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Jesus was not abandoned by God, but it might have felt that way when he started praying Psalm 22. The psalm affirms him, and the centurion declared: “Truly this was the Son of God!” Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 27:45-56 Jesus was not abandoned by God, but it might have felt that way when he started praying Psalm 22. The psalm affirms him, and the centurion declared: “Truly this was the Son of God!” The quote coming from the centurion reads (in German), “Truly, this man was the son of God.” Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). The Crucifixion with the Converted Centurion . 1536. Cropped. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Public domain, courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, https://www.nga.gov/artworks/46168-crucifixion-converted-centurion . Tom Faletti September 22, 2025 Matthew 27:45-56 Jesus dies and some Gentiles recognize him as the son of God Mark tells us that Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m. (the third hour) and died at 3:00 p.m. (the ninth hour). Matthew picks up the story at noon. What is the symbolic significance of it growing dark in the middle of the day (verse 45)? What does Jesus cry out in verse 46? What does “forsaken” mean? Forsaken means abandoned; deserted and left entirely on your own. Some bystanders hear “Eli” – which means “my God” and misunderstand him, thinking he is invoking Elijah. Interestingly, the name Elijah means “The Lord is my God” ( The New Oxford Annotated Bible , footnote to Matthew 27:46, p. 1789.) In Jesus’s time, people saw Elijah as a helper who might come to you in a time of need ( The New Oxford Annotated Bible , footnote to Matthew 27:47, p. 1789), so it is easy to see why they might have jumped to the wrong conclusion. How do the bystanders react when they think Jesus is calling for Elijah? There are two different reactions, one in verse 48 and another in verse 49. What are their reactions? Jesus cries out one more time and dies. John tells us that Jesus’s final words were, “It is finished” (John 19:30), while Luke records, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Matthew describes Jesus’s death by saying that he “gave up” or “yielded up’ his spirit (Matt. 27:50. Some translations just say, “breathed his last,” which does not capture as well the sense of the Greek word that he was voluntarily letting go of his life. What does Jesus’s death mean to you? Before we go on to discuss what happened when Jesus died, let’s go back to Jesus’s final prayer, which begins with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (verse 46). In verse 46, Jesus is quoting the first words of Psalm 22, which are denoted as 22:1 in the NRSV and most other Bibles and as Psalm 22:2 in the NABRE. (Explanation: Many of the psalms have a “superscription” – a comment before the psalm begins. These superscriptions were part of the original Hebrew. They were not added by the people who translated the Bible into English the way passage headings. We do not know when these superscriptions were first attached to each psalm, but they were there before the psalms as we know them were finalized. A superscription may indicate who the psalm was written for or by, or what type of psalm it is, or how it should be played, or what it is about. Sometimes, it uses Hebrew words the translators are not familiar with, and some translations leave those unfamiliar words untranslated. In most Bibles, including the NRSV, the superscription is not given a verse number, and the text of the actual psalm begins at verse 1. The NABRE in many cases assigns the superscription to verse 1 and begins the text of the psalm at verse 2. As a result, the verse numbers sometimes don’t agree between Bibles. I will give both sets of verse numbers: the number used by the NRSV and most other Bibles, followed by the number used by the NABRE.) Read Psalm 22 . Notice, as you read, the shifts in the psalmist’s mood. In Psalm 22, the psalmist begins with feelings of abandonment, and then moves to remembrance, to urgent plea, to trust, to anguish, to hope, and finally to confidence in what he and God will do in the future. Considering the psalm as a whole, how would you describe the overall tone of Psalm 22? Would you say the psalmist is primarily feeling forsaken, or something else? How would you describe his overall mood? Although the psalmist starts out feeling abandoned, by the end of the psalm he is declaring that God is with him, that he will fulfill his vows and praise God in the assembly, that the poor will eat and be satisfied, and that God will provide deliverance. These questions about the overall mood of the psalm are important because Jesus would have been able to recite this entire psalm from memory. The psalms were the hymns and prayers of his Jewish faith community throughout his life. Since he would have known the psalm by heart, do you think he would have stopped at verse 1, or would he have kept going, praying through the whole psalm as best he could? What verses in the psalm would have seemed to Jesus to be accurate descriptions of what he was going through? Here are some of the things he would have noticed: Verses 7-8 (8-9 in the NABRE) would have reminded him of the mocking he was enduring. Verses 14-17 (15-18 in the NABRE) describe some of the torture he was experiencing in being crucified, including having his hands and feet pierced. Verse 18 (19 in the NABRE) describes what he would have seen from the cross: the soldiers dividing up his clothing. There is a difference between feeling abandoned and losing hope. Has Jesus lost hope in his Father? Jesus is still praying to his Father, so he has not lost all hope. He has not turned away from God in despair. And as he prayed Psalm 22, his words from that prayer would have been words of hope, not words of despair. You can feel abandoned and still not lose hope in God. Is it OK to feel abandoned at times in our lives? Can you feel abandoned and still not lose hope in God? Explain. There is a difference between feeling abandoned and actually being abandoned. In the psalm, is the psalmist actually forsaken, or does it become clear by the end of the psalm that the psalmist recognizes that God is with him ? Explain. This is an important issue, because some Christians have used Matthew 27:46 to help build a theology that God abandoned Jesus on the cross. That idea is deeply flawed for many reasons, some of which are explored in God Did Not Abandon Jesus on the Cross . Go back to Matthew 27:45-56 and read Matthew 27:43 . Are the chief priests suggesting that Jesus’s God has abandoned Jesus? Are the chief priests right that God has abandoned Jesus? As Jesus quotes Psalm 22, one way to view it is that he is directly refuting the chief priests’ claim that God has abandoned him. He is starting at verse 1, in which the psalmist thinks he is abandoned, and then reciting the rest of the psalm, which walks through some of the evidence that what was happening to Jesus was prophesied in advance and fit into God’s grand scheme for the salvation of the human race, and then reaching the end of the psalm where the psalmist expresses confidence that God has not abandoned him and God has provided the salvation the people needed. That fits perfectly with the fact that Luke and John tell us Jesus went on to say, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46) and “It is finished” (John 19:30). In verse 51, what two things happened when Jesus died? What is the symbolic significance of the curtain in the Temple being torn in two? And what is the significance of it being torn from top to bottom? The curtain or veil was a large, thick curtain that covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies in the Temple – the place where the presence of God was believed to reside. No person was allowed to go there except, once a year, the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. There are many ways to think about the symbolism here: Temple sacrifices were no longer needed; access to God was no longer restricted; God would no longer reside in the Temple but in human hearts; the Old Covenant, with its reliance on the blood of animal sacrifices, has been replaced by the New Covenant in Jesus’s blood because of his once-for-all sacrifice. The curtain was very tall. No human could tear it from the top down. That the curtain was torn from top to bottom signifies that this is God’s doing – that through Jesus’s death God has removed the barrier between himself and us. What is the symbolic significance of the earthquake? In Joel 2:10, earthquakes happen in the day of the Lord. It shows God is at work. In verses 52-53, what does Matthew tell us happened after Jesus rose from the dead? Do you know any Old Testament prophecies that relate to the idea of people coming back to life? In Ezekiel 37, God shows Ezekiel a valley of dry bones that, at God command, come back to life (37:10) as God opens up graves and bringing people back to the land of Israel (37:12). What is the significance of dead people coming back to life, insofar as it relates to Jesus’s death? How did the centurion and the soldiers under him react (verse 54)? We don’t know if “son” should be capitalized in their statement about Jesus – i.e., whether they declared him to be the Son of God or a son of God – because the Greek only had one case at that time. But either way, what is the significance of Gentiles calling Jesus the son of God after the chief priests mocked his claim to be the son of God? How is the centurion a model for us? It turns out that Jesus wasn’t totally alone all this time. Who was there (verses 55-56)? What does this tell you about the women who followed Jesus? How can we be more like those women – perhaps often unseen, but faithful? What does Jesus’s death tell you about him? How does Jesus’s death affect how you want to live your life? How does Jesus’s death affect how you want to approach your own death? Take a step back and consider this: Although God the Father did not abandon Jesus on the cross because of our sins (see God Did Not Abandon Jesus on the Cross ), humans sometimes experience the feeling of abandonment. Because Jesus expressed that feeling at one point while he was hanging on the cross, we know that we are not alone if we sometimes feel like God has abandoned us. He understands. Have you ever felt abandoned by God? How did you deal with it? (Or how do wish you had dealt with it?) What do you think Jesus says to you in those times? How does Jesus’s victory despite feelings of abandonment affect how you can approach difficult times in your own life? 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

A young woman living in obscurity receives a visit from an angel of God and says “Yes” to God’s plan. How can we be like her? [Luke 1:5-25; 1:26-38; 1:39-45; 1:46-56] Previous Mary List Next Session 1: What Mary was, we are called to be A young woman living in obscurity receives a visit from an angel of God and says “Yes” to God’s plan. How can we be like her? [Luke 1:5-25; 1:26-38; 1:39-45; 1:46-56] Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). The Annunciation . 1657. Cropped. The National Gallery, London, UK. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:L%27Annonciation,_vers_1655,_Londres,_National_Gallery.jpg . Tom Faletti July 11, 2025 The Theme The theme of this study is: What Mary was, we are called to be. What Mary did, we are called to do. When we say, “What Mary was, we are called to be” we mean that we are called to be the kind of person Mary was. She is an example of what the character of a person of faith looks like. When we say, “What Mary did, we are called to do,” we mean that we are called to put our faith into action the way she did. She is a role model for how to live the kind of life where our faith permeates everything we do. Who is this study for? This study is intended for anyone who is interested in exploring how to live a life of faith. It can be used by Catholics and Protestants, evangelicals and Orthodox believers. While the study acknowledges that Catholics and Protestants have a long history of disagreement about some Catholic teachings about Mary, the study keeps its focus on what the Bible says and does not address Catholic doctrines that developed later. Where there are disagreements about how to interpret the Scriptures, the differences are noted and explored. For this reason, Catholics and Protestants can all be comfortable with this study – and could even use it to study together. It is also worth noting that many Protestants find much to admire in Mary – see, for example, Timothy Keller’s “God’s Call to Mary and to Us” (published by Focus on the Family) and Jacob Prahlow’s “A Protestant Thinks about the Blessed Virgin Mary” . Everyone who values the Word of God will find this study useful. IF YOU ARE STUDYING WITH A SMALL GROUP This study material can be very enriching either for small-group Bible Study or for individual study and growth. If you are studying with a small group, please take some time to build community, beginning with ensuring that everyone knows everyone else’s name. Here are some questions you could invite everyone in the group to answer: What is your