Chapter 8 is a chapter recounting many of Jesus miracles.

1. Jesus heals a man with leprosy, tells him not to tell anyone about it. (verses 1-4)
2. Jesus heals a Roman centurion’s crippled servant. (verses 5-13)
   1. The centurion comes to Jesus for help.
   2. Jesus offers to go to mains house, but centurion feels unworthy and tells Jesus that He can help him from there.
   3. Jesus is amazed by the man’s faith and heals his servant without going to his house.
3. Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law Mary from a fever. (verses 14-15)
4. Later in the evening after healing Mary, Jesus exorcises many brought to him who are demon possessed.  (verses 16-17)
5. Jesus is approached by several individuals who want to follow him.  Jesus tells the first man that He himself has no home.  The second man says he needs to go and bury his father first and Jesus responds, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” (verses 18-22).
6. Jesus is awoken by His frightened disciples and calms a storm while out in a boat. (verses 23-27)
7. Jesus casts demons out of two men. (verses 28-34)
   1. Demons acknowledge Jesus and begged to be cast into a nearby herd of swine.
   2. Jesus casts them into the swine, which then proceed to run down the hillside into the lake and drown.
   3. Upon seeing and hearing this, the local people came to Jesus and pleaded with Him to leave their region.

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Full Text Matthew Chapter8

Continuation of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (these are Jesus’ teachings)

1. Jesus discusses judgment:
   1. Do not judge anyone, for similar judgment can also be placed on you.
   2. Always reflect on yourself before pointing out other’s flaws. How can you hypocritically point out a small flaw in another when you are guilty of a much larger one?
   3. Teaching others should be done within their spiritual understanding.
2. Jesus continues with seeking the things of God
   1. Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.
   2. Jesus compares how parents take care of there children’s needs to how God will fulfill our needs in a greater capacity.
   3. The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have the do to you.
3. Wide and broad is the road to destruction and hell. Narrow is the road that leads to eternal life.
4. Jesus warns against false prophets. He points out that you can recognize them by the ‘fruit’ they produce, by there works and actions.
5. Building upon God’s Word is like building on rock. Your faith will stand the storm. Anyone who hears the Word and rejects it is building on sand and is doomed to destruction.
6. The people listening to Jesus are amazed because He teaches differently; as one who has actual authority.

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Full Text Matthew Chapter 7

²⁸“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹” ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

The context of these verses involves Jesus speaking with some of the Jewish leaders. He proceeds with a few parables that very much fly in the face of these leaders. Being told that you would enter the kingdom of God behind prostitutes and tax collectors didn’t sit very well with these leaders either.

The main point I pull out of these verses is that ‘change matters‘. The one son immediately said he wouldn’t go. That, to often, reminds me of myself. My initial reaction to a lot of things, probably isn’t the best/right one. I’ve gotten better about ‘digesting’ something before I ‘weigh-in’ on a topic. Still, there are times with things I’m most passionate about that I just say ‘No…I’m not doing that’, or ‘Sure I can’ only to end up regretting it. The beauty of these pages though, is that Jesus is telling us that we can make mistakes…and although we can’t ‘take them back’…we can change.

I’ve been posting a lot about change here lately. My life is in a bit of a ‘changing’ stage. Getting married…starting a life with someone…feeling excited and nervous at the same time. I think change always feels like that. Embracing something new and different. The tag line for this blog…”Today is a New Day… Today I Pray for Change… Today I Begin My Change…” is something I hope to live by each and every day.

Prayer

Father,

I know ‘change’ will come in my life. I know that your will for me involves that. Thank you for the struggles that strengthen me. Guide me so that ‘change’ is not something I fear…but something I embrace and become closer to You through.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.

Context: Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount

1. Jesus tells the disciples to be humble in discrete in several areas of their lives versus being boastful. These things are about giving glory to God and not yourself. Also, doing these in secret will result in rewards from the Father in secret.
   1. Give to the needy so that your ‘left hand does not know what your right is doing.’
   2. Pray in your home with the door closed and don’t babble on about what you need…God already knows your needs. Jesus introduces the Lord’s Prayer here.
   3. When fasting, don’t make it obvious to everyone. Go on normally.
2. Jesus goes on to talk about the failing, fading, temporary things of the earth:
   1. Earthly treasures will pass away. Store up treasures in heaven by keeping your heart on things of God.
   2. What you look at with your eyes affects the entire body.
   3. No one can serve two masters…specifically God and Money.
   4. Don’t worry about food or clothing. God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers which are fairly insignificant things and pass away quickly. God provides for these, so He’ll also provide for us.

