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Lesson 61 Ch17
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Matthew’s Gospel is a Jewish account containing a number of Jewish cultural expressions that were inherently understood by Jews in that era but can be confusing to gentiles in the modern Church that is so many centuries removed. Taught by Tom Bradford.

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THE BOOK OF MATTHEW

Lesson 61, Chapter 17 Continued

Last week we concluded our study of the opening portion of Matthew chapter 17 that focused on The Transfiguration. Truly this nearly unfathomable event of an epiphany of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus together is one of the most mysterious in the entire Bible, and what makes it all the more confounding is that the point of it… just what it is meant to signify… is not stated. I can only assume that either the Gospel writers didn't know the point because their sources didn't know; or that it was assumed to be self-evident to Believers in the 1st century. So within the Jewish context, what might the disciples have taken from this? 

To briefly review: my conclusion is that at least 2 different things were meant to be taken from The Transfiguration… perhaps even more. One thing for certain: death was a greatly feared thing because what happened afterward was an unsettled matter in the Hebrew faith. So the question of the possibility of life after death was an ongoing debate within the Jewish religious leadership, and therefore was also an unresolved matter within the minds of Christ's disciples. I imagine the appearance of the long-ago departed Moses and Elijah would likely have provided a welcome hope for them that there must be life after death. So the next question in their minds would have been: how does one attain it? 

Without insisting on which view is correct, my own does differ from the traditional one within Christianity that there is but a single point to this epiphany and it is to inform the disciples about something concerning Yeshua. The first point of The Transfiguration, then, is that 2 different groups of people were meant to benefit from it: the 3 disciples that were present as witnesses, and Moses and Elijah themselves as participants.  The disciples were intended to grasp that Moses as representative of the Law (or probably the entire Torah), and Elijah as representative of the Prophets, and Yeshua as the God-man Redeemer that Moses and Elijah pointed towards, were clearly linked and worked together, and each are necessary milestones and participants in the long journey to redemption and restoration. And while what Moses and Elijah did and said were prophetic and (after a long wait) currently being fulfilled in Jesus, yet all remained alive and well and relevant (something Christ made abundantly clear in the Sermon on the Mount). 

Admittedly this challenges the most predominant view of Christianity whereby the single point of the event of the 3 figures appearing together was essentially a passing of the torch. That is, The Transfiguration signified that Jesus was replacing Moses and Elijah, and therefore He was also superseding the Law of Moses. I maintain that nothing within this scenario implies or even hints of The Transfiguration as being a replacement ceremony. Some commentators point to the fact that Yeshua's face and clothes were glowing as the evidence of Him replacing Moses and Elijah. I say that of the 3 figures, He is the only one that was divine; so it is logical that His face and clothes would glow in such a way that indeed sets Him apart as divine. So in my view this idea of replacement is a much later Christian Church doctrine that is being read back into the story. 

The second point of The Transfiguration comes from Christ's equally puzzling descent into the earth before He ascended to Heaven. Ephesians chapter 4 speaks of this. I interpret that event as something Yeshua did in association with Abraham's Bosom; a dwelling place for the departed souls of the righteous dead who died prior to the advent of the Redeemer. If I've been asked the question once, I've been asked a hundred times, what happened to the people who died in the Old Testament era? Well, Jesus descended to announce to these souls that they were now redeemed to an elevated state of righteousness that gave them access to Heaven, and so these long-time captives in Abraham's Bosom were set free. It seems to me that Moses and Elijah also had to be set free. As elevated as their status was, they were still strictly human beings, born with the same sin nature as Adam. Where they had been living in spirit, so to speak, during the many centuries that they had been gone is unclear. They had been set apart from all other humans by The Father and their departures were in mysterious circumstances. I suspect that neither resided in Abraham's Bosom, but of the 2, Moses may have. 

Nonetheless, since their eras of activity and of leaving this earth took place long before the advent of the Redeemer…. Jesus the Messiah… they, just like the captives of Abraham's Bosom, also had to be set free.  So God set these 2 great icons of the Hebrew faith before Yeshua so that He could announce the end of their captivity as well, or perhaps it was an announcement of their redemption (as also symbolized by the captives of Abraham's Bosom being released) and so it was representative of what was soon to happen. Moses and Elijah seem to be the first of those departed from this earth and physical life to be set free (redeemed). Only a little later after His death and resurrection will Yeshua do the same for those thousands or millions of righteous souls that had remained safely for centuries in God's care in Abraham's Bosom.

Might I have this right? I'll ask Yeshua when He returns. 

Let's move on now to the next section of Matthew chapter 17. We'll begin by reading the next few verses that tell the story. 

RE-READ MATTHEW 17:14 – 21

This story is of the healing of a young man that most Bible scholars insist was not demon-possessed; rather he had epilepsy. But what it all actually boils down to this: the matter of miracle healing no longer involves whether Jesus will or is able to heal anyone of anything… that is now a given. Rather the matter is whether His disciples can as well. This same story is told in the Gospel of Mark and because the best information is the most complete information, we'll read Mark to add to what Matthew says. 

