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What will those who give up earthly goods for Jesus receive? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 19:27-30 What will those who give up earthly goods for Jesus receive? Image by Emma Shappley, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti February 13, 2024 Matthew 19:27-30 The rewards of giving up everything for God Peter observes that the disciples have left everything behind to follow him. What does Jesus say they will have “at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne” (19:28, NRSV)? What does Jesus say that other believers who have left things behind will have in his kingdom? In verse 29, “a hundredfold” is a metaphor rather than a literal accounting term. What is “a hundredfold” describing, metaphorically? A hundredfold might mean an abundance, a richness of life. If they have left behind houses, brothers and sisters, parents and children, property, what do you think it means to say they will have “a hundredfold” in God’s kingdom? Perhaps “brothers and sisters” is metaphorically referring to the fellow believers we will have as spiritual brothers and sisters. It might have a similar meaning for parents and children, but wouldn’t it be awesome to think that I might have some great-great-great-grandparents who might, in heaven, be like parents to me? The property might stand for the abundance and richness of life that we will experience in heaven. Jesus concludes in verse 30: “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first” (NRSV and NABRE). In what ways does this passage support the conclusion that “the last will be first”? Take a step back and consider this: This incident is part of a series of events in this part of Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus explains what I call Jesus's downside-up/upside-down view of life : the greatest must become like a child (18:1-5), God cares as much about the one stray as the 99 who are safe (18:10-14), the prayers of just two or three people can move heaven (18:19-20), forgiveness is not something we can choose to dole out in limited amounts — we are called to forgive to the utmost (18:21-35), men are to be committed to marriage and not find reasons to divorce their wives (19:1-9), the kingdom of heaven belongs to the children, who are the lowest people on the social ladder (19:13-15), wealth is a potential impediment to receiving God's salvation rather than being a sign of God’s favor (19:16-30), the rewards of the kingdom are available to those who come late to Jesus as well as those who (think they) have followed God’s law from the beginning (20:1-16), those who wish to be first must be the servant of all (20:20-28). Jesus’s perspective is often diametrically opposed to prevailing societal perspectives regarding what is important, or valued, or expected, or right. If you want to see as God sees, you generally need to train yourself to look at things from the bottom, not the top. This can be hard for us. We have to work to see as God sees. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to see differently than the world has trained us to see. What is one aspect of your life where you can challenge yourself to see what it looks like from the bottom up, from Jesus’s downside-up perspective? Why does God choose to take that vantage point? Can you do the same? What difference would it make? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Prayer in difficult times: Can you learn from Jesus’s example and keep in mind the bigger picture of your life? [Matthew 26:36-46; 26:47-56] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 26:36-56 Prayer in difficult times: Can you learn from Jesus’s example and keep in mind the bigger picture of your life? Unidentified artist (Flemish, 17th century). The Taking of Christ . Circa 1620. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Public domain, https://collections.mfa.org/download/34311 . Tom Faletti September 17, 2025 Matthew 26:36-46 The agony in the garden of Gethsemane They left the city after singing a hymn (v. 30). In the seder, Psalms 115-118 were sung after the meal. They walked out, across the Kidron Valley, to the Mount of Olives. There, they go to a garden known as the garden of Gethsemane. “Gethsemane” means “oil press,” so perhaps there was an oil press there for gathering oil from the olive trees that grew on the Mount of Olives. Jesus decides to go away from the big group to pray by himself. Who does he ask to come with him? How does Jesus feel? What is Jesus’s first prayer (v. 39)? What is Jesus’s second prayer (v. 42)? How is the second prayer different from the first? The first prayer is more focused on the possibility that “this” might be avoided; the second prayer is more focused on how to deal with it. The first prayer suggests the possibility that Jesus’s desire might conflict with the Father’s will; the second prayer is focused entirely on doing the Father’s will. How can Jesus’s prayer be a model for us when we are facing difficult circumstances? Jesus knows (vv. 45-46) that his betrayal is about to be put into action. How would you describe his state of mind? How do you think God feels about the difficulties you encounter? What is his state of mind as you face difficult circumstances? What does this time in the garden of Gethsemane tell you about your relationship with God? What is Jesus inviting you to do? Matthew 26:47-56 Jesus is arrested, the disciples resist and then desert him Judas’s act of betrayal involved telling the chief priests where they could find Jesus away from the crowds, in order to arrest him without enraging a crowd. How does Judas greet Jesus? How does Jesus greet Judas? What does it tell you about Jesus, that even in the act of being betrayed, he calls Judas “Friend”? In verse 51, how does one of Jesus’s disciples respond? John 18:10 tells us that this disciple was Peter. Considering that Judas came with a crowd armed with swords and clubs, what does this tell you about Peter? How does Jesus respond in verse 52? What does “those who take up the sword die by the sword” mean to you? How might that statement guide you in your life? What does Jesus say about angels in verse 53? In verse 54, Jesus says that the Scriptures say it must happen this way. What does that mean to you? In verse 55, Jesus gets a bit testy with the crowd regarding their method of arresting him. What is he implying about their motives? In verse 56, Jesus repeats that all that is happening is fulfilling the Scriptures. How does it affect your faith, knowing that parts of the Old Testament gave witness to what would happen to Jesus even though the Old Testament authors did not comprehend the fullness of what they were writing? Jesus sees these specific events in his life as part of a bigger picture, the bigger story arc of his life. What can you do to keep in mind the bigger picture of your life when you are facing difficult circumstances? Matthew ends this section by noting that at this point the disciples fled. Jesus has just made it clear that he is not going to resist what is coming. Can you stick with Jesus in your life even in times where God is not going to protect you from suffering or illness or rejection or death? What will you need to do in order to be ready to stick with him, and not run away, when the difficult times come? Take a step back and consider this: It is amazing to think that God guided a variety of prophets over a period of centuries to write down things that had meanings they could not have fully comprehend. Often, they wrote things about their own times that could be seen later as also applying to Jesus. Other times, they wrote things that were directly prophetic in nature, but they had no idea when, how, or through whom those things would come to pass. Yet God honored their unique voices and free will in those books. He did not just turn off their brains, put them in a trance, and dictate words to them. We hear the voices of the authors in the Word of God, even while we hear the Author behind them. God also allows us to make free decisions about what we say and do, and yet when we allow ourselves to be guided by him, he does things that may have implications and impacts we never dreamed of. Where have you seen the hand of God in your own life, guiding you in your present to bring you to your future without dictating your decisions for you? Does this make it easier for you to trust God about your future? Explain. Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

How do you manage what goes on in a Bible Study meeting that you are leading? Previous For Leaders Next Leadership Techniques for Good Bible Study Discussions How do you manage what goes on in a Bible Study meeting that you are leading? Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti March 25, 2024 In General : Remember that You Set the Tone for the Group Be excited about your group and about God’s Word. Be welcoming, affirming, and supportive. Set a climate of openness and caring. Be honest in what you share. Cultivate a sense of humor, as Jesus did. Jesus calls us to a joyful life. Help people respond to the challenge of God’s Word on a personal and spiritual level as well as intellectually. Set an example by what you say and do. Contact people who have been absent to let them know they are missed and to see how they are doing. Those who get a concerned message after an absence of one or several weeks are much more likely to return. Also, pray for your group members. Trust in the Lord. You are qualified to lead by your faith, your willingness to say yes to God’s call, and your willingness to improve. Your group members will respond to you and overlook your mistakes if you are truly trying to serve them. At the Beginning of the Meeting: Set the Stage Always start with conversational prayer. Direct the group through the steps of silence and prayers of thanks or praise. In the early weeks of a new group, start the meeting with a low-risk getting-to-know-you question (or “ice-breaker”) that allows people to share something about themselves. Encourage everyone to share a response. Set the example of honesty, both here and throughout the meeting. Summarize the main points of the previous week’s passages and discussion. During the Meeting : Facilitate Good Discussion and Sharing In general. Remember that your role is not primarily to give information, but to stimulate and encourage good discussion and sharing. Your primary goal is to encourage the kind of faith commitment that allows God to transform lives. When necessary, explain to the group that, because of the different Bible translations, what one person reads from the Bible may not be the same as the words in another person’s Bible, but the meaning is usually similar. Take advantage of the different translations to help clarify verses that are unclear in one version. Ask a variety of good questions. Make sure you ask all three types of questions: fact, interpretation, and application (see “Preparing to Lead a Small-Group Bible Study Meeting”). Leave plenty of time for discussion of the application/sharing questions, and encourage a variety of people to respond to those questions. Ask only one question at a time, and be appreciative of every answer. Don’t be afraid of silence after you have asked a question. After a pause, ask the question again in the same or different words. Periods of silence usually seem much longer to the leader than to others in the group. Silence gives members time to absorb previous comments and formulate a thoughtful response to the question. Try not to be the first or only person to answer your own question. If you give an answer later, don’t give the impression that yours is the only right answer. Keep the discussion from dragging. Take an active role in keeping the discussion moving. It is better to ask the group another question too soon than to wait too long and let the discussion drag on or go around in circles. Help the group stay focused on the Scripture passage. Keep bringing the group back to the passage so that people keep confronting what God’s Word says and means. Don’t feel the need to ask every question you have prepared. When