Author: Clark Brown

Mat 9:32-34  What is meant by a “dumb” (NAS, KJV) man?  Note: the Greek word used (kophos) means literally dull or blunt, and may refer to one who is either deaf or mute; cf. Mar 7:32-35 and consider how being deaf and mute are related.  What was the cause of the man’s dumbness?  How did…

Mat 9:27-31  Consider the numerous accounts in the gospels of Jesus healing the blind: see Mat 12:22, 15:30-31, 20:30-34, 21:14, Mar 8:22-26, 10:46-52, Joh 9:1-6; what is the spiritual significance that the blind were so often objects of Jesus’ mercy (Mat 9:27) and that He seems to have had a special compassion for them (Mat…

Mat 9:18-26   What was the name of the synagogue official who came to Jesus, and what additional information does Mark supply about the man’s daughter?  See Mar 5:22-23.  What additional information does Luke give about the girl?  See Luk 8:42.  Is there a contradiction between Matthew’s account that has the man saying his daughter had…

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”…