READ MARK 9:14 – 29

Notice that Mark's account of the healing is virtually twice the length of Matthew's. The answer to why that might be is an open question. However, some Bible commentators think Mark's Gospel has been altered and lengthened by later Christian editors to make the focus of the story something more critical of Jesus's disciples that also implies a Jewish inferiority upon these "disciples of little faith" who failed to be able to do what Yeshua seems to indicate they ought to be able to do by now: heal people and exorcise demons. My response is that I just don't know if that is the case with Mark or not. There is simply no evidence for or against; it is just the opinions of a number of Bible scholars. Each Gospel writer tended to be either more wordy or less wordy about a common event they all report on, and they also each tended to highlight different aspects of any given event. Some Gospel writers included things about Yeshua that others chose not to, and vice versa. So I'm inclined not to read too much into the shorter version in Matthew or in the longer version in Mark. I'll leave it that by combining the information provided in these two accounts, we get a more complete and well-rounded record of what occurred.  

Having said that, it is hard to dispute that from the far view of the 3 Synoptic Gospels, my reading is that Mark's is the least Jewish oriented and also the most harsh in the assessment of Jews and Judaism in general… Believers or otherwise. Matthew's is the most Jewish oriented of the Gospel accounts and the least likely to point out the failures of the disciples or to assign too much blame to common Jews who are naive about their own Hebrew faith, therefore are easily mislead, and also don't understand Yeshua: who He is or what He is about. Luke probably falls somewhere in the middle because this gentile Believer went on the road with the Jewish Apostle Paul to several gentile Roman provinces, visiting several synagogues, and so no doubt gained insight and understanding of Jewish culture and Tradition and therefore of the Jewish point of view. So he displays an obvious level of sympathy and affinity for the Jewish people even though it is presented from a predominately gentile worldview.

The opening words of yet another story of demon possession indicate that many of Yeshua's disciples had gone with Him to an area nearby wherever it was that the Transfiguration experience took place.  Having come down from the high place, they almost immediately encounter a crowd (we find that Jesus has become so well known that crowds seek Him out or follow Him no matter where He goes). An unnamed father asks Yeshua to heal his son of something that resembles epilepsy. We need to notice that the crowds keep coming to Christ for the same reason they always have: for healing. They still view Yeshua primarily as a Tzadik (a Jewish miracle-working Holy Man). We must not read the concept of salvation as we think of it today back into any of these stories of miracle-working. I point this out because when we read nearly every English Bible version, we'll find that they have the father saying to Yeshua: "Lord have pity on my son…" That is, the word lord is capitalized thus making it a title. This capitalization is used by a translator to indicate when the person speaking that word means it in the religious/spiritual sense that Jesus is the divine Savior and Messiah (The Lord). This is simply not the case and there is no evidence in any of the Gospel accounts to this point in Yeshua's life that the crowds are approaching Him with this meaning and understanding. Rather the CJB translation handles this the best when instead of "Lord" it uses "sir'. That is, the father is showing respect to Jesus, not the least of which reason is that he wants something from Him. He holds Yeshua in high regard but he also wants Jesus to exorcize the demon from his son. 

It is interesting that the father calls his son a lunatic and not demon-possessed. The Greek word used is solemiazomai and literally, it means moon-struck; but in modern English moon-struck means lunatic. It was a superstition in that era that the moon (the Luna) caused mental illnesses and abnormal behaviors. The father goes on to say that his son's behavior is so crazy that he'll even fall into fires or bodies of water. That is, he does things that can harm him.

Mark's Gospel starts this story a bit differently. He says that Yeshua and His disciples came upon a crowd of people who were loudly debating with some Scribes (synagogue authorities) about something. When the crowd noticed who it was that was approaching, several of them ran to Yeshua.  Yeshua asked no one in particular what this noisy discussion was all about and a person answered; this person was the father of a son that was suffering with demon possession. Mark continues with more or less the same description about what goes on with the boy that we find in Matthew. However, he also adds that some of Yeshua's disciples tried healing the boy but couldn't. Back to Matthew.

Yeshua turns to His disciples and strongly rebukes them; at least that is the rather standard meaning assigned to Yeshua's words. But when we look more closely, the Greek has Yeshua say apistos kia diastrepho genea. The KJV has the most literal translation that says "faithless and perverse generation". So unless He is calling ONLY His disciples a faithless and perverse generation, then He is using the term "perverse generation" as He has before: it refers in general to all those Jews living at that time that are blind to the signs of the Latter Days that John the Baptist showed them and that Yeshua's very presence is proof of.  In other words, this harsh statement is directed at the entire crowd, including the Scribes and His own disciples… everybody present. He again implies that the amount of time that He'll be around (alive) to be able to continue to heal and restore people is limited. So what happens when He's gone? I have little doubt that similar words have been spoken by every frustrated mother and father to their children: what are you going to do when I'm not around anymore? The early Church Father Chrysostom saw it the same way. 

After those harsh words, Yeshua says to the distressed father: "Bring him here to Me". The cure, according to Matthew, was for Yeshua to rebuke the demon in the boy. He did, the demon left, and the boy was cured. But Mark takes this another direction. 

