Jun
15
Matthew 9:9–13 prayer
9As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him. 10Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Focused Thinking: Moving straight to interactive prayer today. Personal Application: Interactive Prayer: Father, I pray that You will be present and powerful today in and through Andy’s leadership and teaching. Father, anoint...
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14
Matthew 9:1–8
1Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. 2And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3And some of the scribes said to themselves, “This fellow blasphemes.” 4And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6“But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7And he got up and went home. 8But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men. Focused Thinking: What is an important element of the context of this story? “Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city.” What is happening in the...
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13
Matthew 8:28–34
28When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. 29And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” 30Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them. 31The demons began to entreat Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.” 32And He said to them, “Go!” And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters. 33The herdsmen ran away, and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. 34And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they implored Him to leave their region. Focused Thinking: What...
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11
Matthew 8:23–27
23When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. 24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. 25And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” 26He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. 27The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Focused Thinking: The Word of God is so interesting. I think it is so amazing that the Word says, “And BEHOLD, there arose a GREAT STORM on the sea, so that the boat was being COVERED with the WAVES; but Jesus Himself was ASLEEP. In the midst of great fear and danger, Jesus is asleep. This wasn’t a yacht with a bedroom in the base of the boat. This was probably a simply fishing boat. How does He sleep in...
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10
Matthew 8:18–22
18Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. 19Then a scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” 20Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 21Another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 22But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.” Focused Thinking: Interesting? Why does Jesus give orders to depart when the crowd gathers? Today we spend so much time trying to draw a crowd. It is hard for us to imagine sending a crowd away. Why do we have a hard time drawing a crowd today? We have a hard time drawing a crowd because we aren’t living the life. If we loved one another as Jesus loves us, would we have a hard time drawing a crowd? If we treated one another the way we want...
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09
Matthew 8:14–17
14When Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she got up and waited on Him. 16When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.” Focused Thinking: (See also Mk 1:29–34 and Lk 4:38–41) Typically we don’t hear much about the disciples’ personal lives, here we see that Peter was married and they probably visited as their travels allowed. 1 Cor 9:5 Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? What was the significance of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law? Why was this story placed here in Matthew? Jesus healed a leper first...
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08
Matthew 8:11–13
11“I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment. Focused Thinking: What is Jesus referring to in verse 11? Let’s try to make some sense of this verse by getting some help from the Life Application Bible Commentary on Matthew. Most Jews looked forward to the day when the diaspora Jews would return to Jerusalem—from the east and the west—to enjoy the company of the Messiah and the patriarchs in a great banquet (Ps 107:3; Isa 25:6; 43:5–6). Jesus speaks of the Gentiles’ direct participation, for the many who will come from the east and the west are the Gentiles who will come...
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07
Matthew 8:5–10
5And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, 6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” 7Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9“For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. Focused Thinking: What is the significance of these examples of faith being back to back? Jesus uses repetition to reinforce the truth He is teaching. Jesus gives an example of faith: First was the leper. Second is the Roman Centurion. Notice...
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06
Matthew 8:1–4
1When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Focused Thinking: What happened after the Sermon on the Mount? “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.” What would normal people do if a leper approached him? A normal person would be fearful. A normal person would be worried about getting leprosy. What would the large crowd do if a leper approached Jesus? They would have been afraid of being touched by the leper. They would have been afraid of getting leprosy. They would have been...
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05
Matthew 8:1–4 prayer
1When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. 2And a leper came to Him and bowed down before Him, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 3Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Focused Thinking: Focusing on prayer today. Personal Application: Interactive Prayer: Father, this week has been a week of crisis. Please be with the Bommarito family and the tragedy they suffered this week. Give Nick the ability to grieve and heal. Give understanding from Your perspective. Heal his heart and mind. Be with their family and extended family through the loss of their loved one. Father, thank you for working in my friend’s marriage. I pray that You...
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