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Each of us will be judged by our treatment of the hungry, the stranger, the sick, those in prison, etc. What are you doing to find Jesus in those places? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 25:31-46 Each of us will be judged by our treatment of the hungry, the stranger, the sick, those in prison, etc. What are you doing to find Jesus in those places? Separation of Sheep and Goats . Early 20th century reproduction of a Byzantine mosaic originally dated early 6th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Separation_of_Sheep_and_Goats_MET_cdi24-144-4s1.jpg . Tom Faletti September 14, 2025 Matthew 25:31-46 in the final judgment, Jesus asks if you responded to those in need What is this passage about? Note that this story is not a parable. He is not saying the kingdom of heaven is “like” this. He is saying that this is what is going to happen. The only part of it that is like a parable is the use of the terms sheep and goats to picture Jesus separating people the way a shepherd would separate different creatures. The rest is a direct description of what Jesus says about how the final judgment will go. In verse 31, where is the Son of Man? Jesus has described himself as the “Son of Man” throughout Matthew’s Gospel. Here, for the first time, he takes to himself the title “king” (v. 34). The first title has messianic overtones but emphasizes his humanity. The second title offers a different perspective. What does his use of these two titles – Son of Man and king – tell us about Jesus and his relationship with the human race? Who is gathered before him (v. 32)? All the nations. Who do the sheep and the goats represent? Who is it that gets separated? He is not simply separating the nations for judgment; the language used makes it clear that this is a judgment of individual people – see the footnote below: Are individuals or nations judged? Note that the “sheep” and “goats” are used mainly as an illustration. Jesus isn’t asking us to draw conclusions here based on what we know about sheep and goats. In our day, he might have said: As a veterinarian separates the dogs from the cats. He used the image of separating sheep from goats because that was an image his audience was familiar with, an then he applied it to separating different types of people. In verse 34, what is the blessing given to those on his right hand – the sheep? What do you think it means to “inherit the kingdom”? In verses 35-36, what is it that they did, that led to this blessing? Do they understand what they did, or are they surprised by what he says? Explain. What is the king’s explanation of how they did these things to him? He says that when you did it to/for them, you did it to/for him. Different translations use “to” or “for” because in the Greek, the dative case used here indicates who receives the benefit of an action but does not specify a preposition. The point is that when we do these things, Jesus is the recipient of our actions: You did it to me. How do you think this passage applies to us today? How literally do you think we should take it? Do you think there are people who might be surprised to learn that when they were helping people in need, they were also doing those good things to/for Jesus? Explain. What does their surprise tell you about people who do good things, about God, and/or about our final judgment? It is probably unrealistic for any one person to do all these things with any frequency, so how do you think Jesus would want us to respond to this story? Those among us who like to-do lists (myself included) need to hear this caution: Jesus has not presented himself as the kind of person who would want us to turn this into a checklist and think that if you do each one of these things at least once we have earned salvation. That’s not what this is about. It is probably better to think about it as a way of life: responding to needs habitually and generously whenever needs present themselves. Now let’s look at the “goats.” In verses 41 and 45, what is the ultimate destination of the “goats”? What does the king say they failed to do, that has led to this outcome? Do they understand why they are receiving these consequences, or are they surprised? Explain. How does the king explain what he means by their failing to do these things to him? Note that these are what are called “sins of omission,” not “sins of commission.” It isn’t that they did something bad; it is that they failed to do something good that they could have done and should have done. Do you think there are people who might be surprised to learn that they are failing the test of the final judgment? If so, do you think it would be a situation where they should have known because they knew what Jesus taught in the Bible, and they willfully ignored what they should have known? Or do you think it would be a situation where, once it was pointed out to them, they would be able to say, “Yeah, you’re right; I should have known that and I failed”? Or do you think it would be a situation where they would be legitimately baffled to learn that this was Jesus’s criteria for judgment? Explain. What does their surprise tell you about people who fail to help others in need, about God, and/or about our final judgment? In verse 40, the king tells the first group that they did it to one of the “least” of these brothers of mine, and in verse 45 he tells the second group that they did not do it to one of the “least” of these. Who are these “least” ones? What do you think this passage says to us? As you read this, is there someone or some group of people that you think the Lord might be nudging you to do more for, or some action you feel he is calling you to take? What is this passage saying to you personally? Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, we have seen Jesus’s constant “ downside-up ” approach. Why do you think this is the perspective he has chosen to take: to place such an emphasis on our action to help the “least” among us? Do you count yourself among these “least”? If so, how does this passage make you feel? If you don’t, how do you feel about the fact that Jesus identifies himself with the “least”? Verse 34 is the first time in the Gospels that Jesus is explicitly referred to as a “king.” Why does our King care so much about what happens to the “least” among us? For the most part, people aren’t naked and in need of clothing in our day. But there might be some other needs that would not have made sense to mention in Jesus’s day but that he might have mentioned if he were speaking now. What are some other basic needs that Jesus might add to his list if he were making this point to our society today? There are many possibilities; for example: I was homeless and you helped me find shelter; I was pregnant and you gave me baby clothes and diapers; I was a victim of human trafficking and you rescued me; I was an immigrant and you welcomed me – oh, that one already is on his list when he says: I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. In our more complicated world, some social and economic problems can be addressed by the people collectively in far better ways than we can do individually – for example, helping the homeless, pregnant women, victims of trafficking, people with mental illnesses, etc. Sometimes, Christians and other people of good will take action collectively through nonprofit organizations or governments. Is working to help people through social organizations and governments a reasonable way of trying to respond to what Jesus is calling us to do in this passage? Explain. For people who live in democracies, is it reasonable to try to hold governments accountable to address the needs of the hungry, the sick, etc.? None of us can do it all. But we can work to live our lives with a mindset that the least among us need to be central to our focus. How can you do that better? Take a step back and consider this: Jesus clearly wants us to place a high priority on meeting the needs of the poor, the hungry, the stranger, the sick, and others who are the “least” among us. This concern meant so much to him that he equated himself with them when he said: “What you did it to them, you did to me.” How easy is it for you to see Jesus in those who are suffering on the fringes of our society? What can a Christian do to internalize this perspective? How do we grow in our ability to see Jesus in the least among us? If we take this passage seriously, it could lead us to worry about our salvation. Are we doing “enough” to join Jesus in heaven? He clearly wants us to feel challenged. But he does not want us to be afraid of him or to think that we can only make him care for us if we do the right things. He is not creating a new works-based legalism after having spent so much time trying to overcome the legalism of the Pharisees. He also is not offering “works” as an alternative to “faith.” We are saved by him, not by our fulfillment of a specific list of requirements, but our faith should be manifested in actions to help the least among us. See Is Jesus suggesting that we can earn our way to salvation by our works? for more on this how this passage relates to faith. Since we are sinners saved by grace and called to be conformed to Christ, it might be worth thinking about it this way: Can we be comfortable living with Jesus’s priorities and serving him whenever we encounter a person in need around us? That is our challenge. How comfortable are you with Jesus’s “downside-up” view of the world – his close identification with those who have the least? What can you do to become more comfortable with Jesus’s worldview? Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that “the poorest of the poor are . . . Christ under the guise of human suffering” ( Mother Teresa: In My Own Words , p. 24), and that she sought to “comfort Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor” ( Mother Teresa: Where There is Love, There is God , p. 15). If we can find joy in looking to serve Jesus in the least among us, we are on the right path of adopting the priorities and worldview of Jesus. The question is not whether we have fulfilled Matthew 25 perfectly. The question is whether we have embraced Jesus’s worldview. He wants our hearts. If we embrace his priorities, he is both willing and able to mold us into the people he wants us to be, through the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. If we allow the Holy Spirit to work his worldview ever more deeply into the fabric of our lives, we will become ever more like Jesus – our character following the mold of his character, our concerns reflecting his concerns, our actions manifesting his love to the world and responding to needs wherever he can be found. Am I willing to let the Holy Spirit mold me so that I take on the heart of Jesus and allow him to work his priorities into my actions? Am I willing to show forth his love to the poorest of the poor? If I’m willing, he is able. May it be so! Notes regarding 2 issues people find in this passage: Are individuals or nations judged? Some theologians claim that the final judgment story is talking about God’s judgment of nations, not individual people. They argue that in Matthew, “the nations” usually refers to nations other than Israel, and “brothers” usually means Christians, so they claim that Jesus is saying that the Gentile nations will be judged by how they treat Christians (see, for example, Father Daniel Harrington, p. 101). Both Catholic and Protestant theologians have rejected this argument. Father Benedict Viviano, O. P., points out ( The New Jerome Biblical Commentary , par. 145, p. 669) that in Matthew 24:9 and 14, and in Matthew 28:19, Jesus uses the term “all nations” in a way that includes Israel, not just the Gentile nations. Furthermore, Matthew often uses the word “brothers” to include all humans, not just Christians – for example, in the Sermon on the Mount. As a result, the idea that this is only a judgment about nations is not well supported. H. L. Ellison uses the grammar of the passage to show that argues that Jesus is talking about individual people, not just nations (Ellison, p. 1148). When Jesus says that the king separates “them” (Matt. 25:32), the Greek word for “them” is masculine, which indicates people. If he was referring to the nations, the neuter form of the word “them” would have been required. So this is an individual judgment, applying to each person. Myron Augsburger adds that, although Jesus uses the word “brothers” in verse 40, he does not use that word in verse 45. There, Jesus says the goats did not help the “least” ones – i.e., the needy in general, not specifically Christians (pp. 283-284). Jesus is warning us about how all individuals should treat all individuals who are in need. Is Jesus suggesting that we can earn our way to