Matthew 27

Matthew 27:53

and coming our of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

This is such an important point, yet it only gets a very minor mention.  I always wondered who these saints were.  Were they good people who'd recently died, or were they older saints who everyone would have known?

Also, what happened to them?  It seems from this verse that they weren't around for very long.  Did they die again, like Lazarus would some day?  Or were they taken to heaven also, as Jesus soon would be?

Matthew 26

Matthew 26:11

For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.

I have to admit, I've probably mis-used this verse in my head and heart quite a bit.  I'm not the only one, but that doesn't excuse it.  It's a very easy verse to mis-use, and it doesn't help that that mis-use can align with my political leanings.

The fact that the poor will always be here is too often used as an excuse not to try to improve their situation.  It's easy to see them as lazy, or stupid, or otherwise "less."  But that is pride talking, and I have to remind myself that there was a time I wasn't too many steps from that situation.  While we shouldn't make things so comfortable for the poor that it damage their motivation to improve, we can't be dismissing their state as something that shouldn't be worked on because it's a hopeless endeavor.

Matthew 25

Matthew 25:46

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

 It just popped into my head that there's a potential problem with this verse.  It seems to be implying that our actions will determine whether or not we get into Heaven.  But isn't Christ's blood supposed to save us, no matter our actions here?

I realize that we're supposed to be becoming more Christ-like, but what about those who come to faith at the last moment?  They have no opportunity to improve upon their past misdeeds, so how will they be allowed if this is the standard?  Or does this only apply to those before Christ's death, and it's based on the old Mosaic Law?

Matthew 24

Matthew 24:44

For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

Growing up, this verse always sat a bit uneasy with me.  It felt kind of like it was making Jesus' return into the boogie man, where you always had to be perfect, or if He came back and you weren't being good, He might leave you behind.

Today, I have a better understanding, but it still make me feel inadequate.  I'm painfully aware of my sins, and how I've fallen short.  I fight constantly living in something like fear, and how much I must disappoint Him.

Matthew 23

Matthew 23:3

therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

The Pharisees were double-dealing hypocrites, saying to do one thing then finding loopholes so they didn't have to do the same.  They set the rules, and therefore knew how to avoid them.  It was a textbook case of "do as I say, not as I do."

However, it appears that the root of the rules they gave out must have been good.  If they were making things up or taking the real rules to extremes, you would think Jesus would have called them out more forcefully.  Instead, He instructed that those rules be followed, even though the rule-makers weren't following them.

Matthew 22

Matthew 22:30

For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Being single, this verse sometimes makes me feel a little better.  It gives me hope that one day, these emotional pains of being alone will no longer exist.  The concept of not having a spouse won't be a factor, and we'll finally all be seen as equal.

Matthew 21

Matthew 21:21

And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.

This is probably one of the hardest verses for me to deal with in the Bible.  I'm an engineer, and deal in math and science.  My head says it's impossible that a mountain could be flung into the sea by any force man wields.  Therefore I always doubt such a thing is possible.

However, there is a note in the next verse (though I try not to reference other verses) that help me explain this.  It says such power comes through prayer.  If one is praying, one is trying to line oneself up with God's will.  And God's will would not be for His power to be used like that, because it's not needed.  If God wants to get someone's attention, He will, but it doesn't need to be by such means.

Matthew 20

Matthew 20:21

And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left."

I'm reminded of when someone pleased Herod, he made a foolish promise.  He told her that he would give her whatever she wanted, up to half his kingdom.  He regretted that promise when she asked for John the Baptist's head.

Here, Jesus shows he is much smarter.  He first asked what she wanted, without making promises to give it to her.  He knew that despite his great power, there were things he couldn't promise.  As it turns out, what she asked for was one of them.  Don't think you can push God into making a deal with you.  He works according to His own will, and isn't bound to us.

Matthew 19

Matthew 19:12

For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

It sounds like, if a man is supposed to be single, he should be a eunuch.  One by birth is an automatic choice.  One made so by man is also a choice, though I don't know what circumstances that might occur in, and shudder to think about the ones that come to mind.

But what about the third category, those who make themselves eunuchs for God?  Does this mean that anyone who has the gift of singleness (as it's sometimes called) should castrate himself, and hopefully that removes his sexual drive?  It seems like a rather extreme solution, but I can't see how Jesus might using hyperbole here; the text seems very straightforward.

Matthew 18

Matthew 18:17

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector

There is a process when you think a fellow believer is wrong.  You try to settle the matter privately, but if that doesn't work, you aren't supposed to just let if fester.  You take it to the congregation, and deal with it as a body.  Problems which are kept secret only grow worse, as the Catholic church has been having to deal with recently.

I find it interesting the final instructions here.  In this passage, Jesus uses tax collectors and Gentiles as illustrations of how to treat the unrepentant.  Is he saying that these people are bad, and unworthy of respect and friendship?  If so, how are you supposed to win them over?  Or is he saying the unrepentant are to be treated as they are already treating the Gentiles and tax collectors, which was worse than they should be?

