, demonic bondage, and to give them eternal salvation, but they were looking in the natural for a king to set them free from Roman bondage.

Wise Men from the East V. 1-12

Herod, who was the king, feared the birth of Jesus because he thought He would threaten his leadership/rule. He wanted to kill anyone who might stand against him. Herod was king because he had been appointed by the Roman Senate. He was not the rightful heir to the throne of David because he was not in the bloodline of David. When the Magi (wise men) came with news about a newborn king of the Jews, he feared this would be a threat to his position and power. Herod made a plan that he thought would ensure that Jesus would be killed. Satan tried to kill Jesus from the day He was born. What Herod failed to understand was that Jesus did not want or need his throne. Jesus wanted His heart. He wanted to be king of his life. 

The Magi brought Jesus gifts that were fitting for a king. In their culture one would never visit someone of royalty without taking gifts. Gold is associated with royalty, frankincense was a costly perfume that was used in worship, and myrrh was an anointing oil used to consecrate priests, the tabernacle, and kings. They also used myrrh to rub over those who were deceased. They gave Him things that were valuable to them. We should do the same because He is worthy of the best we have to give. We owe Him everything and that means our time, dedication, worship, and service to further His kingdom.

Escape to Egypt V. 13-15

After the Magi found Jesus God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they went home a different way. They were obedient to the message from God. Obedience is another form of worship. We also see that Joseph was obedient in going to Egypt as an angel told him to in a dream.  God always requires and wants our obedience in every area of our lives. It is not enough to just say we love Him. If we love Him we will obey Him. Love without obedience is worthless and worship without obedience is worthless.

Massacre of the Innocents V. 16-18

In this chapter we see three groups of people and how each group reacted to Jesus. Herod became so angry that he plotted to murder Jesus and in the process had male children murdered. The chief priests and scribes were the ones who knew the prophecies and should have been excited, but they were indifferent. The wise men went looking for Jesus and once they found Him, they fell down to worship Him.  

Prophecies Fulfilled in Matthew Chapter 2

Prophecy – Be born in the town of Bethlehem of Judea (Judah).

OT Reference – Micah 5:2-5

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 2:1-6

Prophecy – Kings will bring Him gifts and fall down before Him.

OT Reference – Psalm 72:10-11

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 2:1-11

Prophecy – The massacre of children.

OT Reference – Jeremiah 31:15 This prophecy was fulfilled when Judah was taken into captivity. There was crying and mourning when the children were slain, but it is now being fulfilled a second time.

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 2:16-18

Prophecy – Be called out of Egypt.

OT Reference – Hosea 11:1

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 2:13-15, 19-21

Matthew Chapter 3

John the Baptist Prepares the Way V. 1-12

John the Baptist is not the same John as the disciple of Jesus. He was not one of the twelve.

John the Baptist was related to Jesus. His mother Elizabeth and Jesus’s mother Mary were related. When they were both pregnant Mary visited Elizabeth and John leapt in her womb.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him. And she exclaimed loudly, “Blessed [worthy to be praised] are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” Luke 1:41-44.

Chapter three is around 30 years after chapter two. Jesus was 30 years old and John the Baptist was 6 months older than Him. John was the miracle son born to Zacharias and Elisabeth. He was a miracle because the couple was too old to have children. John knew who he was, and he knew how God wanted to use him. Just like John we also need to find our identity in Christ and find what our purpose is in Him. The world, situations, others, and demons will always try to tell us who we are, but we must strip off those lies and become who God created us to be. 

John’s message was all about repentance. He was a prophet who told people to confess their sins and live for God. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia. It means change of mind, a complete change in our thinking, and perspective. Some may think repentance means feeling sorry that we sinned and crying, but while these things could be involved in repentance, it is not repentance by itself. True repentance means a change of mind, heart and direction. John was preparing the people for Jesus by making them realize that they needed to repent for their sin.

John was called to prepare the way for the Messiah (Jesus). He was bold for the kingdom of God, and he openly spoke out against sin. It later cost him his life. He was not afraid to speak the truth even when he faced fierce opposition. He also confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees, which were the Jewish religious rulers at the time.

Some points about the Pharisees:

1. They thought that keeping the law made them righteous. Since they kept the law, they thought they were righteous.

• They misinterpreted the law quite often. They had created many of their own man-made rules (legalism) and had strayed from true sound teaching. They often took advantage of the Hebrew people and lived hypocritical lives. Many of them were also very pompous and arrogant in their rule keeping and looked down their nose at everyone else. 

• They believed that their man-made traditions had the same authority as the Scripture. 

• They were hypocrites. They looked at the law literally instead of the spirit of the law. For example, since they were to rest on the Sabbath if they saw someone in need of help they would refuse to offer any help because they were keeping the rule of resting on the Sabbath.

• They were basing their relationship with God on the fact that Abraham was their father (relative). It was important to Jews to be able to trace their lineage back to Abraham because they thought that automatically made them righteous. However, the Bible is clear that each one of us is responsible for our own salvation. It cannot be based on someone else. For example, having a parent who has a relationship with God does not mean we have a relationship with Him, or being raised in a Christian home does not automatically mean we are a Christian.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two major religious groups in Israel at this time. The Pharisees were more religiously (legalistic) minded, and the Sadducees were more politically minded. These two groups did not like each other and did not get along. However, they did agree on their hatred toward Jesus.

They gave an outward appearance of being righteous, yet in their hearts they had not repented. One can go to church every Sunday, even read the Bible, sing during the worship service, but if there is not a heart of repentance then they are just going through the motions. Without a heart toward living for God through repentance and obedience it is just an act.

John wanted them to see that they had to stop relying on their Jewish heritage for salvation and instead truly repent. These Jewish leaders believed that Jesus was coming with judgment, but they thought it was judgment against everyone else and not them. They thought they were the only ones who were right with God. A modern-day example of this is when the preacher is preaching against sin and we just know it is for everyone else, but it is actually for us.   

John Baptizes Jesus V. 13-17

It might seem strange that Jesus, being the perfect One, the Son of God, went to John to be baptized. It showed how He identified with sinful mankind. He had no sin, because He was perfect, but He was in the flesh, so He was baptized by John.

Prophecies Fulfilled in Chapter Three

Prophecy – Someone will prepare for the coming of the Lord.

OT Reference – Isaiah 40:3-5

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 3:3

Prophecy – The Spirit of the Lord rests upon Him.

OT Reference – Isaiah 11:2, 42:1, 61:1-2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 3:16

Prophecy – The Son of God.

OT Reference – Psalm 2:7

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 3:17

Matthew Chapter 4

Satan Tempts Jesus V. 1-11

In this chapter we again see Jesus identify with mankind. He did it with His baptism and now with the temptation from Satan. Satan is a fallen angel. He is real and he, and his demons, are constantly waging war against believers. Temptation is not a sin. Even Jesus was tempted, but it becomes a sin when we give in to that temptation, act on it, and disobey God.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, but first He fasted. If the Son of God needed to fast, we definitely need to do the same. Satan tempted Jesus after He had fasted 40 days and nights. He was hungry, so his first attack was against His flesh. He was tempted to turn stones to bread. He was tempting Jesus’ fleshly desire, the lust of the flesh. The demons will always be right there when we are at our weakest to try to offer us a deal (temptation) with what they think we will fall for, but we see that we can resist temptations of the flesh. He tempted Him when He was tired, alone, hungry, and in a vulnerable state. Demons do the same to us. When we are sick, stressed, tired, facing a hard situation in our life, and feeling weak, they view us as vulnerable and come running in for the attack.

Satan’s second attack was against Jesus’ mind, questioning who He was and who God is.

Demons do the same thing to us. They will try to whisper to our mind, “is God really good, does He love you, why isn’t He changing our situation, will He really take care of us, etc.?”.

The third attack was the lust of pride and greed. Money and power are a great temptation for many.  Just like in the garden of Eden, Satan used scripture to try to get Jesus to sin. Demons often do the same thing with us. They quote scriptures out of context to confuse and deceive us. That is one of their tactics and why it is so important for us to know the Word of God for ourselves. We will never be able to recognize if the scriptures are being twisted, distorted, and/or deceptive if we do not know them for ourselves. We cannot just trust others to teach us correctly and trust that they are accurate in what they believe. We need to make sure everything we listen to and read really does line up accurately with the Word of God. Demons will take God’s Word but then add in a little lie to twist it. They hope that they have left enough truth there that we will not recognize the lie.

Jesus came against everything the devil threw at Him with the truth found in the Word of God. He spoke the Word out loud, and He never once fell into the temptation of the devil. That is why it is so important to read the Bible and to know the truth for ourselves. We must be able to discern a lie when it is embedded in the truth and then speak His Word out loud. Jesus did not fight that battle as the Son of God, but as fully man. If He fought it as the Son of God He would have destroyed the devil. He is our example. We have the exact same weapon that Jesus used. Verse 10-11 shows us that once the enemy is told to go, he must leave.  

Jesus Begins His Earthy Ministry V. 12-17

In verse 17 we see that Jesus started His ministry with the same words John the Baptist did which were repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. The message should be the same today. True, Biblical repentance needs to be preached. The message that Jesus preached was always repentance. The Biblical definition of repentance is having a change of heart, mind, and direction. That means it includes changing our old sinful behaviors and patterns. If our repentance does not include change, it is not really repentance. Instead, it is just feeling sorry. For true repentance to occur change must be present.

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples V. 18-22

When Matthew said Peter and Andrew were fishermen that did not mean it was a hobby they enjoyed. That was their job and how they made money. It was a prosperous industry at that time. When Jesus told them to come, follow Him and they did, they left their source of income, their occupation, and everything that was familiar to them. James and John did the same thing. They immediately walked away from their lives as they knew it to follow Jesus. They did not make excuses about why they could not do that or even why they could not do it right then. We should have that same immediate obedience and not give Jesus a list of reasons why we cannot lay down everything and follow Him.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude V. 23-25

Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching, preaching, casting out demons, and healing all who were sick. He healed all! Not some, but all!

Jewish Cultural Background

If a town had 10 or more families they usually had a synagogue in their town. It was used as a religious place to gather on the Sabbath and then as a school during the week. The leader of the synagogue would be an administrator. He was the one that would invite rabbis (teachers) to teach and preach. If a rabbi was visiting the town, it was their custom to invite them to preach.

It was customary for rabbis to have disciples. The Hebrew word for disciple is talmid and it means student. This custom was started long before Jesus was born. Disciples lived with their rabbi, shared his life, and learned from him.

Prophecies Fulfilled in Chapter 4

Prophecy – Ministry in Zebulun, Naphtali and Galilee.

OT Reference – Isaiah 9:1-2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 4:12-16

Prophecy – Nations shall walk in the light of the Lord.

OT Reference – Isaiah 60:1-3

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 4:16

Prophecy – The light which has shone out of darkness.

OT Reference – Isaiah 9:1-2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 4:14-16

Matthew Chapter 5

Chapters 5-7 are known as the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus was teaching believers how to live. He gave examples and compared what they had been taught by Israel’s religious leaders to God’s true intent. As we read these 3 chapters we will see that money, title, and/or position are not important in the kingdom of heaven, but what really matters is faithful obedience from the heart. That was a hard lesson for the religious leaders because Jesus was saying that heartfelt obedience was more important than legalistic observances. The people were comfortable with all their rules and regulations, and they wanted to rely on them for their own personal righteousness.

The Sermon on the Mount shows us the true heart of God.

The Beatitudes V. 1-12

This chapter starts with Jesus talking to His disciples (scholars do not think that by disciples it means just the 12 disciples, but disciples in a much broader sense because multitudes were following Him). Each statement begins with the word blessed. It is the word makarios in Greek and it means happy. It refers to a happiness that we have regardless of the circumstances. If we ask people what would make them happy, most answers will include a new home, car, more money, and all kinds of other external things. However, Jesus shows us what the heart of a truly happy person looks like, and it has nothing to do with having things. It does not make sense when we look at the list to think that these are the ones who will be happy, yet this is what brings true abiding joy. It is not the type of joy that is fleeting and based on our emotions, but it is the deep inner joy that only comes from a relationship with Jesus.

Following is His list

1)Those who are poor in Spirit. The Greek word for this phrase is ptochos. It means someone who is in such poverty that they do not have the means to provide for themselves, and they must rely upon others to survive at all. This would have been the beggars, the only hope they had was if someone helped them. This is used in the spiritual sense in this verse meaning that they have nothing to offer, and they are at the complete mercy of God. It is them saying, “God please help me because I can’t help myself.” According to this scripture we must be poor in spirit, completely relying upon God, to enter the kingdom of heaven. The one who cries out to God, knowing they are a sinner in need of a Savior, is the one who is poor in spirit.

2)Those who mourn. The Greek word is pentheo. It means to wail. This is deeper than sadness. It is when someone is crushed with the cares and situations that they are dealing with. When we see the condition of this world we should deeply mourn over lost souls. God promises to comfort those who mourn. There might be sorrow for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

3)Those who are meek. The Greek word is praus. It means gentleness, humility, and a controlled strength rather than weakness. It is when someone is offended or insulted and still has the strength to remain in control of their actions and thoughts. Meekness is when we do not think we are special, and we put others first instead of ourselves. Meekness is servanthood. It allows God to move in and through us in mighty ways. The opposite of meekness is putting ourselves above others. The scripture do unto others what you would have them do to you comes to mind when thinking about meekness.

Matthew 7:12 “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.

Luke 6:31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

This is the opposite message that the world gives us and even what some ministries give us. Many of the messages we get are all about doing what feels right and what feels good, but that is not a Biblical message. The Bible teaches us to put others first.

4)Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune. It means a state of living rightly with God and others. It is holy and upright living that conforms to God’s standard, not ours and not the worlds. This is a person that eagerly desires and craves righteousness.

5)Those who are merciful. The Greek word is eleemon. It comes from the root word eleos which means mercy. This is a person who is kind, even to people that are not kind to them. They are willing to forgive others. We cannot give mercy until there has been an offence or injury. Giving mercy does not mean that what was done to us was not wrong and it does not mean we have to restore a relationship with the person. Giving mercy simply means that we let it go and we choose to forgive. Without mercy and forgiveness, a root of bitterness will take root and that is a huge open door to demonic torment. 

6)Those who are pure in heart. The Greek word for pure is katharos. It means clean and free from contamination or impurities. This is a person with spiritual purity without any hidden motives and a sincere devotion to God. The religious leaders did everything to be seen, they prayed to be seen, they gave to be seen, etc., but Jesus said it is what is in the heart that matters. It is the motive of giving and the motive of praying that matters. We should not pretend, but instead have sincerity, a right, and pure heart before God.

7)Those who are peacemakers. The Greek word is eirenopoioi. It literally translates peacemakers. This is a person who desires to have peace. They do not stir the pot, start arguments, or join in gossip. God’s desire is to bring peace into our lives, and for us to bring that same peace to others. 

