Matthew 16

For some reason I don't feel like I have a lot to say about this passage. There is some good stuff here, no doubt, but the only thing I want to really bring up is Peter's actions. In verses 15 to 17 he rightly identifies who Jesus is, and is blessed by Jesus - but then five short verses later he goofs up enough to be rebuked quite sternly by Jesus.

To me, this is a good reminder / example for us that we can be spot-on following God one moment and then screw up royally the next. We are still human, after all, and though the grace of God covers us if we have put our faith in Jesus we still make plenty of mistakes. God loves us no matter what, though, and while He may rebuke or correct us we need to learn from it and not get bogged down in depression or self-pity for our errors. We need simply to confess our sins, and repent (turn away from them)... God takes care of the rest!

Matthew 14

I've missed the last couple of days - to anyone following this blog regularly, I apologize! This blog is here to keep me accountable in my daily Bible reading, and gaps like this are exactly what I am aiming to minimize (ideally) but also to get over when they do happen. Without something like this I would easily have been able to skip more, or just stopped entirely for who knows how long.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. This chapter in Matthew is entirely narrative-driven - there is no teaching that we are privy to from Jesus, not directly at least. We have John the Baptizer's death, Jesus teaching, healing, and even feeding crowds, and then Jesus walking on water.

That last bit, though famously referenced even in pop culture, is actually a really good learning opportunity for us even today. People tend to focus on this as an example of Jesus' power, and it certainly is, but the more important takeaway is that if Jesus asks us to do something He will provide a way - even if it seems impossible to us. He asked Peter to come to out to Him on the water, and Peter started to walk on it just like Jesus was doing! Peter, only a human, was breaking the laws of physics... through faith in the power and provision of God. Once he was out there, though, he began to doubt - and that is when he started to sink. Jesus rescued him, of course, showing that He doesn't just leave us if we fail.

Lord, may I have the faith to step out into what may seem impossible when You call me! And moreover, may I have the eyes to see You and what You are calling me to do in my family, church, and the world.

Matthew 8

Matthew 8 contains several short stories about Jesus' ministry, but very interesting ones. The first shows examples of Jesus healing people, with an account of a Roman Centurion who believed Jesus didn't even need to come to his home to heal someone. Of course he was correct, and Jesus states that he has found more faith in this man than any of the Jews. Pretty sweet!

The third healing reported here is of Peter's mother in law. Let me say that again: mother in law. What does that mean? Peter was married! So the man who the Catholics built the idea of the papacy on was married, but they prohibit their priests (all the way from the lowliest up to the pope) from being married. Yeah, sorry guys: ya got this one wrong.

All of these healings, and the text states there were many more than these three, were fulfilling more prophecy about Jesus. Matthew quotes part of Isaiah 53:4 in the passage here, and it is quite applicable.

Following this we have the fairly famous account of Jesus calming a storm. What I like most here is that He was sleeping through it for a while - its things like this that remind us He was human - and then His perfect control over nature shows that he is also fully God. We also see here that His disciples at this early stage really don't realize who He is, based on their reaction.

Finally, we have the account of Jesus casting demons out of two men and into a herd of pigs. The locals aren't thrilled about the loss of the herd, but the more interesting thing here to me is the reaction of the demons to Jesus' presence. In verse 29 they ask: "What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" This highlights a few things:

- They know Jesus' true identity
- They fear Him
- They are aware that they will be tormented at a future time, and that the time was not yet there

If memory serves there are other places in the Gospels where a demon-possessed person rightly identifies Jesus, and if those following Him didn't fully believe it themselves you'd think that would tip the scales. It also must be terrifying to *know* you are destined for judgement and torment... I wonder if the angels who rebelled and became demons knew that was going to be their punishment, or if it wasn't till after their rebellion failed that they realized it? They must have thought they and Satan had some chance, or why would they have turned on God in the first place? Dear me, though, I am getting off-topic; we'll come back to this in a future passage, I'm sure.

Matthew 4

This chapter covers a lot! It opens with what may be one of the most under-stated things in the whole Bible: "And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry." (4:2, NASB). Maybe they didn't have words like starving or famished, but after that long without food Jesus most assuredly was *very* 'hungry'. Satan takes this opportunity to tempt Him, but Jesus rebuffs him by quoting back scripture in each instance. That is an excellent example to us of how we should resist temptation: memorize passages of God's Word on various topics, so that we can recall them and recite them in stressful situations. David said it well in the Psalms: "Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You." (119:11, NASB)

At some point after the temptation, Jesus got word that John has been taken prisoner (by Herod as we'll later find out, though a different person of the same name than was king at Jesus' birth). He relocated to another part of Israel to begin His ministry, in turn fulfilling yet another prophecy (Isaiah 9:1-2), and started recruiting his disciples. Four are named in this passage, all fishermen, and in fact two pairs of brothers: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. With them in tow, Jesus began to travel - preaching, teaching, and healing as He went... amassing quite a crowd of followers in the process.