Matthew 8-9

Matthew 8 centers on Jesus: his miracles of healing, power over nature, and call to follow Him.

Matthew 8:1-4: Jesus was not concerned about ritual defilement, but the reality of healed bodies, although He still wanted Moses’ law obeyed by man.

Matthew 8:5-13 & 26: The centurion had greater faith than the disciples.

Matthew 8:12: Rejection of Jesus will ultimately lead to extreme remorse, whether in darkness or fire.

Matthew 8:14-17: Matthew 8:17 quotes Isaiah 53:4, which goes on (not quoted here) to say He was punished by God and afflicted.

Matthew 8:18-22: It is odd that there is no response one way or the other when Jesus tells people the cost of following Him. Is that our response also - equivocate by not taking a clear position?

Matthew 8:23-27 At this point in their discipleship, the disciples did not really appreciate who Jesus was. After all, why wouldn’t a terrible storm be subject to the one who created nature and weather? Do we believe in Jesus more than the disciples? More to the point, how can we help our faith grow like the apostles must have in our walk with Jesus?

Matthew 8:28-34: Why can’t demons shut up? Why did Jesus even negotiate with them?

Matthew 9 continues with Jesus’ miracles; the point of these stories is not what He did, but what He does. He still intervenes to respond to dashed hopes, to the lonely, the social outcasts, the shamed, the mournful, the accused, to show how the Father feels about the ill. That’s the point of Matthew recounting these stories forty years after Jesus’ resurrection. He comes into the world of the lost to save them.

Matthew 9:1-8 The question which is easier to say might be taken in two ways, i.e., which is easier to say with power of fulfillment, or which is easier to say that others can verify? Jesus’ next act trumped both of these possibilities. More importantly, He canceled the presumption that every sickness is the result of sin, but showed His healing of the root of our lives from sin.

Matthew 9:9-13 One of Jesus’ mysterious twists on the subject at hand; He came to heal the sick, not the healthy (were the Pharisees really healthy?), but how does desiring mercy, not sacrifice relate? This is God’s perspective. The whole point of the law and prophets was not to get holiness through sacrifices (per Levitical law), but to empower people to love God and experience His love in return. So Jesus had a banquet with tax collectors. One of them wrote this gospel. Love and mercy reveal a transformed heart, while sacrifice can be extracted by legal maneuvering without real repentance.

Matthew 9:14-17: Jesus offers two metaphors to answer the question about fasting, pointing to the future: His death on the cross, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into born-again believers.

Matthew 9:18-26 Genuine faith is more important than symbolic acts or rituals. The bleeding woman needed to touch His cloak to connect her faith to Him, but it was the genuineness of her faith that mattered. A crowd of mourners with music may well work against connection with Him, unless one has genuine faith that results in seeking Him seriously.

Matthew 9:27-34: The blind men that were healed didn’t obey His command to keep quiet about it. Was this gratitude? When the Pharisees saw the mute speaking, since they only knew doctrine, anything supernatural was deemed demonic.

Matthew 9:35-38: Jesus went everywhere with a combination of supernatural healings and preaching the gospel. He had compassion on this vast ocean of lost people: those with dashed hopes, the lonely, social outcasts, the shamed, the mournful, the accused, and the ill. He healed them.

Matthew 7

Matthew 7:1: A father corrects his children. A ruler judges. We only rule ourselves.

Matthew 7:1-2 echoes Proverbs 26:17 in a different dimension. Solomon spoke about meddling in other peoples’ quarrels. Jesus is talking about passing judgment. This is something the Pharisees did, and it would come full measure (and despite this warning,  we still have some Pharisees in church today!).

Matthew 7:3-5 is based on Psalms 14:1 & 53:1, that the hypocrite as a fool must remove the plank that says he is God and therefore thinks that he can pass judgment on others.

Matthew 7:6: Trying to share God’s wisdom and goodness with a fool is like thinking they will even understand a lawsuit (Proverbs 29:9). A pointless endeavor that only ends up as a mess. The gospel is for people who recognize they need something, not for know-it-alls who don’t need anything.

