Highlight At first glance, these miracles seem to be disconnected. Yet looking closer, Matthew is highlighting the disciples' lack of understanding more than the miracles being performed. In the feeding of the five thousand, the dialogue is between the disciples and Jesus. The disciples are in favor of sending the crowd away, rather than providing food. Jesus is in favor of showing compassion and providing for the needs of the people. They seem to misunderstand Jesus’ mission and lack the faith that it can be done. Fast forward, it is the middle of the night with a storm surrounding them and they see a “ghost.” Their fear is real, but once Jesus says it is him, they still doubt. Not until the storm is calmed do they seem to connect Jesus as “the Son of God” and worship him for who he is. As you continue to read, notice the placement of miracles and where Matthew points out the disciples' lack of understanding and then understanding of who Jesus is.   Read More

Highlight In Matthew 13, Jesus speaks to the crowds and his disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven. His use of parables, which is a simple story used to illustrate a spiritual lesson, are common throughout the Gospels. He even states in verses 11-17 that “he speaks in parables for the prophet Isaiah to be fulfilled, ‘that those seeing do not see, and those hearing do not understand.’” Yet, when the disciples ask him for the meaning of the parables, he is quick to explain and even ask if they understand.  Read More

Welcome Welcome to Week 3 of the 2023 Be. Become. Do. Reading Plan. This reading plan is designed to partner with Compassion Christian Church’s sermon series of the same name, which you can find information about right here . This is a series all about how we are each invited to embrace a life where we will be with Jesus, become like Jesus and then live our lives doing what Jesus would do In order to better apprentice under Jesus, we are going to spend our reading plan following his ministry by reading an eyewitness account written by one of his disciples: Matthew.  Read More

Highlight Matthew 12 focuses on the religious opposition that Jesus and his followers experienced. The Pharisees were a group of religious leaders who, in order to prevent their fellow Jews from breaking God’s law, enforced further regulations of their own design. One such area that was loaded with extra regulations was the day dedicated to God and rest: The Sabbath. The opening scene between Jesus and his disciples is particularly interesting because it gives an example of a conversation that was much more tense than modern western readers may immediately recognize.  Read More

Highlight Chapters 11 and 12 focus on the disappointment and opposition that began to arise in response to Jesus’ ministry. The disappointment is expressed through a surprising source - John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and the one who prepared the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry. He had been faithful, but that had landed him in prison (and would ultimately cost him his life). This led to his own struggle with doubt in the true identity of Jesus.  Read More

Highlight Matthew 10 is the second of the five discourses that form the organization of the Book of Matthew. Matthew 10:37-39 is the perfect example of a famous idea put forward by C.S. Lewis (the famous Christian author) that he dubbed the “trilemma.” Here is Lewis - “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” - C.S. Lewis  Read More