8)Those who are persecuted for righteousness. The Greek word for persecuted is dediogmenoi. It means pressed upon, pursued after, and caused to flee. This is a person who is harassed, made fun of, or harmed because they choose to do what is right. It is a good indication that we are living right for the Lord if there is persecution in our lives. When we are living our lives for the Lord this world is going to hate us, and demons will try to stop us. It is nothing to fear, but it is something to be aware of.

Jesus Teaches About Salt and Light V. 13-16

We are the salt of the earth. We are the light of the world. Not just the pastors, not just the missionaries, not just the evangelists, not just the ones with special training, but Jesus says WE ALL are. Each one of us is called to be the salt to the earth. Everyone who is a Christian has this as part of our calling.

Salt is a preservative, and it permeates what it is put on. Light drives out darkness. This world is corrupt and lost in darkness and sin, but God has a plan. His plan is to use us as salt and light for this world. We are called by God to be used by Him to draw the lost to Him. It is possible to lose our flavor and be useless and if we hide our light we will be ineffective. The only way for salt to lose its flavor is for it to be contaminated. Salt permeates, but it also absorbs. If it is put on the ground, it will absorb the impurities and no longer be any good. As a Christian, it is very important to not allow any false teachings or beliefs to enter our lives. We must keep our lives pure. If people see us living compromised lives, we will not lead them to Jesus. If we sin we must immediately repent, and God is faithful to forgive us. If the people around us, maybe even those we have worked with for years, do not know that we are a Christian, then we have put a basket over our light. If people are gossiping and we join in, we put a basket over our light. If they tell ungodly jokes and we join in, we put a basket over our light.

We are told to let our light shine before men so that God will be glorified. We should be different and stand out to the world. When they see us they should see God in us. If we are not different we need to make some changes. We are told to let our light shine and that is what we need to do. There are so many lukewarm messages and messages that sugar coat sin, but the truth is we are called to look and act like Jesus. We are called to live lives that glorify God. I am not talking about being perfect. Jesus was the only perfect One, but I am talking about being different from the world, rejecting sin, actively crucifying our flesh, and choosing to walk in the fruit of the Spirit.

Jesus Teaches About the Law V. 17-20

Jesus wanted to make it understood that He was not against what God had given Israel in the OT. He was not going to do away with it, but He was going to fulfill it. The law in the OT covered these 3 things. The three things were ceremonial, civil, and moral law. The ceremonial law was to teach them how to worship God and repent for sin. It was all the different sacrifices and feasts. It was all the directions for how and when to worship God, and how to have their sins covered by using the blood of animals. Once Jesus died and was resurrected, they no long had to go through the different ceremonies of animal sacrifice, but the lessons learned from them such as how to worship and love a holy God still applied. Civil law included all the dietary instructions on what they could and could not eat. Moral law is where we get the ten commandments. The law was to show that everybody was condemned because no one could keep it perfectly. The law was to show them how sinful they were, but the law could not save them. 

Jesus fulfilled the law, every aspect of the law so that we are no longer under the law. We no longer have animal sacrifices to cover our sin because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. We no longer need a high priest because Jesus became our high priest. Hebrews 8:13 says the new covenant made the first one obsolete.

Hebrews 8:13 When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.

Some may not read the OT because they think it is irrelevant, but the whole OT points to Jesus. Luke 24:44 says, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” By the time of Jesus, the OT had been divided into those 3 parts, so He was saying that from Genesis to Malachi it was all about Him.

Jesus Teaches About Anger V. 21-26

 When Jesus said, “but I tell you”, He was not disregarding the law, but He was giving a clearer understanding of what it meant. The Pharisees taught that as long as you did not murder, you were okay. Jesus had to correct that teaching so that they understood that it was not just what they did, but it was also what was in their heart. We can do the right thing, but what is in our heart is what Jesus wants us to look at. It’s not enough to just avoid killing, but we must also avoid anger and hatred.

The Greek word raca (raka) means empty-headed, fool, numbskull, good for nothing, worthless, and brainless idiot. Jesus says if we call someone a fool, we will be in danger of hell fire.

We must not think that religious acts like going to church, singing, and going to the altar to pray can justify us if we have a broken relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus cares about how we treat others. We are to settle anger and disputes with one another quickly.

Jesus Teaches About Lust V. 26-30

The OT said it was sin to have sex with someone outside of marriage, but then Jesus said it was (is) a sin if we even desire to be with someone other than our spouse. He taught that not only is the act wrong (what we do), but the intention (what is in our heart) is also wrong. We are to be faithful to our spouse not just with our bodies, but also with our heart and mind. We need to take a look over our lives carefully and do whatever is needed to get rid of anything that causes us to sin. It is not enough to just avoid adultery, but we must also keep our hearts from lusting, remain faithful to our spouse, and remain celibate if we are not married. Watching pornography is also a sin and needs to be dealt with if that is an area of struggle.

Jesus Teaches About Divorce V. 31-32

At the time the Bible was written, they interpreted the law as saying men had permission to divorce their wives for any reason. Some rabbis even said a man could divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast. When we get to chapter 19, verse 3, we will read about the Pharisees asking Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason, but Jesus tells them divorce is only allowed if there has been sexual immorality. Marriage is a covenant, and He was advocating for women by putting a stop to “any cause divorces”.

Jesus Teaches About Vows and Oaths V.33-37

Jesus is talking about using God’s name in order to make a promise. An example would be  saying, “I swear to God that I will pay you back the money I owe you.”  We should be people of integrity and known to be honest people. Jesus was teaching them to be truthful and to keep their word. People should be able to trust us without us having to make a vow to them. This is not referring to oaths and vows made in a courtroom, marriage vows, and/or contracts.

Jesus Teaches About Retaliation V.38-42

Revenge is usually a person’s first thought when someone does them wrong, but Jesus taught us to do good to those who wrong us. It was culturally understood by those listening, that when Jesus talked about a slap on your right cheek, it did not mean if someone punched them in the face that they should let them hit them again. If a right-handed person hits someone’s right cheek, it was a slap by the back of the hand. It was considered more insulting than painful.  When we respond by not taking revenge, it shows the goodness of God to those with evil intent. We are actually the one in control, not the evil person. It shows that their actions cannot overcome the power and influence of Jesus in our life.

When God told them an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, He was wanting the judges to make the punishment fit the crime and for them not to give a harsher punishment as revenge.

Jesus Teaches About Loving Your Enemies V. 43-48

Religious leaders taught that since God hates evil, then they should hate those who were their enemies, but Jesus told them that they were to love their enemies and pray for them. We are to do this so that we imitate our Father. We show the love of God when we repay evil with goodness. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are never once told that hate and unforgiveness are okay.

V. 48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a far cry from the hyper grace messages that says it is no big deal if we sin and that God covers it and we do not even have to try to change or worry about it. Jesus said we are to be perfect as God is perfect. We will never be perfect because Jesus is the only one who accomplished that, but we should try. He is our role model, and we should always try to be more like Him.

As we can see from everything Jesus taught it is not okay to just have an outward appearance of living a Biblical life. What we think, do in our minds, and in the privacy of our home is just, if not more, important.

Matthew Chapter 6

Chapter 6 continues Jesus’ sermon on the mount. From chapter 5 we learned that Jesus taught that righteousness is more than what we do. It is also the motives, our thoughts, and attitudes, that we do it with. He deals with the heart issues.

Jesus Teaches About Giving to the Needy V.1-4

The Pharisees would give to the poor, but with the wrong motives. Their motives were self-seeking. It is as if they were saying, “look at me, I am so spiritual because I am giving to the poor. I am so righteous.” It is possible to do the right thing, a good thing, but do it for the wrong reasons. If we give to others in the hopes of receiving praise and admiration, or to look more spiritual, it is not pleasing to God and He will not reward us for it. When we give, it should be purely done out of compassion to help those in need and wanting to show the love of Christ to others. We should search our hearts and ask ourselves if we would be just as eager to give if no one else knew about it. God rewards us when we do things with the right motive.

So many people want to post everything they do for others on social media. I cannot count the times I have seen cameras stuck in the faces of homeless people showing someone giving them food or praying for them. It is one thing to do videos and post to raise awareness and needed funds to help, but when people do it wanting to show off their “goodness” it is gross.

Jesus Teaches About Prayer V. 5-15

The religious leaders would pray loudly in public as a way to draw attention to themselves. They wanted to give others the impression that they were so holy and spiritual. It was not a sincere pouring their hearts out to God, but it was them wanting to impress others as they were seen and heard by them. It aways goes back to the heart and our reasons for doing the things we do. It is not enough to just do the right thing. We must also have the right intentions.

The Lord’s Prayer

Jesus gave a model for prayer. He gave us an example of how to talk with God.  Let’s take a look at each verse.

Our Father in heaven: The Jews of that time did not usually call God by the name Father because it was thought of as being too intimate. However, this shows that God is loving and wants a personal relationship with us. Always start prayer with worshiping God and recognizing His authority, holiness, and righteousness.

Hallowed be Your name: Hallow means holy, so it means to honor God and His name as holy and sacred.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: This shows God’s sovereignty and authority. He has supreme power and authority over everything in heaven and earth. God’s perfect will is done in heaven, but on earth because of free will there is evil. In prayer we ask that God’s will be done on earth as in heaven. In this part of the prayer we are submitting to God’s will and not our own. Walking in total surrender to Gods plan for our lives and praying for His will to be done means totally laying our will, plans, hopes, and dreams at His feet and surrendering to Him in every area of our lives. It also includes crucifying our flesh.

Give us today our daily bread: We recognize that God is our source and our provider. The word for daily bread in Greek is epiousios. It represents every physical thing that we would could ever need. We come to God depending on Him to supply all our needs. This includes asking God for His physical and spiritual provision for others and ourselves.

And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors: Asking for God’s forgiveness and forgiving others are put together here because we are to do both. If we want God to forgive us, we must also forgive others. If we want mercy, we must also extend mercy.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one: We are to pray for God’s protection and deliverance from our enemy, the evil one (the devil and his demons). This includes standing against demonic temptation, using our weapons of spiritual warfare which includes walking in the authority given to us by God, and learning to walk in victory.

In verse 14-15, Jesus went back and expanded on forgiveness. He taught us if we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us. That is how important it is to forgive others. It is a matter of not making it to heaven if we don’t.

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

Jesus Teaches About Fasting V. 16-18

He started this teaching with the word ‘when’ and not ‘if’, so we learn that it is expected that we will fast. Here again we read that Jesus was teaching not to do things, in this case fasting, to be seen as holy by others. Jesus’ teaching was so different from how they saw the religious leaders living their lives because they were all about their image and how they looked, but they did not have it in their heart. They did things out of the wrong motives and lived hypocritical lives.

Jesus Teaches About Money V. 19-24

Everything that we may try to hold on to can be gone in a moment. We only have to look at those who were in the recent floods or the fires that lost everything. Every material possession is temporary. We will not be able to take one thing with us when we leave this world. The only treasures that will never decay and that will last are those we have put in heaven. Everything we do for God and His kingdom will never be destroyed.

Often, in the Bible, the children of God would try to serve two masters. They tried to worship God and their pagan gods at the same time. However, the Bible is clear on that fact that we must give God all our heart and we must surrender our all to Him. If we say we love God, but then our heart shows that we love money more, that we are greedy and selfish, it will reveal where our love truly is. We cannot have two masters. There is no walking the fence with one foot in the world and one in the kingdom of God because the fence does not exist. We are either serving God or the devil. There is no middle ground.

Jesus Teaches About What We Watch V. 22

We must be careful what we watch because our eyes are the lamps of our bodies. If our lamps are clear our whole body will be full of light, but if our eyes are bad our whole body will be full of darkness. What we watch and listen to matters.

Jesus Teaches About Worry V. 25-34

It is impossible to worry and trust God at the same time. We cannot say, “I trust God, but…….” When we say “but” we cancel out where we just said we trust God. Fear says what if, and faith says even if. Even if we walk through our worse day we can stand on the Word of God and choose to have faith in Him no matter what we face.

List of Scriptures for Worry

If you struggle with worry I suggest using this list of scriptures to speak over your life and to use for prayer and warfare. Luke 12:29; Isaiah 41:10; Philippians 4:6-7; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 56:3; 2 Timothy 1:7; Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 34:4; Matthew 6:25-34; 1 Peter 5:6-7; Joshua 1:9; 1; John 4:18; John 14:27; Isaiah 35:4; Psalm 23:4; Proverbs 12:25; Exodus 14:14; Matthew 6:34; Romans 8:31-39; Psalm 94:19; Psalm 118:6; Psalm 94:19; Luke 12:22-26; Psalm 55:22; Luke 10:19; Isaiah 43:1; Psalm 91; Hebrews 11:1; Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 26:3; Lamentations 3:57 ; Psalm 34:18; 1 John 34:18; Hebrews 4:14-16; Psalm 111:10; Hebrews 13:5; Psalm 121:1-2; Matthew 28:20; Matthew 10:28; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Psalm 27: 1-3; Psalm 3:5; Matthew 10:26; Psalm 112: 7-8; Job 11: 14-15; Proverbs 14:27; Jeremiah 29:11; Psalm 103: 1-22; Isaiah 43: 2-5; Psalm 23: 1-6; Romans 8: 1-39; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Proverbs 16:6; Matthew 6:25; Proverbs 1:33; John 14:1; Colossians 3:15; Psalm 55:22; Hebrews 2: 14-15; Proverbs 3: 5-6; Hebrews 13: 5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Psalm 46:2; John 3:16; Isaiah 43:2; Romans 6:23; Isaiah 41:14; Hebrews 13:6; Psalm 61:2; Luke 12: 6-9; Isaiah 43: 1-2; Acts 18: 9-10; Psalm 93:4; Deuteronomy 1:26-46; Isaiah 26: 1-21; 2 Kings 6: 16-17; Philippians 4:6; 1 John 4:8; Matthew 11: 28-30; 1 Peter 2:17; Romans 8:15; John 3: 16-17; Job 3:25; John 3:17; Luke 21:34; Proverbs 29:25; Matthew 5: 1-48; Joel 2:21; Revelation 22:11-12; Romans 8:2; Psalm 31:10; Hebrews 1: 1-14; Philippians 4:19; Zephaniah 3:17; Hebrews 9:11; Romans 8: 38-39; Psalm 46: 1-2.

Matthew Chapter 7

Jesus Teaches About Judging Others V. 1-6

Matthew 7:1 is often pulled out and misused by the world, and some Christians, to tell Christians that they cannot judge others. It is also often used by folks who want to stay in their sin without being confronted and challenged to break free from it. They use this verse to say that we cannot disapprove of anyone’s beliefs, actions, or any choice they make. They say that if we call something sin, then we have judged them. People who use it incorrectly will say and teach that we are not allowed to judge others based on this scripture, but that is not true. This scripture says to not judge other Christians for sins that you are also doing and to not judge from a place of self-righteousness. That is why it is so important to read and study the whole Bible and not just one scripture that can be twisted to fit an agenda. Jesus said to expose false teachers. You must judge what they are teaching to be false to do that. We are told that we will know a tree by its fruit; we must look at the fruit and make a judgement about what it is producing.

