Welcome to Week 4 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 “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Ben Franklin In Matthew 17, Jesus speaks on both death and taxes. We will get there in a moment. Let’s start first on the mountain. Two key Old Testament heroes are Moses and Elijah. Moses wrote the Torah, first five books of the Old Testament, and God established his law through Moses. Then Elijah is one of the more known prophets of Israel and was expected to come again before the Messiah to restore all things in preparation of the Messiah’s coming. These two figures are extremely important in the Jewish faith. These Old Testament prophets appearing with Jesus on the mountain is a key reference to who Jesus is. He is better than Moses because he comes to fulfill the law. He is better than Elijah because he comes to truly restore all things and bring justice and true worship. While Moses and Elijah are important old Testament prophets, Jesus is far more important.  Read More

Highlight When we read the Gospels it comes from a place where we are already aware of the ending. Jesus suffered, died, and was raised to life again. But the disciples did not know the ending. So when Jesus predicts his death for the first time, it is not surprising the disciples deny what he is saying. They knew the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of a messiah, like King David, who would sit on the throne and reestablish his kingdom. That was their idea of the messiah. They were not expecting the messiah to suffer, even though the prophets spoke of this.  Read More

Highlight Two important cultural contexts appear here in chapter 15. The first is found while Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They approach Jesus, asking why his disciples do not keep the Jewish tradition of washing their hands before eating. Jesus strategically answers by asking his own question that leads to reveal their lack of understanding. Many of the Jewish laws were based on things being clean or unclean. Often if you touched or were in contact with something unclean, you would be cut off from the community for a day or days before being able to complete the required sacrifice and washes to be claimed cleaned again. For the leaders, they believed by having unclean hands you would defile yourself and become unclean. Jesus said it is not what goes in that makes you unclean, rather it is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you, because it comes from the heart.   Read More

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