name? What is your connection to this church/parish/group? Why were you attracted to be part of this study of Mary? From what you already know about the mother of Jesus, what stands out to you? What questions do you have? What would you like to know more about, with regard to Mary? Where you see a Scripture passage in bold and underlined (like Luke 1: 5-25 below), it means you should read that passage before proceeding. Let’s dive in. Luke 1: 5-25 What happens before Mary appears in Luke’s Gospel Some helpful background Mary’s story in the Bible begins when she was probably a teenager, possibly as young as 14 years old although we are not told what her age was. She was suddenly catapulted from living a normal, obscure teenage life to living an heroic though still obscure life. But before that happened, some extraordinary things were already happening in her extended family. Before mentioning Mary, Luke tells us about what leads to the birth of John the Baptist, who was born into Mary’s extended family. Mary’s relative Elizabeth (Luke 1:36) was childless (1:7) and advanced in years (1:18), but now she has become pregnant. Before she becomes pregnant, Elizabeth’s husband, a priest (1:5), has a vision of an angel while he is serving alone in the holiest inner sanctuary of the Temple. The angel tells him that Elizabeth will have a son, who is to be named John (1:10-14). The angel informs him that this son will be filled with the Holy Spirit like Elijah and will turn people to God to prepare them for the Lord (1:15-17). When Zechariah questions this message because he and Elizabeth are fairly old, he is rendered unable to speak (1:18-20), and when he comes out of the sanctuary, everyone knows that he has seen a vision. Mary is likely to have heard about this event. Note: Although some older translations such as the King James Version and some simplified translations call Elizabeth Mary’s “cousin,” the Greek word is a more generic word used for relatives of all kinds, close and distant, so most modern translations say “relative,” not “cousin.” We do not know if Elizabeth was an aunt, a cousin, or a more distant relative. We also do not know if Mary came from the lineage of priests as Zechariah did. Similarly, we do not know if Mary was descended from the line of David. Matthew presents Joseph’s genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17), which shows that Joseph was from the line of David, i.e., a direct descendant of David. Luke also tells us that Joseph was a descendant of David (Luke 1:27 and 2:4). Some scholars through the centuries have suggested that Luke presents Mary’s genealogy, but many other scholars have rejected that idea because Luke 4:23. For Jews of Jesus’s time, the father’s lineage was all that mattered. Joseph was not Jesus’s biological father, as Matthew tells us in his account of the virgin birth (Matt. 1:18-25), but Joseph essentially adopted Jesus as his own son by raising him. So, Joseph’s ancestry is Jesus’s ancestry for Jewish legal purposes even though Jesus was the Son of God. Does Mary’s relative obscurity trouble you, or draw you to her, or not matter to you? Why? What do you think of a God who chooses to enter the human race by being born of an obscure woman whose pedigree is unclear? What does this tell you about God? What does Mary’s obscure background tell you about Mary? Does this tell you anything about yourself? Can you be from obscure roots and still fulfill God’s purposes for you? How does Mary’s background speak to you? Elizabeth conceives, and roughly 6 months later, Mary enters Luke’s story. Luke 1:26-38 An angel tells Mary she will have a son from God (the “Annunciation”) Let’s start by walking through the conversation between Mary and the angel. In verses 26-27, what does Luke tell us about Mary (what kind of person is she, where is she, what is her marital status, etc.)? To be “betrothed” was far more than what we call being “engaged.” After betrothal, the couple was considered married even though it would be months before the marriage was consummated. If a person was betrothed and had sex with someone other than their intended, it was considered adultery (see New American Bible , Luke 1:18 fn.). In verse 28, how does the angel greet Mary? In verse 29, how does Mary respond? In verses 30-33, what does the angel prophesy to Mary about what is to come? In verse 34, Mary questions the angel. What is her question? When the angel had appeared to Zechariah, Zechariah had asked, “How will I know this, for I’m an old man and my wife is old too?” His question was, in essence, a demand for proof. How is Mary’s question different? How is her question appropriate, whereas Zechariah’s was not? Mary is not challenging what will happen or asking for proof; she is merely asking the process by which it will happen. Her question is, literally, in the Greek, “How will this be, since I do not know a man?” – i.e., How will this be since I do not have sex? In verses 35-37, how does the angel explain to Mary how she will become pregnant? In verse 38, how does Mary respond to this announcement? Look over the passage and focus on the things the angel says. What do the angel’s words tell us about Mary? What do the angel’s words tell us about God? Look over the passage again, focusing on the things Mary says. What do Mary’s words tell us about Mary? What does this passage tell us about Mary’s attitude or approach toward her faith? One of our themes for this study is: What Mary was (the kind of person Mary was), we are called to be. What can we learn from Mary? All of us can, like Mary, say, “I am the servant of the Lord.” How can you take that approach to your own faith more consistently? What does this passage tell us about Mary’s use of her whole being: her mind, her will, and her spirit/faith? What Mary did, we are called to do. Mary accepted the coming of the Holy Spirit to her to enable her to fulfill her God-given role in God’s plan of salvation. How can you welcome or say yes to the Holy Spirit to fulfill your particular God-given role in your life? Mary is now the second woman in her extended family to have an unusual pregnancy after an unusual encounter with God. Mary decides to go visit her relative Elizabeth. In the next scene of our story, we see two women, both chosen by God for something special, having a chance to have some woman-to-woman time together. Luke 1:39-45 Mary visits Elizabeth (the “Visitation”) What happens? Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit as a result of her encounter with Mary and the response of the child in her womb. How can we become more open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as Elizabeth was? When Elizabeth has this special, spirit-filled moment, her response is praise. How can we become more confident in giving praise to God when we are touched by his Spirit? Luke 1:46-56 Mary sings God’s praises (the “Magnificat” or “Canticle of Mary”) What Mary says here is called the “Magnificat” because in Latin, the first word of Mary’s prayer is the word Magnificat , which means “praises,” as in “my soul praises.” What is your overall impression of Mary’s “song”? What is your favorite line or phrase or word from Mary’s song, and why? What does this song tell us about God? What does this song tell us about Mary? Mary could have praised God in many different ways. We can learn a lot about her from the subjects she chooses to focus on and what she says about them. What does Mary’s choice of topics about God tell us about her and what kind of person she is? Notice that one of the themes Mary focuses on is that some people are rich and mighty, and some people are poor and lowly, and God has here taken decisive action on behalf of the poor and lowly. One of the themes for this study is: What Mary did, we are called to do. Mary praises God energetically and expansively. What can we learn from this for ourselves, regarding our prayer life or interactions with others? The other theme for our study is: The kind of person Mary was, we are called to be. What does this prayer tell you about what kind of person Mary was, and what does it encourage you to be? Here is a brief summary of how Elizabeth’s story ends, so that you are not left hanging: ( Luke 1:57-80 John is born and Zechariah’s mouth is opened to sing God’s praise) Elizabeth gives birth to a son (1:57), and when Elizabeth says he will be named “John” (1:60), the neighbors and relatives object, thinking that he should be named for Zechariah or some other relative. Zechariah indicates that the child is to be named “John” (1:63), and at that moment his tongue is freed so that he can speak (1:64). He responds with his own canticle of praise to God (1:67-80). Take a step back and consider this: One of the things we see in Mary’s prayer is that she sees the world from the perspective of the lowly, not from the top of the social ladder. In the Gospels we see that Jesus has a similar perspective. I have summarized how both the New Testament and the Old Testament present God’s downside-up view of the world here: God Takes a Downside-Up View of the World . Some examples are: blessed are the poor, God cares for the one as much as the 99, wealth is an impediment to salvation rather than a sign of God’s favor, what you did to the least of these you did to me, the Lord hears the cry of the poor, etc. Do you think Jesus learned to see through the eyes of the have-nots from his mother Mary, who proclaimed God’s concern for the lowly and hungry, as well as learning it from his heavenly Father? What might this suggest about how Mary raised her child? How are we called to imitate Jesus and Mary in viewing things from the perspective of the lowly? Bibliography See Mary - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/mary/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 Mary List Next

Jesus walks with two discouraged disciples and opens the Scriptures to them, and then they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. How can we see Jesus in the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread? Previous Next Luke List Luke 24:13-35 Jesus walks with two discouraged disciples and opens the Scriptures to them, and then they recognize him in the breaking of the bread. How can we see Jesus in the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread? (Michelangelo Merisi da) Caravaggio (1571-1610). The Supper at Emmaus . 1601. Cropped. The National Gallery, London, UK. Photo by Tom Faletti, 28 May 2025. Tom Faletti April 14, 2026 Luke 24:13-35 Jesus walks with two men on the road to Emmaus and breaks bread with them It is Easter Sunday. Angels have told the women at the empty tomb that Jesus is alive, and Peter has verified that the tomb is empty. Now, two disciples are walking 7 miles from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. Verse 18 tells us that one of these disciples is named Cleopas. It is possible that this is the same man as the “Clopas” in John 19:25, but there is no way of knowing. An early tradition in the Church says that Clopas was the brother of Jesus’s adoptive father, Joseph. Verse 14 tells us that the two disciples are talking with each other about all the things that have happened, and verses 19-24 provide the specifics of their conversation. How do you think they feel about what has happened? A man joins them on the road and walks with them, but they do not recognize that it is Jesus (verses 15-16). Why do you think they don’t realize it is him? There are several possibilities. Jesus may have, in some supernatural way, prevented them from recognizing him. They may be sufficiently overcome with grief that they aren’t paying much attention to the details of this man walking with them. And Jesus’s resurrected body may look a bit different than his body previously looked, although it is still his body. What stands out to you in verses 19-24, in their summary of what has happened? Luke often points out the role of women in Jesus’s story. In verse 22, the disciples note that some women have delivered the message, proclaimed by angels, that Jesus is alive. But they clearly don’t believe it. How are the words and contributions of women often ignored or treated as less trustworthy in our day? Based on verse 19, what kind of person do they think Jesus is? In verse 21, they say that they had hoped Jesus would “redeem” Israel. What do you think that means to them? What do you think they had hoped would happen? They were probably envisioning that Jesus would bring political freedom from Roman oppression. But Jesus’s mission was to free all people from sin and death and fill them with his Spirit in order to empower them to live as members of God’s kingdom even in the midst of the political kingdoms of the world. Some scholars think that these disciples have lost faith or have given up on Jesus (verse 21), and that is why they are leaving Jerusalem while his whereabouts are still uncertain. Others think that is an unfair interpretation. If it is true, Jesus does not give up on them but comes after them. And they immediately return to Jerusalem once they recognize him. How might this be symbolic of our experience of repentance and renewed faith after times when we doubt? In verse 25, in most translations Jesus calls them “foolish.” However, the