Footnotes from the Amplified Bible

1. Matthew 7:1 This is not a prohibition of judgment, nor is it a command to stop using godly wisdom, common sense, and moral courage together with God’s written word to discern right from wrong, to distinguish between morality and immorality, and to judge doctrinal truth. There are many judgments that are not only legitimate but are commanded (cf John 7:24; 1 Cor 5:5, 12; Gal 1:8, 9; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 10); however, you cannot judge another if you are committing the same type of sin.

We are told to test everything (judge) to see whether it is from God or not.

1 John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world. By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source]; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son’s true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world.

Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].

At the time Matthew was written the religious leaders did everything to be seen by others. They thought their religious acts is what made them holy and righteous. They would look at others who were not being as showy with their deeds and judge them not to be as holy and righteous as they were. Jesus was talking about those who had an arrogant, hypocritical attitude that would judge others as unworthy.

Jesus shows that we are many times blind to our own sin. It is so much easier to see someone else’s faults than it is to see our own. It is not wrong to try to help a brother or sister in Christ but we must deal with our own sin first, so that we will go to them with a humble and right attitude.

Jesus Teaches About Asking, Seeking and Knocking V.7-12

The Greek verb used with these 3 words (asking, seeking, knocking) implies that it is constant. It is not a onetime thing. It is something we continue doing. God is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children.

Verse 12 has become known as the golden rule. Matthew 7:12 “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.

God wants us to treat others the same way we want to be treated. If we obeyed this, think how much better the world would be.

Jesus Teaches About the Way to Heaven V. 13-14

We have a decision to make. We must decide if we will walk through the narrow gate or through the wide gate. The narrow gate is a hard path, but it leads to eternal life. The wide gate is easy, but it leads to eternal damnation. The path to heaven is narrow, meaning there is only one way and that is through faith and obedience in and to Jesus because He is the only one who died for our sins. The wide path implies that there are many ways to be saved, but none of them lead to heaven. Many think they are on the narrow path, but they are not. They have not had a heart, character, and life change yet, but they have been told they are fine, and they have believed that lie.

Jesus Teaches that we will Know People by Their Fruit V. 15-20

A false prophet is someone who says they speak on God’s behalf when they really do not. It is also anyone who makes false spiritual claims and teachings. They are not just wrong about what they say, but they are intentionally deceiving others. False prophets were common then and they are common today. We must be able to know when someone is a false prophet. They can use words that make themselves sound religious. They may look and sound the part, yet if you know the true Word of God, you will see that what they teach is laced with falsehoods. We are to inspect their fruit by inspecting their lives, their teachings, and their prophecies. Only real spiritual fruit will come from a true believer.

V.15 Beware of false prophets because there are many of them.

Ways to Test Prophetic Messages 

Does it edify, encourage, and draw you closer to the Lord?

1 Corinthians 14:3 But [on the other hand] the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification [to promote their spiritual growth] and [speaks words of] encouragement [to uphold and advise them concerning the matters of God] and [speaks words of] consolation [to compassionately comfort them].

This could include a message to do something to come back to the Lord, but it will not be full of manipulation or control. It could be to stop a sin or something similar, but it should drive us to repentance and not create condemnation that causes us to run from God.

Does it line up with scripture? God will never give a word that contradicts His written Word. If it does not line up with the Word of God it is not Him. It should be thrown out immediately.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Does it glorify God? If it does not point back to God and only points to the one giving the message there is an issue. The Holy Spirit always points to the Father. It should not be about the speaker being a superstar in the Christian circles.

John 16:13-1413 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. 14 He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.

Does it produce good fruit such as drawing us closer to God, creating deeper levels of surrender, and/or walking in God’s perfect will?

Did it come true? (Caution, even if it did we must still make sure it lines up in all the other ways.) If they are constantly getting it wrong and missing the mark something is wrong. I recently heard a popular “prophet” say that many of his prophecies do not come true because God gives him the messages, the church prays, and then God changes the situation, so it does not happen because of the prayer. However, upon closer research I found out that he has caused numerous people to lose everything they had because he told them to invest poorly, sale every, make unsound investments, and so many more bad choices.

Does it encourage obedience to God?

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 “If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder which he spoke (foretold) to you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us follow after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve and worship them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and mind and all your soul [your entire being]. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and you shall fear [and worship] Him [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], and you shall keep His commandments and you shall listen to His voice, and you shall serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to draw you away from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

Does it release bondages or create them? Messages from God will not create bondages in our life. His Word brings healing, freedom, and deliverance.

2 Corinthians 3:17 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty [emancipation from bondage, true freedom].

Bondage, confusion, and fear are not products of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:15 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!”

1 Corinthians 14:33 33 for God [who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the practice] in all the churches of the saints (God’s people),

2 Timothy 1:7 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].

I have recently heard many prophetic words that have been covered and delivered with fear. I am not sure if any or part of the message originated with God, but by the time they were delivered a spirit of fear had attached to them.

Does it bring forth life? God’s Word will always produce life.

2 Corinthians 3:6 6 He has qualified us [making us sufficient] as ministers of a new covenant [of salvation through Christ], not of the letter [of a written code] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.

Does your spirit bear witness (discernment)? Do you see red flags with the message or the speaker? Does it feel off? If so, listen to that and don’t be quick to just accept it.

1 John 2:27 27 As for you, the anointing [the special gift, the preparation] which you received from Him remains [permanently] in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But just as His anointing teaches you [giving you insight through the presence of the Holy Spirit] about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as His anointing has taught you, [a]you must remain in Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him].

What to Do When You are Given a Prophetic Word

Ask Yourself: Does it line up with the Word of God? Is this confirmation about something God has already been speaking to your heart? What does God say about the message? Does it line up with His Word? How does it make you feel/discernment? Do you see any red flags with the message or the speaker?

If it lines up with God’s Word and God is using it for confirmation accept it.

If it does not line up with God’s Word or character discard it and verbally command any demons connected to that message to go in the name of Jesus. Do not dwell on it and do not let fear attach to you because of anything spoken that was not from God.

If you are not sure if it is from God or if it lines up with His Word, file it away, pray on it and ask God to confirm it if it is from Him.

V. 16-19 We must also examine our own fruit by asking ourselves the hard questions. What is being produced in our life? Are we producing the fruit of the Spirit or our flesh? Are we producing fruit that shows the character, heart, and purpose of Jesus? Are we producing fruit for the kingdom of God or this world?

Jesus Teaches About Those Who Build Houses on Rock and Sand V.21-29

Jesus ended His sermon with describing the two things that would be done with His teaching. The two things are we will either obey it or disobey it (build our house on the rock or on the sand). Obedience is full surrender to Jesus and God’s will. It is not just an outward appearance of being holy or righteous. It is possible to look and talk the part, but still not be in a relationship with God. In this passage they listed their works thinking that should have gotten them into heaven and should have earned them the right to enter heaven, but Jesus tells them He never knew them. Only those who believe in Jesus, that the blood He shed on the cross paid the price for their sins to be forgiven and made it possible for them to be righteous before God, have repented (having a change of heart, mind, and direction), have accepted this free gift, and who do not disregard His commands will enter into heaven.

V. 23And then I will declare to them publicly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me [you are banished from My presence], you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].’

Those listening that day were astonished and shocked at His teachings. They had heard a lot of teachings from the religious leaders, but Jesus was different. He told them clearly and bluntly what was true and what was false. He told them what sin was and how to truly enter the kingdom of heaven. He shows us that just doing good for God is not enough. We must do His will. We do His will by walking in obedience to Him and His Word.

V. 24 It is not enough to just hear (going to church and hearing preaching, listening to messages, reading messages) about the Word of God we must also act upon them. We must be changed by them. We must live a life of obedience to God.

V. 25 The storms of life will come. Demonic attacks will come, but if we are deeply rooted/planted in the Word of God they will not shake us. Being firmly rooted in His Word is more than just knowing His Word. The Bible must be our firm foundation. It must be something we live and obey, and by obeying the Bible we are obeying God.

Matthew Chapter 8

Matthew Tells us About Jesus’ Healing and Deliverance Ministry

Jesus always healed ALL who came to Him and He also cast out the demons that were tormenting the people. He never turned anyone away and told them it was God’s will they were sick, that it was not God’s timing for them to get well, or that being sick was God’s way of teaching them something. He simply healed them all.

Leper V. 1-4

Leprosy was contagious and those with it were made to leave their home and sent to a community with other lepers. They had to stay there until it got better, or they died. No one would have ever touched a leper or even been close to one, yet Jesus reached out and touched him. Just like He touched them He wants to touch the unclean, dirty, shameful areas of our lives. When we bring them to Him, He is so faithful to forgive and restore every area of our lives. Noting is too dirty for Him to cleanse and no one is too far gone for Him to save.

Centurion’s Servant V. 5-13

This man’s faith was so great that he said Jesus did not even have to come to his home where his servant was, but he knew Jesus could just speak the word and his servant would be healed. He recognized His authority, and that distance did not limit the healing power of Jesus. Jesus was willing to go to his home. At that time, it was a Jewish custom and a command from the religious leaders for them not to go into a Gentile’s house. Yet we see Jesus is willing to go anyway.

Jesus told them that the Israelites were not the only ones who would be in heaven, but that Gentiles would also be there. He explains to them that being born a Jew was not what gave them entry into heaven, instead they would go to heaven based on faith in Him. At that time, they thought that being an Israelite automatically meant they would go to heaven.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others V. 14-17

Matthew gave another account of Jesus’ miraculous power, proving that He was the Messiah.

Jesus once again broke the rules of the religious leaders by touching a woman and by touching someone who was sick. He showed them that their traditions, that they added to the Law, was not needed and the legalistic rules was not what would save them.

He healed many others and cast out demons.

Jesus Teaches About the Cost of Following Him V. 18-22

Jesus had very few material possessions and He said that following Him would be hard. Some people have the idea that once they make the decision to follow Jesus, life becomes easy, with no problems or trials, and that is not a Biblical idea or view at all. 

A man approached Jesus and said he wanted to follow Him, but he wanted to go burry his father first and collect his inheritance. He felt like he had a very good reason why he could not follow Jesus right then. It was a Jewish custom at that time to rebury a family member’s bones a year after they passed, so this man may have been saying he needed to wait a year before he could follow Jesus. However, Jesus said it had to be right then, showing us that He must come first in our lives. We cannot let anyone, even a family member, keep us from following Jesus. We must look at how sincere are we about following Christ. We need to ask ourselves if we are willing to leave everything behind to follow Him. Today, this moment, is the time for salvation—not later.

Jesus Calms the Storm V. 23-27

Even though the disciples had seen many miracles by this time, they still panicked when the storm came. They were overcome with fear. They were shocked to see that the storm, the wind and the rain, obeyed Jesus. Apparently, they still did not really understand who He was, that He was truly the Son of God. Jesus rebuked them for their fear and unbelief. Fear and belief cannot go hand in hand. If we struggle with fear, then we are not totally believing and trusting God. And if we completely believe and trust God, then we will not have any fear. Even in the middle of a storm we can have the peace of the Lord because of our faith and trust in Him. Fear says what if, but faith says even if. We must learn to trust God no matter what we are walking through.

Two Demon Possessed Men are Healed V. 28-34

Demons knew who Jesus was and that He was going to cast them out of the men. Jesus may have allowed the demons to go into the pigs so that everyone could see the destruction they cause. Demons want to bring death. John 10:10 tells us they come only to kill, steal, and destroy, but Jesus came to give us abundant life.

There could be a couple of reasons everyone wanted Jesus to leave their region after he cast out the demons. One could have been they feared His power. They had never seen the miracles that Jesus could do. Second, for a farmer to lose 2000 pigs would have been a huge financial loss and other farmers may have been afraid that the same thing could happen to their herds of animals.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 8

Prophecy – Son of God.

OT Reference – Psalm 2:7

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 8:29

Matthew Chapter 9

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man V. 1-8

When Jesus told the man that his sins were forgiven, the scribes called it blasphemy. Jesus often told people their sins were forgiven. This was something unheard of in those days because the only way for the people to get their sins forgiven was for a priest to kill an animal for the forgiveness of their sins. Animal sacrifice was the only way they knew to get in right standing with God, but here was Jesus telling them He had the power to forgive their sins. That is why some rejected Him and said He was blaspheming. They could not, would not, see Him for who He really was which was the Son of God who came to take away the sin of the world. This was all brand new to the people so the ones who trusted and believed Him were really stepping out on faith to follow and trust Him.

The man who was healed is the same man that was described in Mark and Luke who had the friends that took him (their paralyzed friend) to Jesus. The house was so packed with people they could not get in, so they climbed on top of the house, took off the roof, and lowered the man down the hole. Jesus was impressed with their faith, and He healed their friend.

Jesus Eats with Sinners at Matthew’s House V. 9-13

Matthew was a Jewish man who had been appointed by the Romans to be a tax collector for that region. They were paid with a commission on the taxes they collected. They were known to charge too much so they could keep more money for themselves. Because of this reputation they had for cheating and for their support of Rome, they were hated by the Jewish people.

Pharisees would not have associated with the kind of people Jesus was eating with. They were so arrogant and they thought they were too righteous to be with sinners. That was another instance where Jesus was ignoring their rules. The religious leaders just could not understand why Jesus would be with those types of people. However, He was there because healthy people did need a doctor, sick people did. The people were spiritually sick, and they needed Him. He never endorsed their sin but instead He was there to call them to repentance. We must be a friend to sinners to bring them to Christ. However, we must be sure not to participate in their sin.  

This verse is often used to justify hanging out with sinners and going to sinful places. The point that is often missed is that everywhere Jesus went people changed. Their hearts were changed, and He always preached repentance and salvation. He was not just “hanging out” with them. His message changed them. If our best friends and inner circle are not Christians they will not give us Godly advice, hold us accountable in a Godly way, or help us get closer to God. They will more than likely pull us away from Him. We could go in with the best intentions but then end up lukewarm and far away from God because we did not change them, but they changed us. It is great to minister to all people. We should minister to everyone. That can look like sitting down for a meal with them and sharing about what God has done in our life. But people in the world should not be who we go to in times of trouble, battles, and as our closest friends. Our inner circle should know how to pray, know how to do spiritual warfare, be a Biblical support, hold us accountable, etc. and we should be doing the same for them. In this verse He was saying He came to save the lost (sinners) and bring them to salvation.