CJB Mark 9:20-27 20 They brought the boy to him; and as soon as the spirit saw him, it threw the boy into a convulsion. 21 Yeshua asked the boy's father, "How long has this been happening to him?" "Ever since childhood," he said; 22 "and it often tries to kill him by throwing him into the fire or into the water. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us!" 23 Yeshua said to him, "What do you mean, 'if you can'? Everything is possible to someone who has trust!" 24 Instantly the father of the child exclaimed, "I do trust- help my lack of trust!" 25 When Yeshua saw that the crowd was closing in on them, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and dumb spirit! I command you: come out of him, and never go back into him again!" 26 Shrieking and throwing the boy into a violent fit, it came out. The boy lay there like a corpse, so that most of the people said he was dead. 27 But Yeshua took him by the hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up. 

So Mark has Yeshua continuing to rebuke the crowd, including the father of the boy, and then we see a bit of a battle go on between Yeshua and the evil spirit that was possessing the boy; it wasn't going to be easily defeated. We even see doubt in the father that Jesus can do this miracle, and Jesus's turning the tables about the doubt directed towards Him towards the lack of trust in those who were asking for the miracle. The tone of Mark's narrative is really quite a different tone than in Matthew. Matthew has this same man falling to his knees before Jesus begging Him to cure his son because others of Christ's disciples couldn't. There is no hint of disbelief or lack of trust in the father. In Mark, the father admits to a lack of trust and even asks Christ to help him with this problem. Nothing further is said of it; there is no aha! moment of the father, and no hint that Yeshua helped the father to have a greater trust. Even so, Yeshua went ahead with the successful exorcism. 

We are again faced with the question of what kind of trust Yeshua is saying people must have in Him; it is left unsaid. Trust that He is a Tzadik that cannot fail? It certainly cannot be about trust in Him as the divine Messiah (at least not now) because He has told His disciples not to whisper a word of it to anyone. Perhaps it is meant in the sense that the Jewish people are, like Peter, to have such trust in His person that He is whatever He says He is at any point in time. And that He can do whatever He says He can do…. in any capacity whatsoever. And in addition their this trust must be large enough that it never waivers and thus responds properly to whatever He tells them to believe or to do, no matter the circumstances. I believe that the trust He demands is in the same sense that He expected of Peter. 

Going back to Matthew's much shorter version of the story, in verse 19 the disciples ask Yeshua the reason that they couldn't heal the boy of his problem. Yeshua responds as He has on numerous occasions regarding the condition of His disciples: they have little faith. So while in Mark's Gospel Yeshua is telling the crowd and the father that is their lack of trust that stymied the disciples from healing the boy, in Matthew Yeshua is pinning it only on His disciples. 

In verse 20 Jesus resurrects His previous use of the mustard seed metaphor and Parable and tells the disciples that if their faith and trust were even that tiny, they could move mountains. Folks, this is an expression that is not to be taken literally. It is also not a Parable so it can have more than one facet to its meaning. Let's also recall that Yeshua never moved massive geographic features that we're aware of and so such a thing is not in our future either, no matter our level of trust in Him. His illustration is a memorable exaggeration that contrasts a mustard seed that is a tiny physical object, with a mountain that is the largest physical object. While not a Parable, certainly the idea of moving mountains does take the form of a proverb. And from that standpoint, the idea of moving a mountain means to do the unlikely or, from a human view, to do the impossible. As Davies and Allison say: "A literal interpretation is ludicrous" so we can discard that as a possibility.  Thus no doubt the point is that a small amount of trust can do big and improbable things; therefore it is inherently implied that a great amount of trust can do the impossible things… impossible from an apparent or earthly standpoint. It is simply an encouragement and call to trust Him fully. 

Here when we set various English Bible versions side by side we run into an issue that I think goes well beyond a trivial nuance. It is this: depending on your Bible version you will see some combination or use of the words trust, faith, and belief. It seems that these words are meant to denote different things. And yet in the Greek, they all stem from the same word: pistis (in its various grammatical forms) and thus also stem from the same concept. I think that the CJB has it most correctly rendered by choosing the word "trust" to get at what Christ is saying. Why is that? It is because of what those words trust, faith, and belief mean in modern English and how they are used. Words have meaning; but it depends heavily on the era and the culture to define that meaning. In modern English-speaking cultures of the West there are important differences between the meanings of trust, faith, and belief even if at first glance we haven't really thought about it. Perhaps a few hundred years ago, in European English-speaking society, these 3 words meant something different. Even so, whatever mental picture we draw today with the use of each of those words is what matters in order to correctly communicate the intended message. 

Since the Greek is essentially the same for the 3 words, let's talk about what each of them means to us in our day, and we'll begin with the word trust. For us to trust is a positive term that means to firmly depend on something with conviction and without reservation. Failure or error is not conceivable. Trust, especially from the biblical standpoint, also revolves around morality. It is a thought of something that I can depend upon that is true and right regardless of world conditions, or as history progress, and what I trust in will not fail me. I can say that I trust, for example, that the sun will rise each day just as it always has. There is no doubt about it. Yet there is no moral element to it, so this is not so much trust as belief. 

