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Greater than Solomon READ Matthew 12:42 42 “The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.” Jesus continued to rebuke the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees for their lack of faith. He had mentioned Jonah; here He referred to the queen of Sheba and Solomon. The queen had come a long w

Of Seeds and Soil READ Matthew 13:3-5 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.” A “parable” is a short story to illustrate a point. The word literally means “alongside,” so it acco

The Purpose of Parables READ Matthew 13:13-14 13 “That is why I use these parables, for they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. 14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend.’” Jesus explained to the disciples why He used parables. It was to hide truth from those who had willfully rejected hearing it. He quoted f

Thorny Problems READ Matthew 13:22 22 “The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.” Jesus continued to explain the parable of the sower that He had told. Some hear God’s word but the message gets crowded out by worries and love of wealth. As a result no fruit is produced. Notice the desire Jesus had was to see fruit

A Mustard Seed READ Matthew 13:31-32 31 Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” Some debate about whether modern science knows of a smaller seed. Jesus said it “is the smallest of all seeds.” It was, however, the smallest known in the East at that time.

Time of Harvest READ Matthew 13:39 39 “The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.” When the Son of Man sowed good seed in the world the weeds grew up with the good grain. Who planted those weeds? Jesus said that it is the devil. Jesus also indicated when the harvest would take place to separate the wheat from the weeds—“the end of the world.” The word in the Greek text of Matthe

A Full Fishing Net READ Matthew 13:47-48 47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.” Jesus continued to tell about believers and unbelievers in the kingdom of heaven while the king was absent. When the net was full of fish it was dragged up to the shore, the f

Herod's Assessment READ Matthew 14:1-2 1 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.” This Herod was a son of Herod the Great who was responsible for killing the babies of Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Herod Antipas is also known as “the tetrarch” because he ruled one-fourth of Palestine. He was also the one Jesus appeared before in Hi

Attempted Solitude READ Matthew 14:13-14 13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. After Jesus learned of the death of John the Baptist—and likely some of the details—He went alone to a remote area. Even when He wanted to be alone, the crowd

It's a Ghost READ Matthew 14:24-26 24 Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. 25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” Jewish time had about 12 hours of daytime (6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.). It also had four watches of three ho

Ignoring Traditions READ Matthew 15:1-2 1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” The Pharisees and teachers of religious law were scrupulous about keeping the Old Testament laws. The “teachers of religious law” were the scribes who copied the Scriptures and were those in author

Pharisees Offended READ Matthew 15:12 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Think of the disciples questioning Jesus about what He had just said. They were concerned because the Pharisees had been offended by what He said. Is it possible they thought Jesus could come to be the Messiah of Israel and not offend those who were rejecting Him and always trying to trap Him in some debate? REFLECT

A Shepherd for Israel READ Matthew 15:23-24 23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” 24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.” In contrast to Jesus who was compassionate, the disciples seemed often to be impatient and uncompassionate. They wanted this woman sent away who was begging

Nothing Left to Eat READ Matthew 15:32 32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.” The huge crowd was a concern to Jesus. They had brought people to be healed and had been with Him for three days. Now they had nothing left to eat. Jesus did not want to send them away hungry as the

Forecasting READ Matthew 16:2-3 2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” The Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to prove His authority by showing them a sign. Here was His answer. Jesus reminded them they could tell what kind of weather was coming by looking

The Son of Man READ Matthew 16:13-14 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Caesarea Philippi was north of the Sea of Galilee. Here Jesus questioned His disciples to learn what others were saying about Him. Their answers were similar to what you would hear if you

Looking Ahead to Jerusalem READ Matthew 16:21 21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. Jesus described what He was facing, but it must have been a shock to the disciples. Some had followed Him because

Moses, Elijah and Jesus READ Matthew 17:3-4 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. 4 Peter exclaimed, “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here! If you want, I’ll make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Notice that Moses and Elijah began talking to Jesus. The Bible does not record what they said or why it was these two specific people from the Old Testament that were the ones who appeared. Peter was

Demon Rebuked READ Matthew 17:17-19 17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well. 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?” This was Jesus’ answer after the man with the suffering son said he brought him to the disciples but they could

The Greatest READ Matthew 18:1 1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” This is an interesting question from the disciples. One could imagine many things about the Kingdom of Heaven, but few would wonder who will be the greatest in that kingdom. One wonders what was on their minds as they asked this question. REFLECT In all of your thinking about heaven, have you wondered who will be the greatest there?

Not One Should Perish READ Matthew 18:12-14 12 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.” (You may have noti

Seventy Times Seven READ Matthew 18:21-22 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!” The previous verses dealt with one believer offending another one. Now Peter wants to know how often he should forgive such a person. Some translations indicate Jesus’ answer not as 70 times 7 but as 77 times. There is a large difference between 49

A Question About Divorce READ Matthew 19:1-3 1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went down to the region of Judea east of the Jordan River. 2 Large crowds followed him there, and he healed their sick. 3 Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Jesus now goes from Galilee in the north toward the south and east of the Jordan River. As usual, large crowd

Jesus and the Children READ Matthew 19:13 13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. This verse reveals how precious children are to Jesus. It also tells of concerned parents bringing their children to Jesus. They wanted Him to pray for them. Regrettably, the disciples—as some people today—think God is too busy to care about little children. The d