After the very important drumrolls of Matthew’s first four chapters, we finally arrive at Jesus’s first recorded teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven, and it’s quite a doozy. There is more depth and breadth and width and height to the wisdom found within this passage than I can uncover. But […] Read more
We have read about the king’s heritage, the king’s herald, the coming kingdom, and the king’s baptism and temptations, but it isn’t until Matthew 5 that we encounter the king teaching the kingdom. It may seem as though there is a preposition missing in that last sentence but there isn’t; […] Read more
One of my favorite elements of the earth’s landscapes is the mountain. If I could, I’d have a house far enough away from mountains so I could see them clearly, but close enough so I could climb them daily. While I enjoy looking at mountain peaks, I don’t often study […] Read more
Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 These first words of Matthew 4 might suggest this section more appropriately fits with the petition “lead us not into temptation” than the petition “Your kingdom come.” Yet, while […] Read more