Jesus is Questioned About Fasting V. 14-17

The disciples of John the Baptist asked Jesus why His disciples did not fast like them and the Pharisees. Jesus explained that while He was with His disciples, they did not need to fast, but once He was gone, then they would. It is important for us to fast and if we are not familiar with the practice I encourage you to do a Bible study on fasting and start making it a part of your life.

A Girl is Restored to Life and a Woman is Healed v18-26

From Mark and Luke’s books, we know this man’s name is Jairus and his daughter was about 12 years old. While Jesus was on His way to go pray for her a woman pushed through the crowd and touched the fringe of His garment. This woman had been sick for 12 years and because of her bleeding she was considered unclean and was required to keep her distance from everyone. She had already tried every doctor and spent all her money trying to get well. Jesus was her last hope. She was convinced that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. She was not disappointed. In an instant, she was made whole by Him. We need to get just as desperate in our lives and say, “If I can just push through the crowd and touch His garment!” We must push passed all the distractions and get in the presence of our Lord and all will be made well.

When Jesus arrived at Jairus’s home, the mourning ceremony had begun for his daughter. It was their custom to hire professional mourners immediately following a death. This group of people would come, they would play instruments, and wail loudly. They all found out that day that nothing is impossible for Jesus, even death, when He brought her back to life!

Two Blind Men are Healed V. 27-31

By calling Jesus Son of David they were acknowledging Him as the Messiah because it was known that it was prophesied that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. They were not going to let anything keep them from Jesus, so they followed Him into the house. Jesus had a question for them. He asked if they really believed that He had the power to heal. He was, and still is, drawn to the faith of those who want Him to heal them. He said they were healed according to their faith. We should consider what lack of faith may keep us from having. How many answered prayers and blessings do we miss because of a lack of faith? We must choose to walk by faith no matter what we are facing.

A Mute Man Speaks V. 32-34

A demon had caused this man to not be able to speak. Once Jesus cast it out, the man immediately talked. Demons can cause physical symptoms and when they are gone the symptoms leave with them.

So far in this chapter the Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy, being friends of sinners, having a lack of reverence, and serving satan. They did this because they did not like how Jesus bypassed their religious authority and how that took away their control over the people. He challenged all their beliefs and traditions and exposed their true motives. Even though they had seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead back to life, and cast out demons, they refused to believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. They tried to say that His power came from satan. 

Jesus cast out many demons, and the people had not seen power like that before. When we cast out demons today we do so with the name of Jesus, but back then (before the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) they did not have power to cast them out. When they saw Jesus doing the things He did and the way He spoke it was brand new for them. They had never seen anyone with that type of power and authority. The Pharisees did not like it because they were used to being the ones in charge and in control of the people and they did not like seeing Jesus gain a following because it threatened their control and standing with the people.

The Compassion of Jesus V. 35-38

Jesus’ ministry consisted of three things. He taught how about how to get into the kingdom of heaven, He healed the sick, and He cast out demons. Jesus had compassion as He looked at the people and saw them like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus saw that there were so many people that were ready to believe in Him, but there were not enough people to go out and share the gospel with them. We need to pray and share the gospel with those around us. God is counting on each one of us to share the gospel with others. 

There are several scriptures that said Jesus felt compassion for the people. He feels compassion for our suffering, and He wants us to live a victorious life through Him. On the cross He gave us access to salvation, healing, deliverance, and His authority. We just need to learn how to walk it all out in our lives.

Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew chapter 9

Prophecy – Be a healer & savior, do miracles

OT Reference – Isaiah 35:4-6

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 9:30

Matthew Chapter 10

Jesus Sends Out the 12 Disciples V.1-16

In verse 1 Jesus called the twelve His disciples and then in verse 2 He called them apostles. The word apostle means messenger; someone who is sent out on behalf of their master. He told them to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons. Jesus called them, they came to Him, and then He taught and equipped them to do what He called them to do. He did not equip them and then call them. He told them who to talk to, who not to talk to, where to go, what to say, what to do, and how to do it. It is the same for us. First, we say, “yes Lord I will do whatever You ask of me” and then He will equip us.

Jesus told the disciples to only go to the Jews because they were the people God chose to use to spread the gospel to the world. The purpose was to first call them to repentance and for them to turn back to God. That was only at first and after a time they were used to share the gospel with everyone else.

It was Jewish custom for Jews to shake the dust off their feet when they left a Gentile place. A Gentile was anyone who was not a Jew. It was to show that they were not carrying any part of the Gentiles with them. It was to show that they were separate from them. For us today, this could mean for us to move on if someone is rejecting our message of salvation in Christ. Not that you would refuse to continue to pray for them and to revisit the gospel message with them, but for the time being move on to someone who is ready to accept salvation.

Jesus Prepares the Disciples for Persecution V.17-42

Jesus told them about the things they would face, all the hardships, and danger. But He showed them even good could come from that because when they were taken into court, they would have an opportunity to share the gospel with all the officials there. Governors and kings would hear the gospel through them. The Holy Spirit would be speaking through them to high-ranking officials.

Jesus was persecuted, lied about, and hated by many, so as followers of Christ we may experience this also. We should not be surprised when the world treats us this way, but we are not to fear anyone. We should only have a fear (reverence) of the Lord. The worst a person can do to you is destroy this body, but we must fear God who can destroy both body, and soul, and send us to hell. We should be more concerned with what God thinks and not people.

Jesus wanted to make sure His disciples knew how much God cared for them. God knows every time a bird falls, so He knows what we face. He knows every single hair on our head, the exact number of them. Just because we go through hard trials does not mean God is not aware of it. He is and He will help us through every situation we face. Jesus warned them that because of Him and the message they preached division would come among the Jews, even among families. Some would believe He was the Messiah and others wouldn’t. We may have friends and family that do not believe in God, and we must decide to still live for Christ, to put Him first. We must die to ourselves and surrender our all to Jesus. 

V. 32-33 We should never be embarrassed to tell others about Jesus and what He has done in our lives. We are all called to share the gospel. If we call ourselves Christians, then it is our calling and mandate to share the gospel with others. This scripture tells us if we deny Him before others He will deny us before God. Denying Him is much more than just verbally denying Him. We can also deny Him with our behaviors. Denying Him also means not being and acting like Him and showing the world who He is through our lives. If we try to fit in with the world by hanging out where they do, knowing we should not be there, talking like they talk, laughing at what they laugh at, and doing what they do we are denying Jesus. We must want to be more like Him more than we want to fit in with the world. It will cost us something. It will cost us fitting in with some crowds. It will cost us not being liked by everyone. It may even cause us to be mocked and made fun of, but that is the life of Christ that we are called to.

V. 34-39 Jesus makes it very clear that He must be first in our lives, and we must be willing to give Him everything.

Matthew Chapter 11

Jesus Eases John’s doubts V.1-19

John had been in prison, and he must have been struggling with doubts for him to have asked if Jesus was the One they were expecting or if it was someone else. He wanted to know if He was really the Messiah. It does not say why John was having doubts, but maybe it was because he thought Jesus had come to set them free from the Romans and other foreign powers and to rebuild the temple. Like others, he may have thought He would restore the throne of David and be their earthly king. He may also have been wondering why he was still in prison and why Jesus had not brought judgment against those who put him there. Jesus had them to go back and remind John of Isaiah’s prophecies. Are we any different from John? How many times do we have doubts? Fears? When we are in those seasons we can look back over our lives and see time and time again what all God has done for us, but then when are facing the next big thing we can begin to wonder if He will help us again. Fear cancels out faith every single time we allow it to become our focus. That is why it is so important to build our faith and refuse to walk in fear. We must choose faith over fear. It is a choice that we all have the option of making.

Jesus talked to the crowd of people about John the Baptist. He told them that he was a prophet and even more than a prophet. He was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy in Malachi 3:1. Jesus compared His generation to kids that were playing games in the marketplace, but the other children would not play how they wanted them to. This was to show how the people did not think John the Baptist and Jesus were behaving how they though a prophet and Messiah should behave. Jesus and John did not look or act how some of the people thought they should. Some people had preconceived ideas about the both of them and when they did not look and act like they thought they should they ridiculed them and dismissed them.

Jesus Promises Rest for the Soul V.20-30

The people living in the cities listed had seen Jesus, heard His teachings, saw His miracles, and yet they rejected Him and refused to repent.

Jesus gave us a wonderful promise in verses 28-30, if we are struggling and tired He will give us rest. The religious leaders at that time made it so burdensome to follow and worship God with all their man-made rules that it was almost impossible to do it all right. Jesus explained that following Him should not be like that. He will not burden us down. Surrendering to Him and living for Him is not a heavy burden. It will be light. 

V. 25-30 Jesus told us He is the only way to the Father. If any message, sermon, or teaching says differently it is a false gospel.

Prophecies fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew chapter 11

Prophecy – Upon His coming, the deaf hear and the blind see.

OT Reference – Isaiah 29:18, 35:5

NT Fulfilment – Matthew 11:5

Prophecy – Messenger sent to prepare the way before Him.

OT Reference – Malachi 3:1

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 11:10

Prophecy – Prophet sent before the day of the Lord.

OT Reference – Malachi 4:5-6

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 11:13-14

Matthew Chapter 12

The Disciples Pick Wheat on the Sabbath V.1-8

The Pharisees had made 39 categories of things that they said the people were not allowed to do on the Sabbath and harvesting was one of them. When they saw the disciples picking the wheat to eat, they considered this harvesting. In the 10 commandments, the 4^th one says they were not to do any work on the Sabbath. They had added their own laws to this 4^th commandment of everything that they considered to be work. 

The story that Jesus was referring to about David and his friends is found in 1Samuel 21:1-6. Every week the bread of the Presence in the temple would be replaced and only the priests were allowed to eat the old bread. David and his friends were hungry, and they ate the bread that only the priests were supposed to eat, but God did not punish them for it. If someone is hungry, it is more important to feed them. Then Jesus brought up the point that the priests worked on the Sabbath because they were having to get everything prepared in the temple for worship.  All the extra rules and regulations that the Pharisees added to the Law of Moses actually took away from what God’s intention was. God’s laws were for the good of the people, but all these extras that the Pharisees added was a burden to them.

Jesus Heals a Man’s Hand on the Sabbath V.9-14

On the list of their 39 things considered work that could not be done on the Sabbath was healing.  The religious leaders put their rules above Jesus and being with Him. Many churches and miniseries do the same thing today. They make their man-made rules and teach if we do not follow them then we are not really saved.

Jesus always had a way of asking questions that would make them see what the right answer was. He asked if they would pull their sheep out of a pit if it fell in. Of course they would do that. Well, shouldn’t we show a person more compassion and mercy than an animal? He showed them that they cared more about their animals than they did a person.

The 4^th commandment was meant to give people rest from a week of hard labor, not to place all those restrictions on them.

These religious leaders had been accustomed to being the ones with authority, the ones interpreting scripture, and the ones telling the people what they could and could not do. However, when Jesus came on the scene He started calling them out and showing how they had been wrong. They did not like it or Him at all. They were unteachable and that is something we must guard against ourselves.

Large Crowds Follow Jesus V.15-21

Large crowds of people continued to follow Jesus and He healed them all, He cast out demons, and He preached the gospel. 

Isaiah’s prophecies were approximately 700 yrs before the time of Jesus’ ministry. The prophecy that described Jesus is not what the people were looking for or expecting. They were looking for a king that would conquer the Romans and gain them victory, not someone who was gentle and submitted to the Romans hanging Him on a cross. 

Religious Leaders Accuse Jesus of Being Under Satan’s Power V.22-37

People were starting to wonder if He really could be the Messiah. However, the religious leaders refused to believe that He was. It would be hard for the Pharisees to deny that Jesus had done a miracle, but they said the power came from Satan and not from God. They had heard the teachings of Jesus, they knew the prophecies given and handed down to them, they saw the miracles, yet they refused to believe. Not so different from people today.

Jesus answered their accusations with common sense logic. Why would Satan cast out the demons that he had oppressed and possessed people with? That does not make sense. The same happens today when some call those who cast out demons demonic themselves or say that casting out demons is not for today.

In verse 30 we see there is no middle ground, there is no “I’ll make a choice later.”  We are either for Christ, or we are against Him. We might think that not deciding yet if we want to follow Jesus means we are neutral, but not choosing yet is still a choice not to surrender to Him. We are eighter serving God or the devil.

Verse 33 tells us we will know others by their fruit, and we will also be known by our fruit. Are we showing others the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of our flesh? The fruit of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23.

Verse 36 gives us a look at something that will happen on the day of judgment. We will give an account for our words that we speak. Our words matter. There is life and death in the tongue. We need to make sure we are speaking life and not critical, harsh, words that are full of death.

Religious Leaders Ask Jesus for a Miracle V.38-45

Jesus had already been doing miracles, so these religious leaders were probably not sincere in their request. They were trying to set Him up and catch Him in a trap. They were relentless in trying to trip Him up and catch Him in sin or teaching a false doctrine. 

Jesus Describes His True Family V.46- 50

When you think of family you usually think of blood relatives, but Jesus gave us the true meaning of family. Family is those who are believers in Christ and doing His will. God is our Father and all who are connected to Him are in the same family.

Prophecies Jesus fulfilled in Matthew chapter 12

Prophecy – Rulers take council against Him.

OT Reference – Psalm 2:1-2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 12:14

Prophecy – Be a healer and savior, do miracles.

OT Reference – Isaiah 35:4-6

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 12:22

Prophecy – Be a servant of God.

OT Reference – Isaiah 42:1-4

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 12:16-21

Prophecy – God’s elect Servant in whom He delights.

OT Reference – Isaiah 42:1-4

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 12:17-21

Matthew Chapter 13

Parables

Definition: a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson to teach a great truth or to challenge the hearers to change their own behavior. (Found online). Stories with a specific purpose.

Why Jesus taught in parables: to simultaneously reveal the truth of the Kingdom of Heaven to those who were open to hearing and understanding, while also concealing those truths from those who were not receptive. (Found online).

The Parable of the Sower V.1-11

Jesus used a lot of parables to illustrate what He was teaching. He would take something that was familiar to the group and compare it to something unfamiliar. For example, if He was talking to farmers, He would talk about planting, reaping, etc. If He was talking to fishermen, He would talk about casting a net, bringing in fish, etc. It is like an illustrated sermon where you teach a spiritual truth by using something from everyday life. 

This parable talks about a person who was sowing seeds for their crops. They were throwing it out in hopes it would take root and grow. There are 4 types of soil that Jesus talked about. 1) Some of the seeds landed on ground that has not been tilled, so it was hard. Those seeds could not penetrate the soil and take root, so the birds ate them. 2) Seeds that fell on ground where the soil was not very deep. They germinated quickly but did not have deep roots and could not live. 3) Other seeds that the farmer threw landed where there were thorns and weeds. The soil was deep, so the seeds took root and grew, but they could not survive because the weeds choked them out. 4) The last group of seeds Jesus talked about were the ones that landed on good soil that did not have any weeds, so they grew and produced crops. God must be our firm foundation. His Word must be our firm foundation. If we are not reading the Bible, studying it, and praying we will not have a firm foundation in Him.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Four Soils V.11-23

Before Jesus gave the explanation of the parable, He quoted a prophecy from Isaiah. He told them that they heard, but they did not understand; they saw but they never understood that Jesus was the true Messiah. They heard His teaching and saw His miracles and many still did not believe.