Greek word can mean “without thought” or “lacking in understanding” (Liddell and Scott, p. 145). Jesus is saying they haven’t thought things through the way they should have. What have they missed? How do we sometimes fail to think things through and properly understand what God has taught us? In verse 25, Jesus also says they are “slow of heart.” The Greek word for heart, kardia , was seen as the core of who a person is, the center of a person’s thoughts, will, and emotions. When Jesus says they have been slow of heart, what does he mean? How are we sometimes slow of heart: slow to respond with our whole being to the reality of who Jesus is and what he seeks to do in our lives? In verse 26, Jesus says that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer. That was not the expectation of the Jewish people in Jesus’s time. Christians see passages in the Old Testament that describe a man who suffers and apply them to Jesus (for example, Isaiah 50; Isaiah 53; Psalm 22). (Jews often interpret those passages as applying to the nation of Israel as a whole.) In verse 26, why does Jesus say that it was “necessary” for the Messiah to suffer? In verse 27, how do you think the disciples felt when Jesus opened up their understanding of the many passages in the Old Testament that refer to Jesus? How do you find Jesus in the Scriptures? Around AD 140, a Christian theologian named Marcion argued that the Christian canon (i.e., the Christian Bible) should not include any books from the Old Testament. This was rejected and the early Church excommunicated Marcion when he persisted. Why is the Old Testament so important to Christians? Do you feel like you have a good understanding of the Old Testament passages that refer to Jesus, or is that something you might want to explore further? If you think more is needed, what can you do about it? In verse 28, why do you think Jesus acted like he was going to travel further? In verse 29, the disciples say, “Stay with us.” Why do you think they are so eager to keep this traveler with them? Those words “Stay with us” might be good words for us to say to Jesus. How can we keep inviting Jesus to stay with us by the way we live? What does Jesus do in verse 30? What does it remind you of? What Jesus does here is what Jews would do at the beginning of a meal. However, it is also what Jesus did at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19). Compare Jesus’s actions in verse 30 with his actions at the Last Supper in Luke 22:19, where he also “took . . . said the blessing . . . broke . . . and gave.” Jesus chose to join the disciples at a meal, bless the bread, and break it and share it. In doing so, he linked his first appearance in Luke’s Gospel with the Last Supper. Since he also said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), what he did at Emmaus is connected to what we call “Holy Communion” or “the Eucharist.” Why do you think Jesus chose to include Eucharistic imagery in his first appearance after his resurrection? Verse 31 tells us that when Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, it was then that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. Why do you think that was the moment they recognized him? There is a symbolic meaning when Luke says their eyes were opened (verse 31). How does the symbolism of their eyes being opened serve as a good image of what it means to come to faith in Jesus? How are our eyes “opened” when we gather for the breaking of the bread? None of this story would have happened if the disciples had not shown hospitality to a stranger. What does that say to us? At the Last Supper in Luke 22:16-18, Jesus says that he will not eat and drink with his disciples again until the Passover is fulfilled in the kingdom of God (22:16) or until the kingdom of God comes (22:18). How was that fulfilled? What do you think is the turning point or high point in this story: The disciples’ hospitality which brought Jesus to their table? Jesus’s implicit forgiveness of their unbelief? The breaking of the bread? The extended Bible lesson as they walked? Something else? What do you most need to take from this story and apply in your life today? In verse 32, the disciples say, “Were not our hearts burning within us” as he opened the Scriptures to them? What do they mean? How does your heart burn within you when you see new insights from the Scriptures? Jesus’s extended Bible Study with the disciples as they walk shows how important Bible Study is. Does your church put enough emphasis on helping people study the Bible? What more could be done? The disciples return to Jerusalem and receive great news from the apostles and other disciples who are gathered together: Jesus has appeared to Peter. None of the Gospels tell us about this meeting between Jesus and Peter. Why do you think Jesus made a separate appearance to Peter, and what do you think they talked about? Read Luke 22:32-34 , where Jesus says he will pray for Peter. What difference do you think that made? Do you think of Jesus praying for you? Do you think of his sacrifice on the Cross as a prayer offering for you? In what ways is Jesus bringing you before the Father even now? In Luke 22:32, Jesus tells Peter, “When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Do you think they talked about that when Jesus appeared to Peter? How do you think Peter went about trying to fulfill that command? Take a step back and consider this: Most Christian denominations see images of both the Word of God and the sacrament of Holy Communion or the Eucharist in this story. The disciples learn from Jesus as he teaches from the Old Testament and then join him in the breaking of the bread. Our worship services include readings from the Bible (with a sermon exploring its implications for our lives) and a celebration of Holy Communion (whether daily, weekly, or quarterly, depending on the denomination). Why are both of those elements (word and sacrament) central to our worship services? How do you recognize Jesus in the Word of God? How do you recognize Jesus in the sacrament of Holy Communion? Bibliography See Luke - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/luke/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 Next Luke List

What are you called to do in the work of God’s vineyard? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 21:33-46 What are you called to do in the work of God’s vineyard? Jan Luyken (1649-1712). Gelijkenis van de pachters van de wijngaard [Parable of the wicked tenants] . 1703. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gelijkenis_van_de_pachters_van_de_wijngaard,_RP-P-OB-45.110.jpg . Tom Faletti August 7, 2025 Matthew 21:33-46 The parable of the tenants who kill the landowner’s son Recall that in the previous passage , Jesus was drawing a contrast between the chief priests and elders, who have failed to respond to the preaching of John and Jesus, and the “tax collectors and prostitutes,” who have come to believe and are therefore entering into the kingdom of God ahead of the chief priests and elders. Jesus tells a second parable that applies to the chief priests and elders. It uses the longstanding image of the Jewish people as God’s vineyard. The image appears especially in Isaiah 5:1-7, a passage the Jewish leaders would have known well. Read Isaiah 5:1-7 . In the Isaiah passage, in the first verses of chapter 5, what did the vineyard owner do? How does this represent God’s love for his chosen people Israel? What has he done for them? What did the vineyard do in response to the owner’s love (see verse 2 and verse 4)? In the Jewish mind, everything that happened was caused by God. They did not make a distinction between what God causes and what God allows . So they saw the destruction of the vineyard – i.e., Israel in Isaiah’s time – as the direct act of God. We, who see a difference between what God causes and what God allows , might see this as a case where God allowed the nations around Israel to attack and destroy Israel (verse 5: “take away its hedge”), rather than that God directly visited ruin upon them. Now return to Matthew 21:33-46 . Who does the landowner represent? Who do the tenants represent? Who do the servants of the landowner in verses 34-36 represent? Who does the owner’s son represent? In Mark 12:8, the tenants kill the son and throw him out of the vineyard. In Matthew, the order is reversed, as they throw him out of the vineyard and kill him. Some scholars see in Matthew’s order a reference to the fact that Jesus was killed outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem (John 19:17, 20; Hebrews 13:12-13). Who are the “other” tenants in verse 41 who the owner will subsequently bring on as his tenants? The usual interpretation of this parable is that the owner is God; the vineyard is Israel (or Jerusalem); the original tenants are the leaders of the people – the chief priests and elders; the servants are the Old Testament prophets, whom the nation of Israel often mistreated and sometimes killed (although Matthew adds that one of them was stoned, which could be a reference to Stephen – see Acts 7:54-60); the son is Jesus; and the new tenants are a new Israel (or the true Israel) composed of people who believe in Jesus. Matthew’s community, a people who received the kingdom, was a collection of Jews and Gentiles. In having so many connections to the story of salvation history, this parable is more like an allegory than most of Jesus’s parables. How does this story portray the chief priests and elders, who will soon ask the Roman authorities to put Jesus to death? What does this story say about the people who are putting their faith in Jesus? What does this parable tell us about God? Notice that the landowner, like God, trusts the workers without standing over them micromanaging every move. He is patient when they rebel. He cares so much about his vineyard that he sends his son. Although he is patient, he does bring judgment ultimately. What does this parable tell us about Jesus? He is not just a prophet; he is God’s son. He will be killed. However, there will be an accounting in the end. Where are we in this story? What does the parable tell us about ourselves? The stone In Matthew 21:42, Jesus ends the parable by pointing to a quote from Psalm 118:22-23 (“the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”). It might also remind the chief priests and elders of the saying in Isaiah 28:16 where God says that he is laying a cornerstone in Zion (Jerusalem) that is a sure foundation for people’s faith. Who is this cornerstone? What happens to the cornerstone? Jesus, the cornerstone, is rejected by the builders – i.e., the leaders of Jerusalem. The quote from the Psalms say that God has done this and it is “marvelous” or “wonderful” in our eyes. How would you explain what is wonderful about Jesus being the cornerstone of our faith and of our relationship with God? When Jesus quotes this passage from the Psalms, how does it answer the question the leaders asked in Matthew 21:23, when they asked by what authority Jesus is doing what he is doing? In verse 43, Jesus speaks judgment upon the leaders. What does he say will happen to them? The passage about the vineyard in Isaiah has similar language. You can read Isaiah 5:11-16 to see that. In verse 43, Jesus says the kingdom will be taken away from them and given to a people who will produce the proper fruit of God’s kingdom. Who are those people, and what is the “fruit” they produce? The early Christians saw this statement by Jesus as being fulfilled when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and scattered the Jewish people. They saw the Church (the Christian people) as the “other tenants,” the people producing fruit. Verse 44 does not appear in many of the early manuscripts, but it is in Luke 20:18 (Luke’s version of this same parable), so it makes sense here. Jesus may be drawing on a couple of Old Testament images: Isaiah 8:14-15 has an image of God as a rock that both Israel and Judah will stumble over, and they will fall and be broken. In Daniel 2:32-35 and 43-45, Daniel interprets a dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had, in which a stone that was not made by human hands crushes a statue that represents the powerful nations of the world from the time of Babylon through the time of the Greeks. Verse 44 has been interpreted in many different ways: perhaps the first group is those who humble themselves before God and fall on Jesus in repentance, while the second group is those who resist the saving grace of Jesus. How have you found yourself needing to be “broken” as part of the process of embracing the call of Jesus in your life? In verses 45-46, we see the reaction of the chief priests and Pharisees. This is the first time Matthew has mentioned the Pharisees since Jesus arrived in Jerusalem. The recognize that Jesus’s parable refers to them. What would they like to do, but don’t do, and why? The lines have now been clearly drawn. The political die has been cast. As Jesus foretold before he came to Jerusalem, he is on a clear path to be executed by the leaders of his society. God never forces anyone to do evil. Each person who is opposing Jesus could have chosen a different path. What is Jesus offering to the leaders, as a way to get