Matthew 17

Matthew 17:6

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified.

The disciples seem to have increased their reverence for God.  When Jesus was baptized, there's no record of anyone who heard it falling to the ground.  From other context, it appears at least some of His future disciples were present, but they didn't react that we know of.

Now, they hear the voice of God, and they drop.  They know that this is the same voice that spoke to Moses, and that they are not worthy to hear it.  They make immediate obeisance, and hope that this is sufficient to prevent their deaths.  If only today we had the same respect for God's power, and need for submission; I sometimes think that respect has been lost in the modern Christian message of being a friend, rather than the Supreme's adopted child.

Matthew 16

Matthew 16:22

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord!  This shall never happen to You."

Today, we read this, or hear it in a sermon, and cluck our tongues as Peter's lack of faith.  We say he was arrogant, or emotional, or we point to other times he failed.  We say we would never have done that sort of thing.

However, we do that sort of thing all the time.  Every time we tell someone who's sick that God will heal them, or warn a missionary not to go back to a dangerous location, we're doing the exact same thing.  We, myself included, forget in most of our prayers to add at the end, as Christ did in the garden, "not my will, but Yours be done."

Matthew 15

Matthew 15:14

Let the alone; they are blind guides of the blind.  And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

There's an old Southern saying, "you can't fix stupid."  A kinder way of putting it would be that trying to change someone set in their ways is an exercise in futility.  Unless someone is open to considering new evidence, you're not going to accomplish anything.

In this case, the Pharisees had set the rules, and to their advantage.  They'd taken the original Law and built extra rules around it, with the occasional little tweak to help them out.  Now they'd fallen in love with their own power, and were unwilling to consider the possibility that they had been wrong.

Matthew 14

Matthew 14:28

Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."

I always wonder what Peter was thinking in making this request.  At first glance, it appears he's asking for proof of who Jesus is.  But what would have stopped a demon or imposter or whatever could do that from telling him to come out, then he steps over the side and sinks like a stone.

So, what is he asking about, if not for confirmation of Jesus' identity?  Was there some kind of power transferred to Peter that he could sense, and therefore knew it would be safe?  But if that's the case, why did he start to doubt if he could still feel the power?

Matthew 13

Mathew 13:13

Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

I feel very sorry for those who were not allowed to understand.  I'm sure there were many learned men there, people who had spent their entire lives earnestly trying to understand what God's will was for them and their lives.  Yet despite all that yearning and effort, they were denied the opportunity to comprehend His words.

I know I'm probably not supposed to ask questions like that, but do those sort of things happen today, even in the church? Are there some who, despite all their knowledge, are blocked by God from understanding the truth?  Worse yet, could I be among them, given my restrained emotional state?

Matthew 12

Matthew 12:31

"Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall no be forgiven.

People always ask if there's an unforgivable sin, something so bad that God can't forgive it.  The answer you always hear is "no."  However, it appears that answer may be wrong.

I wonder, what does it take to cross this line?  Where does something said become blasphemy?  Mind you, I never want to find out, but I worry sometimes that the line is closer than I think, and what is one to do then?

Matthew 11

Matthew 11:11

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!  Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

This is one of those verses that has gotten more complicated for me the older I got.  The basic premise makes sense:  those who server quietly will receive greater reward than those who are rewarded for their work here.  In some ways, I've patterned my life around this verse, often serving in the background where (hopefully) no one notices.

But what does this say about John?  Will his position in heaven be diminished somehow due to his prominence among the Jews during his life?  Or is this comparing heavenly status to earthly, and saying any heavenly position is greater than the highest earthly one?

Matthew 10

Matthew 10:17

But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues;

This warning does confuse me a little.  There are no descriptors or qualifiers on what men the disciples are supposed to beware of.  Does that mean they should be suspicious of everyone?

This doesn't make sense, because you can't be truly effective if you're suspicious of the people you're ministering to.  Perhaps He's telling them that these punishments may happen, but they are to continue on anyway?  But if they are to be accepting, what are they to beware of?  I feel like some term has been slightly mis-translated or lost.

Matthew 9

Matthew 9:6

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home."

I have to admit, I'm confused in a way I don't recall being before.  Jesus has just been criticized for forgiving the man's sins rather than healing him.  So now, to prove He can forgive sins, he...heals him?  I feel like there's a disconnect in this somewhere.

I guess there are two possibilities that come to mind.  The first is that by healing him, Jesus proves He has power, and that would extend to forgiveness of sins.  That doesn't quite make sense to me, though; it seems like a logical leap.  The second, and more disturbing possibility, is that the man sinned somehow, and that sin resulted in his paralysis.  But that sort of thinking is rejected elsewhere in the Gospels, so I have a hard time believing it fits here.  In the end, I just don't know.