salvation by our works? Some people struggle with how to fit this passage into a “faith versus works” framework. Jesus never separated faith from helping others. We can’t save ourselves, but he made it very clear that he expects us to help the hungry, the stranger, the sick, those in prison, etc. If there is a “faith vs. works” contradiction between what Jesus says here and what modern-day preachers preach, we would have to choose Jesus’s own words over modern re-interpretations of the gospel, since Jesus is our Lord and God. However, there is no contradiction. Faith and service to those in need are both central teachings of Christ. See Faith Versus Works: What Does the Gospel of Matthew Say for a discussion of how faith and works come together rather than being in opposition to each other. Regarding this specific passage and the concern that it undermines a commitment to faith, evangelical scholar H. L. Ellison says that this passage “is intended to be a warning to us. Since from His brothers, He [Jesus] will expect more, not less, this can serve as a check on the reality of our profession” (Ellison, p. 1148). In other words, we can test the genuineness of our profession of faith by how we respond to the plain words of Jesus in this passage. On the other end of the spectrum, some people use this passage to argue that faith in Christ is not necessary – that how we treat the poor is all that matters. Catholic scholar Benedict T. Viviano, O.P., responds that the passage “is addressed to Christian disciples, and discipleship is understood, in a very bold way, as identical with care of the needy. This is not a denial of faith; it is of the essence of faith” ( The New Jerome Biblical Commentary , par. 145, p. 669). Jesus is not here rejecting his consistent call to faith; he is showing us one element of what faith looks like in action. If our understanding of the Christian faith does not include an understanding both of the centrality of service to those in need and of the centrality of faith in Christ, we do not understand Jesus as presented to us in the Scriptures upon which our faith is based. This passage presents the Word of God to us. What do you think Jesus would say to those who think the passage contradicts the gospel message about how we are “saved”? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Jesus cleanses the Temple, removing the sacrificial lambs he will one day take the place of. Where do we need his cleansing in the “temple” of our own life? [John 2:13-17; 2:18-25] Previous Next John List John 2:13-25 Jesus cleanses the Temple, removing the sacrificial lambs he will one day take the place of. Where do we need his cleansing in the “temple” of our own life? From Histoire Sainte , an incomplete set of hand-coloured lithographs depicting scenes from the Bible and the History of Christianity, published in Paris by Delagrave and printed by Becquet frères. Circa 1850-1880. The British Museum, London (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1981-U-56-134?selectedImageId=1097590001 ). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Histoire_Sainte_(BM_1981,U.56-134_60).jpg . Tom Faletti November 8, 2025 Read John 2:13-17 The cleansing of the Temple Why does Jesus go to Jerusalem? In John’s Gospel, Jesus spends much more time in Jerusalem than he does in the other Gospels. He goes from Bethany east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing, to Galilee (where he grew up), where he starts gathering disciples, and now to Jerusalem for Passover. Passover was the annual spring religious feast celebrating God’s liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It was marked by the sacrificing of lambs to commemorate how they were protected when the angel of death “passed over” the houses of the Israelites that had the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. In the Gospel of John, Jesus goes to Jerusalem 3 times for Passover, suggesting that his public ministry lasted more than 2 years, and perhaps longer. Luke tells us (Luke 2:41) that Jesus’s parents brought him to Passover in Jerusalem every year as a child, and presumably he continued that practice throughout his adult life. What does Jesus do in Jerusalem? John places the cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of Jesus’s ministry, whereas the Synoptics place it at the end. The Gospels writers arranged their stories to achieve their theological purposes, not to tell the story in chronological order. In the Synoptics, this event is the precipitating factor that leads to the final murder plot against Jesus. For John, the precipitating factor is the raising of Lazarus. There are other, more minor differences that at a minimum suggest that the story was passed down orally in two slightly different forms from different eyewitnesses. Some scholars think he cleared the Temple twice, once at the beginning of his ministry and again at the end. What were the sheep, oxen, and doves used for, in the Temple? Oxen, sheep, and doves were sacrificed in the Temple. You could buy the appropriate animals for your sacrifice, so that you would not have to travel to Jerusalem with your own animals for sacrifice. Also, if you brought your own animal to the Temple, the authorities might reject it, saying it was blemished, and tell you to buy one of theirs. The Synoptic Gospels and secular historical accounts indicate that people were often fleeced by the merchants in the Temple. Why were there moneychangers in the Temple? (It’s understandable if you do not know the answer to this question.) The moneychangers were there to accept payment for the Temple tax that every adult male was obligated to pay annually. The Jewish leaders accepted only certain coins – for example, they did not accept Roman coins, which carried the image of Caesar – so you needed a moneychanger to exchange your money for the accepted coins. All of this business was conducted in the outer court of the Temple complex – the Court of the Gentiles – making it a noisy place not conducive to prayer. Jews could proceed into the courts that were closer to the Holy of Holies, but Gentiles had to stop here and could not proceed further in order to find a quiet place to pray. What reason does Jesus give in verse 16 for his action? Jesus does not want God’s house to be a marketplace. It had lost it sense of reverence as economic concerns overshadowed the primary purpose of the Temple as a place where people could interact with God. Jesus’s action reminds many scholars of the last verse of the book of Zechariah (Zech. 14:21), which prophesies that when the Lord comes there will no longer be merchants in the house of the Lord. What do you think Jesus wants God’s house to look like? How might economics, money, and market considerations affect how the Church as a whole and our local churches operate? How might those concerns interfere with our primary purposes as God’s people? John may have a deeper point in mind. Sheep and oxen were essential to the Temple’s role as a place of sacrifice. Therefore, what might be the deeper symbolism in driving them out of the Temple? What would it mean if there were no longer any sacrificial animals in the Temple? There could only be no animals if Temple sacrifice was no longer necessary. This could happen because Jesus is here and will sacrifice himself as the “Lamb of God,” as John the Baptist called him in 2:29 and 2:36. There may be even more to this, in the mind of John the evangelist. In the other Gospels, the Last Supper is on Passover night . But in John’s Gospel the Last Supper is on the night before Passover, and Jesus is dying on the Cross in his ultimate act of sacrifice just as the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in the Temple in preparation for that evening’s Passover meals. Jesus’s sacrifice will make the whole sacrificial system in the Temple unnecessary, which would obviate the need for merchants buying and selling animals for sacrifice. That would bring to fulfillment Zecharia’s prophecy that when the Lord comes there will no longer be merchants in the Temple. Verse 17 tells us that Jesus’s action reminds his disciples of Psalm 69:9 (69:10 in the NABRE), which talked about zeal for God’s house. They were struck by the zeal with which Jesus cleansed the Temple. Why do you think Jesus cleared the Temple? What is your reaction to what Jesus did? Read John 2:18-25 Jesus is challenged by the Jewish leaders In verse 18, John refers to “the Jews,” a phrase he will use repeatedly throughout his Gospel. Sometimes, he is just referring to the Jewish people generally (for example, in John 2:13: “The Passover of the Jews was near”). But other times, as in verse 18, he is referring specifically to the Jews who opposed Jesus: the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem. John’s references to “the Jews” are never a general indictment of all Jews. John and Jesus and Jesus’s mother Mary and many people in John’s community were Jews. John was not speaking against all Jews. What was the reaction of the Jewish leaders to Jesus’s cleansing of the Temple? Why do they challenge him? What do they want? What “evidence” does he offer them? John often tells stories where someone misunderstands something Jesus says. What does Jesus mean by the “temple,” and what do the Jewish leaders think he means? Why do you think Jesus answers their challenge in this way? Note: If this confrontation seems premature, we need to remember that John is not necessarily telling us everything in chronological order. Where would you have been in this scene? (One of the disciples? One of the people challenging Jesus? A moneychanger or merchant? A Temple leader? A bystander? Or would you not even have been in the Temple?) Consider the person you just named in the previous question. How do you think they would have reacted to the clearing of the Temple and the discussion that followed? What does this story say to you? Saint Paul said that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, who resides in us (1 Cor. 6:19). Is there any part of the “temple” of your life that needs some cleansing by Jesus? What would he like to do? How do we let Jesus clear away the distractions so that we are proper temples of the Holy Spirit? Take a step back and consider this: Verse 23 tells us that Jesus did other signs while he was in Jerusalem that John does not tell us about, and many people began to believe in his name – but Jesus did not trust these apparent declarations of faith. The New Testament scholar Raymond Brown wrote that Jesus “did not trust their faith because it stopped at the miraculous aspect of the sign and did not perceive what was signified” (Brown, p. 341). In other words, they saw only the miraculous action and not the message or meaning to which the sign pointed. We are called to look for what God’s miraculous signs “signify” – the deeper messages they point to, the eternal truths that lie behind what God has done at the surface or physical level. The human tendency is to stop at the surface of what God has done and is doing. We can only reach our full calling when we go beyond the surface and embrace what the signs signify. How can we train ourselves to look for the deeper spiritual meaning behind what happens on the surface of our lives? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

