Category: Matthew

February 4, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 2:13-23. After the wise men had visited Jesus they returned back East another way. Meanwhile Joseph was told to get out of Bethlehem and flee to Egypt. Herod was furious that he had been had and murdered all male children under the age of 2 in and around Bethlehem. Herod died soon after, and the little family went back to Nazareth. (As a side note, in the Middle East Christians are nowadays called Nazarenes.)

In Exodus 19, time had come to visit Mount Sinai. God declared that the Israelites would be a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. The chapter deals with the three-day consecration that was to occur before Moses went up to meet with God.

Exodus 20. Moses went up Mount Sinai, and there God gave him the ten commandments.

February 3, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 2:1-12 . We get to read about the Magi (probably about 15 of them including servants) who came to Jerusalem to ask about the King of the Jews. This worried King Herod and all Jerusalem, and Herod asked the Scribes and the other learned men where he was to be born. They answered “In Bethlehem of Judea”, but were otherwise remarkably uninterested. The wise men went to Jesus (he is by now at least a few months old), but did not report back to Herod, instead they returned another way.

In Exodus 16  God gave them Manna (what is it?) and quail, and Moses gave the instructions on how to gather it. And they ate Manna for 40 years.

In Exodus 17, lack of water is a recurring theme in the desert. In Rephidim there was no water at all, so God told Moses to strike the rock at the foot of Mount Horeb. Water gushed out and they were all filled with good water. Good it was, for the Amalekites attacked them right afterwards. Joshua and his men fought a good fight, and Moses helped by raising his hands, and as long as he held them high Joshua prevailed. But Moses got tired, so Aaron and Hur held up his hands until sunset, and so the Amalekites were defeated.

Exodus 18 tells of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law when he visited Moses, who now was in a difficult situation trying to lead his people all by himself, and Jethro gave Moses good advice about real leadership, delegation of management, a practice essential for all governing.

February 2, read the Bible in a year in PowerPoint; with comments.

Matthew 1 tells of the spiritual genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham. Joseph was of the kingly line of David and he; not being the physical father, adopted Jesus after having a dream that it was okay to take Mary as his wife. It then tells of the birth of Jesus. It also tells of Mary remaining a virgin until after Jesus’ birth.

Exodus 14 describes the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and how the pursuing Egyptian army drowned.

Exodus 15 contains the songs of Moses and Miriam as God delivered them from the Egyptians. As the wandering began they arrived at the bitter waters of Marah and the sweet waters of Elim.

March 25, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 28 begins with Jesus being in the grave for the two adjoining sabbaths, the first day of unleavened bread followed by the normal sabbath. There was an earthquake and the stone was rolled away. Jesus was no longer in the grave. The guards were bribed to tell the story that the disciples took the body, but two  women, the two Marys met the resurrected Jesus. He told them to tell the remaining disciples that he was risen from the dead. The Gospel of Matthew ends with Jesus giving us the great commission: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Deuteronomy 32 gives us the Song of Moses. At the end of the chapter the LORD told Moses he would only see the promised land from a distance and die on Mount Nebo.

March 24, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 27:32-66,  After Jesus was flogged he was too weak to carry his own cross, so the Roman soldiers forced Simon from Cyrene to carry Jesus cross all the way to the place of the skull, and there Jesus was crucified together  with two criminals. To identify Jesus they put an  inscription on the top of the cross: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” A number of prophecies were fulfilled during the crucifixion, and Jesus died on the cross. At that very moment the Temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom and for the first time the holy of holiest was revealed. Jesus, now being dead was taken down from the cross and put in a tomb, a stone was rolled in front of the entrance and the tomb was sealed, and – this is important, they put up a guard to secure the tomb. Why did they do that? Think about that.

Deuteronomy 30, The Blessings of turning to God is pro-life, but if not, God is pro-choice with all its consequences.  See v 15:   “I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil“. (KJV)

Deuteronomy 31 Moses declared Joshua to be the new leader of Israel, “Be strong and of good courage”. The Law was to be read every seven years, Israel’s rebellion was predicted and, as a reminder Moses recorded his song, which is recited in the next chapter.