the group has explored the passage in depth, gained the main insights, and applied it to their lives, you may want to move on. Ask, “Does anyone have anything else they would like to add before we move on? . . . . If not, let’s look at the next passage.” Help the group go deeper and share more. Don’t be satisfied with the first answer given. Ask, “Does anyone have anything to add?” or, “Is there more to what the author is saying?” or, “Are there other ways of looking at this?” After one or two people have answered an interpretation or application question, repeat the question to see if others have additional or alternative thoughts to share. Bring out the faith dimension. Use Scripture to interpret Scripture, i.e., to clarify and expand on a passage. Have the group look up a cross-reference or a related Scripture passage to help understand the passage currently being discussed. Don’t be overly troubled if people express concerns about accepting the demands of a passage. Trust that God is at work. Encourage others to share their perspectives. The discussion may help those with questions to deal with their doubts so that they can embrace the message of God’s Word. Don’t claim to speak for God, but encourage them to be open to what God is saying through His Word. Give a balanced picture of faith in Jesus. Don’t ignore or soft-pedal the demands and struggles of faith, but help people see also the joys and positive results of faith. Encourage trust in God as the basis for dealing with all aspects of life. Dealing with Common Problems Discussions that get off the subject or wander. Don’t be afraid to cut off a discussion that has wandered off the track or is going around in circles. Say, “This is very interesting, but I think we have gotten off the track. Let’s go back to the question of. . . .”, or, “What does verse 17 say about this?”, or, “There are clearly different ways of looking at that, and we’re not going to resolve it here. So let’s leave it for now and move on.” or, “Let’s discuss this after the meeting.” or, “We need to move on. Will someone read verses 19 to 26.” Or ask a new question that brings the group back to the passage or a personal application of the passage. Unclear answers. Follow up an unclear answer with another question. Ask, “What do you mean by that?” or, “I’m not sure I understand. Can you rephrase that?” or, “Can you give us a concrete example?” Or ask, “What makes you say that?” or, “Why do you think so?” or, “Let me see if I understand you right. Are you saying . . . (and rephrase their statement).” Or take whatever piece of the answer you understand, relate it to the topic, and move on to the next person or question. If the group is giving vague answers and doesn’t seem to be getting the message of a passage, rephrase your question, or ask someone to re-read a verse and then ask, “What does this specific passage (or verse x) say about this issue?” “Off-the-wall” answers. Don’t feel you need to correct every wild answer. Ask, “What do the rest of you think?” or, “What does verse 12 say about that?” As the discussion continues, the person will often realize they did not understand the question or the passage. People who talk too much or dominate. If someone is talking too much or dominating, ask the group another question when the person takes a breath, or say, “Excuse me, John, but I think Helen has something to say.” or, “Thank you. I wonder if someone else has something to add or has a different perspective?” Or ask everyone to share a short answer and go around the group. Or have the group pair off into groups of 2 (or divide the group into groups of 3 or 4 persons) and have those pairs or small groups discuss a sharing or application question. If the problem is that someone is rude or overly critical of what others have shared, say to the rude person, “Your experience may not be the same as Mary’s, but Mary has apparently had that experience and it is valid whether you have experienced it or not.” or, “If we want people to share their thoughts, we need to be respectful of their comments even when we disagree. We can disagree without being unkind.” Or, if appropriate, share your own experience in a way that supports or validates the experiences that were criticized. If possible, make a positive comment or a comment that connects with the rude person before correcting them. If you need to talk to someone privately because they regularly dominate the discussions or are disruptive, enlist their help in helping others to participate. Point out to them that briefer or kinder comments will make it easier for others to share, and that how they communicate is as important as what they say. Describe the behavior you have observed in them and how it affects the group. Describe the different behavior you would like to see and what it would look like. Shy or quiet people. Call on the shy or quiet person when you see the spark in their eyes that tells you they have something to offer. Or ask them to read the passage, or ask them the easy fact questions. Or break into pairs or small groups to discuss a question that involves sharing. Or ask everyone to answer an application question. Be appreciative when they do share. When you don’t know the answer to someone else’s question. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know; I’ll try to find out.” or, “Let’s all look at that during the week and talk about it again next week.” It is better to say you don’t know something than to say what you “think” is true and risk misleading people. You are not expected to be an expert. Don’t put that burden on yourself. At the End of the Meeting Summarize briefly at the end of the meeting. (It is also good to do this before going on to a new passage.) Make sure your summary points people toward faith in God and a commitment to following Jesus and living according to His ways. Always close with a time of conversational prayer. Guide the group by giving them sample phrases (“Lord, help me or us to. . . .” or “Lord, help my brother or sister to . . . .”) Encourage and model following up on each other’s prayers with additional prayers on the same subject (“Yes, Lord, help, me or us or Chris to. . . . Give them your. . . .”) Pray specifically for God’s help to apply the week’s insights, and offer the wrap-up prayer that ends the prayer time. When You Are Not Leading On weeks when you are not leading, answer the leader’s questions when it helps get things going or others are stumped, but don’t dominate. Pay attention to how things are going. Help the leader notice when someone wants to share (leaders can be so busy leading that they don’t see certain things). Make clarifying comments when the group seems confused. Re-phrase correctly when the leader misstates something. Set a good example of personal sharing on application questions and by keeping your answers short. Monitor the time for the leader if desired. For more leadership training materials, see Leading a Small-Group Bible Study . Copyright © 2024, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous For Leaders Next

When John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he is talking about Jesus, the only Son of the Father. Jesus invites us to be sons and daughters of God also. Previous Next John List John 1:10-18 (Continuation of John 1:1-18) When John says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, he is talking about Jesus, the only Son of the Father. Jesus invites us to be sons and daughters of God also. Annibale Carracci (1560-1609). Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness . Circa 1600. Detail. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_John_the_Baptist_Bearing_Witness_MET_LC-2009_252-1_(Bild).jpg . Tom Faletti October 31, 2025 Read John 1:10-13 The world did not know him and his own people did not accept him, but some did In verse 11, John says the world did not “know” him. What do you think he means when he says they did not “know” him? They did not recognize him (they didn’t recognize that God the Word was with them). They did not understand him – in colloquial terms, they didn’t “get it.” Jesus was very real and performed miracles. How can it be that they didn’t recognize him? How do people in our day fail to recognize or understand Jesus? Verse 11 says he came to “what was his own” (probably referring to Israel as a nation), and “his own people” (the Jews). In what sense were they “his own”? Are there ways that people who are “his own” don’t accept or receive Jesus today? We could still consider the Jewish people “his own.” In addition, we could think about people who were baptized, people who grew up in the Church, but don’t accept Jesus today as still being “his own.” Verse 12 says that not everyone rejected him. Some accepted him. What did he give to them? What did John say they need to do, to become children of God? What does it mean, in verse 12, to accept or receive him? Anyone who is a child must have been born somehow. Verse 13 says that when they became children of God they were born of God, not by a biological process or human desire or the will of a man. We will see more in chapter 3 about what it means to be born “of God.” What does it mean to you, that you are a child of God? How do you experience that relationship with God? In what way do you see yourself as having accepted or received Jesus? What difference does it make in your life that you have accepted/received Jesus? Read John 1:14 What did God do? A mini-summary of the gospel What did God the Word do, and what does it mean when we say he did those things? He became flesh: he became a human. He dwelt among us – i.e., he lived with other humans, lived as one of us. The Greek word, variously translated as “dwelt” or “lived” or “made his dwelling” among us, literally means he encamped or pitched his tent with us. (This word might have been chosen to invoke the image of God living in a tent with us as he made himself present to the Israelites in a tabernacle/tent in the desert.) What does John mean when he says, “we saw his glory”? This could be a reference to seeing the resurrected Jesus; or seeing Jesus crucified, which Jesus considered part of entering into his glory; or seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain; or seeing Jesus’s miraculous signs, which John says revealed his glory (John 2:11). In verse 14, where most translations say he is the Father’s “only son,” the actual Greek word is “only-begotten.” As we know from the “begats” in the Old Testament and the New Testament, when a man is begotten of someone else, it means they have a father-son relationship. The idea of sonship is embedded in having been begotten , and that may be a key point that John is trying to make by using that word. Modern translations mostly say “only son” rather than “only-begotten.” Doing so brings out the relationship that is embedded in the Greek word: John is telling us that Jesus is God’s only Son. We express this truth in the Nicene Creed. We say that Jesus Christ is the “Only Begotten Son of God,” echoing John’s reference to the Father’s only-begotten Son (verse 14). We also say he was “begotten, not made.” He cannot have been made or created because he was present in the beginning (verse 1) and nothing was created except through him (verse 3). John gives us the pieces that were fleshed out in the words of the Creed. In terms of your own faith, what stands out to you in verse 14, and what difference does it make in your life? Read John 1:15-18 Jesus brought grace and truth and revealed the Father John now makes it clear that when he says the Word is God and became human, the human he is talking about is Jesus Christ, who is the only Son of God. Looking at verse 15, what did John the Baptist say about Jesus? What does he mean when he says that Jesus existed before him, given that John was born months earlier that Jesus (Luke 1:36)? Looking at verse 16, when John says that we received from his fullness, what does that mean? What have we received? The last phrase in verse 16 is sometimes translated as “grace upon grace,” which can be interpreted to mean that we keep receiving God’s grace more and more abundantly. However, a translation that