How do you prepare a small-group Bible Study meeting? Previous For Leaders Next Preparing to Lead a Small-Group Bible Study Meeting How do you prepare a small-group Bible Study meeting? Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti March 25, 2024 At the Previous Meeting Tell the group what verse you are starting at or what verses or chapters you will be covering, especially if there is an expectation, or a desire among some, to study during the week. During the Week Before the Meeting Don’t wait until the last day to prepare. In your preparation, it is better to be prepared to cover too much material than not enough. Pray. Ask God to guide you, help you understand the text, and help you formulate questions and comments that will lead others to understand God’s Word and how it speaks to their lives. Read the text at least twice. Then read a commentary and/or study notes to learn some of the nuances of the text and the kinds of issues that might come up. Break the text into appropriately sized passages: a paragraph, a story, a set of verses that focus on a particular topic. For each passage, formulate a series of questions, including all three of the following types of questions: What does it say? These are questions of fact . They help the group to acknowledge and agree on the basic facts of what the passage says. Examples: What happened? What is Jesus (or God or some other person) saying here? What issue does Paul (or some other author) raise here? What does the author say we should do? What guidelines for living does he offer? What does it mean? These are questions of interpretation . They help the group to wrestle with what the passage means, and with different interpretations of what it means. Examples: Why did the man do what he did? Why did Jesus react in that way? What does that word (or phrase) mean? Why did the author (or person) use that particular word (or phrase)? What does the author mean when he uses that term, or says “. . . .”? Who is this referring to, or who does this apply to? What does this passage tell us about God? Why do you think the author chose to focus on that problem? How does this passage make you feel? What are some attitudes or actions that term would apply to today? What does that key word (or phrase) mean to you? What are some ways that people demonstrate this characteristic? Give some examples of actions that fit the description in the passage. Describe a time in your life when you encountered this problem. How can we apply it to our lives? These are application questions. They help the group to share their faith and practical insights with each other, and apply the passage to their own lives. Examples: What do you find most challenging in this passage, and why? How can we learn from the example of the person in this passage? What does this person’s example tell us about what me might do in our own lives? How can we apply this passage to our lives today? What does this passage say to us about our relationship with God, or about God’s attitude toward us? What are the modern problems we face today that this passage is talking about? How does the passage say we should respond? What does this passage say to you about yourself? What do you find most encouraging in this passage, and why? What are some things we can do to live out these commands? Which of these commands do you find hardest to obey, and why? When do you find it especially difficult to do what this passage is saying? Why is that the hard time, and what can you do about it? What are some ways we try to avoid the implications of this passage? What do we need to change in our lives to become examples of what Jesus (or God or the author) is talking about? What are you facing right now where you need to hear and apply the ideas in this passage? When have you experienced what the passage describes? When are you tempted to do what the passage describes? What does this person’s example tell us about how we can deal with similar problems at work (or at home, or in our church, or in our relationships)? In what ways do we fail to do what this passage is describing? How well does our parish reflect these values? What can we do to improve our parish’s way of living this part of the Gospel? What do you need to do to live out the truths of this passage? What holds you back from living out these principles? What would the author (or God) say to you in response? What do you find hardest to accept or live out in this teaching? Why? In the next week, what is one thing you can do to live out the challenge of this passage? Determine whether there are some key issues and applications you think the group should see. Make sure your questions will lead the group to wrestle with those issues, but don’t put your answer in the questions. Allow room for the members to reach a different conclusion. (For example: If you think the key is faith, don’t ask, “Don’t you think faith is the key point here?” Instead, ask, “What do you think this passage says to us about our relationship with God?”. If the group answers in a different way than you expect, you can share your view, but don’t push them to see it only your way.) During the Meeting Extend a welcome to each person as they arrive. Greet each person warmly. Don’t delay your start. Reinforce those who are on time by starting 5 minutes after the official starting time, regardless of who you are still expecting. Begin with prayer, reminding the group that Jesus is here with us, and spend a short time in silence to become aware of His presence. Then ask the group to pray short prayers of thanks or praise : “Thank you, God, for. . . .” Or “I praise you, Lord, for. . . .” Close this prayer time by asking for God guidance and the group’s openness to Him. Unless you are covering several chapters each week, ask someone to read aloud the first passage. (If you are covering large sections, instead ask the group to read the chapters in advance and begin by summarizing what happened in the passage, perhaps reading a key part.) Ask the questions you prepared. Always start with the basic “what does it say” or fact questions. Quite often, people don’t really understand or agree about what the passage actually says, and if they don’t understand what it says they certainly won’t understand what it means or how to apply it. Your study during the week may have given you some background knowledge you can share here to help the group understand what the passage says. However, try to elicit as much as possible from the group rather than telling it all yourself. Ask your interpretation or “what does it mean” questions, but don’t let the group get stuck there. Leave plenty of time for application questions. Ask some application questions that help the group find apply the passage to their daily lives. Don’t skip this step. Your job isn’t done until the passage has been applied. Frame your questions in ways that encourage personal sharing and a faith response to the passage. Know in advance which questions you think are most important. After the group has talked about what the passage says and means, ask your most important application questions first. If the group spends a long time on your first application question, you don’t have to use every question you prepared. Try to involve everyone. Make sure that people who want to say something but are more shy about breaking into the conversation are given a chance to speak. (For example, say, “I think Chris is trying to say something here.”) If one or two people have taken the discussion into a side area that is not involving the whole group, bring the group back to the topic. “Off the track” is often in the eyes of the beholder, so if the area is somewhat related to the passage, and most of the group is interested and participating, you may want to let the discussion go for a little while. The goal is faith sharing and spiritual growth, and the Holy Spirit can sometimes accomplish that in a different way than you anticipated. But don’t let the discussion get way off the passage and don’t let a few people go on and on without involving the rest of the group. Bring the discussion back to the passage. (For example, say, “Let’s look at the passage again to see what it says about this.” Or ask another application question that brings the group back to the passage.) When you feel it is time to move on, briefly summarize what the group has discovered in that passage and suggest that the group move on to the next passage. Repeat steps 4 to 11 for the next passage. Before the end, try to summarize the key findings and applications from the week’s discussion. End with prayer, inviting short prayers asking God to help us or others : “Lord, help me or us to. . . .” or “Lord, help my brother or sister to . . . .” Encourage the group to echo each other’s prayers, so that it is truly conversational prayer: “Yes, Lord, help, me or us or Chris to. . . . Give them your. . . .” Make sure newcomers and quieter people are included in the social chit-chat after the meeting. For more leadership training materials, see Leading a Small-Group Bible Study . Copyright © 2024, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous For Leaders Next

Bibliography of major sources and additional sources used in this study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Previous Mary List Next Mary - Bibliography Bibliography of major sources and additional sources used in this study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some of the resources on the author's bookshelf. Tom Faletti July 16, 2025 Major Sources Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament, Revised Standard Edition, Second Catholic Edition . Ignatius Press, 2010. Interlinear Bible. Bible Hub , https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ . Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott . An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Founded Upon the Seventh Edition of Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899. For the full Lexicon from 1940 available online, see A Greek-English Lexicon , Furman Classics Editions, http://folio2.furman.edu/lsj/ or A Greek-English Lexicon , Internet Archive , Volume I: https://archive.org/details/b31364949_0001/mode/2up and Volume II: https://archive.org/details/b31364949_0002/mode/2up . New American Bible, revised edition (NABRE) . Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2010. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary . Edited by Raymond E. Brown, et al. Prentice Hall, 1990. The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version: With the Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible . Eds. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2010. New Revised Standard Version Bible , copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Payne, David. F. “Isaiah.” The International Bible Commentary: With the New International Version . F.F. Bruce, General Editor. Marshall Pickering/Zondervan, 1986. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance . Bible Hub , https://biblehub.com/greek/21.htm . Vine, William E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary , 1940, StudyLight.org , https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ved.html . Additional Sources Keller, Timothy. “God’s Call to Mary and to Us.” Focus on the Family , 15 Nov. 2021, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/gods-call-to-mary-and-to-us/ . Prahlow, Jacob. “A Protestant Thinks about the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Conciliar Post , 21 Nov. 2018, https://conciliarpost.com/theology-spirituality/a-protestant-thinks-about-the-blessed-virgin-mary/ . “What is the difference between a refugee and a migrant?” USA for UNHCR , 15 Dec. 2022, https://www.unrefugees.org/news/what-is-the-difference-between-a-refugee-and-a-migrant/ . “Which church father first taught the perpetual virginity of Mary?” Christianity Stack Exchange , 3 Dec. 2018, https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/56526/which-church-father-first-taught-the-perpetual-virginity-of-mary . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Mary List Next

Jesus is greater than King David. He’s not your ordinary messiah, not your ordinary son of David. Who is Jesus in your life? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 22:41-46 Jesus is greater than King David. He’s not your ordinary messiah, not your ordinary son of David. Who is Jesus in your life? Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). King David playing the harp . Tapestry. Circa 1628. Convent of Las Descalzas Reales, Madrid, Spain. