In Matthew 6:1-15, Jesus makes it clear that spiritual practices are not for show. What we aim for in our spiritual lives, we receive. Don’t pray to impress or with formulaic expectations, as if God does not already know and He needs to be woken up or informed. Spiritual practices of generosity, worship and prayer are about a personal relationship with God. The Lord’s Prayer is a model or a map of prayer. Like many other books of prayer, it…
The teachings of Jesus have had vast historical influence, and the Sermon on the Mount may be the most influential. But the scripture we are covering today (Matthew 5:1-20) isn’t just nice platitudes; it is shocking. The audience was ‘astonished.’ We must be careful to not read this sermon with preconceived ideas and cast our Western understanding into it. We need to see it as Matthew wrote it, in the context of the Messiah King and His Kingdom. To understand…
The synoptic gospels present Jesus’ temptation immediately following His baptism. We can expect challenges after spiritual peaks. The wilderness motif is common in scripture. It represents a dry and discouraging time that grows and matures us. It is a time that we must be dependent on God (1 Peter 1:6-7). Today in Matthew 3:13-4:11, we look at the temptations of Christ. We must understand that temptation is not a sin. Jesus was tempted, just like we are (Hebrews 4:15). Temptation…
Isaiah chapters 40-55 are called the ‘comfort poems.’ They are a backdrop to the Gospel of Matthew. They tell of the Messiah’s return and hope of the promised Kingdom of God (Isaiah 52:1-10). Matthew is diligent to make clear that fulfillment of the entire story of the Hebrew Bible is found in Jesus. He begins the Gospel with the genealogy from the promise to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17). Immerse ourselves in the story because we still have a part to play…