TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012; MATTHEW 20:29-34 PEOPLE
It would be easy for Jesus to simply tend to the crowd, the mass of individuals following him. So many need healing! But Jesus hears the cries of two blind men sitting by the road. He sees them not only for who they are, but for what they might become. He sees them as people. … Read more
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12 | MATTHEW 16:124-28 WITNESS
Evangelism is a very misunderstood word. Some of us have operated with a framework that looks like this: The burden is on us. We have to close the sale. It’s all about information and decision. The focus is on what happens after you die. It proposes a transaction: God will do something if we will … Read more
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11 | MATTHEW 19:16-22 FOLLOWING JESUS
Negative images of fulfilling the Great Commission are all around us: religious door-to-door callers, bullhorn guy and big tent revivals, to name just a few. But this is a process more often than an event. For many of us, evangelism has generally been understood as inviting people to church. While that’s certainly not a bad … Read more
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 | MATTHEW 28:16-20 AGAIN AUTHORITY
Matthew 28:18-20 frames the ministry of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples. Jesus words contain four “alls,” which capture the central message of Matthew’s entire Gospel. All authority: God has now given the resurrected Jesus authority over all of creation, both heaven and earth. We, too, are given this authority. All nations: The disciples are to make … Read more
Saturday, January 7, 2012: Matthew 5:14-16
Mary and Joseph hold a child in their arms. How can they possibly believe the hope that Simeon and Anna hold out to them? Christians must live in the tension of “already, but not yet.” God’s salvation, God’s Kingdom reality, has come in Jesus. We see glimpses of it, though not the fullness of it. … Read more
Wednesday, December 28, 2011: Matthew 1:18-25
Let’s tell the story in a more likely way. A good Jew, Joseph sets off for his ancestral home of Bethlehem to register for the census. He doesn’t have to take Mary, but he does. Perhaps he’s afraid for her safety, doesn’t want to be separated from her, doesn’t want to miss the birth of … Read more
Wednesday, December 21, 2011: Matthew 1:18-25
Luke doesn’t go into the social complications of an unmarried woman conceiving a child, but he emphasizes Mary’s virginity. Matthew explains Mary’s circumstances: “She was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.” Mark says nothing about it. But by the time Luke’s Gospel is written, it’s certainly a part of Jesus’ story. By … Read more
