Apr
19
Matthew 5:1–12
1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. 6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great;...
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16
Matthew 4:23–25
23Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. 24The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. 25Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan. Focused Thinking: How long had it been since someone did the things Jesus did? The last prophet was Malachi. There was 400 years of silence from God before John the Baptist. Not one living soul had ever witnessed anything like Jesus before. What does that say about the rabbis between Malachi and John the Baptist? There had to be a remnant, but I assume there was a consistent decline from Malachi to John the Baptist. If you think about it in today’s...
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15
Matthew 4:18–22
18Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Focused Thinking: Did Jesus have any previous contact with Peter and Andrew? Did Jesus have any previous interaction to know more about Peter and Andrew? Did Jesus pray about who His disciples would be during His time in the wilderness? Do I remember correctly that one of the other gospels records Jesus praying through the night before He called His disciples? What did Peter and Andrew know about...
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13
Matthew 4:12–17
12Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 15“THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES—16“THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.” 17From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Focused Thinking: How did it impact Jesus for John to be taken into Herod’s custody? John was Jesus’ cousin and forerunner. Jesus withdrew into Galilee. Scripture doesn’t tell us all the reasons Jesus withdrew, but you have to think that it troubled Him for John to suffer for His sake. Matthew 11:11...
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12
Matthew 4:5–7
5Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, 6“If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’” 7Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’” Focused Thinking: First, the devil attacked Him with food after forty days of fasting and prayer. Second, the devil attacked Him by asking him to showcase His authority and power. What is the significance of taking Him to the pinnacle of the temple? Why did the devil want Jesus to be tempted from the pinnacle of the temple? Why did the devil want Jesus to look over His holy city? Why would this temptation be tempting to Jesus? Is it just the temptation to demonstrate His authority and power? I...
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11
Matthew 4:1–4
1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ” Focused Thinking: Who led Jesus into the wilderness? He was led by the Spirit. Why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness? He was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Why did God lead His Son to be tempted by the devil? The passage doesn’t tell us directly, but I will speculate. God wanted Satan to know he couldn’t defeat His Son. God wanted Jesus to face and overcome the enemy immediately. What was Jesus doing in the wilderness? He was fasting forty days and forty nights. He was preparing for His...
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10
Matthew 3:11–12
11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Focused Thinking: What is the phase “as for me” in reference to? “As for Me,” I baptize you with water for repentance. I am the one “preaching in the wilderness.” I am the one preaching “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I am “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” I am the voice crying out “Make ready the way of the LORD.” I am the voice crying out “Make His path straight.” I am the one “baptizing people as they confessed their sins.” I am the one warning the Pharisees and Sadducees. I am the one warning...
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09
Matthew 3:7–10
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10“The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Focused Thinking: Who were the Pharisees and Sadducees? The Sadducees were political liberals and religious conservatives. They were a small aristocratic and priestly sector that had made its peace with the Roman government. They believed only in the written Scriptures; more specifically, the five books of Moses. They rejected angels and the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees were a larger, more popular group...
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08
Matthew 3:1–6
1Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’” 4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. Focused Thinking: Why does one choose to preach in the wilderness of Judea? Was there something significant about the wilderness of Judea? The wilderness area was south of Jerusalem. To be 400 years without a prophet is to be in the wilderness again. The people of God needed another Moses. What was John the Baptist...
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07
Matthew 2:19–23
19But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20“Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Focused Thinking: What was the cause of Herod’s death? The passage doesn’t tell us, but I’d like to see if history books record it. I’m just curious about the timing of Herod’s death. How did Herod’s death affect these events? Who replaced Herod and what did that process look like? Archelaus,...
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