To believe is a conscious, intellectual decision to acknowledge that something is as we perceive it to be, or merely that it exists. Faith is an overriding hope in someone or something and it can or cannot include a moral element. So, back to the top of our list of words. To trust in Yeshua means to depend on Him and the morality He prescribes, without reservation. Trust cannot incorporate or tolerate the idea of doubt nor does trust allow for alternatives. Doubt and trust are (especially as it comes to a spiritual trust) very nearly opposites. 

To say one believes in Yeshua means to acknowledge that He existed. Islam believes that Yeshua existed. Some Muslims I have met have respect for Him and the lifestyle He preached. But they don't trust in Him; they don't depend on Him without reservation. In fact, they worship another God and religion and rely on another and different holy book. Another example: I can believe that a chair exists, is present, and is something that is designed for me to sit upon. But I don't put my trust in it on a moral or absolute level… I don't make an intellectual decision that even adds some involvement of my soul, to depend on that chair without reservation. We know that it could fail us, even though that might be rare. But if it did, outside of our surprise, we wouldn't have a loss of belief in the existence and purpose of chairs. 

Faith is a hope that something is so. Faith doesn't have to have an inherent moral element. But hope (and thus faith) does incorporate and tolerate doubt. I can have hope that it will rain, yet also legitimately harbor an equal amount of doubt that it won't. Faith is the hope of something as yet unrealized, that may never be realized. Faith (hope) can also rise above mere intellectual belief or evidence and often does. I can have faith that mankind is inherently good, even if the evidence shows otherwise, and that mankind's goodness is the path that will eventually lead the human race to a better world. I can hope in science as our deliverer from all of our earth-bound problems that plague us, even though it certainly hasn't delivered and solved all things thus far and there is no firm evidence that it ever will. In fact, it was science that brought us the ultra-destructive atomic bomb. The hope we have in science, or what it currently says is fact, regularly turns out to be incorrect and must be revised so that we hope in something else. Faith (hope) allows room that we can switch our hope to something else if we need to. Trust does not; so trust that fails us is not merely disappointing, it is soul-destroying. 

While you might not agree with all my definitions and examples, the point is that these are what these words predominately mean in the 21st century in Western culture. Thus we have to be very careful about what English words a Bible translator assigns to what Yeshua, or the Gospel writer, meant and therefore what He requires of us to be His disciples. Therefore when we look at the Greek pistis and its variations, the best English word to get across the proper meaning for our time is trust. Yeshua says we are to trust in Him. We are to depend upon Him without reservation or in regards to our circumstances. This, of course, is the ideal. "Be ye perfect even as I am perfect" says The Lord. I dare say no one will ever be perfect or have perfect trust in God. The Book of Revelation reveals that even many people that will be allowed entry into the Millennial Kingdom will not have perfect trust and some will fail so badly that they will not live an eternity with God. This fullness of trust, the ideal trust, will not come until the arrival of the new earth and heavens. But it is what we are to strive for, with Yeshua as the object of our trust, and the ideal of what it looks like. 

Verse 21 is not present in all the ancient Greek manuscripts and the CJB doesn't use it even though most English Bibles do. It is therefore thought that because Matthew didn't use some words that Mark thought important, a later Christian editor added them. 

CJB Mark 9:29 29 He said to them "This is the kind of spirit that can be driven out only by prayer." 

Whether this was an authentic saying of Christ or not, it is framed as having been said in response to Yeshua's disciples as a sort of instruction from Him to answer the question of how one can get rid of this particular kind of evil spirit (the one that was not willing to go without a fight). However, the way it has been inserted into Matthew's Gospel, it is framed as a continuing saying of Jesus over the issue of the volume of trust one must-have. So, it has been slightly modified to fit each scenario. An original statement by Christ or not isn't a terribly important issue because, in the end, what it says is true: we can never attain the high level of trust in Yeshua that we need without prayer and fasting. That is, we must make an effort, take personal action, and beseech the Father in prayer and not just passively wait on Him to decide one day to give us greater trust. 

Verses 22 and 23 are sometimes said to be misplaced and so must be a later addition by Christian editors. Let's read it. 

READ MATTHEW 17:22 – 23

Perhaps these few words represent the work of a later editor, although I can easily see how this plays directly into what Yeshua said that is recorded not in Matthew but in Mark about how Jesus will not always be with them. On the other hand, Matthew moves the location entirely to the familiar area of the Galilee, so in Matthew's Gospel, it doesn't seem to be more words about His own demise as it appears in Mark 9. Rather, in Matthew, it is another scenario altogether. Why another statement about His impending death, when He has already made it clear enough that Peter got himself in some hot water by disputing it? Because it adds an important piece of information; Yeshua's execution will be precipitated by an element of betrayal. Thus the reason for the disciples' sadness is not only that He is soon to die, it is also the gut-wrenching circumstance that puts Him into the hands of those who mean Him harm. What must also be noticed is that the means of His execution has yet to be mentioned. The disciples certainly could have thought of stoning because that was often the way the Sanhedrin dealt with a Jew guilty of a religious matter (even though technically Rome outlawed it). So crucifixion is still not on the table… although because crucifixion was the usual method of execution used by the Romans for Jewish criminals, that, too, would have been easily imaginable by the 12 as the method of Christ's death. 

