Matthew 18:2    Jesus is the Master of illustrations. A child pictures for us our relationship to the Father. We must realize our total dependence upon Almighty God. We need Jesus for everything. This is the central truth of Christianity, and it is the hardest thing for people to accept. Bible Reading: Ezekiel 32:1-34:31 Scripture Memory: 1 John…

Matthew 18:1   The disciples were not asking who would be the greatest in general. They were speaking specifically of themselves. They wanted to know who would be the greatest in the earthly kingdom of Christ, assuming it would begin soon. Jesus had to coax them to ask the question, because they were embarrassed to admit it.…

Matthew 17:27   It seems that, based on verse 25, Peter had planned to pay the tribute for himself, and to ask Christ about paying for himself. Jesus prevents him from this and gives him the money from the fish’s mouth instead. Indeed, it is likely that Jesus had little or no money in his possession at the…

Matthew 17:26   Peter, of course, is able to easily supply the expected answer. Jesus words in this verse help us to understand that, in principle, children of God are free from such things. In other words, as citizens of heaven we are free from earthly tributes. However, because we are children of God, and because we…

Matthew 17:25   The quick and plain answer of Peter has been assumed by some to be yet another of his thoughtless words. They say that he did not really know himself that Jesus would pay, and should not have answered for him. I think this reads too much into the text. His simple answer tells…

Matthew 17:24   Many have seen here a test on the part of the ones collecting the tax. It is presumed that they asked because they were trying to catch him in an error of some kind. However, though this is possible, it does not seem probable. Instead, there are several reasons that they may have asked…

Matthew 17:23   The disciples were very sorry about his betrayal and death. But, it seems evident from subsequent passages that they failed to understand the part about rising again. There have been many who miss this part. They believe many things about Jesus, but not the resurrection. If you remove it from the life of Christ,…

Matthew 17:22    Jesus wanted his followers to understand what was about to happen. And yet, he already knew what their responses to his betrayal would be. He already knew which of them would betray him, though Judas was not yet sure himself. Some might say that Jesus pushed Judas into this action. However, God’s foreknowledge…

Matthew 17:21   Most people just tiptoe around this verse, and avoid dealing with it. However, we have the same kind of statement from Christ over in Mark 9 regarding the same thing. So, it must be explained, not skipped. Though we could try a lot of gymnastics to avoid what is being said here, we have…

Matthew 17:20   These men had healed others on other occasions. Why could they not now? What caused their failure? Jesus says it is unbelief. But, did they not adequately believe before? Were they not able to heal, and cast out demons, on other occasions? Many will point, at this juncture to the amount of faith they…