Recap

So far in Mathew, we've read through the prologue, the first three blocks of Jesus' ministry, and started the fourth block. Matthew opens with a genealogy and the story of Jesus' birth. Both rooted Jesus in Old Testament prophecy and allusions. He's a descendant of David, born through the Holy Spirit. A king and the son of God. He's given gifts from wise men that match what was given to Solomon's temple. He is God's presence on earth. He is brought out of Egypt as a new Israel.

The first block of Jesus' ministry involved preparation, demonstrations, and teaching. After being baptised and affirmed by God, Jesus resisted temptation in the desert for forty days. He chose his first disciples, declared the kingdom of God, healed the sick, cast out demons, and explained the kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount, similar to Moses on Mount Sinai.

Jesus began with the Beatitudes, emphasising inward heart attitudes over outward behaviour. He taught genuine faith, prioritising God's kingdom over power, money, or self-reliance. He advised self-reflection before judging others, treating others as one wishes to be treated, and judging by actions, while assessing ourselves by our relationship with God.

Then came the second block of Jesus' ministry, the kingdom of heaven, applied to people's lives. We read a total of ten miracles, mostly focused on people who were outcasts and those far from God. The kingdom of heaven brought them healing and freedom. The teaching of this second block then focused around how the disciples would bring the kingdom of heaven to others. The cost would be high. They would be persecuted and reviled. But if they trusted in God, he would give them the authority they need.

The third block of Jesus' ministry focused on responses to him. John the Baptist doubted if Jesus was the Messiah. The Pharisees challenged Jesus, even after witnessing his miracles. Jesus couldn't perform miracles in his hometown due to their unbelief. During this phase, Jesus taught in parables, which are intentionally cryptic. Parables compel those interested in God to seek answers, while deterring the disinterested, naturally filtering out those who wouldn't follow Jesus even if they understood.

The fourth block of Jesus' ministry focused on further revealing his identity and subverting expectations. Jesus fed 5,000 people, paralleling Moses feeding the Israelites. He walked on water, revealing his divinity. In Gentile territory, he healed the sick, cast out demons, and fed 4,000 Gentiles, showing his mission was for all people, not just Jews. He accused the Pharisees of prioritising tradition over God's law. Then Peter recognised Jesus as the Messiah, but Jesus clarified he was also the Suffering Servant, come to suffer for people's sins.

Matthew 17-18

Jesus takes his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, up a mountain. There he is transfigured before their eyes and two of the greatest prophets, Moses and Elijah, appear and begin to speak to him. While the three of them are speaking, a voice came from heaven, just like at Jesus' baptism, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5).

We’ve previously read of different views people had on Jesus and who he is. Here we read of God's view on who Jesus is. As they were walking down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone what they saw until he rose from the dead, and explained that while the prophets said that Elijah must come first, he already has through John the Baptist.

Coming down from the mountain, Jesus must assert his authority again. A man's son has been plagued with a demon that is constantly trying to kill him, throwing him into fires and trying to drown him. The disciples couldn't cast out the demon, so Jesus summons the boy and instantly casts out the demon.

When the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn't cast out the demon, he uses this as an opportunity to remind them of the importance of faith. Note he’s not pointing out the quantity of their faith. Jesus explains that even a small amount of faith, you can move mountains. Therefore, he must be talking about the quality of their faith.

It may be that the disciples we’re starting to lean into the power to cast out devils as though it was some sort of ritual. A magic spell they could cast and it would do the job. Instead, it should be a natural expression of God’s power in them. It should flow out of their relationship with God, their faith. Or maybe the disciples had slipped into acting like casting out demons were there to be impressive demonstrations of power rather than a reflection of their faith in God.

Note how in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus explained that this kind only comes out with prayer. Maybe for Matthew, the prayer that Mark talked about was both the source and evidence of the faith the disciples were to have in God.

Sometime later, Simon Peter is stopped by some men asking if Jesus paid the temple tax. This was a tax paid by everyone who entered the temple for healing or forgiveness of sins. At first Simon Peter said yes, but when he returned, Jesus questioned him on it.

With Jesus' ministry, was the temple tax needed? People no longer needed to go to the temple for healing and forgiveness of sins. They could come to Jesus for free. Jesus also points out that he has come so that people may become children of God (we read in his example prayer to the disciple he called God 'father'). People don't typically tax their own children.

While they're all together, the disciples ask Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" (Matthew 18:1), starting the teaching of this fourth block of Jesus’ ministry. They want to know what they needed to do to come out on top.

Jesus points out that the kingdom of heaven works completely different to how they think. It's not the proud who strive to be the best that are the greatest. It's those that humble themselves to a position of a child. In the same way, his disciples should be willing to accept children and give time to them, not push them away as unimportant.

Jesus uses this as a time for more teaching. He shares how it's important to remove anything that could be a temptation, no matter how severe. Nothing is worth risking your salvation for. The kingdom of heaven is also outwardly focused. It's not enough to follow Jesus and think, "at least I'm saved". God's heart it to hunt down all the lost, just like a shepherd will chase after one sheep that wanders away from the flock.

Next up, Jesus teaches on how to discipline one another and address one another's sin. The temptation is to openly accuse and shame another person in front of everyone else. This will reduce their standing in the community and hopefully shame them into making things right. If nothing else, it will make you feel vindicated.

But Jesus explained that the kingdom principle is to start off privately and slowly escalate to the public. Always go and address the issue with someone personally first. This is the best scenario.

If the person refuses to change or listen, then you bring in others, in the hope that he is persuaded by the number of people. From there, you take it to the church leadership, and if then that still fails to change anything, it's then the responsibility of the church leadership to address before the church and ask the person to leave if appropriate.

When faithful believers are gathered together, there is strength in numbers. When they stand in agreement, God stands with them. But Jesus warns his disciples of the importance of forgiveness. The whole focus of this is repentance, forgiveness, and restored relationship, not revenge and defending your own reputation.

Anyone who fails to forgive their fellow Christian is insulting the forgiveness God has offered them. To teach this, Jesus uses a parable of a man who was forgiven a great debt, but then went out and demanded someone else pay up their debt, and so is thrown into prison. A forgiven people should be a forgiving people.

Psalm 95

This psalm is not attributed to anyone, and falls into the category of praise psalm. Is part of a small collection of psalm (Psalm 93-99) that focus on God as king.

Psalm 95:1-5 - A call to praise God for his might

Psalm 95:6-7 - A call to worship God as shepherd

Psalm 95:8-11 - A warning not to harden your heart

The psalmist starts with a call to praise. Let there be thanksgiving and joyful noises because he is the rock of our salvation. He is a great God. King above all other gods. In his hands are the deepest depths and the tallest mountains. Both the sea and the dry land belong to him.

Next comes a call to bow and worship God as our maker. He is a shepherd and we are his sheep. He guides and sustains us.

The psalmist then turns to warn the people, drawing on the story of the pool at Meribah in Exodus 17. There, the people had just been brought out of Egypt by God’s miraculous power and started to get thirsty. Rather than trust that God would provide and complained that at least in Egypt, they had water.

At this point in the psalm, God takes over. He warns them to not be like their ancestors at Meribah. To not test God or demand proof when they’ve seen him provide for them time and time again. The consequences of their actions was that they wondered forty years in the wilderness, never truly understanding God’s ways and never experiencing his rest.

If we want to experience God’s goodness and rest, then that involves celebrating him as king over our lives, and trust that he will be a good shepherd and provide for us.