Heads Up

We have already seen the beginning of opposition in the story of the healing of the paralytic in Matthew chapter 9. The teachers of the law objected when Jesus forgave the paralyzed man of his sins, claiming that only God can forgive sins. They accused Him of blasphemy. In the continuation of the story of…

Everything we have been saying about Jesus’ authority to forgive sin carries over into the next story, which is why Matthew has included the account of his own calling to be a disciple in Matthew 9. He told about the calling of some of the first disciples earlier. He will provide a full list of…

People who read Matthew for the first time may think the arrangement of material is haphazard or at best merely topical. It is not haphazard. It is topical. But it is more than topical. First of all, we see a progression in the nine miracles. They start with simple physical healings: the man with leprosy,…

“The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.” No disciple better personifies this truth than Thomas who we find in all four apostolic lists. Only John refers to him by name. Ironically,…

John, the son of Zebedee and younger brother of James, is believed to be the author of the Gospel that bears his name and close companion of Jesus during His final days in Jerusalem. Although the Johannine authorship is not without detractors according to Dr. Eckhard Schnabel “no early tradition ever disputes this identification.”

Someone has said that “God prepares men then launches the events of history.” If all history is really the narrative of God unfolding His redemptive plan for mankind, then all history is worth studying. As we do, we discover a fitting plan whereby the right man (or woman) is present and prepared – at just…