Author: John
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Marketing in the Church
(Matthew 21:12-13) When Jesus entered Jerusalem the first place he visited was the temple. He was angered at what he saw there for we see him take action to set things right. What was it that upset him so? Marketing in the church! Jesus drove out the moneychangers and the sellers of pigeons from the…
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Jesus Enters into Jerusalem
(Matthew 21:1-11) The final stages of Jesus ministry approaches as Jesus enters into Jerusalem to be put to death. Jesus at this time has reached the peak of his renown and everywhere he goes crowds follow him. The work that he has done, the teachings he has given and the miracles he has performed have…
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Jesus Healing the Blind
(Matthew 20:29-34) There are a number of examples of Jesus healing the blind in the New Testament. These can be looked at from several perspectives, both as a physical miracle and the spiritual analogy. However in this section we see an additional teaching. Here we see a perspective from the position of the blind person.…
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The Servant Leader
(Matthew 20:20-28) The servant leader is a principle of leadership that exists only in Christianity. It is a powerful thing and the complete opposite of the way the world considers leadership to be like. Jesus shows in this section and from his own example what it means to be a leader and to be in…
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Jesus Foretells His Death
(Matthew 20:17-19) Jesus took great pains to warn the disciples of his impending death. In the book of Matthew to this point Jesus foretells his death on at least three occasions. He was preparing the disciples for what would be a great shock to them and a cause for concern. Jesus had already warned the…
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Labourers in the Vineyard
(Matthew 20:1-16) The labourers in the vineyard parable is interesting as it divides our thoughts between matters of the flesh and the spirit. When we look at it through eyes of flesh it is not fair. But when we look at it through God’s eyes and consider the promise of God it is perfectly fair…
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The Promise to Jesus Followers
(Matthew 19:27-30) The previous sections discussed the things that may need to be given up in following Christ. But what about what we gain? Peter made the point that the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus and so he asked what was in it for them. Jesus said that nobody who gave up…
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Hard for a Rich Man to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven
(Matthew 19:23-26) The Lord says that it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact he says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Why is that so? What is…
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No Gatekeepers between Man and God
(Matthew 19:13-15) At this time the people were bringing children to Jesus to have him lay his hands on them and pray. They were seeking for the Lord to bless their children. However as often happens, the people around the Lord, his disciples, were “running interference” to try and “protect” Jesus from these interruptions. Imagine…
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Eunuchs for the Sake of the Kingdom of Heaven
(Matthew 19:10-12) In the previous section Jesus spoke of matters of marriage. I commented that I did not fully understand that section, as it seemed quite harsh. It is clear also that Jesus’ disciples struggled with this teaching to for in this section they said, “If such is the case of a man with his…
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The Sanctity of Marriage
(Matthew 19:1-9) The sanctity of marriage and matters of divorce are an area over which I am still learning. There is much about this section of scripture that I do not understand. Some aspects of this scripture seem to be overly harsh, which seems at odds with other parts of the Bible. I recommend that…