Yeshua of course reminds His disciples that He will rise from the dead after 3 days. This fact doesn't seem to have cheered them up and largely for the reasons we've discussed before. Resurrection had a number of meanings in the 1st century, and which one their Master was predicting for Himself was quite unclear. But no matter which it might be, first He had to die. And from every angle a common Jew would think about it, the prophesied Messiah should NOT be dying… He should be killing others and freeing His countrymen. They were going to have to rethink this entire Messiah thing, and what Jesus's resurrection promise meant. 

Let's move on to the final story of Matthew 17.

READ MATTHEW 17:24 – 27

This story is about the Temple tax and whether or not the disciples should pay it. This means that it likely took place in March (the Hebrew month of Adar), not long before Passover. That is because this was the traditional time that the Temple tax of 2 Roman drachmas was paid according to Josephus, and Philo more or less backs that up and adds that all adult Jews over the age of 20 were to pay it. The Temple tax story appears only in Matthew. Likely because Matthew was himself a Jew, and so the issue of paying the Temple tax was important to him. He was also a Believer, so what Yeshua had to say about the matter would have been his guide and the one he thinks all Jews ought to follow. 

Yeshua and His disciples are now back in Capernaum where Jesus was staying… probably with Peter's family. There the representatives of the Temple come to the disciples and ask why their Master doesn't pay the Temple tax. Peter, as always, jumps into the fray and says: "Of course He does". One would have to ask why the tax collectors would even ask such a question? It is known that Galileans were none too keen to pay that tax because they considered those who ran the Temple as illegitimate and corrupt (and they were). The bulk of the money given simply found its way into the pockets of the High Priest and his family. Notice that the words of verse 25 say that when Peter got home, Yeshua spoke first (more or less cementing that Yeshua was still residing with Peter). And Jesus opens up what is essentially a discussion… in Jewish parlance a midrash, about who, among the Jews, ought to (and ought not to) pay that Temple tax. The first person He addresses is the one who spoke for Jesus and had said about Him paying the tax "of course He does". Yeshua frames His question this way:

CJB Matthew 17:25 The kings of the earth- from whom do they collect duties and taxes? From their sons or from others?" 

Peter responds: "from others". So, says, Yeshua, then the sons are exempt. Please notice that I said this is about the Temple tax; but that is actually an assumption. The words "Temple tax" that we find in the CJB and many other English Bibles are not actually there in the Greek; that too is an assumption on the part of the translators. The predominance of Bible commentators assume it is the Temple tax that is in question, but there are others that do not and think this is about some kind of Roman taxation. There have been quite a number of points put forward to bolster each position; none of them conclusive in my opinion. Part of the reason I lean towards this being a Temple tax is that historians say that 2 Roman drachmas were the equivalent of 1/2 shekel; and 1/2 shekel was the annual contribution all Jews were expected to make to support the Temple. The coincidence is too large to overlook. 

We'll stop here, and finish up this story next week that has a number of ramifications for us.

