Apr 12, 2014 | Matthew
Another group of Pharisees had sent their spokesman with another $64,000 question. It was supposed to either stump the Lord Jesus or catch Him in a trap from which there was no escape. But, of course, the Lord was the master of the entire conversation. “Master,...
Apr 9, 2014 | Matthew
The Book of Mark looks at the event in our text from a slightly different angle. It gives us a bit more information given to us which changes things considerably. When a certain group of Pharisees witnessed another stunning defeat of their religious enemies, they...
Apr 8, 2014 | Matthew
From what you know about Pharisees and Sadducees, by which of these names would you prefer to be called? From what I know about the Pharisees and Sadducees, I’d prefer not to be called either one. Like waves crashing onto costal rocks, they keep coming to the Saviour...
Apr 7, 2014 | Matthew
Notice verse 29 – “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” As I was thinking about this statement, its importance and impact seemed to grow with time. When it comes to errors, mistakes & lies in the world of religion, they coalesce into one...
Apr 6, 2014 | Matthew
John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace” was talking to a man about Heaven. His listener was an unbeliever and decided that he’d have a little fun with the poor ignorant preacher. So he asked Newton to describe something that he thought would surprise him...
Apr 5, 2014 | Matthew
The waves of Satanic attack keep pounding on the Person of the Lord Jesus. But they cannot crush Him; they cannot move Him; they cannot deflect Him from His purpose. About all that they can do is wash over Him and make Him shine even brighter in the eyes of those to...
Apr 4, 2014 | Matthew
As breakers on a rocky beach, the Jews keep coming at Christ in waves – trying to crush Him into sand. “When he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these...
Apr 3, 2014 | Matthew
Have you ever belonged to a club, union, or organization which demanded that dues had to be regularly paid? Almost everyone gets to do that at one point or other in their lives. And what exactly do I mean by “dues”? The English word comes from the French...
Apr 2, 2014 | Matthew
Dan Brown is an American novelist. He has made a fortune, selling over two hundred million books, but surprisingly, it is only with six titles. You might not remember his name, but you’ve probably heard of his most famous book – “Da Vinci Code.” It is a page-turning...
Apr 1, 2014 | Matthew
There once was a day when people were very confused about physical nature of the planet earth. Nearly everyone thought that the world was flat, and that there was very real danger of falling off, if someone went to far and lost his balance out near the edge. It is...
Mar 11, 2014 | Matthew
The adult Bible class for next week will be all about the Bible – the study sheet is on the lectern in the foyer. One of the questions involves Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the...
Mar 10, 2014 | Matthew
This parable was apparently spoken on the Tuesday of Jesus’ last week – often called “the Passion Week.” It was a day of hand-to-hand conflict with the Jewish authorities – the Sanhedrin, with the chief priests, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and as we see toward the...
Mar 9, 2014 | Matthew
During His last week on earth, Christ Jesus spent quite a bit of time in the Temple. The Temple was where both the sincere AND the highly insincere – the hypocritical – gathered. I have little doubt that some during those last few hours came to the realization that...
Mar 8, 2014 | Matthew
I have several books about the life of Christ, and I have read several others which I no longer own. They come from the pens of different men with different back grounds and some with differing agendas. In reading these books, we find that in the early chapters there...
Mar 7, 2014 | Matthew
There is a great deal of well-intentioned Christian service in this world which is not God-approved. I am talking about churches, literature ministries and media ministries. It is not a new phenomenon, because we find them in the Bible. I’m thinking about the...
Mar 6, 2014 | Matthew
In Matthew chapter 24, the Lord Jesus speaks extensively about the future of Israel. He talks about “wars and rumors of wars” – about tribulation and false Christs and false prophets. He says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be...
Mar 4, 2014 | Matthew
There is a record of Christ cleansing the Temple, in all four of the gospels, so it must have been important. But there are significant differences between John and what is found in the Synoptic Gospels. John says, “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went...
Mar 3, 2014 | Matthew
I wonder who first came up with the idea of calling this event “Christ’s Triumphal Entry.” It seems to me – that title is completely inappropriate. I wonder if the author of this title was a Protestant with confused ideas about the Millennial Kingdom. Even though...
Mar 2, 2014 | Matthew
One of the blessings of this kind of Bible study is that I’m not confined to one style of preaching. The general idea is to progress through Matthew expositorily – exposing the message of God. Once in a while my message is purely expositional, but that usually means...
Mar 1, 2014 | Matthew
What would you think if I put my hand in my jacket and declared that I never was David Oldfield, my real name has always been Napoleon Bonaparte? That sort of thing has been a running joke for two hundred years – such a man would be declared insane. Similarly, how...
Feb 13, 2014 | Matthew
Once again we come across a very special word in connection to our Lord Jesus. This is the sixth time we have seen in it Matthew, abut we haven’t directly addressed it as yet. “When (Jesus) saw the multitudes, he was moved with COMPASSION on them, because they...
Feb 10, 2014 | Matthew
There were apparently three blind men at Jericho, seeking the blessing of the Lord. One was posted was on the eastern side of the city, and two who were begging near the western gate. Mark tells us that the name of one was “Bartemaus,” apparently the son of a...
Feb 9, 2014 | Matthew
When I was in Bible school, Judy and I spent a fortune in poverty-stricken student dollars on a filing system. It had big dividers for a regular filing cabinets and smaller ones for 3×5 cards. It had dividers for several dozen branches of human knowledge and...
Feb 9, 2014 | Matthew
As we have already noticed, this event is also recorded in Mark, and we find it again in Luke. But there are exegetical problems when we start comparing those three accounts. They all took place on the outskirts of Jericho as Jesus and His disciples were making their...
Feb 8, 2014 | Matthew
This morning’s adult Bible class was spent considering Christians in eternity. And even though I was able to put together two pages of questions, it would have been difficult to extend that study much farther. The Lord has wisely not given us very much information on...
Feb 7, 2014 | Matthew
When brethren within churches begin to quarrel, sometimes it is nearly impossible to make them stop. Pride gets involved and emotions become engaged – the flesh is often very hard to put under control. I say “nearly impossible,” because “with men this is impossible,...
Feb 6, 2014 | Matthew
Every true Bible doctrine is linked to every other true Bible doctrine. They are all woven together like a beautiful tapestry and the image expressed is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, there is the doctrine of prayer when we address God the Father through...
Feb 5, 2014 | Matthew
Who among us here this morning, will be sitting nearest to Christ “when we all get to Heaven”? I don’t know that I had ever considered that question until last Thursday as I started my preparation for today’s message. Perhaps you have never considered it either. But...
Feb 4, 2014 | Matthew
In each of the last two chapters we have had the same subject arise, and here it is once again. In each case it has been knocked into the dust, and yet like a stubborn, vicious insect it keeps rising up. In chapter 19 the disciples were asking, “Who is the greatest...
Feb 3, 2014 | Matthew
There were a many things in Jesus’ life to this point which Matthew has not described for us. For example, there were events which took place in Jerusalem, after Christ had said that He would not go up to the city with His brothers and His mother. The Apostle John...
