“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” I don’t know who said it first but it’s a saying that certainly applies to this morning’s passage. As we saw last week, though the Pharisees and Herodians didn’t get along, nonetheless they joined forces to try and trap Jesus. Yet both …
Though perhaps not an original observation, we are a people who can become preoccupied with images and the general impression we make upon others. And this can be true even when we think we’re immune from it. Perhaps one of the most amusing examples of this is found in the …
The parables Jesus continues to use for teaching during his last week on earth are not for the faint of heart for they present us with truths that at times are difficult but are always important. And those who ignore their message do so at their own peril for as …
As we return to highlighting different events in Jesus’ life provided in Matthew’s Gospel, by the time of those recorded in our passage Jesus has twice foretold his death[1] as he makes his way to Jerusalem in these, his final days on earth—it’s now Tuesday of Holy Week[2]—receiving the “Hosannas” …
As we also noted last week, Chapter 18 of Matthew’s Gospel presents us with Jesus’ teaching about how we are to view sin in our own lives and in the lives of one other: It begins with the observation that in order to inherit heaven’s kingdom, we must trust Jesus …
Our passage this morning makes absolutely no sense unless we understand and believe ourselves to be each other’s brothers and sisters, together sons and daughters of our loving and heavenly Father, called to live according to his will and ways through the giving of Christ’s Holy Spirit who indwells us …
Our passage this week immediately follows last week’s account in which Jesus explored with his disciples the matter of his own identity as God’s Messiah. So he first asked them who others said he, the Son of Man, was (v. 13). Having heard the offered suggestions, Jesus then turned to …
“Who do you say I am?” If we had to encapsulate the Gospel message to one key point, it would probably be the answer we provide to this question being posed by Jesus to his disciples: “Who do you say I am?” And by means of posing this question, we …
There are passages in Scripture that can be puzzling to us. They can be puzzling because the picture they present of God—the picture they present of Christ Jesus—goes counter to what we expect. When we think of Jesus, we think of someone who was always kind—always loving—always available to anyone …
This week’s passage is really a continuation of last week’s. In it we find Jesus telling a second parable to the religious leaders who have, as was their wont, yet again questioned his authority. As we saw last week, after Jesus entered the temple courts a second time—having cleared out …