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_David_playing_the_Harp.png . Tom Faletti August 18, 2025 Matthew 22:41-46 Jesus challenges the Pharisees: What do the Psalms say about the Messiah? Matthew has now presented 3 separate confrontations between Jesus and 3 major factions of Jewish religious and political society: the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. Each group hoped to trip him up. In each case, he not only outwitted them; he gave timeless guidance for how to think about major questions in life. Jesus now turns the tables and poses a question to the Pharisees. He knows that they believe, correctly, that the Messiah will be the son of David. Matthew signaled from the very beginning of his Gospel that this is a key theme of the Gospel, when he presented the genealogy of Jesus in a way that showed that Jesus is the son of David (Matt. 1:1ff) and the Messiah. First, Jesus asks the Pharisees an easy question. What does Jesus ask in verse 42, and how do they answer? Jesus then asks a really difficult question that had never occurred to them. In verses 44, Jesus quotes from Psalm 110:1. This psalm begins with a caption attributing the psalm to David, and the Jews of Jesus’s time believed that this psalm was talking about the Messiah. In verse 43, he points out that David was inspired by the Spirit when he wrote it. In verses 43-45, what is the meaning of Jesus’s question? Why is this a difficult question? In the psalm, David says: The Lord (i.e., God) said to “my lord” (meaning whom?), “Sit at my right hand….” Who could David be referring to as his “lord”? The Jews interpreted the psalm as speaking about a son (descendant) of David, but a child is generally not considered greater than the parent. Who could be of higher stature than David, that David would call him “lord”? The Jews of Jesus’s time believed that in this psalm David was talking about the future messiah, yet David calls this descendant of his his lord. Jesus asks, how can this be? It is a difficult question because it suggests that the messiah is greater than David, not simply a descendant who would restore David’s throne. How can this be? If the messiah is greater than David, not just a son of David, what might that suggest about the Messiah? Jesus is suggesting that this Messiah is greater than David and more than just a “son of David.” But what could be greater than David? This raises the possibility that the Messiah is the Son of God. Is Jesus saying something about himself? How does this relate to Jesus? Several people have called Jesus the Son of David in Matthew’s Gospel, and he has never rejected the title. When the crowd called him the Son of David in Matthew 21:9 as he entered Jerusalem, he did not reject it. And in Matthew 21:15-16 when the chief priests and scribes criticized the use of that title for Jesus, he embraced it. So he is indicating that he is greater than David – greater than any human. If we put the pieces together, Jesus is saying that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah and Son of God, and that David prophesied that God would say to Jesus: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” If Jesus is described as being at God’s right hand and that God will put his enemies under his feet, what does that say about Jesus? Are the ideas in this passage old news to you, or does it shed new light on your faith in some way? What does this passage say to you? Matthew wants us to understand that Jesus is more than an ordinary messiah, more than a generic descendant of David. Who is Jesus in your life? Who is Jesus to you? Jesus has now stumped the people who should know the most about the Hebrew Scriptures. What does verse 46 tell us? Why are they afraid to ask him any more questions? Should we be afraid to ask Jesus questions about the Scriptures or anything else? Why not? Why do you think Matthew has walked through these debates between Jesus and the various Jewish factions? Among other things, Matthew is showing that no one knows the Old Testament Scriptures better than Jesus and that the Scriptures point to Jesus’s unique identity as the Son of God. It also sets the stage for what is coming by showing some of the reasons why the Jewish leaders want Jesus dead. And it shows Matthew’s readers why they can believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Looking back at the debates between Jesus and his opponents in Matthew 22:15-46, how does Jesus want us to respond to what we are learning from him in these passages? Take a step back and consider this: One of the early debates in the Church, as it was first being formed, was whether Christians needed the Old Testament or could just discard it as a relic of an earlier time before Jesus appeared. How do you think Jesus would respond to that question? Why is an understanding of the Old Testament valuable for the faith of a Christian? What is your relationship with the Old Testament? Do you find it valuable? If so, why? Are there ways you think you could do more to enhance your understanding of the Old Testament? Why? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? Previous Next John List John 4:43-54 Jesus’s word was enough for the royal official. How much faith do you place in Jesus’s word? James Tissot (1836-1902). The Healing of the Officer's Son (La guérison du fils de l'officier) . 1886–1894. Cropped. Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY. Public domain, Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-SA , via Brooklyn Museum, https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/13404 . Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 Read John 4:43-54 Jesus returns to Galilee and heals a royal official’s son – the second “sign” The first sign and the stories that followed it helps us think about Jesus’s role as living water . The next set of stories explores how Jesus’s word has the power to give life. The 7 signs John focuses on are not the only miracles Jesus performs. They are not even the only “signs” Jesus performs (John tells us in 2:11 that he performed other signs in Jerusalem). But John gives special attention to these 7 signs that point beyond the miracle to who Jesus is. Here are the Gospel of John’s 7 signs: Jesus turns water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-12). Followed by the discussion with the Samaritan woman, Jesus shows he is the living water. Jesus heals the official’s son (John 4:46-54). Jesus shows his power over illness and ability to heal even at a distance. Jesus heals the paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:1-47). Jesus shows he is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus feeds the 5,000 by the multiplication of loaves and fish (John 6:1-14). Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus walks on water (John 6:16-24). Jesus has power over nature and overcomes fear. Jesus heals the man born blind (John 9:1-41). This sign is preceded by Jesus’s declaration that he is the Light of the World (John 8:12). It shows that Jesus offers spiritual insight so that we can see clearly. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Jesus shows his power even over death, after declaring that he is the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25). What does Jesus say in verse 44, and what does it mean? Some people see a contradiction between verses 44 and 45. In the short run, verse 45 tells us that the Galileans welcomed him because the people who had gone to the feast in Jerusalem reported the good things that Jesus had done. But John cautions us that this did not last in the long run, warning us in verse 44 that the proverb is true that says that a prophet is not honored in his native place. What happens in this story about the royal official in Cana? Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10 have a similar but not identical story. In Matthew and Luke, the one asking for help is a centurion – a military officer with 100 soldiers under him, and therefore a Gentile. In John, it is a “royal official,” meaning someone in the court of Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee, and therefore probably someone who is a Jew. In Matthew and John, the sick person is the centurion’s pais , a Greek word that can mean either one’s boy or girl child or one’s slave. Luke uses the word doulos , which only means slave (although it is often translated as servant). We needn’t be troubled by these minor discrepancies in people’s memory of what Jesus did. However, the television series The Chosen suggests a solution to part of the possible discrepancy: in their storyline, the boy is the illegitimate son of the official and of a servant/slave under him, and the boy was raised as a servant/slave. In all of the versions, the man is from Capernaum, suggesting that there is a common core event, even if there was uncertainty about exactly who Jesus healed from miles away. How is the official feeling in the beginning? Jesus responds in verse 48 by expressing concern that people only believe because of they see his signs and wonders. What is wrong with that? John warns in verses 44-45 that people might not believe in Jesus in the end, when the signs people expected don’t come to pass, even though they might believe for a time. John previously warned in 2:23-24 that there is a difference between initially “believing” because of Jesus’s signs and truly believing in a way that permanently changes your life. Why do you think the official persists when Jesus makes that comment? What can we learn from him? In verse 49, the official asks Jesus to come “down” to Capernaum. Capernaum was a port city on the Sea of Galilee (a lake, actually), which is east of Galilee. Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee are around 700 feet below sea level. Archaeologists have identified 2 possible sites for Cana. Both are up in the hilly part of Galilee, at least 700 feet above sea level, so there is a 1,400-foot difference in elevation between the two towns. Capernaum was perhaps a 20-mile walk down from Cana, which would have taken a whole day. To walk from Capernaum to Cana, as the royal official had done, would have taken longer, because it required a climb of 1,400 feet in elevation. The official asks Jesus to come to Capernaum. Why do you think Jesus chose to heal the man’s son at a distance rather than going to Capernaum? Verse 50 tells us that the man “believed the word that Jesus said to him” and left. Why was Jesus’s word enough for him? The man chose to believe the word of Jesus. Have you had an experience like that, where you needed to believe the word of God before it was clear that he would do something? What happened? What can we learn from this about the power of Jesus’s word? When we are desperate, as this man was, we might be tempted to believe anyone who says they can help us. How do you discern which words are truly from God and which are not, in order to avoid being fooled by false prophets? If you had been that official, would you have needed something more than just a word from Jesus before you left? More generally, what kinds of “signs and wonders” (verse 48) do you need before you are ready to believe a word from Jesus? What is Jesus saying to you in this passage? Take a step back and consider this: Verse 53 says that the man (and his whole household) believed. What sort of belief do you think he had when it says he believed in verse 53 (believed what)? How might this belief have been greater or different than the belief he had in verse 50 where it says he believed when Jesus said his son would live? Initially, the man at least believed that Jesus has the power to heal. In verse 53, he probably believes that Jesus is sent from God and that what he teaches is true, and perhaps even that he is the Messiah. “Belief” can have many levels. One can believe merely that God exists, or also that Jesus has power from God, or that Jesus is God. One can stop with head knowledge, or one can act on it and become a follower and disciple of Jesus. One can make Jesus part of their life, or they can be “all in” and try to let Jesus shape every aspect of who they are. When you say you “believe” in God or in Jesus, what does it mean for you? What do you mean when you say you have put your faith in God? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/bibliography . Copyright © 2026, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous John List Next

Pre-tribulation theories contradict Jesus and Paul. What does the Bible actually say? Previous Christian Faith Articles Next The Rapture? It’s Not a Pre-Millennial Escape from Tribulation Pre-tribulation theories contradict Jesus and Paul. What does the Bible actually say? Image by CHUTTERSNAP, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti December 13, 2024 In 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18, the apostle Paul refers to the “rapture” while he is discussing the end times when Christ will return. The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word that translates the Greek word in verse 17 where Paul says that we will be “caught up” (literally, “snatched”) to meet the Lord in the air. Authors Tim LaHaye of the Left Behind series and Hal Lindsey of The Late Great Planet Earth fame have popularized an approach to interpreting what the Scriptures say about the end times that leans heavily on a modern interpretation of Paul’s “rapture.” These authors (and others, who don’t always agree among themselves) combine their interpretation of the rapture with their interpretation of the “1000 years” mentioned in Revelation 20:2-3 and other Bible passages to produce an entire timeline of the end times that is not consistent with the historic understanding of the Scriptures. Their views are based on ideas that mostly did not spread until the 19th century. Most of Christendom from the time of Augustine in the 5th century until the 19th century has taken a very different approach to interpreting the Bible’s end-times passages. Currently, the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches, and many Protestant denominations – including the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist Churches and others – reject that interpretation of the end times. This summary of the problem is drawn from a variety of sources, in an attempt to identify the commonalities in Catholic and Protestant thinking about the subject. In addition to the sources used in my 1 Thessalonians study, it also considers Trent Horn (Catholic), Karlo Broussard (Catholic), Alan S. Bandy (Reformed), the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (Lutheran), and “Where does the Rapture fit into UM beliefs?” (United Methodist). The historic churches and denominations have much in common in their understanding of the end times. The main divide on this topic is not between Protestants and Catholics. The main divide is between a fundamentalist segment of modern Christianity and the rest of Christianity. Frameworks for thinking about the end times There are roughly 6 common frameworks for thinking about the rapture, the tribulation, and the 1000-year “millennial” reign mentioned in Revelation 20:2-3: The first three approaches all revolve around the idea that the rapture will precede a 1000-year millennium of peace and righteousness on earth. However, the pre-millennialists don’t agree on whether the rapture will happen before, during, or after the tribulation that precedes the end: Pre-tribulation, pre-millennial: Christ will come and take the Christians who are alive to heaven (the “rapture”) before the tribulation. Then the tribulation will come, in a world devoid of Christians. Then Christ will come again with the church (which sounds like a second Second Coming, since he already came to rapture people). Then Christ will reign for 1000 years, and then there will be the final judgment (which sounds like a third Second Coming). This is the view of the people like Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey who have fed the “rapture” industry. Mid-tribulation, pre-millennial: This approach is similar to the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial approach, except that the rapture will happen in the middle of the tribulation (i.e., halfway through the 7-year tribulation), not before it begins. Therefore, Christians will experience some of the tribulation and not be fully spared. Post-tribulation, pre-millennial: This approach says that Christians will not be spared the tribulation at all. Christians will not join Christ until he comes in his Second Coming at the end of the tribulation. Then Christ will reign for 1000 years, and then the final judgment will come. These approaches all separate the Second Coming of Christ from the final judgment. Jesus never suggests such a separation, nor does Paul. They both describe one decisive event when Jesus comes, takes believers to himself, and presides over the final judgment. Amillennial: This view rejects the separation of the “rapture” from the final judgment and the entire pre-millennial framework. In this view, we are in the 1000-year reign of Christ, which began when Christ broke the power of sin by his death and resurrection and ascended into heaven. The reference to “1000” years in the Book of Revelation is symbolic, not literal: “1000” means a large number and “1000 years” means “a very long time.” Revelation 20 says that in this millennial time, the devil is being restrained. God is giving us time so that the gospel can be spread around the world. After the period we are now in, which includes its own times of smaller tribulation, Satan will be allowed to try to turn people away from Christ and the great, final tribulation will come. The Christians and non-Christians suffer now, and both the church and non-believers will suffer during the final tribulation, as Jesus warned from the beginning (see, for example, Matthew 24:29-31, where the tribulation precedes the gathering of the elect to Christ). After that period of tribulation, the final judgment will begin with Christians being caught up with those who have risen from the dead to meet Christ when he returns (1 Thess. 4:17; also referred to by Paul in 2 Thess. 2:1 as our “assembling” with the Lord). That event is not a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial escape from suffering; it is part of the Second Coming and final judgment exercised by Christ. This more traditional approach to interpreting the end-times Scriptures was the generally accepted view throughout the church from the time of Augustine in the 5th century, through the Protestant Reformation, and all the way until the 19th century. It is more faithful to the Scriptures, and it is followed by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and a variety of current Protestant denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Methodist Churches and others. Although scholars call this approach the “amillennial” approach, that term is not necessarily used by these churches. All of those churches reject the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial approach that was popularized in the decades before and after the year 2000. There are two other views worth mentioning, for the sake of completeness (and there are many other sub-categories and branches dividing all of the approaches). Postmillennial: In this view, first there will be a (literal or symbolic) 1000-year golden age of prosperity and minimal suffering on Earth, during which most people will be converted to Christ and live in righteousness. The devil will be bound during that time but will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years. After that 1000 years of relative peace, there will be a time of tribulation followed by the Second Coming (when believers will be called up to heaven) and the final judgment. This view was popular in the 19th century (the 1800s), until the World Wars of the 20th century made people rethink whether the world could reach such a golden age of righteousness. Metaphorical: In this view, most of the end-times references in the Bible are metaphorical and should not be interpreted literally. There will not be a literal trumpet, a literal 1000-year reign, a literal meeting of Christ in the sky, etc. God has used figurative language and metaphors to help us understand things that are beyond us. All of the key points of Scripture will be fulfilled: Christ will return and judge the world, the dead will be raised, there will be a final judgment, the devil and death will be defeated, and Christians will live with Christ forever. But the details of what it will look like are not for us to worry about. Problems with the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture idea The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture theory is inconsistent with Scripture in several ways: The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture violates the claim in Acts 1:11 that Jesus will return in the same visible way he left, since the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial story creates a scenario where Jesus remains hidden except to believers. The theory claims that Jesus doesn’t stay on Earth after the rapture and only returning visibly 1000 years later. The word Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 for the “coming” of the Lord (the Greek word parousia ) in was used by the Greeks before Christ to refer to the ceremonial arrival of a king or ruler. Pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture proponents argue that in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Christ only comes partly back, gathers the raptured people, and returns to heaven. However, Paul does not say Jesus immediately returns to heaven with them; he only says that those who are caught up to meet him in the air will be with him forever. The word for “meet” in verse 17 is a Greek word used to describe the situation where people go out from their town to meet a visiting official or king and escort that official into their city (in response to the “coming” in verse 15). Paul is saying that when Christ comes to Earth and the risen Christians and the still-alive Christians join him, they will stay with him as he comes to the Earth and does his work of final judgment. The idea that Christ aborts his “coming” and returns to heaven, only to return later, has been added by the pre-tribulation advocates without justification or good evidence. The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture theory that Jesus’s coming to gather the elect is separated from his final judgment by 1000 years contradicts Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that Christ’s Second Coming will be announced with an archangel’s voice and the sound of a trumpet, at which point the dead will be raised. 1 Corinthians 15:51-55 also links the trumpet to the raising of the dead. In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus links his coming in power and glory (verse 30) with the angels (verse 31), the sound of the trumpet (verse 31), and the gathering of the elect (verse 31). In Matthew 25:31-33, Jesus links his coming in glory (verse 31) with the final judgment (verses 32-33ff). These events are all connected and happen together. The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial approach contradicts Jesus by separating the raising of the dead from the final judgment by 1000 years. In Matthew 24:29, Jesus says that these events happen right after the tribulation (verse 29). The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial advocates seek to escape the tribulation that Jesus clearly foretells. The pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture violates Jesus’s statement in Matthew 16:27 that when he comes with his angels, he will repay people according to their deeds (i.e., the Second Coming with the final judgment). Again, Jesus does not teach any separation between these events. Note: Some rapture fans also interpret Luke 17:34-37 as referring to the rapture. In that passage, Jesus says that one person will be taken and another will be left. However, when you read that verse in context, starting at verse 26, you see that people are being “taken” in judgment. They are not being taken to heaven. They are not being raptured away to be saved from tribulation. Conclusion: The popular theory is wrong, but the Lord will be with us forever. In summary, the pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture story created in the 19th century and popularized as Americans endured the Cold War and approached the millennial year 2000 does not have a sound basis in Scripture. The Book of Revelation is filled with symbolic language. There is no reason to distort the teachings of Jesus and Paul in order to interpret Revelation’s round number of 1000 years as a literal 1000 years. It is symbolic for the long period of time we are in before the Lord returns. And Jesus and Paul are very clear that Christians will endure the tribulation before they are united with Christ in his return. We must reject the distortions of their words that are central to every pre-tribulation rapture theory. This also means that no one escapes the tribulation except by dying. What else is true? The Scriptures tell us clearly: Christ will return. The dead will be raised. Christians (both those who have died and those who are still alive) will be united with Christ and live with him forever. Christ will judge the living and the dead and ask them how they treated “the least of these” among us. Fortunately, that’s all we really need to know about the end times. Copyright © 2024, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Christian Faith Articles Next

