Mat 9:14-17 In what way was Jesus failing to conform to the expectations of even John the Baptist’s disciples? See Mat 9:14. What event prompted their inquiry? See Luk 5:29-30 and note that strict Jews fasted twice a week (Luk 18:12) on the second and fifth days, and it is likely that Matthew’s feast…
Mat 9:9-13 For whom did the tax collectors gather taxes? Cf. Mat 22:15-17. Why would this have made them even more unpopular than if they had simply been collecting taxes for the Jews? How were they paid? Note: “tariff rates were vague and indefinite” and the publican “paid a fixed sum for the taxes, and…
Mat 8:28-34 Locate the region Gadara (south and east side of the Sea of Galilee) on a Bible map and read the longer account of this episode in Mar 5:1-20. Note that the region of the Gerasenes that Mark and Luke describe (Luk 8:26-39) may more precisely locate the area around the small city of…
Mat 8:23-27 Recall that after attracting much attention by His healing ministry in Capernaum, Jesus “gave orders to depart to the other side” (Mat 8:18). How many disciples might there have been who followed Him? See Mar 4:36. How does Matthew’s description of the storm that arose differ from that of Mark and Luke? See…
Mat 8:14-17 In what town did Peter live? See Mat 8:5. What does Mat 8:14 tell us about Roman Catholicism’s first pope? Cf. 1Co 9:5. With what was Peter’s mother-in-law afflicted? How did Jesus heal her? What was her response? Note: the Greek word used is diakonew from which we get our word deacon; it means…
Mat 8:2-4 What is it about leprosy that makes it a fitting picture of the uncleanness of our sin nature? Note: “Leprosy, beginning with little pain, goes on in its sluggish but sure course, until it mutilates the body, deforms the features, turns the voice into a croak, and makes the patient a hopeless wreck”…
Children Both an Eternal and Temporal Blessing: Recall that in the same way the relationships of both the Father to the Son and Christ to the Church are creative, so is marriage intended to be a creative relationship, and it is precisely this creative aspect wherein is found the greatest blessings of the relationship. Even…
The Husband in God’s Divine Order: In the same way that God is the head of Christ in His relationship to the Father, and Christ is the head of man in our relationship to him, so is the man the head of his wife in the marriage relationship; 1Co 11:3. As the Spirit of God…
Mat 7:24-27 What words that people hear is Jesus referring to in Mat 7:24 and 26? Hint: if you have a red letter edition of the Bible, where do the red letters start? What does the word “therefore” in Mat 7:24 imply about the relationship between Jesus’ teaching that follows about the wise and foolish…
Mat 7:13-14 What do these verses teach us about the two paths that confront each one of us in this life? Contrast the beginning and end of each. What is it about the path that leads to destruction that deceives people to suppose they are going the right direction? What does this teach us about…