Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Matthew”
Matt 13:31 In interpreting this text, we must take a humble and respectful attitude because, unlike many other parables, Jesus never actually explained these two. But in order to make the best interpretation possible, it is important to understand what the original listeners heard when they listened to Jesus. In these parables, Jesus uses a number of terms that had …
Matt 11:2 Matthew tells us in chapter 14 that John the Baptist was imprisoned because he criticized King Herod Antipas for his sinful behavior. Herod had divorced his wife to marry his brother’s wife Herodias, which greatly angered Herod’s first wife’s father, who attacked and defeated Herod in battle. Herod eventually committed suicide after first being accused of treason by …
Matt 5:38 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares the Old Covenant approach with the New Covenant approach when he repeatedly contrasts the Old Testament “you have heard that it is said” with the New Testament “I tell you”. Anyone who has been to the place where Jesus preached his Sermon on the Mount is struck by the fact …
Matt 4:23 There is a certain difference between “teaching” and “preaching”. They are the same message but delivered in different ways. “Teaching” is usually aimed at those who are already believers, while a “sermon” is more about sharing the gospel with those who have not yet heard. In Jesus’ day, all men could teach in the synagogue, a system used …
Matt 4:18 This was not the first time Peter, Andrew, James and John met Jesus, but it was the first time Jesus called them to leave their work and follow him. Jesus could have talked to them about this when they met in the synagogue, but he deliberately chooses to call them when they are in the middle of their …
Matt 4:12 As soon as Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been imprisoned, he began his ministry in Galilee. The enemies of the gospel can silence individual preachers, but they cannot silence the gospel as a whole. As soon as John was silenced, Jesus took over. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, at that time there were a lot …
Matt 4:1 The Holy Spirit is a person and part of the Trinity. When the Son was born as a man, he renounced his divine attributes, with the result that he could do nothing in himself, in his own divinity (Phil 2:6-8). Thus, he became dependent on his Father to know what to do (John 5:19) and he became dependent …