Herod seeks to kill Jesus, which is why Jesus ends up as a refugee in Egypt, and then in Nazareth. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 2:13-23 Herod seeks to kill Jesus, which is why Jesus ends up as a refugee in Egypt, and then in Nazareth. Image by NEOM, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti February 13, 2024 Matthew 2:13-23 Jesus becomes a refugee, avoids a massacre, and ends up in Nazareth Matthew tells this part of the story to help us understand how Jesus could be the Messiah even though he grew up in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem. Why does Joseph take Jesus and Mary to Egypt? When the angel tells Joseph to “flee,” the Greek word for flee is pheuge , which is related to our English words “refuge” and “refugee.” It was common for Jews to hide out in Egypt if they were in trouble or in danger in Judea; there were Jewish communities in a number of Egyptian cities, so they would not have felt totally alone. Still, it was a long way from home. Jesus began his life as a refugee. Fortunately, Joseph and Mary did not have to convince a skeptical government that the family was worthy of asylum status. God was willing to become not only a human, not only a poor person, but a refugee. How does that help us understand the inherent dignity of refugees and the importance of being welcoming to them? The “fulfillment prophecy” that Matthew cites in verse 15 is not actually about Jesus or the Messiah. It was a statement from Hosea 11:1 about the fact that God called his “son,” the people of Israel, out of Egypt, long ago. Matthew repurposes it, perhaps to try to convince Jews that there is a huge amount of evidence in the Hebrew Scriptures pointing to Jesus. Matthew might also be thinking that Jesus’s experience of being brought out of oppression is a foreshadowing of our own experience of being brought out of oppression by Jesus. Matthew’s frequent use of these “fulfillment prophecies” leads some scholars to conclude that Matthew is picking out Old Testament prophecies and then creating stories to fit them. There is no evidence that he is doing that. Rather, it appears that he is organizing the stories he knows about Jesus and then searching the Old Testament to see if it has “prophecies” that might fit with those events. The stories come first; not the prophecies. When the wise men do not return to him, what does Herod do? Bethlehem was not a large town, so scholars think this would have been a slaughter of perhaps 20 or 30 children. While not large in number, all the children killed by Herod would have been deeply mourned by their mothers and fathers. Some scholars think the killing of the innocents is inspired by Pharaoh’s killing of the first-born sons of the Israelites before the exodus from Egypt, but again if Matthew created the story for that purpose he could easily have made the connection explicit and he did not. The “fulfillment prophecy” in verse 18 is from Jeremiah 31:15, where the original verse is about the Israelites being forced into exile by the Babylonians. It is followed by prophecies that the people will return from exile. Ramah was 5 miles north of Jerusalem, so it was 10 miles from Bethlehem. Rachel’s tomb was thought to be in the vicinity of Bethlehem. Matthew puts that all together and sees Jesus. Where do you think God was, as this was happening? God allows humans to do a lot of evil things, without intervening. Why do you think that is? God is guiding us to be people who as fully as possible reflect God’s image. If he intervened every time something bad happened, we would not be able to learn the lessons of our actions and would not grow to spiritual maturity. Also, we might stop trying to be our best selves, figuring that God will make things better if we mess up. Allowing us to do evil is the price that must be paid for giving us the chance to grow and mature and be great: to take on the mind of Jesus, to be the Body of Christ to the world, to live in the power of the Spirit. Jesus escapes from a tyrant by going to Egypt and then returning when the tyrant is gone. How does this connect with Moses’s escape, as an infant, from a pharaoh who was a tyrant in Egypt, and the Israelites’ later escape from a tyrant pharaoh in Egypt? The words “go . . . for those seeking the child’s life are dead” (2:20, NRSV) echo the Lord’s direction to Moses to go back to Egypt because the Pharaoh who wanted to kill him is dead (Exodus 4:19), setting up a possible linkage between Jesus and Moses: Jesus is the new Moses, leading his people out of oppression and giving them a new Law. When Herod dies, why doesn’t Joseph go back to Bethlehem? Joseph is afraid of Herod’s son Archelaus, who is given the southern territory including Jerusalem and Bethlehem by his father. Joseph had good reason to be afraid of Archelaus. Archelaus was so oppressive and hated so much by the Jews that he was eventually deposed from his position by Rome. Recall that Herod’s roots were in Idumea. Archelaus had roots in Idumea and Samaria, so he was even more suspect of not being a real Jew, and he treated the Jews so horribly that this suspicion was confirmed in the people’s minds. For example, Josephus tells us that in one of Archelaus's first official acts, 3,000 Pharisees were killed in response to an uprising protesting his father’s last act of oppression in Jerusalem. Joseph goes north to Galilee, to the town of Nazareth, a place far away from Jerusalem and not under Archelaus’s jurisdiction. Matthew’s final “fulfillment prophecy” in this chapter (verse 23) cannot be found in the Old Testament. Scholars have searched and never found anything that matches. So we don’t know what Matthew had in mind here. The closest thing is a prophecy before Samson is born that Samson will be a “nazirite” (Judges 13:5), but that is not the name of a place. Perhaps Matthew was inviting a connection to the nazirites, which were Israelites, including Samson and Samuel, who consecrated themselves to God, never drank alcohol, and never cut their hair, among other strict practices (Numbers 6). But the connection is flawed, since Jesus didn’t live an ascetic life and refrained from the demonstrations of human strength that Samson excelled at. Other scholars point to a possible word-play as Isaiah 11:1 talks of a “branch” arising from the stump of Jesse, and the Hebrew word for “branch” is netser , which sounds similar to the beginning of the name Nazareth. Since Jesus fulfilled in his own person some prophecies that were addressed to “Israel,” some scholars think this word-play hinting at the branch that arises from Israel is in Matthew’s mind. All of these are nice ideas, but we don’t know what Matthew had in mind; so this suggested quote remains a puzzle. Even if we don’t expect God to communicate to us nowadays through dreams, how is Joseph a role model for seeking guidance from God? When you figure out what God is asking you to do, do it! ; make yourself open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; trust that God has a way forward for your life; take care of those around you; be aware of what is going on around you in the world, but don’t be paralyzed by it. Joseph settles his family in Nazareth. What do you know about Nazareth as a place to live and work? Joseph might have seen that he could find good work in the area of Nazareth, especially in Sepphoris, 5 miles away. This is explained in Raymond Brown’s one-volume biblical commentary: “Joseph, involved in the building trade, probably settled in in Nazareth, because he could find abundant work in neighboring Sepphoris, which Herod Antipas was rebuilding as his capital at that time” (Benedict T. Viviano, O.P., “The Gospel According to Matthew,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary , par. 15, p. 636). Historians say that Sepphoris, though a Jewish city, did not join the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in 66 A.D., suggesting that it took a more cosmopolitan rather than strictly Jewish approach to life under Roman occupation. How might this choice of a hometown have affected Jesus as he grew up? Although Nazareth was a small town, it was not a backwater. Besides being just 5 miles from Herod Antipas’s capital at Sepphoris, it was nestled in the fabric of trade routes to faraway places. It was only 15 miles away from the major international north-south Roman highway that ran through Israel along the Mediterranean coast from Syria to Egypt. Nazareth was also the crossroads of two smaller highways that served as trade routes, one starting at Ptolemais on the coast (modern-day Acre, Israel) and running southeast to Samaria, and the other running northeast through Nazareth to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, a city founded by Herod Antipas (see “Palestine in the time of Jesus, 4 B.C. - 30 A.D.: (including the period of Herod, 40 - 4 B.C.),” Library of Congress , https://www.loc.gov/item/2009579463/ ). As a result, Jesus, as a growing child and as a young man, would have been exposed to other cultures and a bigger world even while living in his Jewish village. This is all we get from Matthew for the “Christmas story” – very little compared to what we have from Luke. What important points about the background, birth, and infancy of Jesus are provided to us by Matthew? Jesus is Son of David, son of Abraham, Son of God due to his virgin birth, Emmanuel (“God with us”), perhaps a new Moses, born in Bethlehem, and raised in Nazareth. His birth story shows how the hand of God protects a little one so that he can grow up and save us, and the first people to recognize that this little one is great is a small group of Gentiles, a bit of foreshadowing that continues to play out as Matthew shows that the gospel is for Gentiles as well as Jews. How do you see the hand of God working subtly but decisively to bring good out of evil in these stories? How do you see the hand of God doing the same thing in your life? Do you think Matthew succeeds in making his point that Jesus fulfills the messianic prophecies even though he grew up in Nazareth, not Bethlehem? Explain. What can you take from this story of the wise men, Herod, Joseph, and Jesus to strengthen your faith or your approach to God? Take a step back and consider this: God could have chosen anywhere in the world for his Son to be born as a human. He could have selected a “chosen people” anywhere. He could have chosen any time in history for his coming. God chose this particular people, whose particular history placed them in this particular place in the world at this particular time. At this particular time, the Roman Empire made it easy to spread a message far and wide. Growing up in Nazareth would place Jesus among people who could both nurture him in the monotheistic culture of Judaism and also expose Him to the rest of the world, and living at a minor crossroads could help him tailor his message to speak to both Jews and Gentiles and prepare the way so that his followers could use their location in the midst of the Roman Empire to take the gospel ultimately “to the ends of the earth.” You also live at a particular time, in a particular place, among a particular people, at a crossroads of particular relationships and opportunities. God desires to work through you to share some piece of his good news with some particular people by your words and actions. How is God calling you to use the embedded realities, relationships, and crossroads of your life to bring his good news to others and make the world more like the kingdom of God that it was meant to be? What is God calling you to do next, where you are? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

Pray with confidence that God will respond as your Father. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 7:7-11 Pray with confidence that God will respond as your Father. Image by Gustavo Sánchez, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti June 7, 2024 Matthew 7:7-11 Pray expectantly Overall, what is your initial impression of this passage? What is it saying? In verses 7-8, what is the attitude Jesus is calling us to have in prayer? The tense of the verbs in these verses is the present imperative active ( Interlinear Bible , https://biblehub.com/interlinear/matthew/7.htm ), which means that they would be better translated as: Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking; or continually ask, continually seek, continually knock. We don’t have this tense in English, so our translators settle for “ask, seek, knock,” but the tense in Greek means to continually do that thing. The Greek verbs that are used in verses 7-8 indicate that Jesus is not talking about asking just once. The verbs actually mean “keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking.” How does that affect your understanding of this passage? What does this tell you? In verses 9-10, Jesus offers two images of what human parents would or would not do, and then uses them as analogies to God. What would human parents not do, and why? To an innocent and undiscerning child, a large stone might look like a small loaf of bread. A small fish might look like a snake or eel. If a child asked for bread or fish, a parent would not give them a stone or a snake; that would be malicious. Almost all parents love their children and would responding lovingly, not cruelly or callously. In verse 11, Jesus then compares the parents to God. What does he say about “your Father in heaven”? By describing our prayers as like a child seeking what he or she needs from a parent, Jesus is telling us about our relationship with God who is our Father. What does this tell us about how we can approach God in prayer? Jesus says even human parents, who are “evil” (NRSV) or “wicked” (NABRE), wouldn’t give their child a stone if they asked for bread. What is he trying to tell us by using that word “evil” or “wicked” to contrast us with God? God, who is all good, will not give us fake gifts or false gifts. God will only give us what is good, what is consistent with His perfect love. This means God will not always give us what we ask. Even when we ask for good things, God does not always give us what we ask for. How do you make sense of that reality in the context of this passage? It is often said that God answers our prayers in one of three ways: Yes, No, or Not Yet. If the answer is Yes, we receive the blessing and move forward. If the answer is No, we accept the answer and move on. If the answer is Not Yet, we wait patiently, continuing to pray and trust that God has our best interests at heart. God cannot always give us what we ask