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    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 21, Chapter 6 Continued 2 As we continue today in the Lord's Prayer, we'll begin at verse 13. Verses 11, 12, and 13 are sometimes called the "we petitions". This is because of the use of the plural "us" to begin each of these verses.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 22, Chapter 6 Continued 3 We ended last week by discussing Matthew 6 verse 19. Beginning with this verse and on into the first part of chapter 7 Yeshua deals with an array of matters that in modern vocabulary we would probably label as "social…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 23, Chapter 7 We have now completed 2 of the 3 chapters that Matthew devoted to Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount. Every now and then it is probably profitable to remind you that Matthew did not write in chapters; ending one and beginning another. Rather…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 24, Chapter 7 Continued As we continue in Matthew chapter 7, we will review what we covered in the prior lesson. Let's begin by opening our Bibles and reading the opening verses.  RE-READ MATTHEW 7:1 – 6 Around a century ago, Thomas Walter Manson, a…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 25, Chapter 7 Continued 2 Matthew chapter 7 concludes the Sermon on the Mount that began in chapter 5. I'm hoping that by this point a better understanding is being gained about the context and intent of Yeshua's long speech; a context that has been…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 26, Chapter 7 Continued 3 In our previous lesson in Matthew chapter 7, Christ continues His Sermon on the Mount by making this unnerving statement in verses 22 and 23. CJB Matthew 7:22-23 22 On that Day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord! Didn't we…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 27, Chapter 7 and 8 We'll conclude Yeshua's Sermon on the Mount today, which we have spent 17 lessons studying because of its incomparable value, and we'll also open the door into Matthew chapter 8. But first let's take a look back on the all-important…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 28, Chapter 8 Continued As we delve deeper and deeper into Matthew's Gospel, to this point we have found three elements to be always present and repetitive; therefore it is crucial for us to notice them and to understand that Matthew has constructed his Gospel…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 29, Chapter 8 Continued 2 We took another extensive detour last week in our continuing study of Matthew Chapter 8 to explore some of the Early Church Fathers in order to trace their viewpoint on the all-important matter of Believers in Christ having an obligation…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 30, Chapter 8 and 9 We are in the midst of several miracle stories of Jesus. The first involved cleansing a man who had Tzara'at. The second was healing a house slave of his infirmities (at the request of a Roman army officer), without Christ even…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 31, Chapter 9 We're going to spend a little more time today with the story that opens Matthew 9; that of the paralytic man who was brought to Christ so that he might be healed. Let's begin by re-reading verses 1 – 7. RE-READ MATTHEW…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 32, Chapter 9 Continued The subject that we'll focus on to begin today's lesson is a dispute between John the Baptist's disciples and Yeshua's disciples, ostensibly over the subject of fasting; this is what Matthew 9:14 – 17 revolves around. We'll go forward today in…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 33, Chapter 9 Continued 2 As we continue in Matthew chapter 9, we left off last time with verse 27 that says: CJB Matthew 9:27 27 As Yeshua went on from there, two blind men began following him, shouting, "Son of David! Take pity on…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 34, Chapter 9 and 10 We'll conclude Matthew chapter 9 today and get into Matthew chapter 10.  What we've been reading in chapter 9 has all been occurring on the shores of the Sea of Galilee; largely in Yeshua's new hometown of Capernaum, itself a…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 35, Chapter 10 Miracles are at the foundation of biblical faith. It begins with Creation itself as a miracle. After all, how does a Universe that never before existed have a definite beginning? Yet beyond simply declaring something a "miracle", we tend not to think…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 36, Chapter 10 Continued As we continue today in our study of Matthew chapter 10 there's a couple of important context items to keep in mind. First, Matthew lived and wrote well after the events he is speaking about. He was not the Matthew (also…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 37, Chapter 10 Continued 2 The topic of what Christ signified when He called Himself "the Son of Man" is how we ended our last lesson. In the Torah Class study of the Book of Daniel, lessons 20 and 21, I spent extensive time explaining…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 38, Chapter 10 and 11 Of the several passages in Matthew chapter 10 that we studied last week, verses 26 – 31 dealt with fear, death, and the problem of evil. In context it had primarily to do with what Yeshua's 12 Disciples might face…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 39, Chapter 11 From the panoramic view perhaps one of the main take-aways from all 4 Gospel accounts is that Yeshua was misunderstood by His own Jewish countrymen; and surprisingly by those one might think would have understood Him best. Since it is various individuals…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 40, Chapter 11 Continued Perhaps one of the more important, yet difficult to capture, statements made by Christ is found in Matthew 11:11 – 15. Another comes at the end of the chapter that we'll get to later. We're going to get pretty detailed and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 41, Chapter 11 Continued 2 Before we continue in Matthew chapter 11, let's back-up a wee bit and reset the context. The first 19 verses of this chapter were about John the Baptist in relation to his connection with Christ. First, he was the foretold…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 42, Chapter 11 and 12 We wrapped up the prior lesson with a message of awareness to a sad but dangerous reality within Christianity in modern times, in which not only is it acceptable within the academic branch of the Church for agnostics or even…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 43, Chapter 12 We closed last week with discussing the establishment, purpose and ongoing relevance of the Sabbath. This stems from the opening verse of Matthew 12. CJB Matthew 12:1 One Shabbat during that time, Yeshua was walking through some wheat fields. His talmidim were hungry,…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 44, Chapter 12 Continued While every chapter of the Book of Matthew is packed with important information for the Believer, chapter 12 is one of the meatiest of them all. This chapter also helps us to recognize something I highlight in the very first lesson…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 45, Chapter 12 Continued 2 Of the several things Matthew continues to underscore in his Gospel, here in chapter 12 we seen this growing contrast… an unfriendly polarization, if you would… between Christ and the leaders of the Synagogue. As we read let's always remember…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 46, Chapter 12 Continued 3 Last week in Matthew chapter 12 we left off with the thorny issue of what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit amounts to. And the reason that is important is because even Christ's death on the Cross can't atone for it.