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Full Text Matthew Chapter 6

Chapter 5 of Matthew consists entirely of Jesus teaching his disciples. It is often referred to as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’.

1. Jesus heads up a mountain to ministry to His disciples.
2. He begins with the Beattitudes…”Blessed are _______ for they will _____.”:
   1. The Poor in Spirit receive the Kingdom of Heaven.
   2. Those who morn receive comfort.
   3. The meek will inherit the earth.
   4. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.
   5. The merciful will be shown mercy.
   6. Those pure in heart will see God.
   7. Peacemakers will be called sons of God.
   8. Those who are persecuted and falsely accused for Jesus’ sake will receive a great reward in Heaven.
3. Jesus compares the disciples to salt. Salt adds flavor and preservation.
4. He calls them a light of the world and compares them to a city on a hill, telling them to shine as a light before men to lead them to God.
5. Jesus explains that He is here to fulfill the law, not to eliminate it. It is still to be practiced and taught in it’s entirety.
6. Jesus uses a ‘nip it in the bud’ approach to sin in verses 21-37:
   1. If you find yourself angry at someone, settle the matter before things escalate. This will prevent things from coming to murder and prison. It also separates you from being able to worship God with your whole being.
   2. He likens lusting is the same as committing adultery in your heart.
   3. If part of you causes you to sin, remove it.
   4. If anyone divorces (except for reasons of unfaithfulness), they are committing adultery.
   5. Making oaths is a dangerous thing. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No’.
7. Jesus challenges the disciples to go beyond the old testament law of an ‘Eye for an eye’, ‘Tooth for a tooth.’ He says to turn the other cheek to an enemy that strikes you and walk two miles with someone that asks you to walk one.
8. Jesus last point is to Love your enemies. He’s challenging the disciples to strive for the perfection of the Father in love and forgiveness.

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Full Text Matthew Chapter 5

1. Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil.
2. After forty days and nights of fasting, the devil appears and tempts Jesus 3 times.
3. Jesus resists the temptations and angels come to attend to Him.
4. Jesus then begins His ministry in Capernaum.
5. He calls His first Disciples: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
6. Jesus travels throughout all of Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing people of all different ailments and diseases.

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Full Text Matthew Chapter 4

1. John the Baptist is introduced preaching in the desert of Judea.
2. John is described as a man of simple clothing and food, wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey.
3. Many people come out listen to his preaching. Some confess their sins and are baptized.
4. He rebukes the Pharisees telling them that the time for the coming of the Messiah is near, that He will weed out of all the trees that don’t produce fruit and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire vs. John baptizing with water.
5. Jesus comes to be baptized by John.
6. John, not without protest, baptizes Jesus.
7. The heavens open and a Dove descends along with the voice of God declaring, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

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John the Baptist in the Desert (Matthew 3:1-6)

In Chapter 3 of Matthew, John the Baptist ministry has begun in the Desert of Judea. John is preaching that everyone should “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Verse 3 is a direct quote of Isaiah 40:3 referring to the ‘voice of the one crying in the wilderness’ to emphasis the old testament tie in. This is a theme in the book of Matthew used to anchor this new writing on the foundation of the prophets.

John is described as wearing clothes made of camel’s hair with a simple leather belt about him. The food he ate is described as ‘locusts and wild honey’. His ministry drew people out from the whole region including Jerusalem. Many confessed their sins to him and were baptized in the Jordan river.

John Rebukes the Pharisees (Matthew 3:7-12)

Among the people that came out to listen to John in the desert were many Pharisees and Sadducees. He is very harsh with them calling them a ‘brood of vipers’ and warning them that their stubbornness and hypocrisy can only lead to being ‘cut down and thrown into the fire’. He also warns them that their time to do this is running short and that there is another coming (Jesus) who will “baptize with the Spirit and with fire…His winnowing fork is in His hand and He will clear the threshing floor, gathering up all the wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Jesus Baptism (Matthew 3:13-17)

Jesus comes down from Galilee to see John and to be baptized by him. When Jesus asks John to do this, John points out that it should be John coming to Jesus to be baptized and not the other way around. Jesus replies to John that it is okay, and that John should trust Him that this is what needs to be done. John consents to Jesus and baptizes Him.

