Real Voices

Isaiah 53 begins with these words, “Who has believed what we have heard?” The prophet proceeded to outline the characteristics of the Suffering Servant in the remainder of the chapter. No one believed that the Messiah would be a Suffering Servant characterized by Isaiah’s words. When Jesus identified himself with the Suffering Servant, his disciples […]

The passage in Matthew 16.13-20 forms a turning point in Matthew’s narrative. The disciples have gradually come to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ true nature. In this passage, Peter makes it crystal clear what they think about the One with whom they have been walking. Jesus often asked questions to draw out people’s faith and […]

One of the things I most appreciate about the Bible is how it treats the primary characters. We see Jesus’ followers, who would become the pillars of the church, flawed and at times doubtful. The way the Bible treats the heroes of the faith is dramatically different from other ancient pieces of literature. In those […]

We are at a turning point in Matthew’s account of Jesus’s ministry. At this time, the ministry to Galilee is ending, and Jesus will now turn his attention to traveling to Jerusalem, where the climactic events of his work will take place. Conflict and opposition have been part of the theme up to this point. […]

When healing missions come to impoverished nations lacking health care, the pictures show lines of people waiting to be seen by medical personnel. When Jesus went to an area populated by Gentiles, the word went out that a healer was present. Matthew’s good news account records a similar experience as that of today’s medical missions. […]

In Matthew’s Gospel, he continues to narrate Jesus’s ministry in Galilee. In this portion of his narration, Jesus travels to an area populated by the Canaanites where he meets with a woman. Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came […]

In his discussion with the Scribes and Pharisees about purity (Matthew 15.1-9), Jesus didn’t address the topic directly. Now, he does address it and emphasizes that he wants the crowd to understand very clearly what he has to say. Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand: it is […]

To best understand the dispute between Jesus and religious leaders who had come to Galilee from Jerusalem, we need to consider the role of ritual purity among Jews in the first century. It is hard to overstate the importance of purity for the Pharisees. They firmly believed that to participate in the life and worship […]

One of the impressive ways we learned how authentic the Bible is, is how it treats its heroes. Heroes in ancient literature are often painted larger than life. In this short passage, we find Peter, who was the founder of the church and the most prominent figure, as impulsive, fearful, and doubtful. Peter answered him, […]

After feeding a crowd of 5000+, Jesus sent his disciples to the other side of the lake and went to a nearby mountain for a time of prayer (Matthew 14.22-23). Most of us recognize that if something’s good enough for Jesus, it ought to be good enough for us. The problem we have with spending […]