off of the tragic path they are on? In this story, we are among the “other tenants” who have been given a shot at working in God’s vineyard. What a great privilege that is! What are you doing with your opportunity? How are you working in God’s vineyard? What more could you be doing, to do the work of God? Take a step back and consider this: The range of people circling in and around God’s vineyard is vast. When people encounter Jesus, there are many different ways they might respond: Some are put off by the claims he makes, or the demands he makes, and they reject him without ever embracing him. Some may be living unruly lives when they encountered Jesus, but they see the truth in his calling, decide to follow him, and find themselves being transformed by the relationship they develop with him. Some are raised “in the faith” but do not discover a personal experience of Jesus. They go through the motions of the faith and then fall away or just keep going through the motions without developing a vital relationship with Jesus. These members of our community need a new encounter with Jesus to help them connect with him on an adult level and follow him on a personal level. Some are raised in the church, fall away, and then subsequently have a new encounter that helps them recommit their lives to following Jesus. Some are raised in the faith and develop a personal relationship with Jesus early on that matures into an adult commitment to him without ever falling away. Jesus wants all of them to be part of his team – the people who are working in his vineyard to produce the fruit of the kingdom. Every time the sun goes down, it is a chance to reflect on what we have done today. Every time the sun rises, it is a new day in the vineyard – a new chance to be open to the fruit of God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and to “press on,” as the apostle Paul puts it (Phil. 3:14). Every day, Jesus invites us to take another step. We can ask: What would Jesus like to help you do today in the work of God’s vineyard? What can you do to help someone else stay true to their calling as a worker in God’s vineyard? Let us embrace our calling as tenants in the vineyard of the Lord, in whatever capacity he gives us and in whatever work he calls us to do. 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

In the Bible, God tells us to speak out for those with no voice and defend the poor (Proverbs 31:8-9). Previous Justice Articles Next God Calls Us to Speak Out In the Bible, God tells us to speak out for those with no voice and defend the poor (Proverbs 31:8-9). Image by Juliana Romão, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti May 17, 2025 [A version of this article appeared in the February 2025 edition of St. Anthony Messenger and can be found on the Franciscan Media website at ‘Speak Out for Those Who Cannot Speak’ .] Have you ever thought of your voice as a gift from God that allows you to speak out for justice? Have you ever used your voice to ask your leaders to do the right thing on behalf of the poor and needy? Proverbs 31:8-9 tells us that God wants us to do exactly that: use our voice to speak out for those who might otherwise not be heard. I was a bit surprised when I encountered this call to advocacy recently. I have read through the Bible several times, and I didn’t think I had seen this before. So I checked the verse in multiple Bible translations, to make sure it wasn’t just a paraphrase. In almost every translation, the call to speak out is stated clearly. Here is Proverbs 31:8-9 in three popular Catholic Bibles: The New Revised Standard Version , favored by some scholars, reads: “Speak out for those who cannot speak, / for the rights of all the destitute. / Speak out; judge righteously; / defend the rights of the poor and needy.” The New American Bible, Revised Edition , published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, reads: “Open your mouth in behalf of the mute, / and for the rights of the destitute; / Open your mouth, judge justly, / defend the needy and the poor!” And the New Catholic Bible , a recent translation that is gaining attention, says: “Speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves, / and defend the rights of the destitute. / Speak out and pronounce righteous judgments; / defend the rights of the wretched and the poor.” The point is clear in every case. We are called to be a voice – to speak out for those who have no voice and defend the rights of the poor and needy. Why does this verse get so little attention? Many people can quote Proverbs 3:5-6 by heart (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. . .”), and they use it to encourage themselves and others to live fully for God. But who quotes Proverbs 31:8-9 by heart, or uses it to guide their lives? Why does Proverbs 3:5-6 get celebrity attention, while Proverbs 31:8-9 lies in some forgot corner of our faith? If we are going to take the whole Bible seriously, we can’t leave out verses like this. Therefore, it is worth exploring why Proverbs 31:8-9 is not a “go-to” verse. Why do we not use this proverb to encourage ourselves to speak out on behalf of those whose voices are not heard? Why do we not quote it to each other as a guide for Christian living? Perhaps this verse gets less attention because putting it into practice might move us outside our comfort zone. Speaking out for others is not as simple or easy as “trusting” God. We may feel like we don’t know how to do it. We may not think this is an important priority among God’s many commands. Yet we know that God doesn’t ask us to pick and choose from the Bible based on our comfort level. So let’s look at whether this is one of God’s priorities. God says this more than once The author of the Book of Proverbs collected sayings and words of wisdom from a variety of sources and compiled them into the book we know today. The commandment we are looking at is in a short section near the end of the book where he is quoting some wise teachings that a mother imparted to her son – a king named Lemuel who is unknown to us (Prov. 31:1-2). In Proverbs 31:8-9, she tells him to speak out for those with no voice and defend the needy. The books of the prophets also direct God’s people to defend the needy. Isaiah chides the people of Judah for their sinfulness and tell them to “learn to do good; / seek justice, / rescue the oppressed, / defend the orphan, / plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17, NRSV). In the book of Jeremiah, God speak to the people of Judah about what they are doing wrong. He says of them: “They know no limits in deeds of wickedness; / they do not judge with justice / the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, / and they do not defend the rights of the needy.” (Jeremiah 5:28, NRSV). This means that there are three different books of the Old Testament where God tells His people to speak up for or defend the needy and others who cannot speak for themselves. Being an advocate is part of obeying the commands of God. Who needs our voice? Proverbs 31:8 tells us to speak for those who cannot speak. In our society, whose voices are not heard? Too often, the poor, the needy, the homeless, and the destitute are not heard. Immigrants, refugees, and others treated as aliens are pushed away. Victims of trafficking and people at risk of being trafficked go unseen. People with disabilities or physical challenges and those suffering from mental illness are often ignored and left out. Others are held back by the persistence of discrimination. In short, there are many people whose voices are not heard. People whose concerns are ignored or discounted need a voice to defend their rights. Whose voice do they need? Ours. To whom shall we speak? Proverbs 31:8-9 begins as an instruction to a king, and our world would be a better place if more political leaders and people in authority followed its instruction. The Bible is full of verses showing God’s particular concern for the poor, the migrant, the defenseless, and the oppressed. In every age, those with power are called to use their power to defend and help those whose resources are limited. People in authority need to make sure that the rights of the poor are honored as zealously as the rights of the wealthy. Our leaders should spend at least as much time speaking out for those whose voice is not heard in the corridors of power as they spend arguing for the things that the wealthy and well-connected say to them. The needs of the destitute should be as high on their agenda as the needs of the middle class and wealthy. But the duty to speak does not end with our leaders. Their obligation to use their power justly does not absolve us of our responsibility to use our voice. To whom shall we speak? Our leaders need to hear this message. Our governmental leaders, our business leaders, our church leaders, and other social influencers need to hear from us that God expects them to speak up for the needy and those whose voices are not heard. When we speak to our leaders on behalf of the needy and voiceless, we are fulfilling God’s command in Proverbs and the prophetic books of the Old Testament. How many people of faith spend any significant amount of time doing this? It doesn’t take long to call or write to a governmental leader, to post a comment on the social media pages of a corporation or social influencer, or to share our concerns with leaders in our churches. We sometimes speak out on our own behalf regarding legislation or public policies that we think affect us personally. As followers of Christ, shouldn’t we be at least as willing to do so to defend the needy and provide a voice for those who are not being heard? How our politics might change if people of faith took this word from God seriously and pressed their leaders to do what God wants them to do: to defend the poor and speak out for those whose voices are being ignored! When we do this, we are obeying the Word of God, because when we use our voices to speak to our leaders on behalf of the poor and ignored, we are truly being a voice for them. What shall we say? Sometimes, we remain silent because we don’t think we know what to say. It helps to know what the issues and facts are, but you don’t need to be an expert to be helpful. There are many reputable groups who are already acting as voices for the poor and forgotten. They can give us the facts, and even the words to say. And our voices are more likely to be heard when we are working with others. Many groups that know what is going on have links on their websites where we can find opportunities to speak out. They can even give us the words to use. see Groups That Work for Justice for a partial list of groups that work from a perspective that is consistent with Catholic social teaching. Our voices are a gift from God. Often, we may think we cannot directly address the struggles of the poor, the voiceless, and others in need. But we can always use our voices to speak out on their behalf. When we do that, we are obeying God’s directive in Proverbs 31:8-9. And our effort might help move our world one step closer to God’s vision of a world where justice prevails. This week, who can you speak out for? How can you use your voice to defend the poor and needy, to be a voice for those who have no voice or whose voices are ignored in the halls of power? 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 Justice Articles Next

You have free will. Previous Next Table of Contents You Can Choose You have free will. Tom Faletti You have free will. Every day, all the time, you have the awesome privilege of making choices. For the most part, you can choose what you will do, who you will spend time with, and what you will think about. God has free will. He can do what He chooses to do. One of the ways in which you are made in the image of God is that you have free will. God made you that way. You are like Him in that way. What you do with that awesome freedom may show how much you are living in the image of God. You may choose to do what God would do, or you may choose other things. As you make those choices, you may present to the world an accurate image of God or a warped image of God. The choice is yours. But it isn’t that simple. As St Paul says in Romans 7:19, sometimes I don’t do the good that I want to do…. TO BE CONTINUED If God knows what I am going to do, how can I have free will? TO BE CONTINUED 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 Table of Contents Next