may be truer to the Greek is “grace in place of grace.” This makes more sense in the context of the next verse. People received a kind of grace through the revelation of the Mosaic Law, but we receive a fuller grace through Jesus. This happens as the New Covenant in Jesus Christ transcends the Old Covenant that was based on the Mosaic Law. In verse 17, John contrasts what we received previously from the Mosaic Law with the “grace and truth” we receive through Jesus. How is what we receive from Jesus greater than what the Mosaic Law offered? In what ways do you receive “grace” through Jesus? In what ways do you receive “truth” through Jesus? Verse 18 says that no one has seen God. Why is that, and how does Jesus change that? Now that Jesus has come, people have seen God in the flesh. What does Jesus’s presence as God-in-the-flesh (Emmanuel, “God with us”) teach us that we might otherwise not be able to understand about God? In verse 18, John refers to Jesus as God the only Son. He has now stated that Jesus Christ is the Word; that he was with God in the beginning; that he is God; that all things were created through him; that he became human and lived among us; that he is the Father’s only Son; and that he is God the Son. Contrary to the claims of skeptics, these are not ideas that were manufactured by the Church centuries later. It took time for the Church to settle on the exact words of the Creed, but John expressed all of these ideas here. In what ways has Jesus revealed the Father to you? Take a step back and consider this: For Christians, we hear so often the idea that God became human that we can easily forget how amazing this claim is. People who have never heard of Jesus have no concept that God would become one of us. The oldest religions in the world (Hinduism, etc.) don’t have this concept. When people create new religions, they might think that people can become gods, but they don’t envision the Creator of the universe coming to Earth and living as one of us. What kind of God is infinite, eternal, and transcendent, but chooses to come and live the life of a finite, mortal, limited creature so that they could become like him? What does this tell us about how much God cares about us? How can you recapture more of the awe and appreciation that might come with first learning that God cares so much about us that he came to live as one of us to bring us to himself? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

A healing, a second warning of suffering to come, an interruption to pay a tax – just a normal day in the life of Jesus . . . and us? [Matthew 17:14-21; 17:22-23; 17:24-27] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 17:14-27 A healing, a second warning of suffering to come, an interruption to pay a tax – just a normal day in the life of Jesus . . . and us? Mattia Preti (1613-1699). Il tributo della moneta [The tribute coin] . circa 1640. Cropped. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mattia_Preti_-_Tribute_Money_-_WGA18400.jpg . Tom Faletti June 19, 2025 Jesus comes down from the mountain where he experienced the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), only to find that he must deal with regular life in all its complexity. It’s not that different for us: even when we have mountaintop moments, we must return to “real life” in all its ordinariness. Let’s look at the 3 incidents that Matthew tells us about right after the Transfiguration. Matthew 17:14-21 The healing of the boy with epilepsy, and the power of faith and prayer In the previous passage, Peter, James, and John experienced the overwhelming power of God during Jesus’s Transfiguration. How have you experienced the power of God in a special way? What problem does Jesus encounter that the disciples had not been able to solve? In verse 15, Matthew literally says that the boy is “moonstruck”, i.e., struck or affected by the moon. Some translations say the boy is a “lunatic” a word that comes from the word “luna” for “moon.” The symptoms are what we would call epilepsy, and people thought those symptoms were affected by the phases of the moon ( NABRE , Matt. 17:15 fn.). In verse 17, how does Jesus react to the fact that the disciples were unable to heal the boy? When Jesus calls them “faithless and perverse,” it isn’t clear whether he is reproaching unbelievers among the crowd or the disciples. He has previously chided the disciples for having “little” faith (Matthew 6:30), and in verse 20 he says they have “little faith.” He does not say they have no faith. Based on what happens here, does Jesus give up on people with “little faith,” or does he stick with them? He sticks with them and provides the healing that is needed, despite their lack of faith. Jesus sounds frustrated, or even exasperated, in verse 17. Frustration is a human emotion and not necessarily a sin. When would you say being frustrated or exasperated is sinful, and not just human? Jesus’s is ready to move to the next step, but his disciples don’t seem to be as ready as he might have hoped. Do you think God might feel this way about us sometimes? If so, what does this passage tell you about God’s enduring commitment to us even when we fall short? Jesus says, “How much longer must I put up with you.” It won’t be much longer until his death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit to empower us. In verse 20, Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. Many translations say, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” but that is not what he actually said. He says, “If you have faith as a mustard seed.” It isn’t the size of the faith that Jesus is talking about, it is the recognition of the potential that is available to even a person who is very small , if they have faith. How does this encourage people who think they are small in this world? The fact that Jesus calls for faith “ as a mustard seed,” not “ the size of a mustard seed,” is important, because we sometimes think we have to muster up a large faith, and that puts the focus on ourselves when the focus should be on God. The point is to be as open to the working of God as a mustard seed, and to cooperate with the work of God as a mustard seed cooperates with God’s work of creation. What does this say to you? Seeds need darkness as well as light to become what they are meant to be. Does our faith similarly need times of darkness as well as good times? Explain. Jesus is using metaphors here, so he isn’t talking literally about moving mountains. What does moving mountains stand for? Having something come to pass that seems impossible or very hard. Seeds don’t cause their own growth; they have to trust God to provide the conditions for the growth of the seed. Similarly, our faith doesn’t move the mountain; God moves the mountain. We just have to trust him. What does that kind of mustard seed faith look like? How have you experienced answered prayer? How have you seen what seemed like a mountain be moved so that God’s will could be done? Go back to chapter 7 and read Matthew 7:9-10 . Jesus tells us that God wants to give us good things to us, his children. How does that assurance affect your thinking about prayer, faith, and trust? Sometimes, no matter how much faith we have, we do not receive what we ask for in prayer. The mountain we ask God to move does not move. That’s part of real life. What do you do when it seems like your prayers are not answered? Here are some ways to think about this question: 1. We are asked to trust God. God gives us what we need, but not necessarily what we think we want, just as human parents who love their children don’t always give them what they ask for because it might not be what is best for them. 2. God always answers our prayers, but his answer may be “Yes,” “No,” or “Not Yet (i.e., Wait).” Sometimes, he needs to work in our spirit to help us realize that we aren’t asking for the right thing. Sometimes, he may be waiting for us to grow spiritually so that we can handle the blessing we are asking for. One of the challenges of faith is to accept God’s answer. If we try to force it, as though we know best, we may make something happen that God knows is not best for us. Instead, we need to trust him. Matthew 17:21 Verse 21 does not appear in most modern translations of the Bible, because that verse does not appear in the oldest manuscripts. The New Testament was divided into verses before some older manuscripts were found, and those older manuscripts don’t have Matthew 17:21. It might have been added accidentally at some point by a copyist who was recalling Mark 9:29. In the oldest manuscripts, Mark 9:29 reads: “This kind can come out only through prayer.” The words “and fasting” only appear in later manuscripts of Mark and Matthew. In the oldest manuscripts we have, there is no Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:29 does not include the words “and fasting.” Although Matthew 17:21 does not appear to be original to Matthew, Jesus does say in Mark 9:29, “This kind can come out only through prayer.” Why might there be times when prayer is necessary for healing? Matthew 17:22-23 Jesus again foretells his Passion; the disciples respond with grief Matthew 17:22 adds a new piece of information to what Jesus said in Matthew 16:21: it says Jesus will be betrayed. How does the idea that he will be betrayed make Jesus’s suffering and death even sadder? Notice that this time, the disciples are more ready to accept what Jesus is saying about his coming suffering and death. That is why they are so distressed, and perhaps also because someone who appears to be on his side will betray him. Jesus has said twice now that he will be raised. The disciples may not have understood what that meant, but what difference does it make to you that Jesus’s prophecy includes his resurrection and not just suffering and death? Matthew 17:24-27 paying the Temple tax After a long time away in more Gentile areas, Jesus now returns to Capernaum in Galilee. Matthew has several stories about Peter that the other Gospels do not have. This is one of them. This is not the story about the tax paid to the Romans (“give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”). We will see that story in chapter 22. Every male Jew age 20 and older was expected to pay a tax for the upkeep of the Temple, based on a command in Exodus 30:11-16. The tax was two drachmas (equal to a half-shekel). (Some scholars think Matthew is writing about a situation his community faced after AD 70, when the Temple had been destroyed and the Romans ordered that the tax continue to be paid, but for the upkeep of a temple in Rome dedicated to Jupiter.) What does the fact that Peter speaks for Jesus in verse 24 tell us about his role? Peter has clearly become a leader of Jesus’s band of followers, and he would have assumed that Jesus would not refuse to pay the tax that was expected of all adult males. Jesus asks whether the children of a king pay taxes that are owed to a king. (Some translations use the word “subject,” but the Greek word in verses 25 and 26 is actually “sons.”) What is he implying by his use of the word “sons”? Jesus is indicating that he is the son of God. But he uses the plural, “sons,” so he is implying that his disciples are also children of God. In verse 27, Jesus says that he does not want to offend those who expect him to pay the tax. The Greek for “offend” comes from the same root as the word “scandal” in English and the word for stumbling block in Greek. He does not want to scandalize them or be a stumbling block to them. Why is it important not to give scandal if you can avoid it? How might we decide when we may act in freedom and when we do what others expect of us in order to avoid giving scandal? Jesus tells Peter where to find the money to pay the tax, and he thoughtfully adds that Peter will find a stater (a coin equal to 4 drachmas or a full shekel), which is enough to pay the tax for both Peter and himself. What do you think about how Jesus handled this incident? Jesus does not have money, but when he needs something, the whole world is at his disposal (think of the few loaves and fish that led to the feeding of the 5,000). Jesus here shows that he cares about our earthly concerns, not just spiritual matters. What does this say to you the maters you face in your life? Jesus provides for Peter, and he will provide for us. What do you need, that Jesus can provide? Take a step back and consider this: If you think of this set of passages as a day in the life of Jesus, it might not seem all that different from some days in our lives: Suddenly, someone urgently needs you to do something; you know that a serious challenge is looming on the horizon; and then another issue unexpectedly pops up. Many people frequently have days like that; for some, it is just a normal, hectic day. When we have days like that, sometimes we might get exasperated, as Jesus did. But if we are following the model of Jesus, we will keep our cool, keep doing what needs to be done, keep helping those who need help, and keep solving the problems that arise. That’s what Jesus did on this hectic day; and with his help, we can too. When unexpected problems pop up on already busy days, how do you tend to respond? Do you become bossy? Grow anxious? Shut down? Or keep doing what needs to be done? And with what attitude? How might Jesus help you deal with those kinds of days? