Matthew 8:1-34

For Reading and Meditation:     Luke 8:40-56

We continue meditating on Christ's first prescription for happiness: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Over the past few days we have seen that the phrase "poor in spirit" refers not to material poverty, but spiritual poverty - a willingness to throw away our own self-sufficiency and...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 8:18-34

Have you ever wondered why Jesus is never referred to as Jesus the Great? We speak of Alexander the Great, Charles the Great, and Peter the Great but never Jesus the Great. And why? Because He dwells in a sphere where no real comparisons are possible. It simply doesn't seem right to use the designation "the Great" of...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 7:13-29

If the men and women of this world took an unbiased look at Jesus as presented to us in the four Gospels, they would see, as Bishop Stephen Neill put it, that "Jesus Christ is not in the least like anyone else who has ever lived." The way He taught, for example, is not the same as that of any other religious teacher....

The disciples, we may suppose, had embarked with the Lord Jesus in that vessel, with a feeling of great confidence, and with the anticipation of a delightful sail over the familiar waters of that lake. Upon that lake most of them had spent the chief part of their time from childhood; and under almost no circumstances would they be likely to experience a feeling of fear. Now all things conspired to tranquilize their spirits. Behold them, as the sun sinks over the hills beyond Capernaum, and a...

Matthew 8:2-17

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean!"

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy!

After the Sermon on the Mount, we have narratives of many healings. The first was that of a leper....

John 16:32

"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me."

The loneliness of Jesus while in this world was one of the most pathetic elements of His experience. There are two kinds of loneliness.

One is, when a person is away from all human presences. A man who had been shipwrecked and...

Matthew 8:2-17

A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said: "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean!"

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy!

After the Sermon on the Mount, we have narratives of many healings. The first was that of a leper....

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. § I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For YAH, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? § Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds...

It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master.He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. § In the world you will have tribulation. § Because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none. § At my first defense no one...

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. § Sympathize with our weaknesses.He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. § Jesus … being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Jesus wept. § For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from...