 Matthew 7:7-12: As demonstrated in Proverbs 1-7, a good Father gives good gifts, like wisdom, to His children. As we age we appreciate that we need good  gifts, but that the law of sowing and reaping applies. (Galatians 6:7-9)

Matthew 7:13-14: Proverbs 1:7 gives a slightly different take on this, speaking directly to the fear of the Lord and wisdom, vice a metaphor of narrow vs. wide gates. Irregardless of the way it is expressed, following Jesus requires attention to what we are doing and what He calls us to, or else we will miss what He wants us to do (and Him).

Matthew 7:15-20: All of Proverbs 10-19 speak to sowing and reaping, as does Deuteronomy. Jesus used the metaphor of bad fruit, which obviously stinks.

Matthew 7:16-23 also applies to worldly “good” people, which we can become if we don’t fully surrender to Christ. If we find ourselves bearing bad fruit, we are not His children even if we perform miracles. Lots of ways to go off the path.

Matthew 7:21-23: Deuteronomy 13:1-5 says that a false prophet should be put to death; Jesus warns of eternal judgment and separation from Him. And He adds the warning that many will think they actually are serving Him, but don’t even know Him. Proverbs 16:18 further warns of pride as a telltale warning sign of destruction.

Matthew 7:24-27: The storms of life will reveal whether or not we have been practicing Jesus’ words. Psalm 127:1 says unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  That starts with the foundation. It is up to us on what we build our lives.  On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a beachfront condominium in Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed, killing 98 people.  ‘Nuff said.

Matthew 7:28-29: Jesus went beyond giving rules for actions, His authority came from using metaphors that go to the heart. Not surprising that the people were amazed. Did they repent?

Matthew 6

Matthew 6 goes from perfecting obedience to law on what not to do (Matthew 5), to how to perfectly do the things we ought - to be a servant like Jesus.

Matthew 6:1-4: Per Matthew 5:14-16, these limitations on public religion do not apply to sharing the gospel, or the fact that good works are being done.

Matthew 6:2-4 & 21-24: Humble service to God and to the poor is the highest honor.

Matthew 6:5-6: When Jesus prayed, it was in a garden by Himself, not a closed room,  (Matthew 6:39) and sometimes in a closed room with a few others (John 17).

Matthew 6:7-8: The Lord’s Prayer is a paradigm, not a formula.

Matthew 6:9: We start with worship, recognizing that God’s name represents Him, and that we should treat both with respect. Worship involves giving God the glory due Him, because of His nature (eternal power  in both heavenly and natural realms), His character (love and holiness), and His actions (sending Jesus to save us, and in our individual lives). Worship can be words or songs.  Exodus 20:7 only forbids us from using His name in vain, but does not forbid using it appropriately.

Matthew 6:10: We ask for His kingdom to come on earth, which will one day happen when the fullness of time is ripe. (Revelation 20) In the meantime, we should be concerned about us individually knowing His will for us and doing it. This is not a passive request for the second coming of Christ. We need to ask daily what He wants us to do today. Deuteronomy 4:1, 5:1, 11:1, and 12:1 (and many others) command us to do His will.

Matthew 6:11: The Israelites in the desert were dependent on God for food in the form of manna every day.  (Exodus 16:21) We are fortunate to have ample food supplies. However, in the spiritual realm, we are totally dependent on God for nourishment. We ask Him to speak to us, and we should read His word every day.

Matthew 6:12: Jesus warns of the one major condition for the Father forgiving us of our sins: we have to forgive others. It’s easier when someone unintentionally hurts us, but Jesus didn’t give that as an out; we have to forgive someone who deliberately hurts us, too. Or else we won’t be forgiven. A daily review with Jesus at bedtime of the things on our mind can help clear  up with Him the things that bug us so we can sleep peacefully. (See also Matthew 6:14-15 & 18:21-35)

Matthew 6:13: We all need God’s help in dealing with temptation and evil. We should not test God like when Satan wanted Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle - Jesus knew better. (Matthew 4:7) So do we. We should steer clear of temptation and evil as best we can, but  also remember to call on Him when situations arise.

We should always remember that God’s eternal kingdom, with His power and glory, will last forever, unto the ages of the ages. All of the preceding can be motivated by that. But these prayer topics should primarily be motivated by sincere love for God and desire to be like Him in the core of our being - our mind, will, and emotions, our very heart. That will make living in God’s eternal kingdom an unending joy!

