Read Matthew 8:18-22. What is Jesus saying to these men here about what it means to follow Him? First, in Matthew 8:18-22, we see two men approach Jesus with the desire to be His disciples. Both are sincere; and yet, both seem to be held back by something. Jesus, who knows all our thoughts, goes … Continue reading –>
In Monday’s study, we noted that Jesus said that He hadn’t found anyone in Israel with such great faith. But, during these same hours in Israel, there was a man who had reached a place where his desire for healing of the heart was even greater than for healing of his body. Read Matthew 9:1-8. … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 8:25-34. What do both these accounts teach us about the power of God? How can we draw comfort from what we see here about His power, especially as we struggle with things so much greater than ourselves? In Jewish thought it was the prerogative of God alone to rule over nature and demons. … Continue reading –>
There’s a good reason the book of Daniel spends a lot of time dealing with Rome (see Dan. 7:7-8, Dan. 7:19-21, Dan. 8:9-12, Dan. 8:23-25). And that’s because of its great power, which was prevalent also at the time of Christ. Nevertheless, a Roman officer, not only a symbol of the power of Rome but an … Continue reading –>
After preaching the Sermon on the Mount, where He’d described the principles of the kingdom of God, Jesus re-encountered the kingdom of Satan, a cold dark place filled with decaying people groaning for redemption, a place whose principles are often contrary to everything for which He stands. And at that time one of the greatest … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 8; Lev. 13:44-50; Dan. 7:7-8; John 10:10; Matt. 9:1-8; 1 John 1:9. Memory Text: “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?” (Matthew 9:5, NKJV). If you made a list of what you most dreaded in life, what would it look … Continue reading –>
Read Ellen G. White, “The Sermon on the Mount,” pp. 298-314, in The Desire of Ages and the book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing (Book available online at www.whiteestate.org/books/mb/mb.asp). In the parables of Matthew 13:44-46, the men found something of great value. Given the context, especially after Jesus told the third parable (Matt. 13:47-50), … Continue reading –>
A mountaintop wasn’t the only place Jesus preached. He preached the same message of the kingdom all over Israel. Matthew 13 records Jesus teaching from a boat, “while all the people stood on the shore” (Matt. 13:2, NIV). Jesus then told the people parables intended to drive home the importance of not only hearing His … Continue reading –>
Perhaps the most radical teaching of Jesus is found in Matthew 5:48. Read the text. How are we, especially as sinners, supposed to do that? Of all the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, this has to be one of the most amazing, the most “extreme.” To be as perfect as “your Father in … Continue reading –>
Read Matthew 5:20. What does Jesus mean when He says that unless our righteousness “surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law” (NIV), we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven? Though salvation has always been by faith, and though Judaism, as it should have been practiced, was always a system of grace, … Continue reading –>
