Matthew 18

• Matthew 18:1-5
  • See Mark 10:32-45.
  • I Peter 5:2-5 – Elders are to lead with humility and service.
  • James 4:1-3
  • Matthew 18:5 – Compare Mark 9:37.
• Matthew 18:6-10 – It is critical to Jesus that children be protected. Harming them or their faith must be avoided at all costs.
• Matthew 18:11-14 – Rejoicing over the lost sheep. Sheep can be infuriating to tend and they are easily led astray. We can be very much like them, yet God shows His love for us.
• Matthew 18:15-17 – Jesus shows the simple but difficult process of trying to save a brother in sin.

Truth over tradition – “Now there was a man of the Pharisees …”

• John 3:1
• The Pharisees were a conservative reaction to the encroaching Greek culture. The group likely started about 150 B.C. They were thought of as protectors of Judaism and had significant popular support.
• Acts 5:34-40
• Matthew 12:1-14 – The Pharisees clung to their perspective on the Law of Moses, not the Law of Moses itself. They had put guardrails around the law and were defending the guardrails instead of the Law itself.
• Matthew 15:1-9 – We must be careful about “teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.” God to the Bible and teach only that!

We don’t just need small changes

“You must be born again.”

• John 3:2-5
• Romans 6:3-4
• I Peter 1:22-25
• John 3:19
• Matthew 23:33

Dare to seek the truth

“this man came to Jesus by night”

• John 3:2 – This simple admission was much more than most Jews would admit.
• John 3:14-15
• John 9:22; 12:42
• John 7:40-44, 32, 45-52 – Nicodemus tries to gently stand up for Jesus.
• John 19:38-42 – Nicodemus comes to help bury Jesus’ body.
• Acts 17:11 – The Bible commends those who think for themselves.

I Peter: A letter about “the true grace of God”

• I Peter 5:12
• No contradiction:
  • I Peter 1:17 – judged according to works
  • I Peter 1:18-19 – redeemed with the blood of Christ
• Acts 2:37-38

The example of Jericho: Joshua 6

• Joshua 6:1-5 – God gave them the city.
• Joshua 6:20 – The people took the city.
• No contradiction:
  • Joshua 6:2 – “I have given Jericho into your hand”
  • Joshua 6:20 – “they took the city”
• Deuteronomy 9:6

• Hebrews 11:30 – “By faith …”
• Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith …”

The example of Naaman: II Kings 5

• II Kings 5:1-4, 10-14
• God can choose His own methods to achieve what He wants to achieve. God sets the rules!

Matthew 17

• Matthew 17:1 – Luke gives the time here as eight days (Luke 8:28), which skeptics count as a contradiction. However, the two authors just count days differently (exclusively vs. inclusively). To Jews, a partial day was counted as a whole day. Note here that Jesus had to exert some effort and go quite a way to get away from the crowds.
• Matthew 17:2-9 – Jesus is transfigured. See also II Peter 1:16-18; Luke 9:28-36. Other accounts tell us that Peter, James, and John fell asleep while Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus. Peter seemed to think of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah as equals. For a Jew, this was a great compliment, but it was still a complete misunderstanding of the power and authority of Jesus. God quickly corrects Peter’s misunderstanding, indicating that Jesus occupies a much higher place. Afterwards, Jesus comforted Peter. In verse 9, Jesus again references his own resurrection.
• Matthew 17:10-13 – This is a reference to Malachi 4:5-6. Elijah had already come in the sense of John the Baptist. See Luke 1:17.
• Matthew 17:14-20 – Jesus showed compassion on the boy. In verse 17, Jesus was possibly rebuking the meager faith of the disciples. He seemed exasperated about their lack of spiritual progress and lamenting that he didn’t have long with them.

You can’t rush the rain

• Spiritual maturity
• Developing into a Bible student / teacher
• Becoming a shepherd
• Loving your family

Patience develops in the heart

We have plenty of good examples