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. 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What kind of soil can I be, to allow the seed of God’s word to take root and be fruitful in my life? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 13:1-23 What kind of soil can I be, to allow the seed of God’s word to take root and be fruitful in my life? Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). The Sower . ca. 1865. Cropped. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD, https://art.thewalters.org/object/37.905/ . Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal. Tom Faletti June 3, 2025 Preview: In chapter 13, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s teachings that are in the form of parables. In chapter 14, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s actions that might be thought of as living parables – stories that reveal something bigger than just what happens in the story. Read Matt. 13:1-23 The sower and the seed, and why Jesus speaks in parables Although it is helpful to read the whole passage at once, we will discuss the sower and seed parable first, before discussing verses 10-17 about Jesus’s use of parables more generally. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The sower, the seed, and the soils Parables are stories in the form of metaphors or similes that use ordinary human experiences to communicate deeper truths about spiritual matters. In v. 19, Jesus says that the parable of the sower and the seed is about the kingdom of heaven, which is everywhere that people follow God’s Word and acknowledge his lordship. In this parable, what is the seed a metaphor for? The seed is “the word of the kingdom” (13:18); so represents the Word of God, the message of good news that Jesus is preaching about the kingdom of God. What are the different soils a metaphor for ? The soils are different types of people with their different responses to the message of Jesus. Or, to personalize it, the soil is the state of your heart as you hear the word of God. Who are the people in whom the seed takes root and produces fruit? Who are the people in whom the seed doesn’t take permanent root? Now let’s look at each type of soil more closely. There are 3 types of soil where the seed does not take lasting root: the path, the rocky ground, and the ground where there are thorns. In each of those cases, what is the reaction of the person who hears the word in that kind of soil? What goes wrong that prevents the word from taking permanent root? The path: They don’t understand the word, so it does not take root in their heart and the evil one snatches it away. The rocky ground: They receive it with joy for a while, but it does not last. Trouble or persecution arises, and they fall away. The thorns: They hear the word, but anxiety about worldly concerns and the desire for wealth choke it off; so the word does not produce fruit. Consider the seed on the path. Verse 19 says the evil one snatches the word from them because they do not understand it. How can the seed be sowed but not understood? How are people in our day vulnerable to hearing the word but not really understanding it, so that it gets snatched away before it can take root and turn into a solid faith? Consider the seed on rocky ground. In verse 20, how do people respond at first? In verse 21, Jesus says that when they encounter troubles or persecution because of the word , they fall away. In the Western world today, Christians may not encounter a lot of direct persecution, but what are some ways that living the faith can cause trouble or become difficult for a person who starts out believing? What does it look like when a person’s faith “withers” (verse 6) because it has no roots. How might we be vulnerable to having our faith wither when living the faith becomes more difficult? How can we build stronger roots for our faith? Consider the seed among thorns. How are people in our day vulnerable to having their faith choked off by worldly concerns and the desire for money? Consider these three risks: that the word of God might be snatched away because we don’t understand it, that it might wither in the face of difficulties, and that it might be choked off by the cares of the world. How are you vulnerable to these risks? Which risk is the greatest danger for you? [If you are studying this passage with a group, break into smaller groups of two or three people and share together.] Now consider the good soil. How does the person in good soil respond to the seed/word? For the people in good soil, what is the result? In our time, what does a person in good soil look like? What can we do to be good soil for God’s Word to take root? Jesus says that the fruitful people produce thirty-, sixty-, even a hundredfold. This means that, even among the people who let the Word of God take root in them, we are not all alike in our output. What do you think affects the fruit produced? Can you produce a lot of “fruit” for God even if your life is difficult and you encounter a lot of troubles? Explain. If the soil is the heart or receptivity of the person, it is not something that is external and just “happens” to us; we have some control over what kind of soil we are. What do we need to do to be the kind of good soil that allows God’s word to take deep and fruitful root in our lives? Matthew 13:10-17 Why Jesus speaks in parables Jesus is asked why he speaks in parables. He describes in vv. 16-17 how his disciples are different than other people. How are they different? What does it mean when Jesus says that the disciples see and hear while others do not? What do they see and hear that others do not? When Jesus says in verse 11 that the disciples have been allowed to know the “mysteries” or “secrets” of the kingdom, he is using a technical term that does not mean something that can never be understood by anyone; rather, it is something that can be understood only by those to whom God has revealed it. God has revealed his divine plan to the disciples through Jesus. For those who do not understand God’s divine plan, it does not make sense. In what ways is Christianity a mystery to those who have not embraced it, even though those who have become part of God’s people understood God’s plans? In what ways is it true that, as Jesus says in verse 12, to those who have some knowledge of God, more will be given? In verse 13, Jesus explains why he speaks in parables. In the typical Jewish thinking of Jesus’s time and in the Old Testament, everything was caused by God – even when people turned away from God and were held responsible for their actions. Following that line of thinking, in Mark 4:11 Jesus says that he speaks in parables “so that” they will not understand – which implies that Jesus’s use of parables is the reason they don’t understand. Matthew says it differently, in a way that make the human responsibility clearer: Jesus speaks in parables because” they hear but do not listen or understand. In verse 13, Jesus says that people hear but do not listen. What is going on when a person hears but doesn’t listen? Whose fault is it that they don’t understand? Does it suggest that they aren’t trying very hard to understand? Matthew then quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, which can be interpreted either to say that God has prevented the people from understanding or that the people themselves bear some responsibility for not understanding and turning to God. (Matthew quotes the Greek Septuagint translation, which preserves the element of human responsibility more clearly.) What do you see in verse 15 that indicates that the people’s lack of understanding is because of choices on their part? Their hearts are insensitive, they are barely hearing, and they have closed their eyes. What challenge does this present to us? Are there times when we might be at risk of not hearing God because of our own apathetic or halfhearted approach to the Gospel? What do we need to do in order to understand Jesus’s teachings and allow his seeds to bear fruit in our lives? Why might Jesus choose to shift to parables if people aren’t trying very hard to understand him? Perhaps it helps separate out those who want to learn from those who don’t really want to put any effort into his new way of following God. What are some advantages of teaching in parables? Stories are powerful. They capture our imagination. They engage us an motivate us. Illustrations are concrete rather than abstract. They use familiar circumstances to open the door to more abstract points. In Matthew 13:3, Jesus begins the parable by saying, “Behold the sower went out to sow” – not “ a sower went out to sow” (64). He might have been pointing at a specific sower who was at that very moment sowing seed. Parables use familiar, concrete situations from everyday life. Parables make people think. They force listeners to discover truth for themselves. We have to do some work if we want to gain any benefit. Is there a value in that? Parables remain opaque for people who are not willing to be open to the message. William Barclay makes one other point. Parables are especially useful as a speaking technique: “A parable is not an allegory; an allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning; but an allegory has to be read and studied : a parable is heard . We must be very careful not to make allegories of the parables, but to remember that they were designed to make one stabbing truth flash out at a man the moment he heard it” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , p. 63). We have looked at what this parable means for us from the perspective of our being the one who hears the word. But it can also be looked at from the perspective of the sower, the one who preaches or shares God’s word with others. What lessons are there in this parable for us as we try to share God’s word with others? There are many good answers to this question. One answer is: Don’t be surprised that you will get varying responses when you share the word of God with others. Take courage and don’t be discouraged. Some people will hear and receive the message and produce fruit. You may not know how big the harvest will be – that’s God’s business; but there will be a harvest. Take a step back and consider this: One interpretation of this parable focuses on the fact that only a small proportion of the people who receive the word are actually transformed by it. Just as there are times in the Old Testament where only a remnant survive, Jesus is being very realistic that the Word of God will not be embraced by all. In many areas of our lives, we want to find the pleasant middle ground where we don’t have to work too hard: The house may not be perfectly clean, but it’s clean enough. I didn’t write an A paper, but it was pretty good. I put as much into that event as everyone else did. But does that work with our spiritual life? Is there a middle-ground level of faith, or does trying to settle for a middle ground lead us to situations where the seed withers or is choked off? How can I be part of the remnant or smaller group that gives itself fully to the divine plan for us to be fruitful in this world? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