Upon completion, the Heavens open and the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus. It is accompanied by a voice from heaven declaring, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”

Full Text Matthew Chapter3

1. ‘Wise men*‘ go looking for newborn ‘King of the Jews’ based on prophesy.
2. King Herod (the actual ‘King of the Jews’) sends them to Bethlehem to find this newborn king and report back so he can ‘worship’ (kill) the baby.
3. They find baby (Jesus). Give Him gifts (gold, incense, and myrrh).
4. God reveals to the Wise men the plan of Herod in a dream. He also reveals to Joseph that he needs to take his family to Egypt because Herod is coming to kill Jesus.
5. Wise men return home via a different route without telling Herod.
6. Herod becomes furious when the Wise men don’t return. He orders all boys under the age of 2 in and around Bethlehem to be killed.
7. After awhile…Herod passes on and an angel comes to Joseph and says go home.
8. Joseph starts to return home but ends up in Nazareth due to being warned in a dream and the new King, Herod’s son, being such a tyrant.

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Wise Men (Matthew 2:1-12)

Chapter 2 of Matthew starts out after Jesus birth. It opens with the Wise men traveling from the East following a star and prophesies from the Old Testament. They enter Jerusalem and begin asking to see the ‘one who has been born king of the Jews’, whom the prophets had foretold about. This eventually makes its way to King Herod (the Actual king of the Jews). He doesn’t like the sound of there being any competition for his spot, so he secretly plans to eliminate this threat. He got together all the priests to search the scriptures to find where this king was to come from. According to their research, they determined it was Bethlehem (Micah had prophesied about this centuries before: Micah 5:2).

Upon learning this information, he calls for the Wise men and tells them of what his own research has determined. He sends them Bethlehem with the task of finding the newborn baby Jesus and relaying back to him where Jesus is at so that he can in turn go and ‘worship’ Jesus as well. His true intentions are to have the baby Jesus killed because of the potential threat to his throne.

The Wise men head to Bethlehem and find Jesus and His family. They worship Him and present gifts of Gold, incense, and myrrh. As they are returning home, an angel warns them in a dream that Herod has evil intentions in wanting to know the location of baby Jesus. They decide to take a new route home that avoids any run-ins with Herod.

Herod’s Order (Matthew 2:13-18)

After awhile, Herod figures out that he’s been duped and flies into a rage. He orders that all the boys ages 2 and younger within the vicinity of Bethlehem to be killed. Matthew then references a verse from Jeremiah 31:15 that ties into this cruel act. An angel has already warned Joseph of this and he takes his family to Egypt.

Return from Egypt (Matthew 2:18-22)

More time passes on, as well as Herod, and Herod’s son takes the throne. An angel tells Joseph to leave Egypt and return to his home. Joseph begins the Journey back, but learns that Herod’s son is now king. This worries him. To confirm his worries, God sends him another dream and Joseph takes his new family to Nazareth. Being a Nazarene in those days was synonymous with being despised. Matthew ends the chapter noting this and cluing into a few old testament prophesies about Jesus being ‘despised and rejected’ (Isaiah 53:3).

Full Text Matthew Chapter 2

*=Although often referred to as the ‘Three Wise Men’, the bible doesn’t say how many there were. The fact that 3 gifts were given has been attributed to the origination of the legend of there being three.

The book of Matthew begins with the genealogy from Abraham to Jesus. Verse 17 notes that there were ‘14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 generations from David to the exile of Babylon, and 14 more generations till Jesus was born. That is 42 total generations.
The rest of Matthew chapter 1 speaks of the conception of Jesus and of Joseph’s dream from God that informed him that Mary hadn’t been cheating on him, but that he was to be the father of the savior of the world.

The last verse of the chapter also states that Mary and Joseph were not together sexually until after Jesus was born.

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Matthew 1 Full Text