Matthew 6:14-15: Deuteronomy 15:2 & Leviticus 16 don’t mention forgiving others as a condition for God’s forgiveness. It is hard to forgive incessant repetition of wrongs, until we remember our own transgressions. (See also Matthew 6:12)

Matthew 6:16-18: Fasting was not always secret in the Old Testament. For example Judges 20:26, 2 Samuel 1:12, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Jeremiah 36:6, where fasts were all public.

Matthew 6:19-24: Proverbs 23:4-5 speaks to the transitory nature of earthly wealth. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says to remember wealth is God’s blessing to us, not something we did on our own. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua called on Israel to choose who to serve.

Matthew 6:25-34: echo Psalm 31:4 and other verses about seeking God first. As Matthew 6:33 says, God’s dominion is righteousness. They are inextricably intertwined.

Matthew 6:34: We must not let worry about the future corrupt the joys of today. Prudent planning is appropriate, but not emotional investment in the future.

Matthew 5

 

Matthew 5:1-12 Joy permeates the beatitudes. This is a counter-order and countercultural perspective on wisdom and blessing.

Matthew 5:3-6 The downtrodden are blessed.

Matthew 5:3 The poor in spirit recognize their need of God’s grace and ask Him for it. They are then enrolled in the joys of Heaven.

Matthew 5:4 Those that don’t mourn see no need of comfort and get none. Whether mourning external events and tragedies, or our own sinfulness, we only get Jesus’ comfort when we do.

Matthew 5:5 Ultimately, the strong, the proud, the arrogant, the harsh will kill each other off, or else run and hide when Jesus sets up His kingdom on earth. The social fabric of Jesus’ kingdom will be based on gentleness, just as God is gentle with us when we repent. The joy of this milieu can be experienced now among Jesus’ followers, for example in church.

Matthew 5:6 The hunger for righteousness can be satisfied in Jesus. He is righteous and freely shares it with those who ask, and they are satisfied if willing to receive it. What joy when everything works out right!

Matthew 5:7-10 Kingdom citizens are blessed.

Matthew 5:7 Sowing and reaping. God is merciful when we are, for example forgiving those who hurt us. (Matthew 6:14-15) And we are freed from the need for revenge or even the desire for justice. God is the just judge but also shows mercy to us. We reap what we sow. He can take care of others.

Matthew 5:8 Heaven has nothing for the wicked because they don’t want to see God. And He mercifully doesn’t make them. Only the pure in heart want to and will. But He has to and will change us to be that way, if we are willing. Then, what joy to see Him face-to-face!

Matthew 5:9 Throughout history, peacemakers have been recognized as God’s representatives. God calls them His sons and adopts them, except for Jesus who made peace between us and God on the cross, and was always God’s Son, not adopted.

Matthew 5:10 Those persecuted for righteousness’ sake will be in God’s kingdom along with the poor in spirit. They are actually in His kingdom when they are being persecuted. The  persecutors are helping build God’s kingdom, just as those who executed Jesus brought about His salvation for us. What a paradox.

Matthew 5:11-12 promises a greater reward to specific situations. This elaborates on Matthew 5:10 because it is the hardest beatitude.

Matthew 5:13-48

The Ten Commandments were a bare minimum. Interpretations vary. But once this bare minimum is complete, the next step comes - moving from external behavior to internals.

Matthew 5:14-16 How do we reconcile this with Matthew 6:1-6? What light shining activities are good? Practicing righteousness, giving to the needy, and praying must all be private activities. Or is it just blowing trumpets and showing our hand (presumably so that the amount of money is seen) that is verboten? Most likely, Jesus has in mind preaching the gospel for shining light.

Matthew 5:17-18 As we study the Old Testament, we find out for ourselves that Jesus merely interpreted it, but authoritatively.

Matthew 5:21 quotes from Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17. Murder is condemned by all value systems.

Matthew 5:21-26 Leviticus 19:17 speaks to anger. God is a God of gentleness. Jesus emphasized varying levels of anger are all unacceptable to God.

