Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: Matthew 22:21 “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Here we have one of the most famous stories about Jesus, when He comments on giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’. What is fascinating about the story is that the Pharisees and the Herodians got together in attempting to trap Jesus in His words. These two groups had very little to do with one another, and in fact represented totally different political points of view. The Pharisees tended toward ardent Nationalism,...

Key Verse: Matthew 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” This chapter includes a tough passage. First of all, it seems uncharacteristic of Jesus to be going about cursing trees, especially trees, as Mark tells us, that are out of season. Secondly, even though we’re accustomed to Jesus using hyperbole (that is, exaggerating for the sake of emphasis), as any good Semitic teacher and rabbi would do, we are thrown by His reference to physical mountains being cast into the sea, and anything being received that is asked for in prayer with faith. What...

Key Verse: Matthew 19:30 “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” A rich young man comes up to Jesus and says, “What must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus’ response is a little strange. He says “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There’s only one who is good.” The initial impression is that this is a bit of put down. But then again, maybe Jesus is just trying, as He often does, to shock His listener into attention by saying what He least expected to hear. He then gets into the expected answer. “If you want to enter life,...

Key Verse: Matthew 18:3 “Unless you…become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Even the disciples had egos. This must have been at the root of their question, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Like you and me, they would want to hear Jesus say, “Frankly, in all honesty, you are.” And even as we humbly accepted it, we would be privately glowing, with smug joy at our special status. Well, Jesus characteristically surprised them all. He brought a little child, stood him among them and said, “You must...

Key Verse: Matthew 16:16 “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In chapter 16, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And the answers were predictable. “Some say John the Baptist, others said, Elijah, some said Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you, who do you say that I am?” And it’s good old Simon Peter who answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is a great confession of faith, and Jesus replies, “Blessed are you Simon,” and He comments that...

Key Verse: Matthew 15:28 “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” This is a strange story, to say the least. It’s a story of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed, who came to Jesus crying out for mercy that her daughter might be healed. Apparently she was so insistent that the disciples became upset and urged Jesus to send her away. Jesus’ response is what makes the story so difficult. He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” Now it appears that He’s being uncharacteristically callous and hard....

Key Verse: Matthew 14:27 “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.” Matthew takes a moment to tell us about Herod and his beheading of John the Baptist, then he gets into the remarkable miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus, who was involved in a very people-intensive ministry, seemed to have limitless capacity for giving out more and more, and showing a kind of inexhaustible compassion, to the point of actually and miraculously dividing five loaves of bread and two fish into enough to feed five thousand. But then, He also has the self-confidence to be able to dismiss...

Key Verse: Matthew 13:11 “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven…” In this chapter Jesus tells one of His better-known parables, that of the sower. Most parables have only one point and they generally make it well. The major point of this one parable comes in the form of a question, “What kind of soil are you?” Only a small amount of seed which is broadcast over the ground will eventually bear good fruit. The disciples responded by asking, “Why do you speak to people in parables?” And Jesus’ answer seems to be rather...