Author: PGC Administrator

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Matthew+18

MATTHEW 18 (ESV)

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 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. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” ²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. ²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. ²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

REFLECTION

• Jesus gave us a compelling reason to forgive one another by telling the story of a wicked servant (vv23-32).
• This is a reminder for us when we harden our hearts toward a brother or sister after a few repeated hurts. After all, God, the great King, has forgiven us an absolutely unpayable debt, our sins.
• Who do you find it hard to forgive? Think about the forgiveness you have received from the Lord.  Imagine yourself as the first servant.  Ask God for grace to forgive the other person.

Prayer & Journaling:

On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Matthew+17

MATTHEW 17 (ESV)

¹After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ²There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  ⁴Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”  ⁵While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”  ⁶When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.  ⁹As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”  ¹⁰The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”  ¹¹Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. ¹²But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” ¹³Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

REFLECTION

• Peter, James and John witnessed a special event on the mountaintop. They fell down before the transfigured Jesus and when they looked up “they saw no one except Jesus”.  In the brightness that blazed from Jesus, in the brilliant cloud that enveloped them, and in the voice announcing Jesus as God’s Son, they had a glimpse of Christ’s glory.  The disciples were deeply, completely, totally immersed in worship.
• How did you ever come to realize that Jesus was the one above all others that you should listen to? How has God said to you, “This is my child, whom I love, with whom I am well pleased”?  What was your response?

Prayer & Journaling:

On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Matthew+16

MATTHEW 16 (ESV)

¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

²¹ From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

REFLECTION

• Now that the disciples have been with Jesus for a while, he must prepare them for the true nature of his kingdom. They are shocked at the cost of His mission and His requirements for discipleship.
• Peter had just been commended by Jesus (vv16-19), is now rebuked by Him. Peter didn’t like the idea of Christ facing death by crucifixion so he urged Jesus to avoid it! Jesus angrily pushed him away for he lacked the perspective of God.
• Every disciple must learn to look at his or her life from God’s perspective and “take up his cross and follow”. Most of the time, our cross doesn’t represent suffering or death, but it represents the plan and purpose of God for each of us.  We need to find and do God’s will just like Jesus did.
• We may think that if we do the will of God, we will “lose our life”. However, the truth is that we will only “gain” our life and become what we most desire to be when we do the will of God each day.
• From Jesus’ “gain and lose” teaching (vv25-26), what do you think of your current priorities?

Prayer & Journaling:

On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Matthew+15

MATTHEW 15 (ESV)

¹ Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” ⁶ he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. ⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

⁸ “‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
⁹ in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: ¹¹ it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”¹⁵ But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.”¹⁶ And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? ¹⁸ But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

REFLECTION

• The delegation from Jerusalem challenged Christ with not teaching His disciples to “wash their hands” before they ate. This washing was not hygienic, but a matter of ritual “cleanness”. In Old Testament religion, to be “clean” meant to be in a state of ritual purity that permitted a person to approach and worship God. The Pharisees and teachers of the Law had multiplied the rules governing ritual purity, and treated them as though their rules had the force of Scripture.
• Jesus directly attacked this whole way of thinking when He taught that “what goes into a man’s mouth” (external) cannot make him unclean. What really disqualifies a person for worship are those things which “come out of the heart”.
• Are you like the Pharisees, caring much about how you look on the outside, but neglect the purity on the inside; focusing on legalism/following the rules instead of being faithful to God and sensitive to the Holy Spirit?
• Read through the sins listed in v19. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the filth and darkness there.  Ask God for forgiveness and cleansing of your heart.

Prayer & Journaling:

On your prayer journal, as you listen to God, write down a few thoughts, questions, words, names, drawings, or anything that has come to your mind during this time.