March 23, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 27:1-31 depicts the first half of the longest day, beginning with Jesus being handed over to Pilate, the Roman governor; since the Jews did not have right to execute capital punishment. Judas hanged himself and the thirty pieces of silver given him in exchange for the betrayal of Jesus was used to buy the Potter’s field. Pilate tried to wiggle out of his role as judge; his wife had warned him, so he used his privilege to release one prisoner at Passover which was the custom at that time. Pilate chose Jesus or Barabbas to be released and of the two the people chose Barabbas; a known insurrectionist to be released and Jesus to be crucified. Pilate acquiesced to the mob and so Jesus was flogged by the soldiers for a public spectacle and then he was led away to be crucified.

Deuteronomy 29. In preparation of the tribes entering the promised land God renews the Mosaic Covenant in Moab.

March 22, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

In Matthew 26:31-75 Jesus predicted Peter’s denial. After finishing the Last Supper they all moved on to the Mount of Olives, and there was the garden of Gethsemane. In the garden Jesus prayed “Not my will, but yours be done.”  Jesus prayed this prayer three times, and every time the disciples fell asleep. After that is recorded the betrayal and arrest of Jesus as he was taken to the Sanhedrin to be interrogated. The chapter ends with Peter’s denial.

Deuteronomy 28. The LORD through Moses specified many blessings for obedience and even more curses for disobedience.

March 21, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 26:1-30 is very important. It begins with the plot against Jesus, continuing with his anointing at Bethany, then Judas agreeing to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, continuing with the Lord’s supper being initiated, and Jesus predicting who is going to betray him.

Deuteronomy 25 tells of the marriage duty of a surviving brother, how to weigh with honest measures, and, totally unrelated; do not forget to destroy the Amalekites.

Deuteronomy 26 shows the regulations for offerings of firstfruits and tithes. Follow the LORD’s commands, you are a special people of God.

Deuteronomy 27 specifies that the Law should be inscribed on large stones on Mount Ebal. There six tribes shall declare curses, and on Mount Gerizim six tribes shall pronounce blessings.

March 20, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 25: 31-46. Jesus will return to judge the nations, to illustrate how he told the parable of the sheep and the goats, and the sheep were defined as those who do God’s will “You did it for me.”

Deuteronomy 22 contains more instructions, protect your brother’s property, the LORD detests unisex clothing, protect nesting birds, do not yoke an ox and a donkey together. The chapter ends with various laws on sexual morality.

Deuteronomy 23 deals with shunning and exclusion from the assembly, how to deal or not to deal with certain foreigners. Make your relief stations outside the camp and do what you have to do and keep proper camping cleanliness. No harlots allowed and do not accept offerings from them. You may not charge interest to a fellow Israelite, but you can be a Shylock to a foreigner. If you make a vow to the Lord, you better fulfill it!

Deuteronomy 24 tells of divorce laws and limitations for remarriage, leprosy, lending laws, how to properly pay workmen, and after harvest please leave the gleanings.

March 19, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 25:1-30 begins with the parable of the ten virgins, five with oil, five without oil. (Give me oil in my lamp, keep it burning). After that Jesus told the parable of the five, two and one talent given to three different people, the one with five made ten, the one with two doubled his talents, but the one with only one talent buried his. Jesus had his one talent taken away and be given to the one with ten talents. The moral of this parable is: Equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

Deuteronomy19. God commanded to set aside three Cities of Refuge, maybe three more as the land expands. Do not change property boundaries. There must be two or three witnesses for a conviction in court.  From this chapter also comes the saying “an eye for an eye”.

Deuteronomy 20. Rules for warfare: The Lord fights the battle for you. If you are too chicken or are building a house or are pledged to marry, you may be excused. For the rest of you, show no mercy unless they surrender, but above all, save the fruit trees.

Deuteronomy 21 deals with what to do with unsolved murders. Can you marry a female taken captive?  What are the rights of the firstborn? What to do with a rebellious Son? A man punished to death and hung on a tree, he must be buried the same day. From this we get “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree”.