I am too sick to post, I will have to take a couple of days off. God bless!

Matthew 17:19   Though we may spend much time deriding the disciples for a lack of faith on so many occasions, let us not miss a crucial point. They learned. They went to Christ later in private. They knew what to ask, when to ask, and they were ready and willing to listen. That, my friends…

Matthew 17:18    Jesus has the authority to do what he does. This is very important to understand. There is a huge difference between sheer power, and authority. Authority implies having the right to something. Raw power alone does not. To be sure, Jesus is powerful. But, it is of far greater importance that he…

Matthew 17:17   The words of Christ in this verse are most definitely not addressed primarily to the disciples. In fact, it seems likely that Jesus was not addressing them at all at this juncture. He has some things to say about their lack of belief shortly, and offers some constructive criticism in that regard. Here, however,…

Matthew 17:16   It seems altogether possible that this failure was not entirely the disciples’ fault. We know from Mark 9:16 that the scribes were there. They were evidently having a heated conversation about this alleged failure on the part of the disciples. Also, we see there as well that the father was quite weak in his faith.…

Matthew 17:15   This is a strange case. Reading it in Mark also, we can see that this sickness was due to demon possession. However, looking at some of the symptoms it sounds a bit like epilepsy. So, it was possession, but it was a bit different from other instances that Jesus had come across in the…

Matthew 17:14   Faith is an interesting thing. It grows in us quite differently at times. Thus, genuine faith is harder to come by and is worth its weight in gold. This man, who was one of the multitude, it seems had already seen Jesus do other miracles. Thus, he was working himself up to the point…

Matthew 17:13   Let us not forget that the ministry of John was quite successful. He minimized himself to bring more attention to Christ. However, he had quite a following. Many responded to his message of repentance. Many made their intentions to be prepared for the Messiah well known. But, just as the disciples, many had trouble…

Matthew 17:12   What does Jesus mean here by saying that they knew him not? Did not many respond to the ministry of John the Baptist? Were not many baptized by him in the Jordan? How is it that Jesus would say he was not known? First, John was not accepted as a prophet by the Jewish…

Matthew 17:11   The restoration here spoken of is the type for any later revival. The difference in a revival now is that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is in full force. Other than that, John’s restoration was a revival in every sense of the word. Any true revival will involve the reform of the people of God,…