Name: Alice L Lester
Reference: Matt 18:2-5 and Matt 19:13-14
Quote: Mt 18: 2-5 2 He called a child, whom he put among them, 3 and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me Mt 19:13-14Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs."
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 05:44:11 PM
These two passages both show in their own way the importance of the child like attitude in all of us.
Name: Adam
Reference: MT 15:17 and MT 16 : 1-4
Quote: Tradition of the Elders, The Demand for a Sign
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 04:32:10 PM
Matthew consistently show how the Pharisees demand him to reveal his actions, he comes back to them with a question of their own faith.
Name: Patricia
Reference: Mt 17:20; Mt 21:21-22
Quote: "...if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ...and nothing will be impossible to you." "...if you have faith and never doubt...whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 12:26:09 PM
Jesus' remonstrance is almost the same in two different settings.
Name: Fran
Reference: 16:3,16:4
Quote: 16:3-And in the morning, 'It will be fair weather; for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 16:4- An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah.
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 11:07:33 AM
A continuing discussion around the theme of belief and unbelief. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanting a "sign" on their own terms.
Name: Eric G.
Reference: Mt 9:27-31 & 20:29-34
Quote: 9:27 "As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, 'Have mercy on us, Son of David!'"; 20:29 - "There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, 'Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!'"
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 10:44:25 AM
The similarities of this story are difficult to dismiss as two
separate incidents. Particularly if one looks at them from a position of "perspective" - or rather "what message" the stories are projecting, it seems to be two
telling of the same account. One speaks to Jesus' compassion, charisma, and healing power; the other to the strength of one's faith in the Christ as an element of healing. At first glance the two seem to contradict each other, however, I believe that the two stories could be sewn into one without much difficulty, without losing their individual messages -- further consideration that they are both part of the same event.
Name: Judy Ahles
Reference: Matthew 16:20,17:9
Quote: 16:20-Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. 17:9 "Tell no one the vision until the Son of man is
risen from the dead.
Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Time: 10:30:54 AM
Jesus repeats to the disciples that he wished His identity to be unknown at this time. Jesus will reveal himself when he wishes His identity to be revealed. Jesus has many more activities to accomplish before the time will come for his identity to be revealed.
Name: Clare
Reference: Mt. 11:27 and Mt. 28:18
Quote: Mt. 11:27 “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Mt. 28:18 “and Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’”
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 10:02:19 PM
In the first passage Jesus is explicit about acknowledging that his authority comes from the Father and that one can only know the Father through the Son. In the second passage, at the very end of Matthew, Jesus appears to assume that the hearer of this message implicitly understands the source of his authority.
Name: Sarah PL
Reference: Matthew 16:23 and Matthew 4:10
Quote: 16:23 -He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." and 4:10 - At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 08:25:08 PM
Peter's refusal to accept Jesus' predicted suffering and death is seen as a satanic attempt to deflect Jesus from his God-appointed course, and the disciple is addressed in terms that recall Jesus' dismissal of the devil in the temptation account.
Name: Amy
Reference: MT 7:12, 22:39-40
Quote: Love your neighbor are yourself/ law and the prophets
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 05:22:18 PM
MT 7:12 states that "whatever you wish men would do to you, do so to them", and MT 22:39 specifies how you would you treat yourself, and that is with love. Both passages identify this concept as the foundation for the law and the prophets.
Name: Dave
Reference: Mt 19:30; Mt 20:16
Quote: "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and "the last will be first, and the first last"
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 02:59:10 PM
Jesus describes that entering the Kingdom of Heaven is different than the human perception of who is or is not able to be esteemed or valued. God's interpretation of entrance and human's interpretation of entrance can be very opposite as in the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard and the idea of earthly riches making it more difficult for one to enter heaven.
Name: Terah Ames
Reference: Matt. 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19
Quote: "and be killed, and on the third day be rised."
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 01:37:00 PM
All three passages mention that Jesus knows he will suffer and be killed and then rise up. The author of Matthew felt this was important as it is mentioned three times in just four chapters.
Name: Genise K
Reference: Matthew 16:21, 17:9-12, 17:22, 20;18-19
Quote: 16:21 "must suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised"; 17:9-12 "until the Son of man is raised from the dead...will suffer at their hands"; 17:22 "Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day"; 20;18 "the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death....and he will be raised on the third day"
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 12:00:20 PM
CommentJesus foretells his suffering, death and resurrection multiple times. In 16:21 Matthew indicates that Jesus began to 'show' his disciples what would happen. They could not comprehend despite the fact that Jesus told them he was the Christ (16:20) and that they heard/saw the vision on the mountain where God revealed Jesus as the beloved Son (17:5). Matthew indicates from 17:22 that now there is some distress and in 21:18 Jesus finally "said to them". The question of why Matthew felt this passage needed to be repeated in different words and detail...I would venture to say that the concept of the Christ truly being in their midst and that they would witness the prophesy of the Messiah was very difficult to grasp and comprehend in reality...by retelling it stresses the magnitude of what is about to occur.