Then Jesus explained about the four different types of soil. 1) The seeds that landed on hard ground and the birds ate it represented those who had hearts that were so hard the truth could not penetrate it. That would have been the religious leaders who did not open their hearts to Jesus. The bird represented Satan, and his demons, because they will quickly snatch the Word away. They are always wanting to twist the Word and cause us to doubt. 2) The seeds that landed on rocky ground without very deep soil represented those who wanted to be part of the kingdom but only until it got hard. They did not want to go through trials and tribulations. There was no depth to their conversion to Christ. 3) The seeds thrown where the thorns were and the weeds choked it out represented those who hear, understand, and believe, but then they let the cares of life and worldly things take them away from committing their all to Jesus. They could not let go of the world. 4) The seeds that landed on good soil represented those that fully surrendered to Jesus. They committed their whole life to living for Him and sought His will for their life. We will see a lot of fruit from this type of life.  We need to ask ourselves which category we are in. It is not enough to just know the Word. We must ask ourselves what happens when life gets hard. Do we fold and give up or do we stand firmly on the Word of God. If we are not standing on His Word, even on the hard days, then it really is not our firm foundation.

There are many who are spiritually blind and dull today. They cannot see the truth of God’s Word even when it is right in front of them. Many of them are professing Christians and in the church. Part of the cause is lack of discernment, not really being saved, sitting under deceptive teaching, and refusing to crucify the flesh.

Jesus Tells the Parable of the Wheat and Tares V.24-30

This farmer sowed good seeds in his field, but an enemy came and threw out bad seeds (weeds) in his field. Bible scholars believe this to have been a poisonous ryegrass, and that people would do that to others crops as a way of revenge or just to be evil. By the time the crop started to grow, and they would realize this had been done, they could not pull up the weeds because their roots were entangled with each other and the good grain would be pulled out also. The farmer would wait until it was time to harvest the crops and then separate the weeds out and then burn the weeds. 

Parable of the Mustard Seed V.31-32

Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed which is a very tiny seed. That tiny seed grew larger than the others that were planted. He was showing them that the kingdom would start small and then grow as more people are saved. 

Parable of the Yeast V.33-35

This parable is looked at a couple of ways by Biblical scholars. Jesus compared the kingdom to yeast. One way they look at this parable is to say that yeast is added to flour to make the bread increase and rise so this is an illustration to show how the kingdom would grow. Other scholars say that yeast always represented sin and evil in the Bible, so this parable is like the one with the weeds growing up along with the grain. The yeast represented evil people living in this world along with believers. And they will be separated in the end. 

Jesus Explained the Parable of the Weeds V. 36-43

The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man, Jesus.

The field is the whole world.

The good seed is the sons of the kingdom, true believers, and followers of Jesus.

The weeds are the sons of the evil one, those who reject Jesus.

The enemy who planted the weeds is Satan and his demons.

The harvest is the end of the age, God’s judgment.

The reapers are the angels. 

Everyone who has rejected Christ, will be thrown into the fire of hell at the end of time. Those who are righteous will spend eternity with God.

Parable of Hidden Treasure V.44

A man found a treasure in a field, so he sold everything that he had to have the money to buy that field, making the treasure his. Jesus used this parable to show that heaven is worth everything. There is nothing in this world that we should want more than heaven. We must always be eternally focused and not get stuck just looking at the temporal (the here and now on earth).

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price V.45-46

The meaning of this parable is like the one about hidden treasure. Whatever it cost us, heaven is worth it.

Parable of the Fishing Net V. 47-52

Jesus told another parable to explain the kingdom of heaven. A net was thrown into the water and then brought back up. Then they went through everything that was caught and kept only the good fish. The bad was thrown away. The angels will do this with everyone at the end of the age. Judgment will begin with the angels separating the righteous from the sinners. Those who did not give their lives to Jesus will be thrown into hell. 

The People of Nazareth Refused to Believe V.53-58

These verses describe what happened when Jesus went back to his hometown. They could not see past His humanity to see His divinity. 

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus in Chapter 13

Prophecy – speak in parables with hidden meaning.

OT Reference – Psalm 78:2

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 13:10-16, 34-35

Prophecy – people’s hearts are hardened.

OT Reference – Isaiah 6:9-10

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 13:13-15

Matthew Chapter 14

John the Baptist was Beheaded V.1-12

Herod was one of four rulers over Palestine. His father was Herod the Great, who in chapter two had all the male babies that were under two years old killed. Philip was Herod’s half-brother and was also one of the four rulers. Herodias was Philip’s wife, who left him to live with Herod. John was put in prison because he kept telling Herod it was sinful and that he should not be living with Herodias.

Herod did not want to kill John because he was afraid of all the people that followed him, saying he was a prophet, but he felt pressured to do so in front of all the people who heard him promise with an oath to give Herodias’s daughter whatever she asked for. The king did not like the message John gave him about his sin, so he had him put in prison and later killed him. I wonder if we would water down the message about sin if we were facing prison and death?  It is hard to do what is right if you know you are being pressured by those around you or if you feel like you will be embarrassed, but we must do it anyway. We must take a firm stand for what is right. 

There is also a lesson we can learn from Herodias. We see how far sin can take someone. She wanted to kill the one who was pointing out her sin instead of repenting. She was also willing to involve her daughter in this horrendous plot. Our sin does not just affect us. It can also affect those around us including our own children and other family members. 

Jesus Feed the 5000 V.13-21

Once again, we see Jesus healed people because He had compassion on them. When we are sick He also has compassion on us. Many times, the Bible shows us that Jesus was moved with compassion for the people and from that compassion He healed them all. We are called to have compassion for those who are hurting and sick as well. If we lack compassion we have a heart issue that needs to be addressed. Compassion is not pity. Pity does not help anyone, but compassion should move us to action just like it moved Jesus.

The disciples knew that it was time to eat and that the people were hungry, so they came up with a reasonable solution which was to send them into the villages to find food. They had seen all the miracles Jesus did, but they did not even think to ask Jesus for a miracle in this situation. When Jesus told them to feed the people, they thought that it was impossible. What they failed to realize was that while it was impossible for them, it was not impossible for Jesus. Nothing is impossible for God. We just must be willing to give the Lord what we have, do our part, and He will do the rest. 

Jesus Walked on Water V.22-33

Even Jesus needed time alone with His Father. The Son of God would take alone time away from everyone else to pray. That should show us how important that alone time with God is.

Jesus had told the disciples to get on the boat and to go to the other side. The fourth watch of the night would have been somewhere between 3:00am – 6:00am. It was dark and it had become very windy, causing the waves to beat against the boat. It is important to see that the disciples were not facing this hardship because of disobedience. They were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do, so we should not have an unrealistic belief that once we become a Christian we will never face trials and hard times. It is not that we will not face hard things, but the promise that we can count on is that Jesus will be with us no matter what we face. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is our ever-present help in our time of need. That is what we can count on.

Peter must have had a lot of faith to have stepped out of the boat. Then when he started walking on the water I think his faith would have even increased more at that moment. But then he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the circumstances and at the situation he was in. He saw the strong winds and became afraid. Fear overcame faith because fear kills faith. In a moment he went from trusting and believing to doubting. The enemy wants us to look at our impossible situation and lose hope. We cannot have fear and faith at the same time. Where there is faith there is no fear, but where there is fear there is no faith. When we are in the middle of a storm we need to keep our eyes on Jesus.

Jesus Healed All V.34-36

Once they made it to the other side people began coming to Jesus to be healed. The people had probably heard the story about the woman in chapter 9 who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed.

Matthew Chapter 15

Jesus Taught About Inner Purity V.1-20

The Pharisees and scribes continued to confront Jesus and tried to trap Him with their accusations. They were trying to show that Jesus and His disciples were not following traditions, which would then mean they were not following God. It was not a commandment they pointed out, it was just a tradition, another one of their man-made rules. The Pharisees had taken the Law of Moses and then added all their rules because they thought those rules would ensure the commandment was being followed. They expected those rules to be followed just as one would follow the commandments. They felt like a person could not be a follower of God without also following their rules and traditions.

Instead of answering their question, Jesus had a question for them. He asked them why they broke what was an actual commandment but kept their man-made traditions. The commandment He was referring to was to honor your father and your mother. Children were supposed to take care of their elderly parents, but these religious leaders would say that their money was devoted to God and would not use it for the care of their parents. Their tradition, their man-man rules actually kept the people from following and obeying the 5^th commandment of God. Jesus was basically saying they taught the scriptures, but they did not live them. They had not had a heart change, and they were trying to be religious in words and deeds only to look the part, but with zero heart change. Jesus always taught about the heart, our intentions, and having a change of heart.

God knows what is in our heart. We can give the appearance of wanting to be a Christian. We can do all the things that look religious to others, but God always knows what is in our heart. Those religious leaders knew about God, but they did not know God. Jesus used that as a teaching moment to explain what makes a person spiritually clean and unclean. It is not what we eat that makes us unclean, it is not what goes in our mouth, but what comes out of it. It is what we say. Our words will show what is in our heart. Jesus gave examples of things that is in a person’s heart that defiles them.

Luke 6:45 The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart.

Jesus Sends a Demon Out of a Girl V.21-28

Jesus went to Tyre and Sidon, which was in the Gentile region of the land. Canaanites were not Jews. They were Gentiles who had been ancient enemies of Israel. By this woman calling Jesus Lord and Son of David, it shows that she understood who He was, and she knew about His healings and setting people free from demons. Jesus told her that He was sent to the Jews. This may sound like for the first time we see Him not having compassion, but there was a purpose for this dialogue. He knew the point He wanted to make. At this time in history Jewish people called Gentiles dogs. It was a way for them to show their disrespect toward them. The word for dog that Jesus used is kynariois in Greek and it means little dog, like a reference to a pet, so it was not as harsh or derogatory. Jesus was saying that it would be like taking food from a child and giving it to a pet dog. The symbolism in this parable is: 1) the children was God’s chosen people, the Jews 2) the bread was Jesus’ power to heal and cast out demons 3) the dogs were the Gentiles who were mostly pagan. This woman came back with an analogy of her own which was if crumbs fall on the floor a person would let their dog eat them. She could have been offended and walked off mad, but she stayed because she was convinced that Jesus was the only help for her daughter. It was as if she understood that He had come for the Jews, but she also understood that many had rejected Him, so she just wanted the crumbs they did not want. Jesus saw her as having great faith because she had put all her trust and belief in Him. She did not give up until she got what she needed. From this story we learn not to give up before we receive our miracle. We must press through and stand by faith until we see our miracle. 

Jesus Healed Great Multitudes V.29-31

Jesus continued to heal all who came to Him. He was still in the Gentile region, so many of those He healed would have been Gentiles. This further shows that the above verses were used by Jesus as a teaching moment. The people had never seen healings like this before. Jesus was the first and only One who was able to do the miracles like He was showing the people. They had never experienced authority over demons and sickness before. They also never heard anyone teach the scriptures the way He did, or the way He accepted and at times ministered to Gentiles.

Jesus Feed 4000 V.32-39

The disciples had already seen Jesus feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and 2 two fish, yet they responded again by looking at the circumstance. They saw all the hungry people and no food to give them. Do we do the same thing? Can God do a miracle in our lives and then the next time we face a situation do we think there is no way out? We need to remember all that God has done for us and let that build up our faith to know that He will do it again.

Another interesting point to notice is this crowd did not want to leave Jesus even though they were hungry. They were hungrier for the things of God than they were for food. How many services do we sit in, looking at our watch, deciding where to go for lunch, and hoping the pastor wraps things up quickly?

Matthew Chapter 16

Pharisees and Sadducees Asked for a Sign in the Sky V.1-4

The Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed on several of their religious views, but one thing they had in common was their desire to destroy Jesus. Verse one shows why they asked Him so many questions. They were testing Him, meaning they were trying to catch Him in a trap of doing something that would discredit His ministry. They had been following Jesus around, so they had already seen all His miracles of healing and casting out demons, yet they asked Him for a sign. Do we do the same thing? Do we expect Jesus to show us a sign, or a miracle so that we can believe in Him? Faith means we follow Him based on who He says He is, and not what we see, what He does for us, or the miracles we receive in our lives.

Jesus Warned Against Wrong Teaching V.5-12

In scripture yeast is symbolic of sin and like yeast it can spread and affect everything around it. False teaching can be like yeast because it can start out small but then keeps growing larger and affects everything it touches. If you recognize a false teaching do not think that it is just a little thing and not really all that important because it will spread and hurt you as well as others. If we recognize false teaching we must get rid of it as fast as we can.

Peter Said Jesus was the Messiah V. 13- 20

There were many opinions about who people thought Jesus was. It is no different today. There are so many opinions about the Bible, what it means, and does not mean. So many opinions on how to get to heaven, what is and is not sin, etc. The list goes on and on. However, Jesus made it very personal when He asked Peter, “who do you say I am.” He asks us that same question. Who do we say Jesus is? Do we understand His identity? It does not matter what everyone else is saying, what do we believe in our heart about Him? It is not enough to know who others say Jesus is, we must know Him for ourselves. We show the world every day what we really believe. Do others see us in a panic and worried or do they see us filled with peace and joy regardless of what we are facing? Do they see fear and doubt, or do they see trust and belief in the One we say we love and follow?

In verse 18 Jesus was saying His church is built upon the revelation that He is the Messiah the Son of God. That truth is the entire foundation of the church and our beliefs.

Jesus Predicted His Death and Resurrection V.21-23

Jesus began to explain what was going to happen to Him in the near future, but Peter just could not believe it. He went from speaking truth in the above verse when he said Jesus was the Messiah, to speaking the lies of Satan. What is interesting is that Peter did not even realize he was speaking a lie. He was convinced that what Jesus had just said could not be true. Sometimes we can be very sincere and still be wrong. So, we must be very careful with our words and we must be open to the correction of the Holy Spirit.

When we do not pull down the lies/whispers of demons we can allow them to speak their ideas through us. That is why it is so important to recognize where our thoughts are coming from: God, ourselves, or demons. One way to do this is to ask ourselves if the thoughts line up with the Word of God, if not we need to take them captive immediately and pull them down.

Breaking the Power of Lies in Our Lives

Recognize the Lies: Sit with God and ask Him to begin to show you any lies that you have accepted as truth. Make a list of every lie. Part of learning to recognize the lies is understanding God will never contradict His Word. If it goes against His Word you can automatically know it is a lie.