for, because sometimes what we ask for would not actually be what is best for us, and God would not give us a stone even if we thought it was good and asked for it. How have you experienced God answering your prayers with a Yes? How have you experienced God answering your prayers with a No? How have you experienced God answering your prayers with a Not Yet? There is a fourth way that God answers prayer. Sometimes, after praying for a period of time, we come to realize that what we truly want and need is not what we were asking for, but something else. In this case, God has answered our prayer by changing our heart and our desires. When our heart is aligned with God, it opens the door for God to work in new ways that might not previously been feasible. But that requires us to be willing to more forward according to God’s ways, not our ways. How have you experienced your requests to God changing as you kept asking God for something? There is a fifth way that God answers prayer: with a “Not That But This.” God sometimes gives us something that is a blessing but not the blessing we sought. As William Barclay says: “God will always answer our prayers, but He will answer them in His way, and His way will be the way of perfect wisdom and of perfect love” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , pp. 275-276). A relevant quote that has been attributed to many people over the years is: “When one door closes another always opens, but we usually look so long, so intently, and so sorrowfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened” (quote investigator Garson O’Toole concludes that the source is unknown, although part may have come from Johann Paul Friedrich Richter). How have you experienced God answering a prayer not by giving you what you asked for but by opening a door to something else? Did you find it easy or hard to recognize that God was answering your prayer by giving you that alternative? The relationship we have with God, our Father, is far more important than anything we ask God to do. Are there ways that your prayer life might change if your prayers were consistently founded on the relationship you have with God as Father and not so much on what you want? How does this passage help you pray to God with confidence? Having looked at this entire passage in detail, what does it say to you? Take a step back and consider this: Sometimes what we ask for is not evil but misses the point. My grandfather, when he was in his 60s, told me that when he was young, he had asked God for three things: a beautiful wife, a beautiful car, and a big house. With his 8th-grade education and hard-scrabble upbringing, those probably seemed like big asks. But he was a hard worker, a sociable person who was good at understanding what other people wanted and how to bring people together, and a wise man about many things despite his meager formal education. He advanced in the steel mill from blue collar to white collar, then left to become a very successful insurance agent. He married early and eventually obtained a big house (relative to others in his community) and the fancy car he wanted. But he told me about his early prayer not boastfully but ruefully, as if to show the foolishness of the request. When he told me this, he was spending most of his time in one room of the big house, sitting next to the bed where his wife lay 23 hours a day. Her life had been sapped by chronic health problems, but she had all the time in the world to carp at him as he sat there. The fancy car mostly sat unused in the garage. People sometimes say: Be careful what you ask for. But that is too cryptic to catch the point. It isn’t what you ask for, but why, that matters. For whom are you asking, and to what end? For whom are you most earnest prayers delivered? To what end do you ask God to bless you? How would your prayers change, if you were only allowed to pray for things that you knew would help advance God's loving work in the world? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

God wants Christians to work for justice. Previous Justice Articles Next Justice and the Bible God wants Christians to work for justice. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti February 28, 2024 In the Bible, God repeatedly calls us to work for justice. Here is a short overview of the many Scripture passages where God’s demand that we work for justice is clear : God makes every human person in his image (Genesis 1:27) and tells us to treat all people with respect (1 Peter 2:17). Jesus tells us that he is present in every person in need (Matthew 25:34-40). Repeatedly, throughout the Old Testament, God demands that his people establish justice in their society (Amos 5:15), end the oppression of immigrants and those who are poor (Zechariah 7:8-11), provide for the poor and alien (Leviticus 23:22), and treat the immigrant like a citizen (Leviticus 19:33-34). He tells us to free the oppressed and provide for the needy (Isaiah 58:6-7). He calls us to defend the weak, the poor, and the oppressed (Psalm 82:3-4). He tells businesses to treat their customers fairly (Leviticus 19:35-36; 23:35-36) and to pay just wages to their workers (Deuteronomy 24:14-15; James 5:4). He tells governmental leaders to seek justice, defend the oppressed, and take up the cause of those who are at the bottom of society (Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 22:3). He directs those in political authority to act with justice and deliver the needy from those who oppress them (Psalm 72). How can we follow the Lord’s commands to establish justice in our land if we do not work to transform the social and political structures of our society? With so many Scripture passages directing us to take action for justice, how can any preacher suggest that salvation is just between you and God and we don’t need to be involved in transforming our society, our government, our businesses, and our culture? Furthermore, if we live in a democracy, we are responsible for our government’s laws. We cannot claim that God does not care if we allow laws that violate the principles of justice He has established – we are responsible to choose, guide, and influence our lawmakers, who are responsible to work for justice on our behalf. God demands that we get involved. He will hold us accountable for our response to His call to seek justice in our world. May we respond to God’s intense desire for justice and join His work to make it so. Copyright © 2024, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Justice Articles Next

Can we say “Yes” to God, and then actually do the work he asks us to do? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 21:28-32 Can we say “Yes” to God, and then actually do the work he asks us to do? Georg Pencz (ca.1500–d. 1550). The Parable of the Father and His Two Sons in the Vineyard , from the series The Story of Christ . 1534-35. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Public domain, CC0 , https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/432116 . Tom Faletti August 7, 2025 Matthew 21:28-32 The parable of the two sons What does the first son say and then do? What does the second son say and then do? Let’s look at this parable first on the surface level – the ordinary human level. How would you describe the difference between the two sons? Notice how the second son respectfully calls his father “sir” or “lord” ( kyrie in Greek). He is all lip service, no action . Pious words don’t substitute for obedience in doing what God wants. Given that neither son is totally without blame, Jesus’s question is interesting. Which seems to be more important to him: what the sons said or what they did ? Neither son fully reflects what the father hopes his children would be, since the father would have liked his sons to both respond to the initial request and carry it out. We also sometimes don’t want to do what God asks us to do. How does God want us to deal with that? God doesn’t mind if we express how we feel. But he hopes we will do what he asks. God would like you to embrace his goals both in word and in deed. But why do the actions count for more than the words? There are probably times in your life where you have said no to God. Like the first son, you can always change your mind and begin again with a new yes . How might you seek God’s forgiveness for times you have said no and embrace a new yes ? Now let’s look at the metaphorical meaning of the parable. A vineyard is a symbol of Israel. We see this, for example, in Isaiah 5:1-30 and Jeremiah 12:10. If the vineyard is Israel, who do the two sons represent? Jesus does not leave any ambiguity as to which son represents the chief priests and elders. He turns the story directly against them. He says that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before them. What does this mean? This passage relates to the previous one. Jesus asked the Jewish leaders about John the Baptist. The Jewish leaders did not embrace John’s message of repentance, but many of the ordinary people did, including tax collectors and prostitutes. They same pattern reoccurred in people’s reactions to Jesus. The leaders professed to honor God, but they did not respond with the appropriate actions. They were like the son who did not do his father’s will: all lip service, no action. What have the tax collectors and prostitutes done that leads Jesus to praise them? How does their approach to John (and presumably to Jesus) differ from that of the chief priests and elders? The tax collectors and prostitutes Jesus is talking about are those who have amended their lives to follow Jesus, so that they are showing fruit for God. In verse 32, Jesus says to the leaders: “even when you saw” that the tax collectors and prostitutes were responding to the call of God “you did not change your minds.” It is possible that this made them even less inclined to believe, but Jesus says it should have made them more inclined to believe. Why should we be encouraged in our faith when people who are not part of the faith come to faith? What does this parable tell us? How valid do you think the following conclusions are? God cares what we do, not just what we say. In God’s eyes, what we do counts for a lot more than what we say. God is willing to put up with a lot if we come around in the end. He gives us time to turn around and do what he wants. Now think about the father’s feelings toward the son who treated him respectfully but did not do what the father asked. How do you think God feels about people who say they do God’s will but don’t actually follow through with action? In our lives, God’s directions are not always as simple as “God work in my vineyard today” – but sometimes they are. How would you describe the “work in God’s vineyard” that God wants you and me to be doing right now in our lives? Which of the following might be examples of “working in God’s vineyard” today? Living a holy life that follows God’s moral laws. Looking for opportunities to tell others the good news about Jesus that we have received – and then actually telling it. Putting God’s love into action by caring for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the stranger, etc. Standing up for justice and the proper treatment of all the people created by God. There are many Christians who live out their faith in word and deed. There are also some who seem to talk the talk but don’t seem to show much concern for loving those who struggle and seeking their well-being. There are also people who don’t talk the talk of faith at all but try to live by a strong moral code and care for the needy. What do you think God thinks about these groups of people? Is there an area in your life where you might be saying the right things but not doing what your Father wants? What might you do in response to this parable? In this parable, Jesus draws a clear line, challenging the chief priests and elders to choose a side – His side – and stop opposing him. In the next parable, he makes this even more explicit. Take a step back and consider this: The Washington, DC, news station WTOP presented a story by Kyle Cooper about the claim that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by the second Friday in January. This phenomenon even has a name: Quitter’s Day . But if you consider Jesus’s parable about the two sons, it raises a question: Is the second Friday of January the right time to decide that you are not going to put into action what you said you would do? Or is it just another day when you can turn your lack of action into action? If we have not done something at the first opportunity – whether it is to follow through on a resolution or something else – we can still start now. Start it at the first opportunity: It would be wonderful if we could catch God’s vision for what he is trying to do in our world, embrace the vision, and follow through with steady, consistent action from the beginning. We don’t want to excuse a “No,” even if it eventually becomes a “Yes,” or to excuse a “Yes” that isn’t followed by action. Neither of those is God’s ideal for us; he desires our words and our deeds. But it’s a fact of life that sometimes we don’t follow through. That’s not necessarily the end of the story, however. Often, we still have an opportunity to start now. Start now: Every moment is another moment when we can say “Yes” to God in place of a previous “I will not,” or to follow through on a “Yes” we have not yet delivered on. God is always ready to welcome us into the vineyard, and he always receives us with joy. Is there something that God has been asking you to do, and perhaps you said “No” or perhaps you just haven’t followed through? If so, what can you do now to get to work on it? What can you do to cultivate the attitudes and habits of mind that will help you be the kind of person who, when God says, “Go and do this today,” you say “Yes” and do it? It is a privilege and a gift from God that we are invited to participate in the work of his vineyard, working with him as he transforms us into a fuller image of himself and transforms the world so that it is a fitting place for his kingdom. Let us welcome the opportunities and embrace the work he gives to us! Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. Previous Matthew List Next

