Matthew 14:22-33 Summary: The great labour and longing of the gospel writers was to present Christ to their readers in such a way that they will see how worthy he is of their faith, and will thus entrust their lives to him. That objective takes center stage in this account of Jesus walking on the […]
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18 Summary: Jesus here warns us of how easily the things we do to bring honour to him degenerate into a quest for the admiration of other people. The examples he gives are with regard to giving alms, praying, and fasting. The way he tells us to fight against this self-promoting impulse is […]
Matthew 6:1-6; 16-18 Summary: Jesus here warns us of how easily the things we do to bring honour to him degenerate into a quest for the admiration of other people. The examples he gives are with regard to giving alms, praying, and fasting. The way he tells us to fight against this self-promoting impulse is […]
Matthew 5:38-48 Summary: One of the most widely known and admired facts about Jesus is that he was an advocate of love. And yet, when we read the astonishing depth to which he calls us to love, it isn’t all that appealing. We all would prefer to love only those whom it’s convenient and enjoyable […]
Matthew 5:38-48 Summary: One of the most widely known and admired facts about Jesus is that he was an advocate of love. And yet, when we read the astonishing depth to which he calls us to love, it isn’t all that appealing. We all would prefer to love only those whom it’s convenient and enjoyable […]
Matthew 5:31-37 Summary: It’s true throughout the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus addresses moral laxity in his day, but when it came to marriage and oath-keeping, things were especially distorted. Some were teaching that marriages could be dissolved for almost any sense of dissatisfaction and oaths were only binding if sworn in a […]
Matthew 5:27-30 Summary: With advances in technology, ours is an age of unparalleled access and anonymity when it comes to sexual sin. When Jesus instructs us to gouge out our eye and cut off our hand, he’s communicating just how ferociously intentional we need to be in the fight against sin…an admonition that has […]
Matthew 5:21-26 As Jesus goes on in chapter 5 to elaborate on ‘a righteousness that exceeds the scribes and the Pharisees’ (v20), he reveals the way in which the law addresses not just our behaviour but also our heart and our mind. Murder, he says famously, is not just an act but an attitude. The […]
Matthew 5:17-20 In the mind of the Pharisees (and many other observers), they were the great law-abiders whereas Jesus played fast and loose with the law (e.g. fraternizing with moral degenerates, violating the Sabbath). Beginning here and continuing throughout chapter 5, Jesus demonstrates that the very opposite is true. The Pharisees cared only about a […]
Matthew 5:13-16 Summary: With the metaphors of salt and light, Jesus simultaneously teaches how important it is for the church to be in the world while remaining distinct from the world. If the church is salt and light, then by contrast, Jesus is saying the world is inclined toward decay and darkness. Ever since the […]