Come Out of Agreement:  After you have your list spend time coming out of agreement with every single lie and moving forward make sure you do not come into agreement with any more lies. Agreement with lies means believing them and accepting them as truth.

Pray and ask God to break the agreement with the lie, uproot any effects or false beliefs connected to the lie, and heal any areas of your heart that need to be healed.

Verbally Break agreement with the lie. For example, “Lord, please forgive me for believing the lie that (say the lie). I will no longer accept the lie as truth. It is a lie. So right now in the name of Jesus I break the agreement with (lie) and the truth is (speak the truth).”

Command any demons connected to the lie to go in the name of Jesus.

Moving forward take every single thought captive, every single time.  

Links for More Information on Breaking the Power of Lies

Lies

Lies: Breaking the Power of Lies in Our Lives

Take up Your Cross and follow Him V.24-28

In those days the cross only had one purpose. It was used to execute people. It was used to bring death. Denying self means that we surrender completely to Jesus. We crucify our flesh, submit to Christ and His will, not ours. There is absolutely nothing in this whole world that is worth losing our soul for including no material thing, no amount of money, and no relationship. Whatever we must give up to be with the Lord for eternity will be worth it all.

Prophecies Fulfilled in Matthew Chapter 16

Prophecy – The Son of God.

OT Reference – Psalm 2:7

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 16:16

Matthew Chapter 17

Jesus is Transfigured on the Mountain V. 1-13

Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on the mountain with Him and allowed them to see Him transfigured and see the glory of God in Himself. Now they should have no doubts at all as to who Jesus is. They should fully know and understand that He is truly the Son of God. Not only did they see God’s glory, but they also heard His voice.

On the mountain Moses and Elijah appeared. Moses represented the Law and Elijah represented the Prophets. It was, in part, showing that Jesus came to fulfill the Law and to fulfill the prophecies spoken about Him.

Jesus Set a Demon-Possessed Boy Free V. 14-21

The disciples had cast out demons before, but this time they could not make the demon leave. There are rankings among the demons and some are more powerful than others. It may have been that they had not faced demons that were this powerful before and it caused them to doubt. Jesus told them they could not cast it out because of their lack of faith.

Jesus has given us the authority to cast out demons, regardless of how powerful they are. That is what we put our trust in—His authority, not ours. It only takes the faith the size of a mustard seed. We must have faith that when we are in a relationship with Him and command the demons to go in His name they have no choice but to go.

Mark 16:17-18 These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Jesus Again Predicted His Death and Resurrection V. 22-23

There were things the disciples just did not understand about Jesus, yet they believed in Him and His teaching. This is what true faith looks like. We are called to live a life of faith.

Peter Found the Coin in a Fish’s Mouth V. 24-27

This was a tax that was collected to support the upkeep of the temple. Every Jewish male that was 20 years old and older was required to pay this tax. Peter once again experienced Jesus providing what was needed. He does the same for us. He provides for our needs, and we never have to fear or worry because He is faithful.

Matthew Chapter 18

Who is the Greatest V.1-6

In Mark and Luke, we read that the disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus’ answer to them probably was not what they expected when He said, “unless you change and become like children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3).  A child must completely depend on others to provide for their needs and to protect them. Like He had done so many times before, He was using something familiar to them to teach a spiritual principal. Just like a child trust their parents and depends on them for everything, that is how we should be with God. It is not through our power or anything we can do that we will enter the kingdom of heaven. We must be humble in knowing that we must depend on God. Jesus warns them that there will be a very harsh judgment to anyone who causes one of these little ones who believe in Him to sin.

Jesus Warned Against Temptation V.7-9

The word woe is ouai in Greek and it is an exclamation of grief. Woe includes grief, anguish, affliction, wretchedness, calamity, or trouble, often used as a pronouncement of judgment, misfortune, or sadness, and it is sometimes tied to sin and rebellion against God. 

There is severe grief over those who sin and over those who tempt others to sin. Those who try to get Christians to sin will face God’s judgment. It is not always sinners that do this. It can also be a person who professes to be a Christian but is not living a fully surrendered life to Christ. Living in a fallen world, we will face temptations. Being tempted is not a sin, it is what we do when we are tempted that can create sin in our life. Do we give in, or do we resist? In these verses, Jesus is saying to do whatever it takes to resist sin.

He wants us to see how serious sin is and how serious it is to cause others to sin. We need to always keep in mind others are watching us and what we do with temptation does not just affect us. It is important not to cause others to stumble. We cause others to stumble when we live hypocritical lives by saying we are a Chrisitan while at the same time actively indulging in sinful behaviors, spreading false doctrine and information, and when we twist scripture to justify our sin.

V. 7-10 The Biblical meaning of stumbling block is a snare, the trigger of a trap on which the bait is placed which when touched by the animal springs cause it to close causing entrapment, causing one to fall morally and spiritually, causing to fall away from truth.

These scriptures show us the danger in getting trapped by false teaching, temptations by the devil, sin, and the danger in entrapping others in the form of stumbling blocks.

The world and demons will produce stumbling blocks. We must anticipate them, watch for them, and overcome them and make sure we are not causing anyone else to stumble.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep V. 10-14

Jesus gave us the picture of a shepherd with his sheep. If one of them wonders off, he will leave his flock and go find it to bring it back. Even though he still has 99 other sheep that one that wondered off is valuable because it has worth to the shepherd. That is how God is with us. If one strays He does not give up looking for it. God loves each one of us, individually, so much. 

Jesus Taught How to Treat a Believer Who Sins V.15-20

When a Christian brother or sister sins the first thing we should do is go talk to them privately and not ignore it out of fear we will be accused of judging them. This should be done in love. Hopefully the issue can be resolved and there is repentance and forgiveness.

If that does not happen then the next step is to take one or two others with us and confront them again. The goal should always be repentance and restoration. If this meeting does not help, then the matter should be taken before the church. If the person still does not repent then they are to be treated as a sinner and no longer as a fellow believer.

These scriptures show us that it is not wrong to confront each other with the sin we see in each other’s lives. It is Biblical to do so. It needs to be from a place of brotherly and sisterly love and not from a self-righteous place. Our heart (intentions) does matter. We also must be careful to not hypocritically point out the sin of others if we deal with the same thing or have other willful sin in our lives. We should always examine ourselves first and we should be coming from a place of love and concern when we confront others with their sin.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant V.21-35

The rabbis taught everyone that they only had to forgive someone three times. By Peter asking if he should forgive seven times he thought that he was willing to forgive more than the rabbis even required.

Have you ever wondered how many of your sins God has forgiven? Or how many times? No one will offend us the same way that we have offended God with our sin. It does not compare. We may think we are justified in not forgiving others, maybe you think there are some things God does not require us to forgive, but God will not forgive us if we are not willing to forgive others. Forgiveness is only possible by the love of God living in our heart. 

V. 34-35 The torturers are demons and when we refuse to forgive we open ourselves up to demonic torment.

We have all been hurt and many of us carry pain for many years because of those hurts. We may even feel validated in our unforgiveness because of how much the other person hurt us. We may feel what they did was wrong, and they do not deserve to be forgiven. However, the Bible is very clear that we must forgive if we want to be forgiven and walk in total freedom.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. Matthew 6:14.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13.

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven my forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25.

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:15,

Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him and let it go? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered him, “I say to you, not up to seven times, but seventy times seven.” “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the accounting, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. But because he could not repay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and his children and everything that he possessed, and payment to be made. So, the slave fell on his knees and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’  And his master’s heart was moved with compassion and he released him and forgave him [canceling] the debt. But that same slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began choking him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe!’ So, his fellow slave fell on his knees and begged him earnestly, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ But he was unwilling, and he went and had him thrown in prison until he paid back the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved, and they went and reported to their master [with clarity and in detail] everything that had taken place. Then his master called him and said to him, ‘You wicked and contemptible slave, I forgave all that [great] debt of yours because you begged me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave [who owed you little by comparison], as I had mercy on you?’ And in wrath his master turned him over to the torturers (jailers) until he paid all that he owed. My heavenly Father will also do the same to [every one of] you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35.

Many times, we get hung up in this area because we really do not understand what forgiveness means and doesn’t mean. Forgiveness is not saying what the person did is okay, or that your feelings do not matter. What it is saying: “I choose to forgive in the same way Jesus forgave me. I may not forget what they did, but I choose to release them, forgive them, and let the pain go.” It is not a feeling; it is an action and a choice. We much chose to forgive and keep choosing it. Often the feelings created by forgiving will follow the choice. We cannot wait for the feelings to come; we must make the choice to forgive no matter how we feel.

I have a few practical steps to forgiving that I used in my own life. First, we must ask Jesus to help us forgive and to heal the pain from the hurt. Ask Him to uproot all the pain and all the negative emotions connected to the painful situation. If you are still in a lot of pain from the situation you may need to seek Christian counseling to walk in total healing. If you seek Christian counseling make sure it is with someone who understands the importance of forgiveness and understands we have the ability to heal completely from pain, trauma, and hurt.

Many therapists will tell us we do not have to forgive, and that we have a right to our negative feelings. They are correct, in part. It is our right to refuse to forgive, but the Word is clear if we do refuse to offer forgiveness, God will not forgive us. Hurt and trauma can be hard to work through, but it is possible. We do not have to stay stuck in a place of victimhood, pain, rejection, and hurt. We can heal and release all the negative effects of the painful situation. Trauma is not a lifetime sentence.

Steps to Forgiveness: Prayer, Repentance, Release, Forgive

We must forgive others, but we must also forgive ourselves. We cannot overlook the importance of forgiving ourselves. Sometimes we are so giving and gracious with others, forgiving them easily, but then we cannot do the same for ourselves. The lack of forgiving ourselves can even lead to self-hatred, shame, and low self-esteem. We can easily get stuck in regret and guilt as a result of mistakes and choices that caused pain to others. If you have hurt others, repent, make apologizes to who you need to, and then release yourself. Do not let others continue to beat you up for past choices and mistakes. It is our job to apologize but if the other person will not accept our apology, we must figure out how to move forward. We should continue praying for them to accept our forgiveness. We can also ask God to show us how to approach them and ask for Him to show us His plan and timing for the relationship. The situation may require us to pray from a distance until they are in a place where they can really forgive us.

A great exercise in forgiving is to write a letter to the person(s) you need to forgive and/or yourself. Make sure to include all your feelings related to all the hurt and pain they have caused. Pour your heart out in the letter(s). After you write it ask God to forgive your unforgiveness and then burn it. As the letter is burning ask God to burn the feelings of unforgiveness out of your heart and completely release all the negative feelings and emotions to Him. Verbally command all demons connected to that person and the situation to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

Reconciliation may be in order, and it may not. If the person is abusive and/or toxic it is okay to maintain your distance and create healthy boundaries. You should always ask God for His direction concerning reconciliation.

This is an example of a prayer to get you started. It is just an outline, and you should pray as the Lord leads. You may need to pray daily or even multiple times a day to fully walk in total forgiveness.

Verbally Pray: “Lord, just as you forgive me, I choose to forgive ______________________ for ________________________ and I release them to You. I ask You to forgive me for holding on to any unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger. I now release all bitterness, anger, regret, and pain associated with this situation. I command all demons connected to that person and the situation to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen” Keep saying this prayer until you really mean it and you know in your heart that you have fully forgiven them. You may not feel anything the first several times you say it, but I want to encourage you to keep saying it, daily. Keep in mind that forgiveness is a choice and not a feeling.

There is one sure way to know if you have totally forgiven the person who hurt you. Think about them and then take stock of your reactions. How do you feel about them? What is the first thing you think of? If you have truly forgiven the harsh feelings towards the person will be gone. You can pray for them and really mean it. Your heart will feel free, and you will be able to fully heal.

Matthew Chapter 19

Jesus Taught About Marriage and Divorce V. 1-12

Once again, the Pharisees were following Jesus around and asking questions that they thought would trap Him and show that He was not credible. At that time there were two opinions on divorce. One group said that a man could divorce his wife for any reason and the other group said he could divorce her only if she had committed adultery.

Marriage is a covenant that God intended to be a permanent and lasting relationship. He created male and female to become one flesh. Man did not create the institution of marriage, God did, but because of man’s sinful nature Moses allowed men to divorce their wives, but that was still never how God intended it to be. However, Jesus tells them there is one exception. If there is sexual immorality then the covenant is broken and a divorce is granted.

If we truly understood that marriage was a covenant between a man, woman, and God and truly understood what a covenant is we would take this holy union much more seriously.

Jesus Blessed Little Children V.13-15

We are not told why the disciples did not think the parents should be bringing their children to Jesus, but maybe they thought children were too young to understand or that it would be a waste of Jesus’ time. He had “more important” things to do like healing the sick and casting out demons. But we see that Jesus loves and cares about children. A child is never too young to learn about Jesus, to come to Him, and be used for kingdom purposes. We should be teaching them about Him from birth, making Him a part of their life, and teaching them how to have their own personal relationship with Him.

Jesus Spoke to the Rich Young Man V.16-22

The rich young man asked Jesus what he must do to be saved. That is the same question that many people have asked at some point or another in their lives. Since this young man had been following the 10 commandments, it would appear that he was a religious person. Yet, he must not have felt assured that was enough. He wanted to have a guarantee that he would be in heaven. Jesus knew what was in the man’s heart and He knew the one thing that he loved more than Jesus. He revealed it to this man by telling him to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. However, the man loved his wealth more than he desired to surrender his all and follow Jesus.

The camel going through the eye of a needle probably make a lot more sense to them when Jesus said it than it does to us. The eye of a needle He referred to most likely was referring to a gate in Jerusalem and it was very tight fitting to get through it. It was so tight that when a camel passed through it had to get on its knees and it also had to be stripped of any baggage before it could fit. By using that term Jesus was saying we must give up everything to follow after Him. Is there anything that God is asking you to give up that you are still holding on to? Whatever it is, is it worth missing heaven for?

With God All Things are Possible V.23-30

Money is not evil, but the love of money is. That is where it becomes a sin. Money can lead to pride, lust, being selfish, addiction, and putting all your time and effort into making more money. Money and things can also become idols in our lives.

When the disciples asked who could be saved, Jesus answered that it is impossible for man to save himself. It is only possible with God. Only by God, through the sacrifice of Jesus shed blood on the cross, are our sins forgiven. God makes it possible for us to live a Godly life through Him.

Whatever we give up on this earth will be worth it all to gain eternity in heaven.

Matthew Chapter 20

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard V.1-16

This parable is a picture of God’s grace. It is about salvation. We cannot earn God’s favor. It is by His grace and mercy that we are forgiven. In this parable the workers that had labored all day thought that they deserved more than the ones that had only labored a short while. One person does not deserve God’s grace more than another. How do you feel toward people who have lived their whole life away from God and then get saved on their death bed? Do you think they deserve the same reward as someone who has lived many years for the Lord? The thief that hung on the cross repented at the end of his life, yet Jesus told him that he would be with Him in paradise. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord can be saved, and we should desire that all people get saved and never be jealous or angry when they do.