Matthew 5:27 quotes from Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18. Adultery is condemned by most value systems. Fornication is not much different, only that no promise of loyalty is violated.  Free love has been tried and only leads to disaster.

Matthew 5:29-30 Poking out eyes and lopping off hands is the reductio ad absurdum of external-only discipline. 

Matthew 5:29 Isn’t lust still in our heart, even without seeing the woman? This just illuminates the futility of external measures.

Matthew 5:31 quotes Deuteronomy 24:1 & 3. Jesus elaborated on this in Matthew 19:3-9. Divorce has terrible consequences for children and society, but most of all for the people directly involved. The wife who is rejected and the husband whose heart gets colder and harder.

Matthew 5:33 quotes Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21. Trying to make a point by invoking deities or nature’s wonders does nothing to make us more reliable, but degrades those things that are invoked. In today’s society, swearing by Zeus would be ridiculed, but the point is that swearing by the real God is worse, by demeaning His reputation.

Matthew 5:38 quotes Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21. It seems like there is risk in not resisting evil people. We  can trust God, but what if God has assigned to us the responsibility of stopping him. For example in World War II it appears the allies were given the task of destroying the Nazi regime and returning Germany to the heritage of Luther, Bonhoffer, etc.

Matthew 5:42 indirectly cites Deuteronomy 15:9. Giving to the poor should be seen as an investment.

Matthew 5:43 quotes Leviticus 19:18, in which this phrase is preceded by things like do not show favoritism based on social class, do not hate a fellow Israelite.

Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus means love like He loves.

Matthew 5:48 Jesus must mean let Him in so He can perfect us, not be perfect on our own.

Matthew 1-4

Notes on the gospel of Matthew

August 30, 2025   Matthew 1

Matthew 1:1-16 This is the genealogy of Joseph, who had Jewish credentials. Jesus has divine credentials, but this was the only way to achieve God with us.

Matthew 1:6 Bathsheba is not named.

Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14. Other nearby verses

• Isaiah 7:9 If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. 
• Isaiah 7:18 parallelisms. Flues from the Nile and bees from the land of Assyria: Matthew 2:13 (the trip to Egypt) and Matthew 2:1 (wise men from the east).

Matthew 1:18-21 Descent and rebirth are more important and effective than generations of kings and others for bringing God’s kingdom on earth.

August 31, 2025  Matthew 2

Matthew 2:6 quotes Micah 5:2&4

• Micah 5:2 mentions ancient and eternal origins
• Micah 5:3 the end of the diaspora
• Micah 5:4 shepherding the strength & majesty of God, and worldwide evangelism

Matthew 2:10-11 The joy of Christmas always centers on the worship of God

Matthew 2:15 quotes part of Hosea 11:1

• First line refers to God’s unrequited love for Israel in the Exodus
• Second line prefigures Jesus who was delivered from sin (Egypt) before He had to deal with it.

Matthew 2:18 quotes Jeremiah 31:15 - Ramah is about 5 miles north of Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:23 most likely cites Isaiah 11:1 in a Hebrew pun. Jesus was the righteous branch (Hebrew neser). But it could also implicitly cite Isaiah 53:3 that Jesus would be despised, as Nazareth was a poor, backwater town who was looked down on by the big city elites. Or maybe both.

September 1, 2025  Matthew 3

Matthew 3:3 quotes Isaiah 40:3. Many verses in Isaiah 40 are relevant to the ministry and life of Jesus

• Isaiah 40:8 The word of God abides forever
• Isaiah 40:9 Good news for Israel
• Isaiah 40:11 He shepherds the flock

Matthew 3:7 John’s kind warnings to the Pharisees were repeated by Jesus in 12:34 & 23:33

Matthew 3:13-15 Did Jesus’ baptism prefigure His bearing our sins on the cross?

Matthew 3:13-17 Three aspects of a new ruler: a royal procession (from Nazareth to the Jordan); a ritual cleansing; a coronation by the Holy Spirit, with the crowning declaration of a beloved Son with whom the Father is pleased. These signify a new King who reconciles holiness and love.

Matthew 3:16-17: The Trinity are all present for this coronation: YHWH ABBA, Yeshua HaMashiach, and Ruach HaKodesh. Imagine a Hallmark movie like this! The new king goes to find His bride.

