Matthew 18:1-14 See what concern Jesus has for little ones in Matthew 18! “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (verses 3-5). “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin,... Read more
Matthew 17:14-27 “Why could we not cast it out?” the disciples ask, concerning the demon they had failed to exorcise. “Because of your unbelief. . . . However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” This is an intriguing passage for many reasons. Let me clear up a confusion or red herring right at the beginning. When Jesus says that if we have faith we can actually move mountains, how many of us really believe He’s... Read more
Matthew 17:1-13 All of the life of Christ is one piece, like the tunic which He wore to His death and for which the soldiers cast lots. His Transfiguration is therefore of a piece with His Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. In the Incarnation, when God was made man, the glory of the Lord, the glory of Jesus, was revealed. We saw it with the angels and the shepherds and, later, the wise men. The glory of the Lord shone through... Read more
Matthew 16:13-28 One thing’s for sure: contrary to what atheists would have you believe, heaven will definitely not be boring! I say this because even in this life God is constantly desiring to show us new things and take us to the next level. I’ve discovered that I went through 3 phases of watching the Batman TV show made in the 60s. When I was a little kid, I wanted to be Batman. I had a Batman cowl, a Batman... Read more
Matthew 16:1-12 The Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to show them a sign from heaven. But Jesus denied their request, saying that they knew how to discern the face of the sky but could not discern the signs of the times. Actually, He said that He would give them no sign but the sign of the prophet Jonah. The truth was that the signs of the Messiah and God’s Kingdom were all around the Pharisees and Sadducees, but they were... Read more
Matthew 15:21-39 Jesus loved the little children, and I think one of the reasons must have been because they are often so humble. How many times my children have come to me or Jackie to ask us for something that they cannot get for themselves. “Daddy, can you put on my shoes?” “Mommy, I’m hongry!” Of course, most of the time, Jackie and give them what they need (though not necessarily what they want) without their even asking for it!... Read more
Matthew 15:1-20 Here’s an interesting experiment that would be fascinating to run: to write down every word that we uttered in a particular day and then examine the transcript. I wonder what such a transcript would reveal about who we are and about how holy we are. An even better measure, though even more impossible to use, would be to record every thought we had in our heads throughout a given day. Then, if we had... Read more
Matthew 14:22-36 There are so many encounters that the disciples have with Jesus in such a short time in this one episode that I see myself in this story multiple times. Each time I see myself, I see a little more of myself and my Lord reflected from the waters of the Sea of Galilee. In fact, what I see this morning is a depiction of how we come closer to Christ in faith, and the stages of experiencing Him... Read more
Matthew 14:13-21 Do you ever find yourself doing some of the most important things in life as if you’re just going through the motions? Sometimes the most important things in life have become so common that we stop noticing them. For example, most of the time we don’t notice that we breathe to take in the oxygen that helps support our life. And sometimes our daily need to eat food can go unnoticed; after all, every year you live... Read more
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Friday of Trinity 19 – Matthew 18:15-35
Matthew 18:15-35 Growing up in Champaign, Illinois until the age of 10, I had a pretty idyllic, “Leave it to Beaver” childhood. I remember thinking sometimes that life wasn’t all that good. The sources of my “suffering”? The teasing of my siblings, the Green Bay Packers team losing a game or the Chicago Cubs not winning the division title, or losing a spelling bee in school that I thought I should have won. But when I compare what I thought... Read more