The gospel attributed to Matthew tells us that Jesus loved speaking in parables and always included them as a staple of everyday dialogue and teachings. When we are introduced to the importance of parables in this gospel (Matthew 13; after we have already heard a smattering of allegories in prior chapters), Jesus presents a string […]
Tag: Gospel
On Family Values
A common buzz-phrase in political commentary is “family values”. This phrase is often articulated by those of “conservative” leanings, claiming such values are fundamentally Christian. Yet, when we conservatively look at the gospel texts and Jesus’ comments on family relationships, we find that our Lord’s actual family values are much more radical than most fundamentalists […]
On Accepting Our Mission
In the tenth chapter of the gospel attributed to Matthew, Jesus appoints twelve followers as apostles and sends them out with specific instructions. It’s important for us to understand that the instructions are indeed specific to these twelve. At the same time, there are still key takeaways for us today. In the gospels, Jesus first […]
On the God of Judgment
About a third of the way through the gospel attributed to Matthew, we are introduced to the twelve apostles and Jesus’ first charges to them as those called to be laborers for God’s harvest. Chapters 11 and 12 sound a lot like a recapitulation of the earlier Sermon on the Mount a few chapters ago. […]
On the Author and Audience Relationship
We truly don’t know a lot about the gospel writers. Scholars have debated who wrote what. In the case of the gospel book attributed to Matthew (which I am focusing on during this current series of writing), we don’t really know if the tax collector mentioned in the text (Matthew 9:9-13) was the author. Perhaps […]
On Our Scarcity Mindset
After a bit of an Easter break from writing, it is time to resume my reflections here… In the gospel attributed to Matthew, on the heels of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus wastes no time resuming his work, going about healing people indiscriminately. With this immediate placement following perhaps the most monumental sermon of […]
On Compassionate Love
Compassionate love is the ultimate Christian core value, at the center of all the core values we have considered during Lent. It is found in all the acts of Jesus. The gospel attributed to Matthew emphasizes this by immediately surrounding the Sermon on the Mount with stories highlighting Jesus’ compassionate love.
On Our Persecution
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets […]
On Our Peacemaking
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) If we want to be like Jesus, we must be peacemakers. Full stop. There is no way around this. In the beatitudes, Jesus says that the peacemakers are the blessed children of God. In this statement, Jesus is proclaiming a unique […]
On Our Mercifulness
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) At face value, this beatitude seems so simple and obvious: to those who are merciful, mercy shall be given. It is a “reap what you sow” statement, a karma-style mantra, and a “what goes around comes around” mindset. Yet, for being such an easy […]
Relevant Reformation 