When Jesus calls us to serve, he doesn’t just mean servant leadership; he means servant “helpership” that puts others’ needs first [Matthew 20:17-19; 20:20-23; 20:24-28] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 20:17-28 When Jesus calls us to serve, he doesn’t just mean servant leadership; he means servant “helpership” that puts others’ needs first. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti July 5, 2025 Matthew 20:17-19 Jesus plainly foretells his crucifixion This is Jesus’s third prophecy of his Passion. He reveals more each time. In chapter 16, he said he would suffer and die and be raised. In chapter 17, he added that he would be betrayed. Now, he fills in more details. Jesus’s first prophecy of his Passion (Matt. 16:21) had already mentioned Jerusalem. What are the various things Jesus now says will happen to him in Jerusalem? He will be handed over to the Jewish leaders; they will condemn him to death; they will hand him over to the Gentiles; the Gentiles will (a) mock him, (b) flog him, and (c) crucify him; and he will be raised on the third day. Why do you think Jesus takes the Twelve aside to tell them this, and why do you think he keeps telling it to them repeatedly? The crucifixion was so horrible that he wants them to be prepared – especially the leaders of his group. This is the first time he indicates the manner of his death: crucifixion. How might the disciples have reacted to that? Crucifixion was a horrific, excruciating form of execution that was assigned to serious criminals, rebels, and slaves in slave rebellions. It was designed to totally subjugate the person and cause them great and lengthy suffering. It was also designed to humiliate them. So the disciples would have been horrified. In Matthew’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus minister to Jews and Gentiles, so it is ironic that both Jews and Gentiles will be involved in his execution. This is the first time Jesus says explicitly that Gentiles (i.e., the Romans) will execute him. Throughout European history, Jews have suffered discrimination and maltreatment at the hands of Christians, with major pogroms attacking whole populations of Jews in 1096, 1189, 1254, 1348, 1492, 1881, 1938-1945, and many other times. People who lived 1,000 years or more after Christ were absurdly charged with somehow being responsible for his death. In light of that history, why is it so significant that, while Jesus said that the Jewish leaders would condemn him, he made it clear that it would be non-Jewish people who would mock and scourge and crucify him? The crucifixion is so much a part of our telling and retelling of our faith that we have probably lost the horror of it. Is there something in this prophecy that you think you should take less casually or take less for granted? Explain. Matthew 20:20-23 Special honor for James and John? Who makes this request? Note: This is not some random, foolish woman. The mother of Zebedee’s children was one of the women who fearlessly stood by the cross as Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:56). She was also possibly the sister of Jesus’s mother Mary (looking at the information in John 19:25 and comparing the lists of the women at the foot of the cross in the various Gospel accounts leads to this possible conclusion). James and his brother John, along with Peter, hold a special place among the apostles. They are the ones who are invited to accompany Jesus when he is transfigured. But it might be helpful to sort out the men names James. There are three Jameses in the New Testament: James, the brother of John, was an apostle. James and John are known as the sons of Zebedee and, in Mark 3:17 as the “sons of thunder.” They are the ones who in this passage ask to sit at Jesus’s right and left hand when he comes into his kingdom. This James is sometimes called James the Great. He was martyred around A.D. 44, executed by Herod in In Acts 12:2. He may have been the second Christian martyr, after Stephen. James the son of Alphaeus was also an apostle. He is sometimes called James the Less (perhaps because he was shorter, or just because he was less prominent). James the brother of Jesus becomes the leader of the Christian community in Jerusalem, as seen in Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18 and Galatians 1:18-19. He is sometimes called James the Just. Several ancient sources suggest that he was martyred in Jerusalem before the destruction of the Temple, perhaps in A.D. 62. What does the mother of James and John ask for? In the Gospel of Mark, James and John make the request directly. Some scholars have observed that Matthew rarely writes anything that makes any disciple look bad. Here, the way he tells the story, it is their mother who makes the request. Considering that they accompany her and readily answer Jesus’s first question, do you think they agree with their mother’s request or are embarrassed by it? Explain. When they ask to sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom, what do you think they think they are asking for? What does this tell you about them? They were ambitious, but also zealously loyal to Jesus and wanted to be as close as possible to him. Jesus tells them they don’t understand what they are asking for. Why? What is the “cup” (verse 22) that he asks them if they are ready to drink? Why do you think they are so sure they are ready for it? Jesus says they will drink his cup. What do you think that means? James was an early martyr (Acts 12:2), but John lived a long life ending in a natural death in Ephesus. So what is the “cup” for them? Why is Jesus unable to grant their request? If there are these right and left seats in heaven, and given Jesus’s upside-down approach to humanity, is it possible that the people who will sit on his right and left are people at the bottom of the social scale? Would that surprise you? Explain. Note that, although Jesus corrects James and John’s thinking in the next passage, he does not rebuke them for their request. What is your best guess as to why not? We will look at the other disciples’ reaction in a moment, but let’s think about how this passage might speak to us in our lives. When or how might we have inappropriate or misguided ideas about what God should do for us? In what ways might we get caught up in the glory of believing in Jesus and lose sight of the fact that we are called to take up our crosses? Matthew 20:24-28 The one who wants to be great must be a servant How did the other apostles feel when they heard about James and John’s request? How does Jesus describe the way the rulers of the Gentiles treat other people? In our day, what does it look like when people in authority “lord it over” others? In Jesus’s kingdom, if you want to be great or first, how must you treat others? What does it mean to be a servant (Greek diakonos ) of others? To serve means to work for or minister to others, to attend to the needs of others or wait on them (as Martha did, when she pointed out to Jesus that she was “serving” while Mary sat at Jesus’s feet). What does it look like when we are doing that? When we are serving, we are trying to help others achieve their goals or are trying to meet their needs, not our own. How can we, in practical terms, follow this teaching? How can we be a servant of others? My father was the one who, at every church event, always stayed after to put the chairs away and sweep the floors. That might be one example. What is the attitude of a servant toward those he or she is serving? In typical Jewish rhetorical fashion, Jesus makes his point in two different ways. First, he contrasts “great” with “servant”: if you want to be great, you must choose to be a servant. He then sharpens the point by taking those concepts to their extreme: if you want to be “first,” you must be a “slave” (Greek doulos ) – i.e., if you want to be at the absolute top, you must choose to be at the absolute bottom. Jesus is not endorsing slavery – he is making a point about God’s upside-down view of the world: If you want to be at the absolute top, then in God’s kingdom you must be willing to be at the absolute bottom of the ladder of social status. What does this say to you about the Christian life? What does this say to you about your life? Look at verse 28. How is Jesus as a model of servanthood? People who are placed in positions of leadership are called to serve even while filling those positions. What does verse tell them about what “servant leadership”? If you had to capture in a word or phrase the concept of what it means to serve others, without using the word “servant” or the word “slave,” how would you describe what it looks like to serve others, from Jesus’s perspective? One possible answer, among many, is: Work for the good that others seek, not just the good you seek, and put what is good for them first. (How would you answer?) In verse 28, Jesus says he is giving his life as a “ransom for many.” The word “ransom” usually means a price paid to free a person, but when the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into the Greek Septuagint, the word “ransom” was used in places where the Hebrew communicates the ideas of God’s liberation without implying that any payment has been made – for example, in Exodus 6:6; Psalm 77:16 in the NABRE, which is 77:15 in the NRSV and most other translations; and Isaiah 43:1 and 44:22. The idea is probably the same here: that Jesus will give up his life to liberate or free others ( New American Bible, revised edition , Matt. 20:28 fn. ). In verse 28, the word “many” is not signaling that some people are specifically excluded ( New American Bible, revised edition , Matt. 20:28 fn. ); it is merely explaining the difference between “the one” (the servant who brings freedom) and the “the many” (who are freed and also called to be servants). In verse 28, Jesus says he came to give up his life to free many people. In what ways does Jesus’s act of giving up his life free us? In what ways can we help free others by being a servant to them? Take a step back and consider this: Women have faced a long history of being stereotyped and confined to subservient roles. This can complicate their effort to respond to Jesus’s call to service. Is Jesus calling them to be a “doormat”? No. Does Jesus support discrimination and inequality? No. Women have a right to speak up for themselves when they do not receive respect and to seek equal treatment. They can do that and still respond to Jesus’s call to be a servant. Throughout history, men have been primed to think of themselves as leaders and to seek positions where they can direct others. They may sometimes unconsciously assume that women will take greater responsibility for the service work – food preparation, childcare, etc. When they hear the word “service,” they may tend to think mainly of ways they might “serve” others by being leaders in the positions at the top. But sometimes, we are called to servant “helpership,” not servant leadership. The challenge for many men is to get past the historical and cultural assumptions that expect them to serve at the top, so that they can also embrace opportunities to serve others from below, in the supporting roles that help others thrive and lead. How can we transcend cultural stereotypes and assumptions, and embrace the heart of a servant who is willing to be “last” in the eyes of the world, imitating Jesus’s self-giving service? How might God like to see you respond to this call to service today? 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 to pray: The Lord’s Prayer shows the way. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 6:9-15 How to pray: The Lord’s Prayer shows the way. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti May 18, 2024 Matthew 6:9-15 The Lord’s Prayer: How to pray This prayer has two parts: 3 petitions focused on God and 3 petitions focused on our needs. How does the prayer known today as “the Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” begin? What does this first part – "Our Father who art in heaven" – say about the nature and character of God? “Heaven” tell us God is not human, or like a human. “Father” tells us what God is like – what God’s character is, relative to us. Note: Matthew is writing in Greek and here uses the Greek word for “father.” However, if Jesus taught the prayer in Aramaic, he might have used the more intimate Aramaic word “Abba,” which means “Daddy.” “Abba” only appears 3 times in the New Testament – in Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; and Galatians 4:6 – but it casts a new light on our relationship with God that is not taught prior to Jesus. What does this beginning of the prayer say about our relationship to God? . . . and our relationship with each other? This part of the prayer establishes that we are children of God – and therefore that we are brothers and sisters of each other. What does “hallowed be thy name” mean? “Hallowed” establishes that God, by his very nature, is holy. In combination with “heaven” it establishes that God has a supreme degree of holiness, and this indicates a distinction between God and us. Is this just about treating God’s name with respect, or is there more to it? What are some ways we can “hallow” God’s name in our everyday living? Verse 10 has the form of a typical Jewish couplet: two statements that say the same thing in different ways, so that the second amplifies the first (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 211-212). How do “thy kingdom come” and “thy will be done on earth as in heaven” make the same point? How does the second petition in verse 10 – “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – go further than or further explain the first of these petitions? The petitions in verse 10 suggest that wherever God’s will is done, there the kingdom of God is. Anywhere on Earth where the will of God is being done is part of the kingdom. What does this say to you about how you live your life? Barclay suggests that the last 3 petitions in this prayer focus our attention on 3 great human