Matthew 18:1-35 Dear RTB’ers, Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! (v. 7) This verse got my attention because of how I read it in my NASB translation, where “stumbling blocks” was used instead of temptations: Woe …
Author Archives: Fred
February 13 / Matthew 17:14-27
Matthew 17:14-27 Dear RTB’ers, Jesus again foretells His death and resurrection. But this time, instead of being confused Matthew writes that they were “greatly distressed”. But no doubt, they were still confused…! Two incidents today leave me wondering about Jesus’ relationship with His Father. In the first, Jesus seems not to know His time frame …
February 12 / Matthew 16:21-17:13
Matthew 16:21-17:13 Dear RTB’ers, All four gospels have specific “turning points” in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Here’s Mark 8:31: And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. …
February 11 / Matthew 16:1-20
Matthew 16:1-20 Dear RTB’ers, I was so focused on the Canaanite woman yesterday that I failed to mention Jesus feeding the 4000, a second major multiplication of loaves and fish. Although scholars have questioned whether Jesus in fact did two major feeding miracles (or even one!), Jesus clearly speaks to the two miracles in today’s …
February 10 / Matthew 15:21-39
Matthew 15:21-39 Dear RTB’ers, Jesus now leaves Capernaum, leaving Galilee altogether and travels to the northwest to Tyre and Sidon, coastal cities on the Mediterranean Sea. There He meets a woman from that region who has a demon-possessed daughter. I love this story, both the attitude of this Canaanite woman and her response to Jesus’ …
February 9 / Matthew 15:1-20
Matthew 15:1-20 Dear RTB’ers, Scribes and Pharisees again…: Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem… (v. 1) It is reasonable to give the scribes and Pharisees a break once in a while. Yes, they always seem to be testing Jesus, but they had a valid reason – there often appeared a number of …
February 8 / Matthew 14:13-36
Matthew 14:13-36 Dear RTB’ers, Two incidents today, one for the crowd (Feeding the 5000) and one for the disciples (Walking on Water). The Feeding of the 5000 was more interesting to me when I watched it on The Chosen. There the crowd was compliant and the disciples were confused. But they all did what Jesus …
February 7 / Matthew 13:53-14:12
Matthew 13:53-14:12 Dear RTB’ers, Today, two very personal narratives from Jesus’ earthly life. First is His homecoming at Nazareth: And they took offense at Him. (v. 13:57a) The previous verses highlight the city’s knowledge of His family and His background. No doubt the Nazarenes had heard of the mighty works that Jesus had done throughout …
February 6 / Matthew 13:24-52
Matthew 13:24-52 Dear RTB’ers, Today, six more parables, all “kingdom of heaven” parables. I find three major conclusions in these six parables. First, in this world the good and the bad exist together (the wheat and the tares; the net of mixed fish). It is not our business to deal with the bad or judge …
February 5 / Matthew 13:1-23
Matthew 13:1-23 Dear RTB’ers, Today, the first of many parables in Matthew’s gospel. My Study Bible notes that Jesus spoke approximately 30 parables in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but none in John’s gospel. An AI response said that there were 23 in Matthew’s gospel alone, including seven in chapter 13, the first of which we …