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 47, Chapter 13 Matthew chapter 13 begins this way: CJB Matthew 13:1 That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake; 2 but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 48, Chapter 13 Continued We began last week's lesson with a somewhat long dissertation about the true nature of parables because in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13 is where Christ's use of parables begins in earnest. I'll briefly review.  One of the most important elements of…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 49, Chapter 13 Continued 2 Do you want to understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? Assuming you are Believers in the God of Israel and His Son, Yeshua, then little is more important in our faith journey than to pursue this understanding. In…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 50, Chapter 13 Conclusion "Communion with God by means of prayer, through the removal of all intruding elements between man and his Maker, and through the implicit acceptance of God's unity, as well as an unconditional surrender of mind and heart to His holy will,…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 51, Chapter 14 The first dozen verses of Matthew chapter 14 bring us back to the subject of John the Immerser; more specifically it tells us of his death. That he was in prison was already established back in chapter 11. Now chapter 14 begins…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 52, Chapter 14 Continued Keep your Bibles open and handy as we're going to do much reading today.  The beginning of Matthew chapter 14 was covered in the previous lesson. It is the story of the execution of John the Baptist. The request for his…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 53, Chapter 15 Today we start Matthew chapter 15. The first 20 verses represent perhaps one of the most controversial segments of any Gospel account. There is a parallel account of this same incident in Mark 7. We'll look it at as well because it…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 54, Chapter 15 Continued We'll continue this week in Matthew 15, one of the more challenging (and therefore controversial) chapters in the New Testament. At the same it is one of the most inspirational, instructional, and therefore among the most important for Believers to get…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 55, Chapter 15 Conclusion Before we continue in Matthew 15 today there's a couple of housekeeping issues I would like to get out of the way because I am regularly asked about it and enjoy the opportunity to offer an explanation. The first is my…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 56, Chapter 16 Who is Yeshua? What is Yeshua? This is a question that has yet to be fully answered to this point in Matthew, and even though most 21st century Christians think it is an answered and settled matter in The Church, it is far from…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 57, Chapter 16 Continued I began the previous lesson with the rhetorical questions: who is Yeshua? What is Yeshua? It is such a complex issue that as we go through this chapter I'll continue to weave-in some needed background about the historical Jesus so that…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 58, Chapter 16 Continued 2 We will continue to carefully work our way through Matthew in this chapter that is nearly a Gospel within a Gospel. Some of the more elite Bible scholars of the past make chapter 16 of Matthew among their most extensive…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 59, Chapter 16 and 17 Last week in our study of Matthew chapter 16 we ended with an important topic Yeshua raised beginning in verse 24, which is the high cost of being His disciple. Let's immediately go to our Bibles and read from verse…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 60, Chapter 17 We opened Matthew chapter 17 last week, which begins with one of the landmark occurrences within Yeshua's short ministry on earth: The Transfiguration. I promised that we'd try to untangle the meaning of it and we'll do that shortly. This is going…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 61, Chapter 17 Continued Last week we concluded our study of the opening portion of Matthew chapter 17 that focused on The Transfiguration. Truly this nearly unfathomable event of an epiphany of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus together is one of the most mysterious in the…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 62, Chapter 17 and 18 Last week we began to delve into the interesting story that ends Matthew chapter 17 about a certain tax collector coming to Capernaum where Yeshua was residing with Peter, and the tax collector asks the question " doesn't your Master…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 63, Chapter 18 We began chapter 18 last week and immediately the topic became humility. It is that humility is to be perhaps the chief virtue for anyone hoping to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Verses 1 – 14 are essentially an examination of Godly…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 64, Chapter 18 Conclusion We began to study Matthew 18:15 – 20 last week and shortly we'll re-read that section. Before we do that we need to set the context. This is necessarily going to involve some amount of sermonizing to go along with the…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 65, Chapter 19 We begin chapter 19 of Matthew's Gospel today, and it begins with a bang. Immediately some dicey subjects arise; dicey for the 1st-century Jewish community and they remain problematic for God worshippers to this day. The subjects are divorce, monogamy, and celibacy.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 66, Chapter 19 Continued Marriage, divorce, polygamy versus monogamy, and celibacy… these were all important issues in Yeshua's time, and remain so in the modern era. While polygamy in the Western developed world is found only in smallish and offbeat remnants of our societies and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 67, Chapters 19 and 20 In Matthew chapter 19 we find the story of the rich man who asked Yeshua how he could obtain eternal life. We find this same story in Mark and Luke as well, with only minor differences. Let's re-read it. RE-READ…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 68, Chapter 20 We began Matthew 20 last week and dealt with the Parable of the Fair Farmer who paid the same amount of money to workers that had labored from dawn to dusk equally as workers that had worked perhaps no more than an…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 69, Chapter 21 The first 20 chapters of Matthew have set the stage for what we'll encounter beginning in chapter 21. Those chapters could almost be set apart and in summation titled "How We Got Here From There".  