Jesus Predicted His Death and Resurrection a Third Time V.17-19

The first two times were in 16:21 and 17:22-23. Jesus wanted His disciples to understand what was about to happen, that it is something that He knew was going to happen, and that He was allowing it to happen. It was not something that was being done to Him, it was something that He willingly did for us.

Jesus Taught About Serving Others V.20-28

Our first and most important desire for our children should be that they live their lives surrendered completely to God, finding His will and His purpose for their lives, and then that they commit to that completely.

The world’s idea of being great is nothing like the one Jesus gives. Servants are looked at as being of a lower class of people and the nobodies who serves those who are important, but Jesus teaches a different message. He says to be great we must serve others. That is true greatness. The best leaders in this world are ones who are servant leaders. Jesus is our greatest example of being a servant leader.  

Jesus Healed a Blind Beggar V.29-34

These two men needed something from Jesus, and they were not going to be silenced by anyone. How desperate are you? Do you allow others to silence your prayers, praise, or calling?

Matthew Chapter 21

Jesus Rode into Jerusalem on a Donkey V.1-11

These verses fulfill two prophecies given by the prophets Zechariah and Isaiah. Since the people did not understand that Jesus did not come as a king going to war they probably did not understand why He was coming into town on an animal like a donkey instead of a war horse. Even though they did not understand the people put their cloaks and palm branches on the road as a show of respect and submission like they would to welcome a king. Even though He did not enter the city the way they thought He would they were still excited and celebrated His coming because they still thought He came as a King who would overthrow the Romans and restore Israel once again to her former days of glory.

How quickly the crowd went from praising Him to wanting Him dead.

Jesus Cleared the Temple V.12-17

People would travel from countries far away to come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. Once these travelers arrived they would need to buy animals to use for their sacrifices. There were merchants set up who were selling animals that could be bought for this purpose. There were also money changers because the money the foreigners had could not be used in Jerusalem. They would exchange their money for the currency used locally. This angered Jesus for two reasons. 1) They were conducting business transactions in the temple. That was not the place for them to have been doing that. When we enter church we should do so with reverence and worship. We should respect the house of God and treat it as holy. 2) The money changers were robbing people by not giving them the right amount of money back and those selling the animals were charging high prices. They knew the travelers were vulnerable because they had come from far away and needed their services, so they took advantage of them. The religious leaders did not see a problem with this and had allowed it to go on.

I wonder how many tables Jesus would flip in our churches today. There are so many major issues in many churches and ministries today. Issues such as abuse, covering up abuse, sexual sin, nightclub atmosphere, progressive Christianity, lukewarm messages, refusal to address sin, prosperity gospel, fake signs/wonders/miracles, hyper grace, etc.

The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree V.18-22

This time instead of just telling a parable Jesus acted it out. The fig tree looked healthy, having leaves on it, but with looking closely you see that it does not have any fruit. People can be the same way. They may look good on the outside, but upon a closer look we may realize that they are a hypocrite. The religious leaders gave the appearance of being holy, but their hearts were far from God. We must evaluate our hearts and make sure we do not fall into that category. 

Then Jesus talked to them about faith. He did not give them, or us, a blank check to get whatever they wanted. When we pray we first need to make sure that we are praying the will of God. We need to get in line with His will and not think we can make Him line up with ours.  When we pray the will of God we can have complete faith that through Him we can move mountains because it’s His power and not ours.

Religious Leaders Challenged Jesus’ Authority V.23-27

The religious leaders were again trying to catch Jesus in a trap, however, Jesus’ question to them put them in a trap. They could not say that John’s baptism was from heaven because they did not believe him, and they could not say it was from men because they were afraid of all the people that believed John was a prophet. Their motives were never to have an honest conversation and seek out the truth of who Jesus was and that His authority was from God. Their motive were always to show He was a fraud and to turn the people against Him so that they did not lose their control over the people.

Jesus Told the Parable of the Two Sons V.28-32

Israel was like the son who said he would obey and then did not follow through. Throughout the OT time and time again they would vow to obey God, but then it would not be very long until they were in rebellion against Him. Our words that we say to God mean nothing if we do not obey Him. Tax collectors and prostitutes were the lowest of the low in their society, yet Jesus said they would enter heaven ahead of the religious leaders because they believed John’s message of salvation. How many people have said that they plan on getting right with God, they may go to church occasionally, they may pray occasionally, yet all it ever amounts to is good intentions without any actions? It is all in vain. We must not only talk the talk, but we must also walk the walk.

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants V.33-46

In this parable six things are represented. They are 1) the landowner was God, 2) the vineyard was Israel, 3) the tenants were the Jewish religious leaders, 4) the landowner’s servants were the prophets and priests who were faithful to God, 5) the son was Jesus, and 6) the other tenants were Gentiles. Jesus was showing these leaders what they had done to God’s prophets and were now planning to do to Him.

In verse 42 Jesus was the stone that the builders (the religious leaders) rejected. In those days they did not have tools or equipment to get the ground completely level so the strongest stone would be put in the lowest corner of a building. This stone had to be the strongest because it held up the whole building. This stone was called the capstone.

Every time these leaders heard Jesus teach they could have repented and accepted Him, yet they never did.    

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 21

Prophecy – Be rejected as capstone, the chief cornerstone.

OT Reference – Psalm 118:22-23

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:42

Prophecy – a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense.

OT Reference – Isaiah 8:14-15

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:42-44

Prophecy – was to enter the temple.

OT Reference – Malachi 3:1

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:12-16

Prophecy – Be a prophet like Moses, speaking God’s words.

OT Reference – Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:11

Prophecy – be a haler and savior, do miracles.

OT Reference – Isaiah 35:4-6

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:14

Prophecy – be cut off at a specific time after Jerusalem wall is rebuilt, before the temple is destroyed.

OT Reference – Daniel 9:24-26, Zechariah 9:9

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 21:1-5

Matthew Chapter 22

Jewish Cultural Background

In Bible times it was their tradition to send out two invitations to events. The first invitation would just be to invite attendees to the event, but there would not be a date or time on the invite. Then the second invitation would be sent out once the event was ready and it would be to say that everything was ready, so it was time to come.

It was also custom that the host of a wedding feast would give everyone invited garments to wear. They would have been plain looking robes so that everyone would have looked equal.

Jesus Told the Parable of the Wedding Feast V. 1-14

This is the third parable that Jesus told the religious leaders. The first was Matthew 21:28-32 and the second was Matthew 21:33-44. All three of these were to show these leaders how they refused to obey God. They also showed them how God would welcome others besides them into His kingdom because of their refusal to fully obey God and His Word.

Following is what each person in the parable represents: the king represented God, the son was Jesus, the guests that were invited were both Jews and Gentiles, the messengers that were killed were the prophets and God’s messengers, and the man at the wedding without his wedding garment on are those who never fully surrendered to Jesus. 

In this parable a king is throwing a wedding feast for his son and has sent out invitations. It would have been an honor to have been invited to a royal wedding thrown by a king, so it would be a shock and unheard of that those invited would have refused to go. Who would turn down such an invitation? Even after they had been told of all the wonderful food that will be there, they still choose not to come. Some were too busy and just went on living their own lives while others became angry and killed the servants who had invited them. The king becomes angry and destroys these people who had killed his messengers. He brought judgment against them. Jesus was warning these religious leaders with this parable.

Jesus continued with the parable and said the king then invites others to the feast since the ones he invited at first refused to come. Out of those who came, He told of a man who came but did not have his wedding garment on. This wedding garment represented having the righteousness of Christ. This man is like those who try to be a Christian on their own terms and yet have not submitted fully to God. We might fool others by going through the motions, but we will not fool God. He knows exactly what is in our hearts. We will enter heaven only when we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus has gone away to prepare a place for us. He has sent the invitation. Heaven will be a place of joy, no more tears, no more sickness, we will have a mansion, walk on streets of gold, and be forever with Jesus. Who would say no to such an invitation? Yet many do.

Religious Leaders Questioned Jesus About Paying Taxes V. 15-22

The Romans required the Jews to pay taxes to their government. The Jews hated having to do this because their tax money supported the pagan temples and it was also a financial burden. The Pharisees thought their question would have trapped Jesus because if He said they should pay this tax, then they hoped the people would turn against Him for saying that. But if He said they should not pay it, then their hope was that He would be arrested for telling the people they should not pay taxes. They assumed whichever answer He gave would catch Him in a bad way, but no matter how hard they tried they could not trap Him. He said to obey the laws of government but to also obey God. It is like having dual citizenship. We are a citizen of this world and have laws set by the government, but we are also a citizen of God’s kingdom and obey His laws. God’s laws should always trump anything else.

Religious Leaders Questioned Jesus About the Resurrection V. 23-33

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or an afterlife. They thought you were born, lived your life, then died, and that was the end. Their question was asked as another attempt to trap Jesus in false teaching or a lie.

Once we are resurrected we will be like the angels. We will not be married. He says we will be like angels, not that we become angels. We will be like angels in this one way—we will not be married. There is nothing in the Bible that says we will become angels. When people say their dead loved ones are now their guardian angels it is not Biblical and nothing in the Bible supports that line of thinking.

Religious Leaders Questioned Jesus About the Greatest Commandment V. 34-40

The Pharisees had over 600 laws that they taught had to be followed to be holy. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Love to God equals obedience. Love without obedience is not loving Him. In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” We are also told to love others as ourselves and we do that by treating them how we want to be treated. If we will just do those two things then everything else will line up. Do your thoughts and your actions show that you love God with everything in you? Do they show that you love others? Over time our actions will reveal what is really inside us.

Religious Leaders Could Not Answer Jesus’ Question V. 41-46

What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? That is the question Jesus asked and that is the question we have to answer for ourselves. It is not enough to know what others say about Him. We must know Him for ourselves.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 22

Prophecy – David’s son, David’s Lord at God’s right hand

OT Reference – Psalm 110:1

NT Fulfillment – Matthew 22:41-45

Matthew Chapter 23

Jesus Warned Against the Religious Leaders V. 1-12

In these verses Jesus called these leaders out for what they are—hypocrites. The Greek word for hypocrite used here is hipokrites and it means an actor, make believe, or one who pretends. They came up with all these religious rules that the people were supposed to follow, yet they did not follow them for themselves. The ones they did follow were done only for show. Phylacteries were leather boxes. They would write scriptures on small scrolls, put them in these boxes, and then tie them around their forehead or arm during their prayer time. The Pharisees made these boxes look elaborate to draw attention to them as a way to say to others, “look at me, look how religious and holy I am.” They were full of pride and thought they were better than others and that they should be treated as such. They loved their titles because it made them feel important. Jesus teaches that we need to be humble servants and not seek titles out of pride nor use titles as a means of elevating ourselves above others. 

Jesus Condemned the Religious Leaders V. 13-36

Jesus continued to speak to these religious leaders calling them hypocrites, blind, snakes, and brood of vipers. Jesus had very strong words for the hypocritical church leaders. They did things to be seen, they did not live what they were teaching, and they put unneeded burdens on the people. The same could be said of many church leaders today. He called them the same thing John called them—brood of vipers. On the outside they looked holy, but on the inside they were corrupt and far from God.

Jesus said the phrase “woe to you”. Prophets in the OT used this phrase when they would give God’s judgment on Israel. These leaders would have understood what Jesus meant when He said woe to them. The woes Jesus gave are as follows:

1. V. 13 They shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. They were supposed to be showing others how to enter heaven, but they did the opposite.
2. V. 14 They did not help the poor widows. Instead, they devoured their houses by taking advantage of them.
3. V. 15 They were trying to win converts, but it was with a false teaching.
4. V. 16-22 They are trying to lead people to truth, but they are blind and cannot see the truth, so it is impossible to lead others.
5. V. 23-24 They were faithful to give their tithe, but then completely overlooked justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
6. V. 25-26 Jesus said these leaders were like dishes that were just washed on the outside, but the inside was left dirty. They changed their outside but not their inside.
7. V. 27-28 On the outside they looked clean, but on the inside they were unclean.
8. V. 29-36 They said if they had lived during the time of the OT prophets they would not have rejected them or taken part in killing them. However, they had already rejected John the Baptist and are now they were rejecting Jesus.

Jesus Grieved Over Jerusalem V. 37-39

Jesus knew the judgment that was coming if they did not repent and He cried over them. He wanted to save them, but they rejected Him. When we sin Jesus does not hate us. He hates the sin, but He loves us and wants to save us. He wants to take us under His wing and protect us, but we must run to Him and let Him. Jesus is willing. Are you?

Matthew Chapter 24

Jesus Predicted the Destruction of the Temple V. 1-2

Jesus told His disciples that the beautiful temple would be completely destroyed. That did happen 40 years later in 70 A.D. when Rome destroyed Jerusalem.

Jesus Described What Will be Going on in the World During the Time Between His Ascension and the Time Right Before His Second Coming V. 3-25

Jesus’ first response to being asked for signs of His coming, was for Him to tell them to watch out for deception. When we are looking for a sign, there will be many false signs to deceive us if we are not careful.

The following is the list of signs that Jesus gave:

• Many will claim to be Jesus (Mesiah).
• Wars and rumors of wars.
• Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
• Famine.
• Earthquakes.
• Christians will be hated and persecuted.
• Many Christians will backslide and hate one another.
• Many false prophets will lead many away from truth.
• Lawlessness will increase so people’s love for one another will grow cold.
• The gospel will be preached in the whole world.
• The prophet Daniel spoke about the abomination of desolation that would happen in the holy place. This is believed to take place when the Jews rebuild their temple, and the antichrist goes in and defiles this sacred place. Jesus warns this will be a time to run for safety because there will be a great tribulation.

These things have been going on for hundreds of years, but it is when they become more intense and more frequent, just like with labor pains, that it gets closer.

The great tribulation will be the worst time in all of history. There are four views of the end times regarding when the church will be raptured. The four are the church will be raptured before the great tribulation, during it, at the end of it, or not until Jesus returns. There is also debate about the validity of the theology concerning the rapture. That is a whole other study that could last a year, so we will not dive into that at this time. In my personal opinion, and the way I live my life, is to be ready every single day of my life. If we are always ready there is no way we will miss Heaven.

Jesus Told About His Return V. 26-35

He is coming back. We do not know when, but the main thing is that we are ready.

Jesus Told About Remaining Watchful V. 36-51

Once Jesus returns, there will not be a chance to repent then. Now is the time to repent and get your sins forgiven. Are you ready to meet Him if He came right now?