What does God want us to see? And once we see the real world as he sees it, how would he like us to respond? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 20:29-34 What does God want us to see? And once we see the real world as he sees it, how would he like us to respond? Artist unknown. Kristus helbreder de to blinde ved Jericho [The Healing of the Two Blind Men at Jericho] . 16th century. Cropped. Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark), Copenhagen, Denmark. Public domain, SMK, https://open.smk.dk/en/artwork/image/KMSsp689?q=Kristus%20helbreder%20de%20to%20blinde%20ved%20Jericho&page=0 . Tom Faletti July 5, 2025 Matthew 20:29-34 Two blind men call on Jesus as the “Son of David” Matthew now returns to his narrative about Jesus’s walk to Jerusalem. We are now around 15 miles or so from Jerusalem. The city of Jericho was more than 800 feet below sea level, in the Rift Valley that includes the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea). Jerusalem is approximately 2,500 feet above sea level. So, from Jericho, it is climb of more than half a mile in altitude, through canyons and hills, over a 15-mile walk. The road they are walking on is the road that was famous for robbers – the road Jesus talked about in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). Jesus is leaving Jericho, embarking on the climb to Jerusalem, when this incident happens. The story was probably told frequently: it appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Mark tells us the name of one of the men: Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46), which suggests that Bartimaeus may have become a well-known member of the church. Matthew has already told us a similar story in 9:27-31. Some scholars suggest that they are the same story told in different ways, but the details of the stories are very different. Who is walking with Jesus? Who starts shouting, and what do they say? What is the reaction of the crowd? When the blind men keep shouting, what does Jesus do? What does he ask them? When the blind men tell Jesus they want to see, what is Jesus’s emotional reaction? What does Jesus do? What do the men’s actions tell us about them? Are they mild-mannered and easily pushed around? Are they easily discouraged? Does their blindness cause them to be ignorant of what is going on in their town? What do these things tell us about them? This is the one chance these men will ever have to be healed of their blindness, and they are not willing to let anything stand in the way of seeking the One who can make a difference in their lives. Are we so committed to seeking out the Lord? What does the example of these men say to us about our own approach to God? The blind men call him “Son of David.” In Matthew’s Gospel, that term is used by people seeking healing – see, for example, 9:27 and 15:22. In the next scene, where Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Matthew’s is the only Gospel where that phrase is used by the crowds, who call Jesus the “Son of David.” What does “Son of David” mean? David was the great king of Israel, and the Jews always expected that one day a descendant of David would once again rule them. King Solomon was the immediate son of David, according to the flesh. At the time of Jesus, some people believed that Solomon had powers (verse 7:20 in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, which was written in the voice of Solomon, claimed he had knowledge of nature-based healing methods). Jesus is the “son” of David in the sense that he is a descendant of David, and Christians understand him to be the “Son of David” messianically. The fact that the blind men call Jesus “Lord” and “Son of David” suggests that they recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. Although Jesus previously told evil spirits not to tell that to anyone, Jesus does not tell them to be quiet. Perhaps now that he is so near to his crucifixion it no longer matters. Commentators have always seen this story as about more than a physical healing: it speaks to the issue of spiritual blindness and sight. What do you think this story might suggest about spiritual blindness? Though these men are physically blind, they are closer to the truth than many “seeing” people, who are spiritually blind. How can we avoid spiritual blindness? Jesus doesn’t heal the men immediately. Although their need was probably very obvious, he first asks them what they want and waits for them to give him an answer. Do you think that is true in general in our relationship with God – that God waits for us to ask specifically before he answers? Why? Notice that they don’t say, “We want to see.” They specify what they hope Jesus will do: “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” They are specifically asking Jesus to do something specific. They are not expressing vague hope or a general desire – they are specific. Does this tell us anything about how we should approach God in prayer? What does the fact that Jesus was “moved with compassion” (verse 34) say to you? When Jesus heals the men, what do they do in response? They immediately follow Jesus on the road toward Jerusalem. Thomas Aquinas quotes the early Christian scholar Origen as writing: “We also now sitting by the wayside of the Scriptures, and understanding wherein we are blind, if we ask with desire, He will touch the eyes of our souls, and the gloom of ignorance shall depart from our minds, that in the light of knowledge we may follow Him, who gave us power to see to no other end than that we should follow Him” (Aquinas. “Commentary on Matthew 20” ). In what way might God be calling you to embrace a new ability to see, and follow him? What message do you take from this story for yourself? What does the example of these blind men say to us about how to respond to Jesus? Take a step back and consider this: “Lord, let our eyes be opened” (Matt. 20:34). These blind men wanted their eyes to be opened to see what is going on in the real world. We rightly lay a spiritual gloss on this story as we pray: “Lord, let our eyes be opened to your grace. . . . to your love. . . . to your wisdom.” We would do well to pray that prayer more literally: “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in your creation that we miss every day.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in our family members.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the ways our co-workers do wonderful things.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the not-so-random acts of kindness that our neighbors perform.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the beauty in the members of our community who quietly work to address the needs of the people we fail to see.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the suffering of those around us.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the hungry children desperate for food.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the immigrants who want nothing more than a chance to start at the bottom of a new society so they can stop living in constant fear.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are denied health coverage and cannot afford to see a doctor.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the victims of war who fear every airplane that flies overhead, because it might carry the bomb that kills them.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people who are threatened, doxed, flamed, fired, arrested, silenced, intimidated, or abused for trying to stand up for justice and the truth.” “Lord, let our eyes be opened to see the people you see, whom others do not want us to see.” The blind men asked that their eyes be opened to see, and then they followed Jesus on the road toward his Cross. May that be our prayer too, and may their response be ours as well. What might you already sense that God wants you to “see” – things that you may be missing because you are too busy, or too insulated, or too distracted? What might God want you to “see” that you are not currently focusing on because it makes you too uncomfortable? Once you see, what might God want you to do – the thing that would be your act of following him on the road? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Get out of the boat: Where are you called to take a step of faith and not be afraid? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 14:22-36 Get out of the boat: Where are you called to take a step of faith and not be afraid? Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810). Petrus auf dem Meer [Peter on the Sea] . 1806. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Philipp_Otto_Runge_-_Pedro_sobre_el_mar.jpg . Tom Faletti June 7, 2025 Matthew is in the middle of telling us about a series of events in Jesus’s life that are living parables: they are stories that have meanings that go far beyond the specifics of the moment in which they occurred. Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus walks on the water Why do you think Jesus sent his disciples on ahead while he stayed back to pray? Why is personal prayer important (in addition to our communal prayers)? Does Jesus’s example here suggest to you that you might need more times of one-to-one prayer with God? The Sea of Galilee is known for its sudden storms that sweep across the lake, often but not always from the west (from the Mediterranean Sea). Verse 25 tells us it is the fourth watch of the night, which is between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. (the Romans divided each 12 hours into 4 watches), so they have been rowing a long time, trying to get to shore. What happened in this incident? What does being able to walk on the water suggest about Jesus? In Job 9:8, God is described as walking on water. Jesus’s ability to walk on water is a sign of his divinity. Why do you think Jesus came to them by walking on the water while they were struggling with wind and waves, rather than just meeting them at their planned destination? Jesus says, “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid” (Matt. 14:27). What is he trying to tell them? We all have times where we need to hear Jesus say, “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid” (Matt. 14:27). How might this statement be important to you? Jesus literally says, “I am,” not “it is I”), invoking God’s I AM name for himself, which further supports the idea that Jesus is in part trying to show that he is God, the God of Israel. What does Peter say to Jesus? Why do you think Peter does this? What does this passage tell you about Peter? How do you think Jesus felt about Peter wanting to come to him on the water? When Jesus says, “Come,” the first thing Peter needs to do is get out of the boat. When Jesus tells us to do something, the first step is often the hardest part: Get out of the boat. What is one area of your life, or one situation you are facing, where Jesus may be telling you, figuratively, that it is OK, or even necessary, to get out of the boat? At first, Peter actually does walk on the water – presumably by the miraculous work of Jesus. According to verse 30, when does Peter become afraid and start to sink? When he focuses his attention on the strong wind. So when Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus and focuses on the challenges around him, he starts to sink. What does this say to us? When Peter starts to sink, what does Jesus do? What does that say to us? Although his faith faltered, Peter did something that was more than anyone else had ever done. When Jesus says to Peter, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31), what tone of voice do you think Jesus used? Was it a stern reprimand or more encouraging? (Or, to say it another way, did Jesus say this with a stony stare or with a twinkle in his eye?) When you step out in faith rather than standing back in fear, but then you falter, how do you think Jesus responds to you? When Jesus got into the boat, what