Thus far we have learned much about…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 70, Chapter 21 Continued As we opened Matthew chapter 21 last week we read about what Christianity calls the Triumphal Entry. In this short but revealing action in Yeshua's life and mission, He enters Jerusalem riding upon a donkey, accompanied with the donkey's foal. This…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 71, Chapter 21 Continued 2 In Matthew chapter 21 Yeshua's journey to the cross is gaining speed as the proverbial snowball rolling down a steep hill. We find Him having now arrived at the place of His foretold and impending death: Jerusalem. In many ways…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 72, Chapter 22 Today we open Matthew chapter 22. It begins with quite a long Parable. Unlike some of the other metaphorical and symbolic illustrations that Jesus has been using to instruct and to reply, this is a true Parable in the Hebrew literary sense…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 73, Chapter 22 Continued Matthew chapter 22 records a series of hard-hitting verbal reprimands and instruction that Jesus had with some representatives of the Temple organization and others from the Synagogue organization. Generally speaking, these two organizations were populated and led by members of two…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 74, Chapter 22 Continued 2 When we follow Yeshua's career on earth and especially His Wisdom teachings, we find that just as in the manner our teachers taught us in elementary, High School and college, over time He built-up knowledge in His followers by starting…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 75, Chapter 23 In opening Matthew 23, if I were to give it a title, it would be "Exposing the Hypocrisy of the Leadership". It is an interesting reality that as a person gets older and knows that death is not far off, or at…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 76, Chapter 23 Continued Our study of Matthew 23 continues today, but bear with me before we re-open it's inspired pages. Early in the Book of Genesis we learned of a fundamental governing dynamic of God: He divides, elects, and separates. One of the most…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 77, Chapter 23 Continued 2 Because I had the great privilege of being raised in a Christian household from my earliest age, my family and I spent every Sunday in Church. Child Psychologists and most parents (especially moms) can verify that even when a child…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 78, Chapter 23 Conclusion As we inch closer and closer to Yeshua's death on the cross in Matthew's Gospel, there's so much context and background and many subjects that we encounter that are in need of explanation and fleshing out that at times we're going…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 79, Chapter 24 Before we dive into Matthew chapter 24, I think it is best to first offer you an exposition and summary of not only what we have learned thus far in Matthew about the crucial role that Jesus plays in Redemption History, but…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 80, Chapter 24 Continued Last week I installed a framework for us to try to better comprehend not only what we have learned thus far in the Gospels about Yeshua's role in Redemption History, but also about the several stages of it. And that beginning…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 81, Chapter 24 Continued 2 The Gospel of Matthew is a delight to teach because it offers such opportunities to provide application to our modern lives, as well as to prepare us for what lay ahead. Chapters 24 and 25 form what is nearly universally…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 82, Chapter 24 Continued 3 If the End Times matters to you; if where we likely stand in the timeline of Redemption History matters to you; then the study of Matthew chapter 24 and 25 are crucial to your understanding and I don't want to…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 83, Chapter 24 Continued 4 For the majority of New Testament commentators, the explanation of Matthew chapter 24 is among the most (if not the most) extensive required of all the Gospels combined. The main reason is because Yeshua speaks so considerably about the future…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 84, Chapter 24 Continued 5 Matthew 24:30 says: Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, all the tribes of the Land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with tremendous power…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 85, Chapter 24 and 25 Verse 42 of Matthew chapter 24 sums up perhaps Yeshua’s most indispensable teaching about the End Times: CJB Matthew 24:42 So stay alert, because you don't know on what day your Lord will come.  Awareness, alertness, and preparedness form the recurring…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 86, Chapter 25 Continued In our previous lesson we ended with delving into the fascinating and illuminating Parable of the Talents. The most common method within Christianity (and often within Messianic Judaism) to study or preach this parable is by using allegories to separate out…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 87, Chapter 25 and 26 Last week the ending portion of our study was essentially a word picture of the final judgment that also goes by the name Judgment Day. This is one of those things that isn’t particularly pleasant for a Pastor or Bible…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 88, Chapter 26 Last week we began what is popularly known as the Passion Narrative, which essentially dominates the remaining chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. The circumstances of leading up to Christ’s execution, burial, resurrection, and the immediate aftermath represents probably the most focused upon portion…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 89, Chapter 26 Continued When we closed our study on Matthew chapter 26 last time, we had been looking at the rather strange act of the common Jewish woman in Bethany that had just poured a great deal of costly perfumed ointment on Christ’s head.…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 90, Chapter 26 Continued 2 We open today with what is known as the very intriguing Last Supper. Clearly from the way in which this event is covered in all the Gospel accounts, each writer sees it as dramatically meaningful for those who love and…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 91, Chapter 26 Continued 3 In our previous study of Matthew chapter 26 we took a careful look at a rather peculiar ceremony that took place at an unknown location within the city walls of Jerusalem, with Jesus and His 12 disciples in attendance. It…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 92, Chapter 26 Continued 4 When we left off last time in Matthew 26, Yeshua had just been identified by Judas and betrayed to the Temple authorities. It was nighttime, a short time after the Last Supper, and so it occurred within the first few…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 93, Chapter 27 Matthew chapter 26 concluded with a mixed group of Jewish religious leadership, representing both the Temple and the Synagogue authorities, gathering at night in an official capacity at the High Priest Caiaphas’s home with one purpose in mind: to find false allegations…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 94, Chapter 27 Continued Verses 11 through 26 in Matthew chapter 27 have been perhaps the chief source for persistent anti-Semitism within our faith; and this has been so for as much as 1800 years. The question these verses have been alleged to deal with…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 95, Chapter 27 Continued 2 As we are nearing the end of our extensive study of Matthew’s Gospel and all that has been revealed about Jesus’s life and teachings along the way, we have arrived at the epic Redemption History milestone that had it’s beginning…

    THE BOOK OF MATTHEW Lesson 96, Chapter 28 END Today, we shall conclude what amounts to a 2-year study of the Gospel of Matthew. Although there are some additional facts and events surrounding Christ’s death, resurrection is far and away the central matter of chapter 28, as it ought to…