 Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43
In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus teaches that God plans to leave the wicked in his world until the righteous have fully matured. The Parable promises divine resources for Christians to stand tall to the glory of God.
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 Matthew 12:38-45
How a person responds to the authority of Jesus says everything that needs to be said about the kind of disciple they are or might be. In this passage, Jesus promises that his resurrection will function like "the sign of Jonah." That is to say that it is the knife's edge of the word of God in the world, separating true from false believers. This leads us to self-reflection, asking the question, "What sort of believer am I?"  Matthew 12:22-37
When the religious experts slander Jesus, Jesus turns the situation into an object lesson. The Pharisees define for us what Jesus means when he says God will judge us for every "careless word" we speak. This helps disciples test ourselves to make sure we continue to make progress in growing to be like Jesus.  Psalm 82
Psalm 82 reminds us that there is much more to the world we experience than just what we see. The Bible does not answer every question we have about angels and their influence upon human affairs. What God does say to us encourages us, because God remains the Lord of all.  Matthew9:35-38
Jesus sees crowds of people coming to him. He says this is a "harvest." Jesus sees the crowds as "sheep without a shepherd." In this way, Jesus reveals to us a crucial element of reaching people with the good news.  Matthew 9:2-8
People react to Jesus in different ways in Matthew's Gospel. We read of them being jealous. People are often amazed or surprised by things Jesus says and does. In this passage, Matthew shows us that people are afraid of Jesus. This is important to remember for those who would follow Jesus. He is the savior. He offers that we can be his friends. Still, he is also always our master and the one coming to judge us in the end.  Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew's story of Jesus freeing the Gadarene men from demon-possession challenges us to take seriously the invisible aspects of reality. Just as the disciples that day were confronted by the reality of evil, personal spirits, Matthew reminds us that Jesus' authority is just as real. More important, Jesus' authority is irresistible. Be found faithful to Jesus, and have no need to fear the demonic in our world.  Matthew 8:18-27
Wise students learn key lessons from the way the winds and the sea obey Jesus one stormy day. Matthew's framing of this story with questions of discipleship points the way.  Matthew 7:6
Though disciples are not to be judgmental of others (Matt 7:1-5), Jesus does teach us to know who we are dealing with. The Kingdom of God is precious, and its resources are not to be treated casually or carelessly. Some situations might only be a waste of time, or, worse, putting Kingdom things at risk of being abused and mistreated. Disciples are to have some "street smarts" as we go about our mission for the Lord.  Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus said, "Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth...Store up treasures in heaven...," (Matthew 6:19-20). In today's text, Jesus doubles down on this radical attitude toward the power and riches of this world. As though he anticipates common-sense objections from his disciples, Jesus teaches that there is no justification for making the "necessities" of life our highest priority. Instead, our first thought and devotion must be to how we can serve the Kingdom of God with what God has given us today. |
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