needs that are related to the present, past, and future: bread now, forgiveness for what we have done in the past, and help in future temptation. He also suggests that these petitions point us to God the Father as Creator (bread), God the Son as savior/redeemer (forgiveness), and God the Holy Spirit as source of strength and guidance (in temptation) (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 199). What do you think Jesus meant by “bread”? Is it just about meeting our physical need for food? Is it about all of our material needs? Is it expressing a desire for spiritual food? Is it about the Eucharist? Is it about desire to participate in the heavenly banquet to come? Throughout the ages, people have found benefit in all of these interpretations. What might be the significance in praying for “our” daily bread, not “my” daily bread? The word usually translated “daily” is uncertain. It is used in the New Testament only here and in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11:3), and it only appears once in other Greek literature outside the New Testament. Scholars suggest that it could mean “daily” or “tomorrow’s” or “needful” or “future” (Viviano, par. 39, p. 645). Although in the Lord’s Prayer today many people pray, “Forgive us our trespasses,” the word is better translated as “debts,” which is what we find in both the NRSV, the NABRE, and most other modern translations. The word “debts” is a metaphor for our sins. If we are talking about sin, what does “Forgive us our debts” mean? What does the word “debt” suggest about our sins? What does “as we forgive those . . .” mean? “as” means in the same proportion or to the same degree – with the same measure. So we are asking God to forgive us to the same degree that we forgive others, or using the same measure we use to measure out forgiveness to others. How do verses 14-15 amplify the message of the importance of forgiveness? Why is forgiveness so important? Forgiveness isn’t always easy. How can we move to a place of forgiveness when we have been deeply hurt? It is important to acknowledge the hurt, and sometimes we need time to process the hurt. But ultimately, when forgiveness is hard, it comes down to a decision. We can decide to hold on to the hurt or to give it to God and decide as an act of the will to stop holding it against the other person. This does not necessarily mean “forgetting” the offense; for self-preservation we sometimes need to remember what has been done to us. But we can still decide to stop holding it against the other person. Sometimes, when we do this, we find that letting go of it provides a release for ourselves as well, allowing us to put the matter in the past and move forward. In the Lord’s Prayer as we pray it today, we say, “Lead us not into temptation” (verse 13a). There is a lot going on behind the scenes in this verse. First, although we pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” the word “temptation” is not the best translation of the word. Modern translations often say “test” or “trial” in verse 13. The Jews of Jesus’s time expected that there would be a time of severe testing before the coming of the Messiah. A common understanding of the petition is that it is asking God to spare us that trial. Second, although the first part literally means “Lead us not,” we know that God does not lead people into temptation – see James 1:13-14. Therefore, it is better to interpret this metaphorically. The Catholic bishops in a couple of countries in Europe have sought and received approval from the Vatican to rephrase this part of the prayer in their liturgies to remove the implication that God might lead us into temptation. They are adopting other wordings that might be translated into English as: “Do not let us fall into temptation” or “Do not abandon us to temptation.” The point is that, while God allows people to be put to the test, we want to ask him to spare us from that trial. Where is God when you are tempted – leading you into the temptation or trying to lead you out of it ? Explain. What is the test or trial you need to ask God to keep you from? In the Lord’s Prayer, we usually pray, “Deliver us from evil.” This acknowledges that evil is real, along with temptation. What is the response to evil that Jesus is calling us to take? In modern translations, the "deliver us" line in verse 6:13 is translated: “rescue us from the evil one” (NRSV) or “deliver us from the evil one” (NABRE), because the Greek word is sometimes used for the devil (for example, Matthew 13:38) – i.e., evil personified, not some abstract notion of evil. What does this add to your understanding of what we are praying here? Compare this prayer to your picture of the heaped-up, empty phrases Jesus rejects in Matthew 6:7. How is this prayer different? How can you capture some of the Lord’s Prayer’s simplicity and directness in your personal prayers to God? For some people, this prayer has become so rote that it has lost some of its power. If we could reclaim this prayer – every petition of it – so that it was a conscious expression of our intimate reliance on God as we face life in the real world, how might that affect our lives? Which of these petitions is speaking must directly to your heart today, and why? What might you consider doing differently because of today’s study? Take a step back and consider this: Barclay writes: “In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to bring the whole of life to the whole of God, and to bring the whole of God to the whole of life” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , p. 199). How does this prayer invite us to make God the center of all that we face in life? How can you use the Lord’s Prayer to help you invite God into “the whole” of your life? What are the short, simple, direct things you need to say to God right now? 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

Does a high school coach prevent all suffering their players might endure? Why not, and what might that tell us about God? Previous Next Table of Contents God is Like a High School Coach Does a high school coach prevent all suffering their players might endure? Why not, and what might that tell us about God? Tom Faletti (to be continued) 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 Table of Contents Next

Living the Christian life in the church. [1 Thessalonians 5:12-22; 5:23-28] Previous 1 Thess. List Next 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 Living the Christian life in the church. Image from Wix. Tom Faletti January 31, 2025 1 Thess. 5:12-22 Relationships and behavior within the church Paul now turns to his expectations for how the Thessalonians should live with each other in the church. In verses 12-13, he describes how the leaders of the local church should act and how the “congregation” (the members of the local church) should treat them. In verse 12, what 3 things does he say the leaders do? They “labor” among you, they have a leadership role over you, and they “admonish” you. Different Christian denominations have different terms for these leaders of the church: priests, ministers, pastors, deacons, elders, etc. In the following questions, the term “priests and ministers” will be used, but please translate that into whatever terms you use in your church. In what ways do our local priests and ministers “labor”? What is the “work” they do? In what ways should we defer to them as our leaders? Do your priests/ministers admonish you? If so, how? If they don’t, should they, and if so, how? How important is it to have people in your life who will “admonish” you? And how should they do it so that it is effective and not just off-putting? In verse 13, what 3 things does Paul ask the members of the church to do in support of the leaders? He asks them to show their leaders “esteem,” love them ( agape ), and be at peace. Why is it important to “esteem” our priests and ministers and to show them “love”? Are there ways you could show them more appreciation for the work they do? Are there ways you could show more appreciation or support for the other church employees, who do so much unsung work? Paul adds that the Thessalonians – the members of the congregation – should be at peace with one another. Why is peace important? Why is being at peace with the other members of your church such an important part of loving the leaders of your church? What do you do to help bring about or maintain peace in your church? In verses 14-15, Paul moves into a longer list of things the members of the church should do with each other. What does he tell them to do? Why is he concerned about people who are idle (he also mentioned them in 4:11)? What would it look like to admonish people who are idle? How might you encourage the fainthearted and help the weak? Why is patience so important? How does it help us deal with the idlers, the fainthearted, and the weak? Verse 15 could be a good rule for life in a variety of circumstances. What does Paul tell them to not do and to do in verse 15? Don’t return evil for evil. Always seek the good for each other and for all. The first half of verse 15 says: Don’t return evil for evil. Why is this an important rule? What might this stop us from doing, and what are the kinds of circumstances where we need to remember this? The second part of verse 15 goes further. The first part only tells us what not to do. The second part tells us what to do instead . Why is seeking the good of “each other” important? And how does it counteract our tendency to focus on ourselves? But Paul goes even further. He tells us to seek the good of “all,” meaning everyone else, too. In order to be the kind of person who always does what is good not only for myself , and not only for just me and you, but also for everyone else , how might we need to change how we think about the situations we are in? How does this approach to interpersonal relationships reflect the way God does things? How does this approach to interpersonal relationships challenge you? In verses 16-18, Paul focuses more on what is going on inside of us – in our inner selves. What does he say? How can we rejoice always? (What have we to rejoice about even when things are going wrong?) How can we pray without ceasing? For a simple way to approach the habit of praying constantly, you might explore the very short book The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, an uneducated 17th century monk who spent most of his time working as a cobbler and in the kitchen of the monastery. It can be bought very inexpensively, but it can also be found online at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library . How can we give thanks in all circumstances? What might we give thanks for when we are experiencing illness, mistreatment, or misfortune? How might this attitude of rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks at all times revolutionize your relationship with God? How might it revolutionize your relationships with the people in your world? In verses 19-22 where Paul talks about prophetic utterances, he is probably talking about the kinds of manifestations of the Spirit that appear to have been common in the early church and are sometimes seen in charismatic communities in our time. What is the balance he is seeking? Paul seeks to allow people to speak freely in response to the movement of the Holy Spirit, but with testing and discernment by others. How might this be a good approach to inspiration in general? 1 Thess. 