Matthew Chapter 25

Jesus Told the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins V. 1-13

Jesus told them another parable that explained that He will come back at a time that no one knows, so they must always be ready for His coming. In this parable five were ready, five were foolish and were not ready, and the door was shut on them. We will not be given time to get ready once Jesus comes back. Now is the time to get ready and then stay ready to meet Him. We stay ready by being in a relationship with Him, obeying His Word (Bible), and living submitted lives to Him.

Jewish Culture During that Time

Weddings would take place over several days. The bridesmaids would stay at the home of the bride. They did not know when the groom and his friends would come to get his bride, but because they knew it would happen in the evening after dark, they had to keep their lamps filled with oil and keep them lit. They had to be ready to leave as soon as the groom came. When the groom arrived they would all walk together to the groom’s home where there would be a large wedding feast.

Jesus Told the Parable of the Talents V. 14-30

In this parable Jesus told us how we should live as we wait for His return. We are to use what God has given us for His purpose. We should not bury our talents or hide them away. Talents in this parable is money, but it can represent anything God has given us. We must use whatever God has given us for His glory and as service to Him.

You may feel like you do not have anything to offer the Lord, but He has given all of us gifts and talents to use for His kingdom. If you do not know what He has placed in you, ask Him. He will show you. If you have breath, you have kingdom purpose.

Jesus Told About the Final Judgment V. 31-46

How well do your actions, the way you live and what you do, match what you say? It is so easy to speak words, but then the hard part is to put action to our words. It is easy to say we love Jesus, to say we care about the poor, the homeless, the sick, etc., but what do we do about it? We do not do good works to get saved, as a way of earning salvation, but we do good works because we love the Lord, and we want to live a faithful life for Him. Out of that faithful love for Him our good works flow because love will drive us to do good for others.

Matthew Chapter 26

The Plot to Kill Jesus V. 1-5

God had commanded the Israelites to celebrate Passover every year. They were to remember how He had saved them and brought them out of Egypt where they had been slaves. God had an angel bring death to the homes of the Egyptians, but because the Israelites had put the blood of a lamb on their homes the death angel passed over their house. Every year they would begin the celebration of Passover by killing a lamb, so Jesus was making the connection of His death to Passover and the killing of a lamb.

A Woman Anointed Jesus with Perfume V. 6-13

We know from John 12:1-3 that this woman is Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She took a very expensive perfume, something of great worth, and poured it out on Jesus. Others in the room saw it as being wasteful, but Jesus saw it as her act of worship, love, honor, and devotion to Him.

There are times people will not get our level of worship or our calling. They may even ridicule us. When that happens we should ignore them and keep doing what the Lord has called us to do. Our worship and calling are between God and us. We do not need the approval of anyone else.

It was part of the culture at that time to anoint a body with oil when the person died. I am not sure if Mary realized that she was preparing His body for His death or if she did this not really understanding what was about to happen. Since the anointing of a body took place after death it makes me think that she did not do this for that reason. Jesus, knowing what was going to happen, said it was done to prepare Him for His burial. Another thought I have is that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, so maybe when He was telling of His death, she understood what was going to happen from spending time with Him and hearing Him talk about it. 

Judas Agreed to Betray Jesus V. 14-16

It is so hard to understand why Judas would betray Jesus. He was with Him daily and saw all the miracles. Yet, once Satan began whispering in his ear (John 13:2) Judas did not resist him and instead carried out Satan’s plan. That is why we cannot let the enemy linger around us. That is why we must shut him up and make him leave with his first word in our mind. Do not have a conversation with him, do not try to reason or bargain with him, but instead resist him immediately. As soon as you hear that first whisper command them to go in the name of Jesus. James 4:7 gives us the perfect outline for spiritual warfare. Submit to God, resist the devil, and the devil will flee. They have no choice but to go when we are submitted to God and resist them. Resisting is an action that requires us commanding them to go in the name of Jesus.

Disciples Prepared for the Passover V. 17-19

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was also celebrated at this time. The bread was made without yeast so that it could be made fast. It reminded them how God brought them out of Egypt quickly. We should never forget everything God has done for us. It is good to have reminders especially when we are going through difficult seasons. When your faith is being tested or stretched think back to all the things God has brought you through and stand firm in your faith that He cannot and will not fail you.

Jesus and His Disciples Had the Last Supper V. 20-30

The Israelites had grown up understanding blood covenants. They understood that an animal had to be sacrificed for their sins to be forgiven. Exodus 24:8 “Moses, then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” We can see how the OT points to the NT with Jesus being the sacrificial lamb. His blood paid the price for all our sins to be forgiven. He was the prefect sacrifice.  

Jesus Predicted Peter’s Denial V. 31-35

It is easy to say we will never deny Christ when there are no problems, but when we really find out what we will do is when we are put to the test. When you are being made fun of or laughed at in the workplace or with friends or family, do you deny Him? Maybe you do not say that you deny Him, but does your silence say that? Does joining in with the gossip or crude jokes say that you deny Him? What if a gun was held to your head, would you deny Him then? We each have a decision to make every single day. Our words and actions will either profess that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, or they will deny Him.

Jesus Agonized in the Garden V. 36-46

Jesus was fully God, but He was also fully man. It was the human side of Him that knew the suffering He would go through. Jesus knows what it feels like to have sorrow and emotional agony. He knew the suffering and pain that He would feel, yet He did it for us. He submitted to the will of His Father. He loves us that much.

We should pray like Jesus did and tell God our requests but then say to Him, “Not my will Father, but Yours be done.”

Jesus was Betrayed and Arrested V. 47-56

Everything that happened was supposed to happen just the way it did to fulfill prophecy. It was God’s plan for our Salvation. Jesus could have called on His Father to send angels to rescue Him, but He knew why He came, and He was going through with the plan for our salvation.

Caiaphas Questioned Jesus V. 57-68

Although the Romans were in control, they allowed the people to have control of religious matters. However, a death sentence had to be handed down by the Romans. For the people to kill Jesus they needed the approval of the Roman leader. At that time if anyone claimed to be God or the Son of God it was blasphemy and punishable by death. Caiaphas was trying to see if Jesus would say that He was God so he could give Him the death sentence.

Peter Denied Knowing Jesus V. 69-75

Peter was accused of being with Jesus three times. The first time he tried to act confused like he did not know what she was talking about. The second time he used an oath and denied he knew Jesus. The third time he began to curse and swear that he did not know Him. This is what fear will do. Peter denied that he knew Jesus to a servant girl and then another girl. It was not like he was standing before Caiaphas. Each time he lied, each time he sinned, he got worse. That is what sin will do. It takes you farther and farther from God. When Peter wept bitterly it was the beginning of his repentance.

Prophecy Fulfilled by Jesus

Prophecy – Rulers take council against Him.

OT references – Psalm 2:1-2

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:3-4, 47

Prophecy – a new everlasting covenant.

OT reference – Jeremiah 31:31-34

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:27-29

Prophecy – come to do the will of God.

OT reference – Psalm 40:7-8

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:39

Prophecy – Be accused by false witnesses.

OT reference – Psalm 27:12, 35:11

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:60

Prophecy – Be beaten and spit on.

OT reference – Isaiah 50:6

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:67

Prophecy – be betrayed by a friend.

OT reference – Psalm 41:9, 55:12-14

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:14-16, 23

Prophecy – be sold for 30 pieces of silver.

OT reference – Zechariah 11:12

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:14-15

Prophecy – friends stand afar off.

OT reference – Psalm 38:11, 88:18

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:56-58, 27:55

Prophecy – shepherd smitten, sheep scattered and deserted by His followers.

OT reference – Zechariah 13:6-7

NT fulfillment – Matthew 26:31, 56

Matthew Chapter 27

Jesus was Handed Over to Pilate V. 1-2

Pilate was the Roman appointed governor over Judea. The religious leaders did not have the authority to have Jesus put to death, so they convinced the Roman government to give Him the death sentence. The religious leaders had the authority to arrest Jesus on the grounds of blasphemy, but they could not give Him the death sentence.

Judas Hung Himself V. 3-10

Judas regretted what he had done, but the priests were not going to change the plan just because Judas had regrets. Really think about the consequences of sin. There is repentance and forgiveness, but there may still be consequences of our sin that we cannot change. Being sorry for a sin is not the same thing as repenting for our sin. If Judas had repented, he would have received forgiveness and not felt hopeless and felt the weight of his sin.

Jesus Stood Trial Before Pilate V. 11-14

Luke 23:2 gives us a little more detail about what the religious leaders told Pilate the reason for Jesus’ arrest was. They could not just say that He had claimed to be God, because the Romans did not share their religious beliefs and would not have seen that as something to give a death sentence for. So, they lied and said that He was telling the people not to pay taxes which was seen as a huge problem to the Roman government.

Pilate Handed Jesus Over to be Crucified V. 15-26

Pilate had a chance to do the right thing. In his heart he realized that Jesus was innocent and did not deserve a death sentence. Also, his wife shared with him her dream that she had about Jesus, but his fear of the people and what they wanted caused him to decide to do something that he knew was not right. One of Pilate’s tasks was to keep peace in his region, so he gave in to the riot and will of the people.  Never give in to pressure. We need to please God, not man.

It is easy to read V. 26 where it says, “But he had Jesus flogged” and not really think what that all entailed. Let’s take a moment and look at what that looked like and what Jesus experienced. This is taken from bibleref.com: “This was a form of torture itself. Jewish law often considered 40 lashes to be the equivalent of beating someone to death, using a standard whip. The Romans had no stroke limit. The person being punished would be stripped and tied to a post. They would then be beaten by a professional, trained soldier, using a flagrum: a multiheaded leather whip braided with weights, bones, metal, hooks or glass. Aggressive use of a scourge could strip flesh from bones and expose organs. Some scourging victims died from injuries, others from resulting infections. Flogging was sometimes used before crucifixion to weaken the victim.” This is what Jesus willingly went through for us. 

Roman Soldiers Mocked Jesus V. 27-31

Keep in mind as we read through the flogging, the mocking, and then His crucifixion, that at any point Jesus could have called down an army of angels to His rescue, yet He did not do that. What greater love has any man than to lay down his life for others. Nothing else could possibly speak of love louder than what Jesus did for us.

Jesus was Led Away to be Crucified V. 32-44

Gall was a narcotic that was used at that time to help deaden pain, but Jesus refused to drink it. He was willing to suffer fully the pain.

Hebrews 13:11-12 tells us that just like the animals, that were killed as a sacrifice, were killed outside of the area where the people were camped, Jesus was also killed outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

Jesus Died on the Cross V. 45-56

Crucifixion is the most painful way to die. Bibleref.com describes it this way: “The victim’s hands would be nailed to the crossbeam, typically just under the bones of the wrist. In some cases, the palm of the hand would be nailed, but the wrist was a more secure attachment point. Care was taken to pierce nerves and avoid blood vessels, to enhance pain and extend suffering. The crossbeam would then be hoisted onto an upright pole. The feet were nailed in place, using similar care as the hands. The knees would be slightly bent, and the victim’s weight would hang entirely on those three points. This began a slow, excruciating process of suffocation. With outstretched arms being pulled apart, exchanging air in the lungs required the victim to strain against the nails to pull his body up, bringing intense pain. Over time, this became more and more difficult. Eventually, the prisoner simply could not take in any more air and choked to death. Crucifixion victims could linger for hours or even days as infection, shock, scavengers, thirst, and blood loss took their toll.” Jesus paid a high price for our salvation.

Matthew tells about four things that happened when Jesus died. 1) It became dark 2) inside the temple the curtain tore in two 3) there was an earthquake 4) dead people rose from their graves. I wonder what everyone thought at that point. 

The temple had three areas which were the courts, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. Only the priests could enter the Holy Place. This is where the priests kept the lamps burning, making sure they had oil, they burned incense on the altar of incense, and they offered a meal offering two times a day on behalf of themselves and the priesthood. The Most Holy Place was where the priest entered once a year to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel. The curtain that was torn in two separated these two areas. When this was torn at Jesus’ death, this was to show that the barrier between God and people was gone. Now we could go directly to God.

Jesus was Laid in the Tomb V. 57-61

It was the custom of the Roman government to leave bodies on the cross and not take them down. Eventually the body rots and scavengers eat it. Because Pilate takes into consideration that a religious holiday feast was to begin he allowed Joeseph to take down Jesus’ body. 

Guards were Posted at the Tomb V. 62-66

The Pharisees and chief priests were afraid that Jesus’ disciples would take His body and then say that He rose again in three days just as He said He would, so they sealed the tomb and placed guards there.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew chapter 27

Prophecy – be struck on the head.

OT reference – Micah 5:1

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:30

Prophecy – have hands and feet pierced.

OT reference – Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:35

Prophecy – be given gall and vinegar.

OT reference – Psalm 69:20-22

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:34, 48

Prophecy – be beaten and spat upon.

OT reference – Isaiah 50:6

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:26-30

Prophecy – be accused and afflicted but did not open His mouth.

OT reference – Isaiah 53:7

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:12

Prophecy – be buried with the rich.

OT reference – Isaiah 53:9

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:57-60

Prophecy – be crucified with transgressors.

OT reference – Isaiah 53:12

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:38

Prophecy – 30 pieces of silver buy the potter’s field.

OT reference – Zechariah 11:12-13

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:3, 6-10

Prophecy – feel forsaken by God.

OT reference – Psalm 22:1

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:46

Prophecy – be mocked and insulted by many.

OT reference – Psalm 22:7-8, 17

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:31, 39-43

Prophecy – friends stand afar off.

OT reference – Psalm 38:11, 88:18

NT fulfillment – Matthew 27:55

Matthew Chapter 28

Jesus Rose from the Dead V. 1-7

There were four things the angel said to the women: 1) do not be afraid, 2) He is not here, 3) come and see where He laid, and 4) go quickly and tell His disciples. Jesus rose again just as He had said He would. This was more proof that He truly was the Son of God, their long-awaited Messiah.

Jesus Appeared to the Women V. 8-10

These two women were the first people to see the resurrected Jesus. Upon seeing Him all they could do was worship Him.

Religious Leaders Bribed the Guards V. 11-15

The guards were there, and they knew the truth of Jesus’ resurrection. The priests knew the truth too. They had a choice to make. They could believe that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the Christ, or reject the truth that was in front of them. The guards chose money over accepting the truth of Jesus and the priest chose power and control. The priests, who were supposed to be the religious leaders for the people by helping them find their way to God, rejected Him even after there was undeniable evidence that He was the Christ. We are faced with the same choice today. Do we accept Jesus or do we reject Him? 

Jesus Gave the Great Commission V. 16-20

Jesus has commanded us to make disciples of others. It was not a suggestion. We do this with His authority and not in ours. To make a disciple means you spend time with that person, you teach and mentor that person, and you help them learn how to live for Jesus. Then at some point they are ready to go out and do the same thing with others. The process should be repeated over and over—make disciples of others.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Prophecy – the government is on His shoulders.

OT reference – Isaiah 40:3-5

NT fulfillment – Matthew 28:18