Good morning! In today’s passage at the end of Matthew (chapters 27-28), the gospel writer narrates Jesus’ final hours, then his crucifixion and burial, followed by his resurrection and final commission for his disciples. This is no mere historical account though. The details Matthew chooses to highlight serve three main purposes: to exonerate Pilate, condemn the Jewish authority, and unleash the Christian movement to the non-Jewish world.
Month: October 2016
Matthew 26
Good morning! Today we only have one chapter to consider (Matthew 26), but it packs a great deal of significance into its 75 verses. We read about Jesus’ creation of the Last Supper ritual at what was at that time a Passover seder, followed by hours of prayer in Gethsemane, then his betrayal, desertion, arrest and trial.
Matthew 24-25
Good morning! I don’t listen to much country music, but today’s passage (Matthew 24-25) brings one song to mind: Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying”. It tells the story of a man who finds out he has terminal cancer, and how his life changed after the diagnosis. Part of its chorus goes: “And I loved deeper, And I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I’ve been denying, …I hope you get the chance, To live like you were dyin’.” This comes to mind today, because Jesus’ final words before his betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and burial call the disciple to vigilance and watchful preparedness.
Matthew 22-23
Good morning! As much as I try to avoid it as a native Minnesotan, I’m afraid that conflict is the main theme in today’s passage, Matthew 22-23. Having entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus now engages in a series of questions and parables with the other religious leaders. These sayings end up in different places according to various gospels, so it may be wise to consult a “parallel” Bible which shows where a given story ends up in each of the four gospels.
Matthew 20-21
Good morning! Today with Matthew 20-21 we finish the general ministry of Jesus and follow along as he makes the dramatic entry into Jerusalem for his final week. The key things I notice in this pair of chapters are Jesus’ emphasis on the inverted expectations of the kingdom of heaven, and the way parables take on a pointed, polemical purpose.
Matthew 17-19
Good morning! Today’s reading is Matthew 17-19, where we see Jesus’ divinity unmistakably affirmed, yet also his priority of serving the least and the lost. He gives us several passages which Christians today still struggle with, especially in the more affluent Global North.
Matthew 14-16
Good morning! With today’s reading (Matthew 14-16), we pass the halfway point of the first gospel and get ever closer to the story of Jesus’ final days. What I especially notice in these chapters (beyond the miracles, which already seem commonplace!) are the cost of leading a countercultural life, and the way that Jesus himself has his eyes opened by an encounter with a Canaanite woman.
Matthew 12-13
Good morning! Reading this swiftly through Matthew’s gospel is like eating a really great dessert—everything is so rich and so good! It’s hard to slow down and savor each morsel as it goes by, but we get a chance today to do just a bit of that. Matthew 12-13 contains one chapter focused on conflict with the Pharisees, and another focused on parables.
Matthew 8-11
Good morning! I hope you are enjoying this deep dive into Matthew’s gospel. I find myself reading and learning in a different way when we consider large chunks of the gospel, rather than a 10-20 verse excerpt selected to make preaching easier. For example, I’m only noticing now the contrast between the stationary Jesus of yesterday (preaching and teaching in the Sermon on the Mount) with the man of action we encounter today. In Matthew 8-11, Jesus heals, casts out demons, teaches more, calls disciples, sends them out, and corresponds with John the Baptist via messengers—busy throughout!
Matthew 5-7
Good morning! Today we read the three chapters of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Here he sets forth his main teachings on everything, it seems. Reading all these “greatest hits” of Jesus as a teacher can feel like drinking from a firehose! Throughout, we’ll see that Jesus calls those who follow him to uphold the Hebrew law and prophetic teachings, applying them strictly to the self but extending mercy to others who fall short. He suggests that in following this ethic, God will have mercy on the self as well.
Pastor Oby Ballinger 