5:23-28 Paul’s closing prayer and greeting Paul ends with prayer (verses 23-25) and greetings (verses 26-28). In his prayer, what does Paul ask of God? Looking at verse 23, what would it take for you to embrace the goal of being “perfectly” (NABRE) or “entirely” holy? Paul’s hope is that the lives of all God’s people would be entirely without blame or fault, “spirit, soul, and body” – i..e, in all aspects of their being. God is working to perfect us. How do our spirit, soul, and body all play a role in the perfecting process that God wants to work in us? What does Paul add in verse 24, and how is it an encouragement? Do you live as though God is faithful and will accomplish your perfection in Christ? How might that insight transform your life? In verse 25, Paul also asks them to pray for him. Why is that important? What does it tell us about Paul? In verse 26, Paul tells them to greet “all the brothers” with “a holy kiss.” A kiss was a common form of greeting in his time. It was used in Christian communities and very early in the life of the Church it became part of the ritual or liturgy. (The Roman Catholic Church reclaimed it as a formal part of the liturgy after Vatican II.) In light of verse 27, however, there may be more to verse 26 than meets the eye. Paul orders, in unusually strong terms (roughly equivalent to “I charge you under oath”), that the letter be read to “all.” He says this right after he tells them to extend the holy kiss to “all.” We do not know why he felt the need to issue such a stern order to have the letter read to everyone in the Christian community. Scholars speculate that there might have been factions developing and Paul wanted to make sure his words reached everyone. But we don’t need to assume that there were factions in order to make sense of verse 27. Paul wanted to make sure that his letter reached everyone – even the idlers (5:14), even the ones who were not peaceful (5:13) or patient (5:14), even the ones who were not walking as children of the light (5:4-8), even the ones who were not living in sexual holiness (4:3-8). Greet all of them, he says, with a holy kiss, and make sure this letter is read to all of them. Paul wants his letter to reach even those who are not living the holiest of lives. Why is it important that we keep reaching out to all of the people in the church, not just the ones who are consistently living holy lives? How might your church be more welcoming of people who are not (and maybe not anywhere near) perfect? How might you be more welcoming of people who are not living a fully Christian life as you perceive it? Paul ends (5:28) where he began (1:1), with grace: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. How can you grow in being the kind of person who extends God’s grace to everyone? Take a step back and consider this: We need a Christian community. First, we humans are social creatures and need other people. Second, it is difficult to become like Christ without spending time in a community that is dedicated to living like Christ. Third, we cannot abound in love (3:12), encourage each other and build each other up (5:11), support those who are weak or fainthearted (5:14), or do the many other things Christians are called to do, if we are not living in a Christian community. We need to be around people in order to minister to them. Christian communities also offer opportunities to become more like Christ in another way. Spending time with other people opens us to interactions that may have some friction, which become additional opportunities to grow in holiness (5:23) as we try to serve our Lord together. They also give us a place to ask questions and answer questions (3:10; 4:13). We can explore together who God is, what he is trying to accomplish in our world, and how we can participate in God’s work in the world. It is fair to say that we need to be in a Christian community to be all we are intended by God to be. The fact that Paul ends his letter by urging that the holy kiss be extended to everyone and that his letter be read to all tells us how important he thought it was that everyone be supported and included in the community of believers. What is your church or Christian community? How is your Christian community important to you? How does your church enable you to be all you are meant to be? How could your church do more to enable others to grow in Christ, and what part might you play in that effort? How does your church challenge you to grow in Christ, and what might God want you to do in response? What is one practical piece of advice or insight or attitude that Paul offers in this letter, that you can take to heart and pursue within the context of your Christian community? Bibliography See 1 Thessalonians - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/1-thessalonians/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 1 Thess. List Next

Mary watches Jesus grow up and begin his ministry. After she brings a concern to him, she tells others, “Do whatever he tells you.” Those are wise words for us. What would he tell you about your concerns? [Luke 2:40-52; Matthew 3:13; 4:1; 4:12-13; 4:18-22; John 2:1-12] Previous Mary List Next Session 4: "Do whatever he tells you." Mary watches Jesus grow up and begin his ministry. After she brings a concern to him, she tells others, “Do whatever he tells you.” Those are wise words for us. What would he tell you about your concerns do? [Luke 2:40-52; Matthew 3:13; 4:1; 4:12-13; 4:18-22; John 2:1-12] Cornelis Engebrechtsz (ca. 1462 - 1527). Jesus Says Farewell to Mary . Circa 1515 - circa 1520. Cropped. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jezus_neemt_afscheid_van_Maria_Rijksmuseum_SK-A-1719.jpeg . Tom Faletti July 14, 2025 Luke 2:40-52 Jesus at the age of 12 in the Temple Read Luke 2:40. Luke is describing the child Jesus as he grows up. What do you think Mary is doing during this time? She is feeding him, changing his diaper, teaching him words, nurturing him with tender caresses and kisses, teaching him chores, teaching him the moral law of right and wrong, singing psalms and hymns, praying with him, including him in the many rituals and ceremonies and prayers that made up a Jewish life of faith, cooking, cleaning, talking with him about the people around him and all the things a mother talks to her son about – both consequential and mundane, and the list goes on. She is also watching, pondering and treasuring, praying for him, etc. Look at how verse 52 describes Jesus’s development. What was Mary’s role in his growth in wisdom and grace (or favor) in the eyes of God and people? How can we help the young people around us to grow in wisdom and grace as we watch them grow? Considering the early threats to Jesus’s life, Mary and Joseph might have decided to keep him secluded in Galilee. Yet verse 41 tells us that they went to the capital city Jerusalem every year, presumably taking Jesus with them. Would you have brought Jesus to Jerusalem regularly or tried to keep him far away? What do Mary’s annual trips to Jerusalem tell you about her? What happens to Jesus on the Passover trip when he is 12? As they were journeying back to Galilee, why do you think it took Mary and Joseph a full day to realize that Jesus was missing and not caravan of people heading home? Were they neglectful? Does it tell us something about his maturity and their trust in him? How do you think this could have happened? How do you think Mary feels when she realizes he is not in the caravan with them as they head home? When they return to Jerusalem, they search for him for THREE days – presumably with Mary growing increasingly anxious as they look and look and look without finding him. How do you think she handled her anxiety? Do you ever feel like you are losing track of Jesus in your life? If so, how might Mary’s way of dealing with the missing Jesus be instructive? She retraces her steps, going back to where she last saw him. How might that be useful in your own spiritual life? Sometimes, the best thing to do is, like Mary, to go back to the habits, patterns, and practices that nurtured your relationship with him previously. When they find Jesus, Mary’s question to Jesus is, “Why have you done this to us?” (Luke 2:48), which implies that she thinks he knew he was making them anxious. Do you think he knew he was making them feel so anxious? If so, why do you think Jesus did what he did even though it would cause his parents so much anxiety? Jesus doesn’t answer with an “I’m sorry.” His answer in verse 49 is not comforting at all. What does he say, and what does it suggest about his growing sense of his relationship with Mary and Joseph? How do you think Mary felt about his answer in verse 49? Verse 51 tells us that when they returned to Nazareth, Jesus “was obedient to them.” He didn’t become a bratty or disobedient teenager. Why do you think Jesus, who was God, was obedient to them, who were just humans? How do you think Mary felt about the teenage Jesus? Verse 51 also tells us that Mary “treasured” or “kept” all these things in her heart, echoing verse 19 after the visit of the shepherds to see the baby Jesus. What do you think that meant, as she lived a real life? How do you treasure or keep the things that God has done in your life? Do you also “treasure” the puzzles that you don’t fully understand yet? Would it be good to do that? Explain. Verse 52 has sometimes been interpreted to mean that Jesus grew mentally (in wisdom), physically (in age), spiritually (in the favor of God), and socially (in the favor of other people) – that is, in all the ways that we hope young people will grow over time. How does the idea that Jesus grew in all these human dimensions encourage you? Looking back at Mary’s overall handling of this traumatic incident, what can you learn from her? A footnote: People sometimes wonder if Jesus had bar mitzvah. “Bar mitzvah” means “son of commandment,” i.e., subject to the law. In modern times, it is performed at the age of 13. There is no reference to bar mitzvah in the Bible. People try to make connections to things that happened in the Bible, like Abraham sacrificing Isaac at age 12, but none of them look like the Jewish ceremony of bar mitzvah. No scholarly sources have provided evidence that bar mitzvah existed as a practice in Jesus’s time. The general consensus is that it did not originate as a ceremony until the Middle Ages, at least several hundred years after the time of Jesus. The next time Mary appears in the Bible, Jesus is an adult. Before we look at that passage, let’s read a few verses that tell us what Jesus does when he first starts moving into his public ministry. That will give us the background for the first story in his adult life where Mary is mentioned in the story. For each of the following passages, consider this question: How do you think Mary reacts to these things that Jesus does? What do you think her perspective is? (By way of background: On the one hand, he is around 30 years old (Luke 3:23). On the other hand, he is still her son and has been living with her up to this time.) Matthew 3:13 Jesus goes to his cousin John to be baptized Jesus is going away to see what his cousin John is doing at the Jordan River, so in a sense he is going to see family. However, it is a journey of more than 80 miles – further than the trip to Jerusalem. How do you think Mary feels about what Jesus is doing? Matthew 4:1 Jesus goes out into the desert and is tempted How do you think Mary feels about what Jesus is doing? Matthew 4:12-13 Jesus moves out of Nazareth to Capernaum Capernaum was by the Sea (or Lake) of Galilee, roughly 40 miles away from Nazareth. That means it was a walk of several days. Walking there involved a drop in elevation of more than 1,800 feet (which means a walk back to Nazareth would require a climb of more than 1,800 feet). How do you think Mary feels about Jesus moving to this bigger city, relatively far away? Matthew 4:18-22 Jesus starts calling disciples How do you think Mary feels as she watches Jesus begin to call strangers to himself, teach them, and build a following? What is our role as we watch someone who was previously ‘under” us (or in our charge) begin to spread their wings and move out in more independent directions? (This might be a child who is growing up, a work colleague or mentee, a fellow church member who takes on a new responsibility – for example, as a new Bible Study leader, or other situations.) How should we handle that change, and what should we do if we find the transition hard? Before we look at our next passage, let’s consider two background questions: In John 1:35-51, John tells us that Jesus went to see John the Baptist, who was baptizing people a long way away from Galilee at the Jordan River, and then Jesus returned to Galilee and gathered some disciples. He had not performed any overt miracles yet; it appears that he was just teaching. Why do you think he started with teaching and not with miracles? At this point in his life, Jesus is 30. He is fully God, and he is also fully human. How do you think he feels about his mother Mary? John 2:1-12 The wedding feast at Cana In verse 3, Mary does not make a specific request of Jesus: she just identifies the existence of a problem. Why do you think she approaches it that way? Are there times when a little vagueness or ambiguity, like Mary practices here, is a good idea? Explain. Jesus’s response in verse 4 is literally, “What, to me and to you, woman?” This is a Hebrew expression that was used to suggest indifference to the concern of the other person while leaving the outcome ambiguous. When someone said this, sometimes the request was fulfilled and sometimes it was rejected. Why do you think Jesus initially chooses this ambiguous response? Jesus calls Mary “woman.” The scholars generally think that this was not necessarily rude but that it did show that he was not responding based on his familial connection with her. Some think he is indicating in advance that if he does a “sign” or miracle here, it will be by his own decision in accordance with his Father’s will, not because of some human weakness in giving in to his mother. On the other hand, Jesus often did things only if people asked – healings, for example. So perhaps it was a decision that depended on two factors: first, that it would be done only if he decided it fit with God’s will, but second, only if people cared enough to press him and trusted him enough to obey him. Jesus has not yet done any miracles. Yet Mary sends the servers to him. Why do you think she puts her son on the spot in that way? In verse 5, what does Mary tell the servers? “Do whatever he tells you.” How is Mary’s direction in verse 5 appropriate for us? How can we apply it in our lives? How can you know what Jesus is telling you to do? In verses 7-8, the servers don’t know why they are doing what they have been told to do, but they do it. How might that be a guide for everything we do in our lives? What gets in the way of our doing what Jesus tells us to do? How might we work to overcome our reluctance to obey Jesus? Think about Mary’s approach in bringing her concern to Jesus. How might it be a good model for us in bringing our concerns to Jesus? She did not hesitate to bring the problem to Jesus. She did not try to tell Jesus how to solve the problem but trusted him to handle it in the best way. She encouraged others to trust Jesus for how to deal with the problem they faced. How can you grow in the kind of confidence Mary has, that Jesus can be trusted to deal with your problems? Take a step back and consider this: Mary does not know what is coming next, but she believes in Jesus. Jesus has not shown his power yet. She has not seen his miracles or his resurrection. What she has is faith and the stories she has stored up and treasured for 30 years ago about God’s work in her life. We (or at least most of us) have not been visited by an angel. But we have stories of what God has done in the past in our lives. And we know Jesus’s power and that he has risen from the dead and is still alive today. What we share with Mary is that Jesus is alive and involved in our lives right now. Is there a concern you think it would be good to bring to Jesus, or some matter where you feel called to trust in him that if you bring it to him, he can do something about it? Bring the matter to him now, without feeling like you need to tell him how to solve the problem. What would Jesus tell you about your concern? Hear Mary’s words – “Do whatever he tells you” – whispering in your ears. What do you think Jesus is asking you to do right now? Is it consistent with what the rest of Scripture has already taught you? (That’s a check to make sure you are on a solid path.) If so, can you do what he is telling you to do now? How? Bibliography See Mary - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/mary/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 Mary List Next