Name: Burt Williams
Reference: Matt 7:6; Matt 15:21-28; Matt 13:45-46
Quote: “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.”
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 10:12:52 AM
Note first the placement of Matt 7:6 is in a series of statements on our interaction with others (Do not judge 7:1-5; Dogs and pearls 7:6; Seek and you will find 7:7-11; and Do unto others 7:12). 7:6 at first does not seem to fit, or at very least is an odd statement. However, if we look at the references of Matt 15:21-28 “The Canaanite Woman’s Faith” (“It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”) and Matt 13:45-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it,” then the placement of this particular passage becomes a transition between the do not judge, and the seeking of God’s kingdom…doing unto others in the process. This particular statement (7:6) may actually be a way for “Matthew” to point to the greater meaning of this section using it as a literary tool.
Name: Burt
Reference:
Quote:
Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Time: 10:11:16 AM
Name: Laura
Reference: Matt. 16:19, 18:18
Quote: "...whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Date: Monday, October 10, 2005
Time: 09:57:19 PM
The first time Jesus says this, it is to Peter only and it is right after Peter states that he believes Jesus to be "the Christ, the Son of the living God." On the second occasion, Jesus is addressing the disciples as a group and has just explained how to proceed "if your brother sins against you." This seems to be saying that whomever they condemn on earth will be condemned in heaven too, BUT the very next parable is about what happens to "the unforgiving servant"!
Name: Barb Sagat
Reference: Matt. 5:29 & 5:30
Quote: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out...it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." & "If your right hand... It is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell"
Date: Monday, October 10, 2005
Time: 03:36:32 PM
The author repeats the same threat; to have one's whole body sent to hell for sin, using different body parts (eye and right hand)as the offending member that will cause the suffering if they are not cut off.
Name: Audrey
Reference: Mt.18:19 & Mt.21:21-22
Quote: "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..." And Jesus
answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and never doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you
have faith."
Date: Monday, October 10, 2005
Time: 03:29:23 PM
Through faith prayers are answered.
Name: Judy Clark
Reference: Matt 8:11-12 & 21:43
Quote: sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness: the kingdom of God will be taken from you
Date: Monday, October 10, 2005
Time: 09:38:44 AM
Both verses are explaining that God's promise of eternal life will be extended to people/nations (the centurion/the Gentiles) other than the Pharisees, because they have rejected Jesus, the one sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Name: sheryl
Reference: Matth 10:21-22 & 35-36
Quote: 21-22 Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and
have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name's sake; 35-36 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of is own household.
Date: Sunday, October 09, 2005
Time: 05:12:55 PM
Although over an ideology about the U.S. Civil War, this reminds me of stories of that war in which people made choices that made them foes against their own kin, their best friends, mother against father, father against son, etc. Although choices about wars pale in comparison to the choice of one's faith, these choices are as contemporary as they are ancient.
Name: Barbara Anne
Reference: Matth 16:24-28 and Matth 19:25-30
Quote: 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters of father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. Matt 16:25 ...and whosoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Date: Saturday, October 08, 2005
Time: 12:26:37 PM
The two passages are not identical but they have something important in commmon. The giving up of what seems most dear to us, our loved ones, our family, is what will benefit us in the end, what will give us life eternal. Strange......
Name: Jim Roche
Reference: MT 7:15-20: MT 12:33
Quote: MT 7: "... you will know them by their fruits." and MT 12: "... the tree is known by its fruits."
Date: Saturday, October 08, 2005
Time: 10:59:06 AM
People reveal their character as a tree reveals its fruit. A bad tree (character) reveals bad fruit (evil in one's heart). The receiver of this gospel is to be aware of false prophets who reveal themselves in their lives through their actions and their words.
Name: Gail Holman
Reference: Matthew 3:12, 13:30
Quote: 3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear the threshing floor and gather his wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'
Date: Saturday, October 08, 2005
Time: 10:14:05 AM
In the first passage John the Baptist is posing a warning to pharisees about the one who is coming The second passage is a portion of the parable about the weeds among the wheat. It's as if the first story gives us clues to the identity of the characters in the parable. A good storyteller or teacher might ask the audience, after telling the parable, if they were reminded of characters they had heard of earlier.
Name: Dina L.
Reference: Mt 20:26 and Mt 21:5
Quote: #1 Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. #2 ...Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass...the beast of burden.
Date: Saturday, October 08, 2005
Time: 09:43:15 AM
Both of these passages echo the idea that Jesus is redefining greatness (not kingly authority but peasant-like service) and this idea is tied to the Hebrew "anawim" which appeared to be central to Jesus's teachings.
