Introduction Two weeks ago we read that the Lord entered Jerusalem on a young donkey and the crowds welcomed him as their king. Last week we read that the Lord entered the temple and drove out the buyers and sellers and money-changers who had turned God's house of prayer into a den of robbers. So, … Continue reading Matthew 21(18–27) →

Introduction The two parts of today's passage are linked by the title 'Son of David'. When the blind men heard that the Lord was coming, they shouted, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!' And when the Lord approached Jerusalem, the crowds who met him shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' The title … Continue reading Matthew 20(29)–21(11) →

Introduction Today's passage is a kind of sandwich because in the middle of the passage you've got the story about James and John and their mother and how the brothers want to sit at the Lord's right hand in his kingdom. And then there's the indignant reaction of the other disciples when they hear about … Continue reading Matthew 20(17–28) →

Verses 13 to 15 Matthew tells us in verse 13 that little children were brought to the Lord Jesus so that he could place his hands on them and pray for them. Apparently it was the custom in those days for parents to bring their children to the scribes so that they would pray for … Continue reading Matthew 19(13–30) →

Introduction We come today to this parable which is only found in Matthew's gospel. However, it's connected to the previous passage by means of the repetition of the saying that 'the last will be first and the first will be last'. Do you see how that saying appears in verse 30 at the end of … Continue reading Matthew 20(01–16) →

Verses 1 and 2 Chapter 19 opens with Matthew telling us that when the Lord finished saying these things -- the things we were studying in chapter 18 about how to treat one another -- he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. That is, to … Continue reading Matthew 19(01–12) →

Introduction I said last week that the block of teaching in chapter 18 is to do with how we relate to one another. And from verses 1 to 14 -- which we studied last week -- we learned that instead of being proud and instead of exalting ourselves over our fellow believers, we're to be … Continue reading Matthew 18(15–35) →

Introduction I'm not sure if I've mentioned before, but Matthew's gospel contains five blocks of teaching. So, Matthew gives us a section of narrative in which he describes what happened; and then that is followed by a block of teaching. And then there's more narrative, followed by more teaching; and so on, through the gospel. … Continue reading Matthew 18(01–14) →

Introduction We've been working our way through the gospel of Matthew since this time last year. And we come today to chapter 17 and to the account of the Lord's transfiguration. Many of the commentators take it for granted that when the Lord was transfigured like this he was briefly displaying his true nature as … Continue reading Matthew 17 →