happened to the storm? What does that tell us? If this story is a living parable illustrating a bigger point for the early church and for us, what do you think that bigger point is? In verse 33, how do the disciples react to what happened? What do they say about Jesus? They declare him to be the Son of God. This is a significant moment, when the disciples declare Jesus to be the Son of God. That phrase is used very rarely in Matthew. Prior to this point, Satan said to Jesus, “ If you are the Son of God . . .” (Matthew 4:3, 6) and a demon had called Jesus the Son of God (8:29). But no human has called Jesus the Son of God – until now. Later, during Jesus’s Passion, the high priest, the bad thief, and the chief priests all use the title “Son of God” in disbelief as they are rejecting him (Matt. 26:63; 27:40; 27:43). But the term “Son of God” is used only 3 times in the Gospel of Matthew by people who believe in Jesus: Here, the disciples say it when they are terrified. (In Mark 6:51, they do not reach this conclusion; they are just astounded.) When Jesus asks the disciples who they think he is (Matt. 16:16), Peter, having had some time to think about it, calls Jesus “the Son of the Living God” as well as the “Messiah.” Finally, after Jesus dies, the Gentile centurion at the foot of the cross says, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54), which fits with the overall framework of Matthew’s Gospel where he is showing that the gospel is meant to be spread to all nations, i.e., to the Gentiles (Matt. 28:19). The statement in Matthew that Jesus is the Son of God is as significant as the statement in Mark that Jesus is the Messiah (Mark 8:29). And Matthew wastes no time showing us the implications of this truth. As soon as Matthew has established that Jesus is the Son of God, scribes and Pharisees show up from Jerusalem and challenge Jesus (Matt. 15:1), setting up the conflict that will end in his crucifixion. What does it mean to you to say that Jesus is the Son of God? How important is that statement of faith to you? Looking over this whole story, what stands out to you as the most significant thing to apply to your own life right now? Matthew 14:34-36 Many miracles In verse 22, Jesus told the disciples to take the boat to the other side of the lake. They were on the western side of the lake, the Jewish side, and the other side (the eastern side) was Gentile territory. This is spelled out explicitly in Mark 6:45, where Jesus tells them to go across the lake to Bethsaida, which is a major city in Gentile territory. However, after Jesus comes to them on the water, they land at Gennesaret, which is squarely on the western side of the lake, further west than Capernaum. Depending where they began on the western side of the lake, they either made little progress toward Bethsaida or actually moved further away from Gentile territory. Some scholars attribute the failure to reach Bethsaida to the wind that was against them, or suggest that Mark joined independent stories together. However, another possibility is that this incident showed that the disciples were not ready for a move into Gentile territory yet. Jesus makes a move into Gentile territory, but in the opposite direction, in Matthew 15:21. What happens here? Compare this to the reception Jesus received in his hometown (Matt. 13:54-58). How are they different in terms of (a) the reaction of the people, and (b) the number of miracles worked? Look at the role of the people in verse 35 who spread the word. Why was that important? How might we take a lesson from these people who spread the word? If you were going to spread the word about Jesus (in our time), what would you want to tell people about him? Like all Jews of his time, Jesus would have had a tassel sewn onto each corner of his outer garment, in keeping with Numbers 15:37-41 and Deuteronomy 22:12. (Many translations say “fringe,” but “tassel” is more accurate.) What does it tell you about people’s faith, that they would be satisfied just to touch the tassel at the end of his cloak? To be touched by people who were sick risk ritual impurity. Why doesn’t this stop Jesus? Jesus patiently heals all who come to him. What does this tell you about Jesus? Take a step back and consider this: Sometimes, people think they know something that God wants them to do, but it doesn’t happen. This often holds people back from believing that God might do great things if they step out in faith. But sometimes, God doesn’t do great things if we don’t get out of the boat. We need to be attuned to the will of God to know what he is trying to do through us. Jesus’s example of prayer may be one of many things we can do to better know the mind of God, so that we take action when he wants us to. What can you do to better know the mind of God for your life, so that you get out of the boat and take a step of faith that God can use, when he wants you to? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

What is the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 11:1-19 What is the evidence that Jesus is the Messiah? Image by Hasan Almasi, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Cropped. Tom Faletti August 27, 2024 Matthew 11:1-19 Jesus responds to John the Baptist and explains John’s role in God’s plan Notice in verse 1 that Matthew does not tell us what happened when Jesus sent out the apostles. This reinforces the idea that Matthew isn’t focused on writing an event-by-event history; he is focused on explaining how Jesus’s life and teachings are relevant to the Christian community he is writing for. What matters most to Matthew here is not what the apostles did but what his readers might do. Verses 2-6 What is the meaning of John’s question? What does Jesus offer as signs, or what we would call “evidence,” in response to John’s question? All of the signs Jesus offers involve physical healing except the last one. Why does the fact that the good news is being proclaimed to the poor fit in a list of signs, and how is it evidence of who Jesus is? How is this concern for the poor a sign that Jesus is the one sent by God? How is being concerned for the poor evidence that a person may be aligned with or sent by God? What does Jesus’s inclusion of the poor here suggest to us about our own relationship with the poor? Notice that Jesus does not directly answer John’s question. Instead, he provides evidence by naming deeds mostly deeds mentioned in the Old Testament) as things the Messiah would do. John would have been familiar with those Old Testament passages and would have understood the conclusion Jesus is suggesting he reach. Let’s take a look at two of those prophecies: Read Isaiah 35:3-6 . According to Isaiah 35:3-6, what things will happen when the Lord comes to save his people? Read Isaiah 61:1 . According to Isaiah 61:1, what things will happen when the Lord comes to save his people? Jesus also names signs that are not listed in the Old Testament prophecies – signs that perhaps make his presence even more wonderous that what had been predicted. What has he done that goes beyond those Old Testament prophecies? Jesus raised a small number of people from the dead. But for some people, the greatest evidence that Jesus is the Messiah is the fact that he himself rose from the dead. Why is that powerful evidence of who Jesus is? Verse 6 is not meant as a criticism of John the Baptist, but rather as a set-up for what Jesus says in verses 16-19, where he challenges those in his own time who have taken offense at him. What are some of the things Jesus said or did that people took offense at? In our time we also have people who take offense at Jesus. What about Jesus causes people to take offense at him today, in our time? Have the words or deeds of Jesus ever been a stumbling block or problem for your faith? If so, how did you deal with it? Verses 7-15 Jesus shows a bit of wit as he speaks about John’s identity. He is saying that the people knew that John was special, or they wouldn’t have gone out to see him and be baptized by him. Jesus follows this by revealing John’s identity in biblical terms. He quotes Malachi, the last officially recognized prophet, whose book is the last book of the Old Testament (last when the Deuterocanonical books are placed in their proper places). Read Malachi 3:1-3 . What does Malachi 3:1 say that relates to John the Baptist? Look at Malachi 3:2-3. In this description of the messenger preparing the way before the Lord, what reminds you of John, and how? Read Malachi 4:5-6 . In Mathew 11:14, Jesus explicitly connects John to Elijah by invoking Malachi 4:5. What does Malachi 4:5 say? In what sense is John the Baptist like Elijah? In Luke’s Gospel (1:8-20), an angel appeared to John the Baptist’s father Zechariah and told Zechariah that he would have a child. The angel uses language from Malachi 4:6 in describing John. What does this verse say about John the Baptist? Why does John the Baptist get so much attention in the Gospels? Why is John important in the story of God’s plan to save his people? John serves not only as a forerunner to Jesus but also as a link or bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Go back to Matthew and look at Matthew 11:11 . Jesus has now established that John is really important. Why, then, does he say in Matthew 11:11 that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John? Greater in what sense? Is he talking about moral/spiritual greatness? About what they could experience that John did not have an opportunity to experience? Or what? This question may be answered in a variety of ways, but most answers revolve around the fact that Christians who lived after John had the opportunity to know the crucified and risen Christ and experience the new life he brings in the kingdom of God, and John did not. Barclay offers this: “But what was it that John lacked? What is it that the Christian has that John could never have? The answer to that is very simple and very fundamental. John had never seen the Cross. And therefore one thing John could never know – the full revelation of the love of God” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , p. 7, emphasis in the original). It is our opportunity, blessing, and privilege to have experienced what John did not. We did not merit it. Do not agonize over verse 12. The scholars consider it to be puzzling at best and offer a wide variety of interpretations of it. The “violence” could be the violence suffered by John at the hands of the Roman government, or the sufferings of Christians in Matthew’s day (perhaps as a parenthetical insert by Matthew), or the apocalyptic sufferings to come; but some commentators consider it to be allegorical, referring to the self-discipline that Christians must embrace as followers of Christ. Verses 16-19 Jesus contrasts what was said about John and what was said about Jesus, to show the hypocrisy of those who rejected both John and Jesus. What was the impression of John among those who did not respond to his preaching? What was the impression of Jesus among those who did not respond to his preaching? Are there ways that we can become naysayers, rejecting preachers or teachers who seem too severe but also rejecting those who seem too soft? Scholars disagree about the meaning of verse 19. Luke records the saying differently (Luke 7:35), saying that wisdom is vindicated by her children. That form of the statement might suggest that John and Jesus are the children of wisdom. But Matthew’s version offers a different interpretation that draws on the Old Testament practice of personifying wisdom as a person (see, for example, Proverbs 8-9 and Wisdom 7:22-8:21). In that view, Jesus is the embodiment of wisdom, and his works vindicate his claims. If we follow that interpretation, verse 19 reaffirms the point of verse 2: that Jesus’s works demonstrate that he is “the one,” the very wisdom of God. Would it be fair to say that when someone is claiming to be offering words of wisdom, the deeds or actions that come from following that word of wisdom might be a helpful guide to whether the claim is actually wisdom or nonsense? Explain. How do Jesus’s actions give us reasons to believe his teachings, so that