In Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus calls the tax collector Matthew to follow him. Matthew follows immediately and invites his unloveable friends to have dinner with Jesus which upsets the Pharisees and begins a controversy. The good news is, Jesus came for the sick, not for the well. He came for sinners like you and me, not the righteous.
In Matthew 9:1-8 a paralyzed man is brought by his friends to Jesus. Jesus forgives the man’s sins thus angering the religious leaders nearby. Not only does Jesus engage them in this controversy, he heals the man’s paralysis and sends him on his way.
In Matthew 8:23-34, Jesus demonstrates his power over the storm and over the spiritual realm.
In Matthew 8:18-22 Jesus encounters two disciples challenged with what it means to follow him. The prescription is a right ordering of allegiance to Christ before all else.
In Matthew 8:1-17, Jesus has come down the mountain after preaching the Sermon on the Mount. As the crowds follow him, he encounters 3 outsiders and responds with healing.
The immediate reaction to the words of Jesus at the end of his famous Sermon on the Mount was astonishment because of the authority with which he taught. In this message, we see that Jesus was more than a great teacher, more than a prophet, he was in fact the Son of God, the Messiah, and therefore our King. Matthew 7:28-29
In the culmination of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus emphasizes being not just hearers, but doers of his words. He gives the example of the wise builder who built upon the rock and was sustained through the storm. Matthew 7:24-27.
At the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:15-23, he warned his followers not to get distracted or persuaded by false teaching. By Noel Piepgrass
In Matthew 7:7-12, Jesus teaches that we can persist before the Father in prayer because he is the giver of good gifts. By Noel Piepgrass
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus teaches that our worry reveals our worship and that he can be trusted to provide for us so we should seek first His kingdom. By Noel Piepgrass