Name: TPB
Reference: Matt 21:35 and 22:6
Quote: “The tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another” and “the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.”
Date: Friday, October 07, 2005
Time: 11:43:33 PM
God’s messengers (prophets, apostles, etc), who are sent to invite others to participate in the realm of God are often violently rejected along with the invitation. As was Christ. This rejection results in divine judgment as God opens the invitation up the world.
Name: Zareen
Reference: Matth 12:9, Matth 8:18
Quote: Man with withered hand and ruler's daughter "the woman who
touched Jesus' garment"
Date: Friday, October 07, 2005
Time: 02:24:26 PM
The similarity of the healings of these two (three) groups of people in relation to Jesus is evident.
Name: sonia
Reference: Matt: 9:13, Matt. 12:7
Quote: "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." "And if you had known what it means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would have not condemned the guiltless."
Date: Friday, October 07, 2005
Time: 01:57:01 PM
Very profound sentiment, I am sure I do not know all that it means. One meaning I can see is that 'desiring mercy and not sacrifice' in itself indicates a true action of the compassionate heart and not merely a empty ritual. Where I am less clear is in the second half of each statement; is there some connection to the sinners as being somehow also guiltless?
Name: Cathie
Reference: Mt 9:27-29, 32-34 and Mt 12:22-24
Quote: ...."But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons" // ....But when the
Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons"
Date: Friday, October 07, 2005
Time: 08:58:41 AM
In Matthew 8, he tells 2 stories of healing, of healing 2 blind men, then healing a dumb demoniac, casting out the demons. In Chapter 12, Jesus heals a blind and dumb demoniac, casting out the demons. Both passages are juxtaposed against the Pharisees, in the first the Pharisees protest that Jesus must be the Prince of demons to cast out demons, and in the second the Pharisees protest that Jesus must be Beelzebub, the prince of demons. It seems to me that both stories could be of the same event - in one, there being two blind men and a dumb demoniac, in the other a blind and dumb demoniac. What is of importance to Matthew is contrasting the Pharisees doubt and justification against Jesus.
Name: Poppy Arford
Reference: Mt 12: Mt 38-41 and Mt 16:1-4
Quote: Mt 12:39 "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah"
and Mt 16:4 "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah"
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Time: 10:05:54 PM
In both instances Jesus's authenticity is being challenged by a group of unbelievers. In the first story Jesus tells the unbelievers (Pharisees, scribes) that the "prophet Jonah" will be the only sign they receive. He then goes on to explain the prophet Jonah connection. In the second story Jesus tells the unbelievers (Pharisees, Sadducees) that "Jonah" will be the only sign they receive. He then departs offering no mention of prophet or further explanation. This makes perfect sense as Jesus has given and explained the "prophet" connection in the earlier story. Therefore in all later stories where Jonah in mentioned in the context of unbelievers asking for a sign, the listeners can understand that Jesus is referring to the "prophet Jonah".
Name: mair honan
Reference: Mt15:1-3 & Mk7:1-3
Quote: tradition of the elders
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Time: 08:02:06 PM
both start with the Pharisees and scribes questioning why the disciples don't wash their hands before they eat. Jesus goes on in both to remind them of Isaiah, "these people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me."
Name: Sarah S.
Reference: Matt.13:29-Matt.15:13
Quote: Matt.13:29-No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.
Matt.15:13 every plant which my heavenly father has not planted will be rooted up.
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Time: 03:03:49 PM
To me these passages suggest a similarity related to an "inter-conflict". The challenge to separate good and evil within the community
Name: Pam L
Reference: Mt 18:4,10 and 19:14
Quote: Mt 18:4 "Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Mt 18:10 "'See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angles always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.'" Mt 19:14 "but Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'"
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Time: 11:30:40 AM
Matthew presents attributes often found in young children (or the children themselves) to be more favorable to God.
Name: Doug
Reference: Matth 12:38 Matth 16:1
Quote: Matth 12:38-..."Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." Matth 16:1 And the Pharisees and
Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005
Time: 07:35:49 AM
Is this a different group of Pharisees and scribes in the two verses? Memory loss? Different location?
Name: Rosemary
Reference: Mt 7: 21-23 and 25: 10-12
Quote: the ones who cry out "Lord, Lord"
Date: Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Time: 10:43:42 PM
In two separate parables Matthew is telling his listeners that it is not enough to "talk the talk" - one has to "walk the walk"
Name: Rosemary
Reference: Matt 4:23 and 9:35
Quote: "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity."
Date: Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Time: 10:31:06 PM
The two sentences are so much alike, I suspect it was an editorial transition phrase Matthew used to move Jesus from one activity to another.