we can be confident that he is providing wisdom from God? If Jesus is the wisdom of God, what might you consider doing, or doing more of, to grow in that wisdom? Take a step back and consider this: In Matthew, 11:4-5, Jesus tells John the Baptist to judge him by his actions. The Christian community today mostly does not do the things that Jesus did: we mostly don’t give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, heal lepers, open the ears of the deaf, or raise the dead. To deal with this problem, people often spiritualize the statement, as though Jesus was talking about spiritual blindness, for example, rather than physical blindness. However, the Christian community, down through the ages, has shown the same concern for people’s physical needs, even though they have mostly not addressed those needs through miraculous signs. For example, Christians, and especially Catholic Christians, have created countless hospitals and other health care institutions to connect people with medical professionals who use the medical truths God has allowed scientists to discover, to bring healing to many people. I can support those good works, and I can support efforts to ensure universal access to health care. Second, Christians have found countless ways to carry out the last sign that Jesus offered to John: to proclaim good news to the poor. Healing can involve meeting both people’s spiritual needs and their physical needs. Similarly, good news can come to the poor both in the spiritual form of the spoken gospel and in the physical form of actions that meet their physical needs. The apostle James tells us: “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16, NABRE) Why should someone believe our gospel if we do not show an active, effective concern for their pressing physical needs as well as their spiritual needs? World Concern, a Christian nonprofit organization that provides disaster response and community development in many countries around the world, puts it this way: “Food is a basic human need and an essential part of bringing the whole gospel to a village. A mother cannot hear the gospel over the cries of her hungry child” (“Food & Nutrition,” World Concern , https://worldconcern.org/food-nutrition , accessed 25 Aug. 2024). The whole gospel addresses the physical and spiritual needs of God’s children. This is not the first time we have seen Jesus express concern for the poor. Repeatedly throughout Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus emphasizes his particular concern for the poor and suffering of the world. Part of sharing the good news of Christ is showing his concern for the basic needs of others. We are called to present his love to others by being his hands and feet as the Body of Christ in this world. How can you show concern for the whole person as you consider the poor around you? How can you bring the good news of Jesus both in words and in actions that address their basic human needs? What is your church doing to meet the basic needs of the poor? What more might it be able to do, perhaps with a little help from you? What international Christian organizations, like World Concern, might you support to extend, in the name of Christ, God’s helping hand to those struggling to meet their basic needs? Many Christians support the work of Catholic Relief Services and/or World Vision, both of which are large, highly respected relief and development organizations that effectively address the basic needs of millions of people around the world every year. Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Bibliography of major sources and additional sources used in this study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Previous Mary List Next Mary - Bibliography Bibliography of major sources and additional sources used in this study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some of the resources on the author's bookshelf. Tom Faletti July 16, 2025 Major Sources Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament, Revised Standard Edition, Second Catholic Edition . Ignatius Press, 2010. Interlinear Bible. Bible Hub , https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ . Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott . An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Founded Upon the Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899. Perseus Digital Library , Tufts University, https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0058 . For the full Lexicon from 1940 available online, see A Greek-English Lexicon , Furman Classics Editions, http://folio2.furman.edu/lsj/ or A Greek-English Lexicon , Internet Archive , Volume I: https://archive.org/details/b31364949_0001/mode/2up and Volume II: https://archive.org/details/b31364949_0002/mode/2up . New American Bible, revised edition (NABRE) . Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2010. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary . Edited by Raymond E. Brown, et al. Prentice Hall, 1990. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version: With the Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible . Eds. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2010. New Revised Standard Version Bible , copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Payne, David. F. “Isaiah.” The International Bible Commentary: With the New International Version . F.F. Bruce, General Editor. Marshall Pickering/Zondervan, 1986. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance . Bible Hub , https://biblehub.com/greek/21.htm . Vine, William E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary , 1940, StudyLight.org , https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ved.html . Additional Sources Keller, Timothy. “God’s Call to Mary and to Us.” Focus on the Family , 15 Nov. 2021, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/gods-call-to-mary-and-to-us/ . Prahlow, Jacob. “A Protestant Thinks about the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Conciliar Post , 21 Nov. 2018, https://conciliarpost.com/theology-spirituality/a-protestant-thinks-about-the-blessed-virgin-mary/ . “What is the difference between a refugee and a migrant?” USA for UNHCR , 15 Dec. 2022, https://www.unrefugees.org/news/what-is-the-difference-between-a-refugee-and-a-migrant/ . “Which church father first taught the perpetual virginity of Mary?” Christianity Stack Exchange , 3 Dec. 2018, https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/56526/which-church-father-first-taught-the-perpetual-virginity-of-mary . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Mary List Next

How can we recognize when we are focusing on little things that are of less importance and missing the more important matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 23:13-24 How can we recognize when we are focusing on little things that are of less importance and missing the more important matters of justice, mercy, and faithfulness? Image by Sheldon Kennedy, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti August 21, 2025 Matthew 23:13-24 (Part 1 of Matthew 23:13-36) Read Matthew 23:13-36 Jesus denounces the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocrisy In Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus pronounces 7 woes upon the scribes and Pharisees. The word usually translated “woe” has a meaning that communicates sorrow as well as anger. Wiliam Barclay tells us, “There is righteous anger here, but it is the anger of the heart of love, broken by the stubborn blindness of men” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , p. 318). Jesus is speaking these stern words of judgment with a heavy heart. Part 1 Verses 13-14 It is not surprising that, of all the groups that opposed Jesus, Matthew retains this denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, because those were the two groups that lived on after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and opposed the work of Christian communities such as Matthew’s that included both Jews and Gentiles. What is the first thing Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees for? In what ways do you think they were doing that? Are there ways that we might unintentionally block people from entering the kingdom of heaven or be an obstacle to other people’s faith? How should we act to avoid being an obstacle to other people’s faith? Sometimes, the problem is a desire to try to push everyone to conform to one for how to live the faith, so it may be helpful to try to avoid being controlling or judgmental. Instead of trying to corral or force people, we can seek to love them into the kingdom of heaven. Note: Most modern translations leave out verse 14, in which Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees of devouring widows’ houses. It is not in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts of Matthew, but it is in the corresponding passage in Mark; so it may have been added by a copyist who pulled it from Mark 12:40 rather than being in the original version of Matthew. Verse 15 What do the scribes and Pharisees do that leads to the second woe? Judaism is not today thought of as a proselytizing religion. However, in the 1 st century, before the destruction of Jerusalem, Jews encouraged Gentiles to join them as “god-fearers" – people who accepted the Jewish moral law and belief in one God – and Pharisees sought to convince them to convert fully to Judaism through circumcision and acceptance of the full Law with all its detailed rules regarding foods, etc. In Matthew’s time, Pharisees wanted Christians to embrace the whole Jewish Law; so verse 15 might have resonated even more for Matthew’s readers than for Jesus’s original audience. Every Christian denomination seeks converts. What’s wrong with what the Pharisees were doing? Barclay says it well: “The sin of the Pharisees was that they were not really seeking to lead men to God, they were seeking to lead men to Pharisaism” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2 , p. 321). In our time, how might Christians sometimes be more focused on converting people to their “side” or their flavor of Christianity than to God? How are we vulnerable to focusing more on winning people to our “party” – our part of the body of Christ or even our political party – than to God? One of the ways we see this happening in the United States is people putting politics before religion. Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University, author, and American Baptist pastor, says that between 2005 and 2020, political scientists observed a “pretty significant revolution” in people’s thinking. Previously, political scientists thought that “religion was the first lens and then politics lived downstream of religion” – i.e., that people chose their religion first and then decided how to vote based on their religious views. But now, he says, “we recognize that politics is the master identity, and . . . that people pick their religion [or denomination or local church] based on their politics. It’s not the other way around” (“ Faith and the Faithful in the 2024 Election ”). Given that our faith should be the primary guiding light for our worldview and everything else should come second to that, this finding is troubling. Verses 16-22 Recall from Matthew 5:33-37 (in the Sermon on the Mount) that Jews in Jesus’s time were casual about oaths, arguing that unless an oath directly invoked God it didn’t “count.” Here, Jesus may be quoting them, or he may be using exaggeration to show the foolishness of their hypocritical hair-splitting. What is the point of Jesus’s response to the Pharisees’ game-playing about which oaths “count” and must be honored? Jesus is pointing out that the things they say don’t “count” – the Temple, the altar – are more important than the things they say do count. Furthermore, in verses 20-21 he suggests that it all goes back to God, so all of it “counts.” Perhaps the real issue here is whether you should need to swear by anything in order to assure someone that you are telling the truth or will fulfill your word. When should people be able to count on your words being trustworthy? What does it say about us if we are focused on when we might be able to slip out of an oath based on a technicality? In Matthew 5:33-37, Jesus told his followers that they should never swear an oath by anything. Should you ever need to swear an oath, other than in a court of law or official document? Explain. Verses 23-24 Jews were directed in the Law of Moses to tithe from the produce they harvested (Lev. 27:30-32). Jesus indicates that the scribes and Pharisees are so zealous about collecting the whole tithe, or tithing of their entire gain, that they demand that people tithe even from their garden herbs (mint, dill, and cumin). If you have ever owned a basil plant, imagine if an advocate of tithing asked you to give to the church one-tenth of your “harvest” of basil, besides your tithe of your income. That’s what Jesus is criticizing here: they were trying to calculate the tithe down to the basil leaves, while ignoring more important matters. Is there anything wrong with tithing from even your smaller gains? In verse 23, what are the “weightier” matters of the Law that Jesus says they should be more focused on? Jesus identifies justice, mercy, and faithfulness as “weightier” matters than the tithing of mint. (The NABRE uses the word “judgment,” but “justice” may be a more appropriate translation that better captures the meaning of the word today.) What does it mean to practice “justice”? Justice means is to give to God what is due to God and to give to people what is due to them as people made in God’s image. What does that call us to do? What does it mean to practice “mercy”? One way to think about mercy in a modern context is to think about the use of discretion to balance the possible harshness of strict justice. Legal systems often ask judges to use discretion in deciding what is an appropriate way to deal with the circumstances of an individual case. What does it mean to practice “faithfulness”? (Note: Some translations say “faith” or “fidelity,” but in today’s language “faithfulness” probably better captures what Jesus is saying.) Why are justice, mercy, and faithfulness “weightier” than detailed tithing? Jesus does not reject tithing. He says that they should focus on the weightier matters “without neglecting the others” – i.e., without neglecting tithing. Does Jesus want us to tithe our mint and basil? How can we balance Matthew 22:21 – where Jesus tells us to “give back to God what is God’s” – with Jesus’s overall objection to the zeal with which the Pharisees focused on details? The Pharisees might say, “We haven’t neglected the weightier matters. We tithe of everything because of our faithfulness to God.” What point are they missing? In verse 24, Jesus refers to gnats and camels. Both are identified as “unclean” in the Law of Moses (Lev. 11:41-43 and Lev. 11:4), so Jews were supposed to avoid them. Pious Pharisees poured their drinks through a cloth to strain out any possible gnats. Jesus accuses them of straining the gnats out of their drinks while swallowing camels. What is the meaning of this metaphor? What are the “gnats” they we might become unnecessarily focused on in our day? In other words, what are the little things we might have a tendency to focus on that don’t really matter very much in the grand scheme of our faith, but that might draw our attention away from more important things? What are the “camels” – the big, important things – that we might be overlooking in our focus on gnats? This could be considered personally and also societally. Societally, we might fail to address weighty matters such as hunger, homelessness, racism, etc. Individually, we might fail to address issues such as paying fairly those who work for us, avoiding unkind or abusive words that hurt other people, doing our fair share of the chores, showing mercy to other people when they are not perfect, etc. You can probably add good examples of your own. Throughout this denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus repeatedly calls them “hypocrites” (see verses 13, 15, 23 ,25, 27, 29). What is a hypocrite? “Hypocrite” is actually a Greek word. That word was used to describe actors in the theatre. They play a part that is not who they really are, so they are pretending to be something they are not. The meaning of the word then expanded to the more general meaning we have for it today. How does their behavior make it appropriate to describe them as hypocrites? How are we at risk of falling into hypocrisy in our day? Take a step back and consider this: It is easy to become critical of the scribes and Pharisees and miss the ways we also put our focus in the wrong places. It is also possible to go to the other extreme and adopt a worldview that unconsciously says that no details matter – that anything goes. God calls us to find the balance that allows us to stay focused on justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). What are the big things that you think matter most? What can you do to make sure you stay focused on those big things and don’t get distracted by little matters that aren’t as important? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Jesus cares about our afflictions. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 8:1-17 Jesus cares about our afflictions. Alexandre Bida (1813-1895). The Leper . 1875. Detail. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_heals_the_leper.png . See also https://archive.org/details/christinartstory00egglrich/page/60/mode/2up . Tom Faletti July 30, 2024 Re-read Matthew 7:28-29 Jesus acts with authority Matthew ends the Sermon on the Mount by saying that Jesus “taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.” What does it look like when someone teaches with authority? Who has been someone who taught with authority in your life? Matthew has shown Jesus teaching with authority. Now he is going to show Jesus acting with authority. In chapters 8 and 9, we will see 10 miracles in 9 separate incidents, presented in groups of 3, interspersed with brief but pointed dialogues. Matthew 8:1-17 Jesus cures all who come to him Who are the kinds of people Jesus helps here? Who is Jesus for ? The ones Jesus helped here include an outcast leper, a lowly servant, an enemy commander in need, a mother-in-law who probably spent most of her life being overlooked, and then many others who suffered various afflictions. What does this tell you about Jesus and about Matthew’s sense of who Jesus cares about – who God cares about? Who do we care about? Do we care about the same people Jesus cares about? Explain. How are Jesus’s priorities a challenge to our society? Now let’s focus on each of these three stories separately. Matthew 8:1-4 the leper What happens in this passage? Recent translations of the Bible mostly replace “a leper” with “a man with a skin disease,” because the word was used for a variety of skin diseases, not just leprosy. Any persistent skin disease rendered a person unclean, under Old Testament law (Lev. 13-14), both in a hygienic sense (such diseases can be transmitted through touch) and in a religious sense (ritual impurity). Therefore, people with skin diseases were supposed to live in isolation, away from others. What attitudes or character traits does the man with leprosy show? In verse 2, the man said, “You can make me clean.” What is the significance of being made clean? How were lepers treated and what would being made “clean” do for him? What does Jesus do? Why is touching so significant beyond just being an action used in the healing? Jesus’s willingness to touch the man violated Old Testament norms both with regard to health and with regard to religious purity, so it was probably shocking to onlookers. In what way does Jesus’s touching the man communicate not only a willingness to violate social conventions but also a special type of caring? What effect does touching someone have? Why does Jesus tell him to tell no one? Why does Jesus tell him to go to the priests? Note that the purpose of going to the priests is to satisfy the priests; Jesus does not make it his own concern – i.e., he does not say, for example, that going to the priests was necessary in order to receive the healing. Jesus stands above the Law, even as he tells the man to fulfill the Law. What do you discern about Jesus’s/God’s character from this incident? Who are we called to “touch” or care for today in or lives, in order for them to receive God’s healing? How might our choice to “touch” people whom society shuns shock people around us, and should that affect us? What should we do about the fact that if we follow Jesus we will sometimes show care for people that others think we should stay away from? Matthew 8:5-13 the centurion’s slave A centurion was a commander of 100 men in the Roman army. He was a Gentile. The Greek word for the centurion’s “servant” is ambiguous and could mean “son.” John 4:46-54 has a similar but not identical story about a royal official’s son. But if we follow the common understanding that it is the centurion’s servant who is sick, how do you think he felt about this servant cared as a person? The centurion was an officer in a hated army that occupied the land, oppressed the people, and treated with harsh brutality anyone who dared to cross it. Why would Jesus want to help him? Jesus says, “I will come and cure him.” What Jewish cultural expectation would that have been violating? Observant Jews did not enter the homes of Gentiles, because they would becoming ritually unclean from any interaction with any unclean items in the home. Why do you think Jesus makes the offer to “come”? How does the centurion see himself relative to Jesus (verse 8) and relative to other people (verse 9)? What does he ask Jesus to do? Why does the centurion think that a word from Jesus will be enough? Matthew 7 ended with a reference to Jesus’s authority. How does this passage help us understand the authority of Jesus? For what does Jesus praise the centurion? What does he think of the centurion’s faith? How does Jesus turn this event into an indictment of the failure of the people of Israel to believe in Jesus? How can we be more like the centurion? Note: We can’t conjure up faith by our own willpower. Faith is a gift. But we can choose to be open, we can take the time to approach God, and we can welcome God’s presence and lordship in our lives. If we create the conditions for faith by nurturing whatever seed of faith we have, that openness can allow faith to grow. Matthew 8:14-17 Peter’s mother-in-law, and many other people What does Peter’s mother-in-law do when she is healed? How can she be a model for us? What happens that evening? In verse 17, what Old Testament passage does Matthew quote, and what does it mean? What is Matthew trying to suggest to us about Jesus? The quote is from one of the Suffering Servant passages of Isaiah, and the Suffering Servant ultimately makes reparation for the sins of the people, so Matthew sees it as a prophecy about Jesus as the Messiah. Take a step back and consider this: In Matthew 8:2, the leper is confident that Jesus can cure him; he is only unsure if Jesus is willing to cure him (he says, “if you wish”). In Matthew 8:8, the centurion is confident that Jesus can cure his servant, and he has a solution to the question of Jesus’s willingness (“only say the word”). With both of those issues laid to rest, the crowds that follow Jesus come with great expectation. When it comes to asking God for healing for yourself or others, do you get stuck on the question of whether God wishes to heal? Do you get stuck on the question of whether God is able to heal? Or are you able to get past both of those questions? In our time, we know that some people for whom we pray are healed and some are not. How do you approach God when healing is needed? There is power in the passage from Isaiah that Matthew applies to Jesus in verse 17. In what ways do you find it to be true of Jesus that he bears our weaknesses and diseases, and how does that help you to approach him in prayer? The next time you pray, how can you approach the Lord with greater confidence that he bears your afflictions? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. 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