Pilate tried to pretend that Jesus’s death was not his decision. How can we be honest about the role we play in what goes on in our lives? [Matthew 27:11-14; 27:15-26] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 27:11-26 Pilate tried to pretend that Jesus’s death was not his decision. How can we be honest about the role we play in what goes on in our lives? Pilate washes his hands in front of a bound Jesus. Andrea Schiavone (c. 1510-15 - 1563). Kristus inför Pilatus [Christ before Pilate] . 16 th century. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrea_Schiavone_-_Christ_before_Pilate_GG_1516.jpg . Tom Faletti September 19, 2025 Matthew 27:11-26 Pilate questions Jesus and sentences him without finding him guilty Pilate was given authority over Judea as a military governor from AD 26 to 36, so he is not new to the position when Jesus shows up in his court in AD 30 (or 33 according to some scholars). His headquarters were in Caesarea, on the Mediterranean coast, but he knew it was important to be in Jerusalem during the Passover feast due to the huge crowds that gathered there. He was an unsympathetic person, not well liked, and unnecessarily cruel, which eventually led to his being recalled to Rome. He apparently considered his primary duty to be to keep the lid on the pressure-cooker of Judea, where there were many fervent and sometimes resistant Jews living under Roman occupation. Sadly, his methods often inflamed the population rather than pacifying them. Pilate’s formal title was “prefect,” a military governor. Some translations refer to him as the “procurator,” a generic term indicating that a person has been given power but is subordinate to a higher authority. Pilate had received power from the emperor and was responsible to him for what went on in Judea. In verse 11, what does Pilate ask Jesus? Why would he care about that particular question? Matthew is providing a condensed version of what happened. The Gospel of John provides a much fuller account of the multiple hearings that led to Jesus’s execution. Matthew does not state the formal charges that were brought against Jesus. We see them in Luke 23:2. The charges included that he claimed to be “the Messiah, a king.” Pilate asks about the claim that he is a king because that would be an unacceptable claim in the Roman Empire. He would be much less concerned about whether Jesus claimed to a messiah. He would consider that to be mainly a religious squabble among the Jews unless it was accompanied by acts of insurrection against the Empire. How does Jesus answer in verse 11? When asked if he is a king, Jesus again the same “You say so” that we have seen him use previously. Again, a straight “Yes” would be misleading because he was not claiming to be the king of the Jews in the military sense that Pilate would have understood the term to mean. We often get ourselves into trouble by saying too much or by saying things that people can misinterpret and that we could have said better. What can we learn from Jesus about saying the right things in the right ways at the right times? How does Barabbas come into the story starting in verse 16)? The claim that Pilate had a practice of allowing one prisoner to go free during the feast is not mentioned in sources outside of the Gospels, but it is a prominent element of the story in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John. Verse 18 tells us that Pilate had reached a conclusion as to why Jesus was brought before him. What does he think is going on? If that is what Pilate thought, do you think he should have handled Jesus’s case differently? What happens to Herod’s wife (verse 19)? It looks like God is giving Pilate every opportunity to do the right thing and refuse to do the wrong thing. Does God also give us little signals when we are contemplating doing something wrong, or does he just sit back and watch as we wrestle with sin? What is God’s attitude toward you as you are grappling with temptation? Reread Matthew 27:20-26 . Who do you think these “crowds” were, that were there in Pilate’s court rather than focusing on their Passover celebration? Why do you think they asked for Barabbas to be released rather than Jesus? What does verse 23 tell us about whether Pilate thinks Jesus is innocent or guilty? How does verse 24 further show what Pilate thinks about Jesus? If Pilate thought that Jesus was innocent, why didn’t he release him? We might wonder how concerned Pilate is about justice. Verse 24 offers some insight about his biggest concern here. What does Pilate care about most? Matthew’s is the only Gospel where Pilate washes his hands (verse 24). What is Pilate’s point in doing that? The Jews had a practice of washing one’s hands to show innocence. It arose from an instruction in the Mosaic Law in Deuteronomy 21:1-9, which said that if a corpse was found in the wilderness and no one had any idea who killed the person, the elders of the nearest town were directed to sacrifice a heifer and wash their hands over it as a sign of their innocence, asking God not to hold against the people the guilt of the shedding of innocent blood. Pilate is unlikely to have had any interest in following a Jewish ritual, and the circumstances in Deuteronomy don’t fit Jesus’s situation. However, this gesture by Pilate has come down through the ages as a symbol of professed innocence. Pilate further underscores his innocence by saying to the crowd in verse 24, “See to it yourselves” (27:24), the same thing the chief priests had said to Judas when he repented of betraying innocent blood (27:4). He is saying, “Don’t put the blame on me.” However, who ultimately hands Jesus over to be crucified – the crowd or Pilate? Can a person in power get off the hook or absolve themselves from something by washing their hands of it? When is it appropriate for them to say, “Don’t blame me,” and when is a person in power still morally responsible for what they allow others to do? Verse 25 has a statement that has been misused throughout history to justify discrimination, mistreatment, and oppression of Jews. In Matthew’s telling, the people say, “His blood be on us and on our children.” In Western history, how have Christian churches and individual Christians used this statement as a bogus reason to treat Jews badly? Jews in later generations were falsely called “Christ-killers,” discriminated against, kept from good jobs and neighborhoods, forced into ghettos, evicted from their homes, murdered in vicious pogroms, and ultimately subjected to the Holocaust. Many of these acts were falsely justified on the grounds that a tiny number of their distant ancestors sought Jesus’s execution. Matthew is expressing a view that arises from the contentious and sometimes violent relations between Christians and Jews in his time. The words he places in the mouth of the crowd are not a judgment from God. God’s view is entirely different. Read Ezekiel 18:4 and Ezekiel 18:20 . Does God allow children to be punished for the sins of their parents? No. God says: “For all life is mine: the life of the parent is like the life of the child, both are mine. Only the one who sins shall die!” (Ezekiel 18:4, NABRE) If that isn’t clear enough God adds: “Only the one who sins shall die. The son shall not be charged with the guilt of his father, nor shall the father be charged with the guilt of his son” (Ezekiel 18:20, NABRE). Is there any legitimate justification for blaming the entire Jewish people for the acts of the few who were there at the time? Why not? Note that in the end, in verse 26, it is Pilate who hands Jesus over to be crucified, not the Jews generally or even the chief priests specifically. Pilate is the only one with the authority to order the crucifixion. How does that guide your thinking about Pilate’s protestations of innocence? It is Pilate’s Roman soldiers who will crucify Jesus, and they will do so on the orders of a Roman, Pilate. How does that guide your thinking about the ways that Christians have unjust treated Jews throughout the ages? In verse 26, Jesus is scourged. Scourging was an incredibly excruciating form of torture, where a condemned prisoner was whipped with leather straps that had bits of bone and lead embedded in them. This was different than using a regular whip to whip someone as a form of punishment. Instead, it was part of the torture of execution, intended to deliver maximum pain and weaken the prisoner while still keeping him alive to suffer the further intense agony of the crucifixion itself. In verse 26, Jesus is “handed over” to be crucified. Matthew uses the same Greek work for “handed over” in all of the following places: In Matthew 11:27, Jesus says that the Father has handed over all things to him. In Matthew 20:18, Jesus says that he will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, who will condemn him to death. In Matthew 26:2, Jesus says that he will be handed over to be crucified. In Matthew 27:2, Jesus is handed over from the chief priests to Pilate. In Matthew 27:18, Matthew tells us that Pilate knew the chief priests handed Jesus over to him out of jealously. In Matthew 27:26, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified. Interestingly, not in Matthew but in John, when Jesus died, he bowed his head and handed over his spirit (John 19:30). To the end, Jesus was in control of his destiny. Do you ever feel like your life is a series of instances where you are “handed over” to some experience or another? In John 10:17-18, Jesus says that he has the power to lay down his life and the power to take it up again. In Matthew 26:53, Jesus declares that he could summon legions of angels to intervene if that was what the Father wanted to happen. What does the fact that he allowed this to happen, when he could have stopped it, tell you about him? How might Jesus’s example give you a sense of perspective as you deal with difficult situations in your life that are not of your own choosing? Take a step back and consider this: The Roman Empire is often praised for the Pax Romana , a period of supposed peace and prosperity the reigned under Roman rule from roughly 27 BC to AD 180. There may have been relative peace on the Italian peninsula during this time, but to people of other ethnic groups it was a period of oppression that was so extensive that any attempt to fight for freedom was quickly and brutally crushed. Moreover, people did try to fight for freedom, leading to massacres such as Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. And even during periods of relative “peace” such as the years in which Jesus lived, Roman crucifixions lined the roads of the Empire as vicious warnings not to disrupt the peace of Roman oppression. How can we hold historians to account, and challenge ourselves as well, to tell an accurate history that includes the experiences of the oppressed and does not present the views of the victors as the only way to understand what happened? How do you think God would want you to tell your own nation’s history? Christ died on the cross for all people, not just the people who were most powerful. Does your nation’s history tell the stories of people who were oppressed or held back as honestly as God would tell their stories? Whose story might need to be more fully told if seen through God’s eyes? Why does it matter whether Christians tell the whole history of a people? 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