Jesus sent out His twelve apostles to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. They were given the power to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” (Matthew 10:8).  But Jesus knew that the message that they were to preach would not be well received by some.  He […]

In Matthew chapter 9, Jesus was traveling through the country and “He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’ So he arose and followed Him” (Matthew 9:9). Matthew (sometimes called Levi) then prepared a great feast for Jesus and many tax collectors joined in the […]

In Matthew chapter 8, we are given a description of some of the miracles of Jesus. We have the cleansing of a leper, the healing of the paralyzed servant of the centurion, the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, the calming of a storm, and the healing of two men with demons. The healing of the leper […]

In Matthew 8:5-13, we have the story of a Roman centurion coming to Jesus asking that He would heal his servant.  A Roman centurion—an outsider, a Gentile, a representative of the occupying force—approaches Jesus with a request that reveals a faith deeper than anything found in Israel. What kind of faith does Jesus marvel at? […]

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done […]

Sheep are typically gentle and harmless.  They have little ability to protect themselves from predators.  They can’t run fast for long distances like a gazelle.  They don’t have a hard shell like a tortoise.  They have little by way of teeth, claws or horns to fight an enemy.  They are basically defenseless.  When a wolf […]

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus describes […]

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:12 “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” This is known as the Golden Rule. It is often stated as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In applying the Golden Rule, think of […]

Jesus gave the following teaching in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to ` who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”  He taught us to ask, seek and knock.  Jesus […]

Jesus taught in Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”  From this, some have taught that we should never judge.  But there are many times in our lives that we must judge.  We are commanded to make judgements about the evil person within the church. 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “But now I have written […]