A healing, a second warning of suffering to come, an interruption to pay a tax – just a normal day in the life of Jesus . . . and us? [Matthew 17:14-21; 17:22-23; 17:24-27] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 17:14-27 A healing, a second warning of suffering to come, an interruption to pay a tax – just a normal day in the life of Jesus . . . and us? Mattia Preti (1613-1699). Il tributo della moneta [The tribute coin] . circa 1640. Cropped. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mattia_Preti_-_Tribute_Money_-_WGA18400.jpg . Tom Faletti June 19, 2025 Jesus comes down from the mountain where he experienced the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), only to find that he must deal with regular life in all its complexity. It’s not that different for us: even when we have mountaintop moments, we must return to “real life” in all its ordinariness. Let’s look at the 3 incidents that Matthew tells us about right after the Transfiguration. Matthew 17:14-21 The healing of the boy with epilepsy, and the power of faith and prayer In the previous passage, Peter, James, and John experienced the overwhelming power of God during Jesus’s Transfiguration. How have you experienced the power of God in a special way? What problem does Jesus encounter that the disciples had not been able to solve? In verse 15, Matthew literally says that the boy is “moonstruck”, i.e., struck or affected by the moon. Some translations say the boy is a “lunatic” a word that comes from the word “luna” for “moon.” The symptoms are what we would call epilepsy, and people thought those symptoms were affected by the phases of the moon ( NABRE , Matt. 17:15 fn.). In verse 17, how does Jesus react to the fact that the disciples were unable to heal the boy? When Jesus calls them “faithless and perverse,” it isn’t clear whether he is reproaching unbelievers among the crowd or the disciples. He has previously chided the disciples for having “little” faith (Matthew 6:30), and in verse 20 he says they have “little faith.” He does not say they have no faith. Based on what happens here, does Jesus give up on people with “little faith,” or does he stick with them? He sticks with them and provides the healing that is needed, despite their lack of faith. Jesus sounds frustrated, or even exasperated, in verse 17. Frustration is a human emotion and not necessarily a sin. When would you say being frustrated or exasperated is sinful, and not just human? Jesus’s is ready to move to the next step, but his disciples don’t seem to be as ready as he might have hoped. Do you think God might feel this way about us sometimes? If so, what does this passage tell you about God’s enduring commitment to us even when we fall short? Jesus says, “How much longer must I put up with you.” It won’t be much longer until his death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit to empower us. In verse 20, Jesus compares faith to a mustard seed. Many translations say, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” but that is not what he actually said. He says, “If you have faith as a mustard seed.” It isn’t the size of the faith that Jesus is talking about, it is the recognition of the potential that is available to even a person who is very small , if they have faith. How does this encourage people who think they are small in this world? The fact that Jesus calls for faith “ as a mustard seed,” not “ the size of a mustard seed,” is important, because we sometimes think we have to muster up a large faith, and that puts the focus on ourselves when the focus should be on God. The point is to be as open to the working of God as a mustard seed, and to cooperate with the work of God as a mustard seed cooperates with God’s work of creation. What does this say to you? Seeds need darkness as well as light to become what they are meant to be. Does our faith similarly need times of darkness as well as good times? Explain. Jesus is using metaphors here, so he isn’t talking literally about moving mountains. What does moving mountains stand for? Having something come to pass that seems impossible or very hard. Seeds don’t cause their own growth; they have to trust God to provide the conditions for the growth of the seed. Similarly, our faith doesn’t move the mountain; God moves the mountain. We just have to trust him. What does that kind of mustard seed faith look like? How have you experienced answered prayer? How have you seen what seemed like a mountain be moved so that God’s will could be done? Go back to chapter 7 and read Matthew 7:9-10 . Jesus tells us that God wants to give us good things to us, his children. How does that assurance affect your thinking about prayer, faith, and trust? Sometimes, no matter how much faith we have, we do not receive what we ask for in prayer. The mountain we ask God to move does not move. That’s part of real life. What do you do when it seems like your prayers are not answered? Here are some ways to think about this question: 1. We are asked to trust God. God gives us what we need, but not necessarily what we think we want, just as human parents who love their children don’t always give them what they ask for because it might not be what is best for them. 2. God always answers our prayers, but his answer may be “Yes,” “No,” or “Not Yet (i.e., Wait).” Sometimes, he needs to work in our spirit to help us realize that we aren’t asking for the right thing. Sometimes, he may be waiting for us to grow spiritually so that we can handle the blessing we are asking for. One of the challenges of faith is to accept God’s answer. If we try to force it, as though we know best, we may make something happen that God knows is not best for us. Instead, we need to trust him. Matthew 17:21 Verse 21 does not appear in most modern translations of the Bible, because that verse does not appear in the oldest manuscripts. The New Testament was divided into verses before some older manuscripts were found, and those older manuscripts don’t have Matthew 17:21. It might have been added accidentally at some point by a copyist who was recalling Mark 9:29. In the oldest manuscripts, Mark 9:29 reads: “This kind can come out only through prayer.” The words “and fasting” only appear in later manuscripts of Mark and Matthew. In the oldest manuscripts we have, there is no Matthew 17:21 and Mark 9:29 does not include the words “and fasting.” Although Matthew 17:21 does not appear to be original to Matthew, Jesus does say in Mark 9:29, “This kind can come out only through prayer.” Why might there be times when prayer is necessary for healing? Matthew 17:22-23 Jesus again foretells his Passion; the disciples respond with grief Matthew 17:22 adds a new piece of information to what Jesus said in Matthew 16:21: it says Jesus will be betrayed. How does the idea that he will be betrayed make Jesus’s suffering and death even sadder? Notice that this time, the disciples are more ready to accept what Jesus is saying about his coming suffering and death. That is why they are so distressed, and perhaps also because someone who appears to be on his side will betray him. Jesus has said twice now that he will be raised. The disciples may not have understood what that meant, but what difference does it make to you that Jesus’s prophecy includes his resurrection and not just suffering and death? Matthew 17:24-27 paying the Temple tax After a long time away in more Gentile areas, Jesus now returns to Capernaum in Galilee. Matthew has several stories about Peter that the other Gospels do not have. This is one of them. This is not the story about the tax paid to the Romans (“give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”). We will see that story in chapter 22. Every male Jew age 20 and older was expected to pay a tax for the upkeep of the Temple, based on a command in Exodus 30:11-16. The tax was two drachmas (equal to a half-shekel). (Some scholars think Matthew is writing about a situation his community faced after AD 70, when the Temple had been destroyed and the Romans ordered that the tax continue to be paid, but for the upkeep of a temple in Rome dedicated to Jupiter.) What does the fact that Peter speaks for Jesus in verse 24 tell us about his role? Peter has clearly become a leader of Jesus’s band of followers, and he would have assumed that Jesus would not refuse to pay the tax that was expected of all adult males. Jesus asks whether the children of a king pay taxes that are owed to a king. (Some translations use the word “subject,” but the Greek word in verses 25 and 26 is actually “sons.”) What is he implying by his use of the word “sons”? Jesus is indicating that he is the son of God. But he uses the plural, “sons,” so he is implying that his disciples are also children of God. In verse 27, Jesus says that he does not want to offend those who expect him to pay the tax. The Greek for “offend” comes from the same root as the word “scandal” in English and the word for stumbling block in Greek. He does not want to scandalize them or be a stumbling block to them. Why is it important not to give scandal if you can avoid it? How might we decide when we may act in freedom and when we do what others expect of us in order to avoid giving scandal? Jesus tells Peter where to find the money to pay the tax, and he thoughtfully adds that Peter will find a stater (a coin equal to 4 drachmas or a full shekel), which is enough to pay the tax for both Peter and himself. What do you think about how Jesus handled this incident? Jesus does not have money, but when he needs something, the whole world is at his disposal (think of the few loaves and fish that led to the feeding of the 5,000). Jesus here shows that he cares about our earthly concerns, not just spiritual matters. What does this say to you the maters you face in your life? Jesus provides for Peter, and he will provide for us. What do you need, that Jesus can provide? Take a step back and consider this: If you think of this set of passages as a day in the life of Jesus, it might not seem all that different from some days in our lives: Suddenly, someone urgently needs you to do something; you know that a serious challenge is looming on the horizon; and then another issue unexpectedly pops up. Many people frequently have days like that; for some, it is just a normal, hectic day. When we have days like that, sometimes we might get exasperated, as Jesus did. But if we are following the model of Jesus, we will keep our cool, keep doing what needs to be done, keep helping those who need help, and keep solving the problems that arise. That’s what Jesus did on this hectic day; and with his help, we can too. When unexpected problems pop up on already busy days, how do you tend to respond? Do you become bossy? Grow anxious? Shut down? Or keep doing what needs to be done? And with what attitude? How might Jesus help you deal with those kinds of days? Bibliography See Matthew - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/matthew/bibliography . Copyright © 2025, Tom Faletti (Faith Explored, www.faithexplored.com ). This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without alteration, for nonprofit use, provided such reproductions are not sold and include this copyright notice or a similar acknowledgement that includes a reference to Faith Explored and www.faithexplored.com. See www.faithexplored.com for more materials like this. 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