September 2, 2025 Matthew 4

Matthew 4:1-11 is the proof-test of Jesus’ character as the Son of the Father (3:17). We too are tested according to our calling.

Matthew 4:4 Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in which Moses recounted the lessons from 40 years of manna, but Jesus did 40 days of fasting. He did not need to repeat the lesson the Israelites needed 40 years to learn 1,600 years earlier. He knew it.

Matthew 4:6 in quoting Psalm 91:11-12, the devil ignored the context of Psalm 91:1-2, and the specific condition of Psalm 91:9. Jesus had made God His refuge, but in being a Son, he would not respond to that care with presumption and testing His Father’s love.

Matthew 4:7 Deuteronomy 6:16 followed Deuteronomy 6:13-14, which speaks to fearing YHWH and not following other gods which Jesus points out in Matthew 4:10.

Matthew 4:10 worship in adversity is the ultimate demonstration of our faith. Of Jesus’ three responses to Satan, this is the only reference to the Ten Commandments. Matthew 4:4&7 are from the Pentateuch but not the big ten. We need to know all Scripture, not just select verses.

Matthew 4:15-16 Isaiah 9:1-2 follows the gloom of those who consult mediums (Isaiah 5:9) and precedes Isaiah 9:6-7 …unto us a son is given, the government will be on His shoulders.

Matthew 4:16 Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy about gentiles at the very start of His ministry.

Matthew 4:17 Repent means to change your way of life, not just feel bad about it.

Matthew 4:18-22 Somehow Jesus knew which fishermen would flourish fishing for men.

Matthew 4:23-25 Jesus preached the kingdom of God, but the masses came for miracles of healing. Maybe some listened and repented.  When Jesus saw  the crowds coming for physical healing, He knew they needed spiritual healing. Hence, the Sermon on the Mount.

Book Review: Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, by Nabeel Qureshi

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus is the story of the journey of a fervently devout Muslim from unquestioned devotion to Islam to faith in Jesus as his Lord and savior. This was not a quick transition, taking about four years. Nabeel Qureshi was very knowledgeable about Islam, Islamic critiques of Christianity, and Islamic responses to Christian criticism of Islamic beliefs. Over the course of this journey, he had a friend who didn’t pressure him, and they developed a deep relationship.

Nabeel Qureshi addressed the specific beliefs that are the core essential tenets of Christianity and Islam. The topics that he   documents his struggle with include:

• Inspiration and Reliability of the Biblical text.
• Jesus’ death on the cross and the swoon theory.
• Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
• Jesus as human and also fully God, the creator of the universe.
• The doctrine of the Trinity.
• The doctrine of substitutionary atonement.
• The holiness and inerrancy of the Quran.
• The truth about Muhammad.

In each of these areas, the author started as being fully convinced of the validity of the Islamic teaching and position. He then investigated the topic in great detail and discovered, to his chagrin, that the Islamic doctrine that he was taught and firmly believed did not stand up to close scrutiny, but that the Christian position was more credible.  After resolving all of these more or less theological and intellectual issues, he recounts how he understood that Christianity was true in a way that Islam was not, but still struggled with making a decision to change his allegiance. 

At this point, the Lord graciously gave him a vision and three dreams to help him make that decision. Dreams play a much larger part in Islamic faith than in Christianity, so he was very receptive to trying to discern correctly the meaning of the dreams. (As an aside, I have been told by another source that many, many Muslims have had dreams of a man in a white robe.)  He was able, with the help of his friend, to make a decision for Christ. His family relationships were disrupted, as he feared. 

The value of this book is the significant depth of detail that Nabeel Qureshi goes into on each of the topics listed above. Actual decisions are difficult. Each person needs to have, in addition to an intellectual and theological understanding, direct experience with God. That is, each person has to approach God in prayer and ask for Him to reveal Himself, just as the author did. 

The book ends at this point, but there are appendices that summarize the author’s life after his decision for Christ. Unfortunately, as he was preparing for ministry, he was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer, and died in 2017, at the age of 34. There is a dynamic video of his testimony on YouTube. (Warning - this video runs two hours.) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0D8Uz4oQck