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The fields are ripe for harvest. What can we learn from the Samaritan woman and Jesus about how to tell others about Jesus? Previous Next John List John 4:27-42 (Continuation of John 4:1-42) The fields are ripe for harvest. What can we learn from the Samaritan woman and Jesus about how to tell others about Jesus? Sébastien Bourdon and workshop (1616–1671). Christ and the Samaritan Woman . 1664-1669. Cropped. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:S%C3%A9bastien_Bourdon_-_Christ_and_the_Samaritan_Woman_-_68.23_-_Museum_of_Fine_Arts.jpg . Tom Faletti January 13, 2026 John 4:27-42: In this session, we are exploring John 4:27-42. Chapter 4 begins with a long discussion between Jesus and a Samaritan woman that leads her to the edge of faith. Now, we consider some of the things Jesus said about evangelization – the process of telling people about the good news of believing in Jesus – before John takes us back to what happened next in the Samaritan woman’s town. Re-read John 4:1-42 to recall what is happening in the Samaritan woman’s interaction with Jesus at the well. Verses 27-34 When the disciples return from town, what is their reaction when they see Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman? Why do you think the disciples don’t question Jesus about the fact that he is talking to a Samaritan woman? Perhaps they don’t really want to hear his answer. Perhaps he has shown his inclusiveness previously and they don’t want to appear to be questioning his values. What might be some other reasons? Jesus ignores the Jewish rules against talking with a Samaritan woman. He clearly doesn’t think that these restrictions are important. Are there any social restrictions in your culture that you think should be ignored if they get in the way of telling other people about Jesus or living out your faith? What does the woman do now, in verse 28? Why do you think she reacts to her conversation with Jesus in this way? How would you describe the status of the woman’s spiritual growth at this point? Look at what she says, and doesn’t say, in verse 29. How much does she understand about Jesus and how much does she still need to figure out? I have only heard one song based on the story of the woman at the well, an a cappella gospel rendition of “ Jesus Gave Me Water ” by Sam Cooke with The Soul Stirrers. When the disciples want Jesus to eat (verses 31-34), what does Jesus say his food is? He says his food is to do the Father’s will and finish his work. This idea of finishing his work comes up again later in John’s Gospel. Just before he dies, Jesus says, “It is finished” (John 19:30). What is the importance of “finishing”? Would it be good for us to focus more on “finishing” what God has sent us to do? The disciples don’t understand what Jesus is saying, just as Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman didn’t understand him. He is thinking on a different level than all of them. Do we have similar difficulties “understanding” Jesus? How are we like them? What should we do about the fact that we never fully understand Jesus? Perhaps this might call us to a bit of humility – not thinking we have everything figured out but being more open to listening to other people. It also calls us to study the Bible and the core teachings of our faith, so that we can understand more; to pray, so that we can be more attuned to God’s teaching and guidance; and to trust God more, because there are some things we can’t understand until we trust. Jesus says his “food” is to do God’s will. How can we find sustenance (“food”) from doing God’s will? How might it change your life if you fully embraced the idea that “the food for my soul is to do the will of God and complete the work he has given to me”? How might that view of the Christian calling change your life? Verses 35-38 In verse 35, Jesus turns to a bigger issue that builds on what is happening in this Samaritan woman’s town. He uses two mini-parables: one about fields that are ripe for the harvest and one about sowers and reapers. As with all parables, our task is to interpret what the various elements of the parable stand for or represent symbolically. What does the field ready for harvest stand for? Who do the sowers and reapers represent? The field ready for harvest is any people who have heard the word of God – the good news about believing in Jesus – and are ready to take a step of faith. The sowers are the people who have shared the good news – who have told people about Jesus and encouraged them to believe in him. The reapers are the believers who are making the gospel real to those people now, when they are ready to take that step of faith. What does the phrase, “One sows and another reaps,” mean? Note: The sower is not better than the reaper, nor vice versa. The difference is only in who happens to be there when a person is ready to put their faith and trust in Jesus. In what ways are you a “sower”? In what ways are you a “reaper”? What are some ways that you might participate more in God’s harvest, where he is bringing people to faith in himself? Verses 39-42 John now returns to the story of the Samaritan woman. What happens in the end? Why do the people begin to believe in verse 39, and why do they have a stronger faith in verse 42? Notice the two stages of the people’s faith. In verse 39, the people have a certain level of faith because the woman told them about Jesus, but they don’t ultimately believe because of her word – they believe because they have a direct experience of him (verse 42). What does that suggest to us about our attempts to tell other people about Jesus? What are some ways that we can help bring people into a direct experience of Jesus, and not just tell them our knowledge about him? Sometimes, people are touched by God when they hear Christians praying, so it can be helpful to ask someone if they would like you to pray for them. If they say yes, pray from your heart out loud so that they can hear your conversation with God. Sometimes, people are ready to pray a prayer of their own and just need to be invited to do so. Sometimes, people need to be invited to a service or event at your church where they can experience God at work in the people of God. Some scholars think that later, a group of Samaritans who believed in Jesus moved out of Samaria (perhaps after being persecuted or ostracized by some of their fellow Samaritans in the same way that the early Jewish Christians were rejected by their fellow Jews) and joined John’s community in Ephesus before he wrote this Gospel. These scholars see John’s positive treatment of Samaritans and the preservation of this story as possible clues that Samaritans were part of John’s community. What this passage tells us about the process of evangelization Because Jesus focuses on the harvest at the end of this passage, this passage is clearly meant to encourage us to tell people about Jesus. So let’s explore the story further to see what it tells us about the evangelization process and our role in helping others come to know Jesus and put their faith and trust in him. In verse 11, the woman calls Jesus “Sir,” a respectful word that means “master” or “lord,” but often in a purely human sense. In verse 19, she calls him “a prophet.” By verse 25, she is suggesting that he might be the Messiah (a Hebrew word that means the “Anointed One”; in Greek, the “Christ”). And by the end of the story, the whole town is calling him “the savior of the world.” What is the significance of this gradual shift in how they talk about Jesus? How does this shift in how the people see Jesus gives us a model for understanding the shifts that people in our time go through as they move from skeptic to new believer to mature Christian? Think about people in your world who are not believers, and how they talk about Jesus. How are some people at the early stage of just seeing Jesus as an important human while others recognize him as more than that? Are there some people who see Jesus as a prophet but just one prophet among many, while others are wrestling with the truth that he is God? How can we help people at every stage find a fuller understanding of who Jesus is? This Samaritan woman is the first person in John’s Gospel who becomes a missionary: a person who shares the Gospel with a whole group of people. Individual disciples have told individual people about Jesus, but she evangelizes a whole group. Verse 39 tells us that she “testifies” about Jesus. How are we called to testify about Jesus? What does this passage say to you about your own personal role in telling others the good news about God? Go back through the story and look at how Jesus guides the woman to faith: [If you are studying this passage in a group, break into smaller groups of 3 or 4 people to discuss the following questions and then report back to the larger group.] Notice the rhythm of the conversation with the woman. When does Jesus ask questions and when does he give answers? How much of an answer does he give (a lot or a little), and why is that a good idea? How and to what extent does he give her room to share her own beliefs? What do your observations about Jesus suggest to you about how you can be effective in sharing your faith in Jesus with others? Notice how the conversation shifts over time from focusing on everyday concerns, to religious facts, to spiritual insights. How can we build relationships with people that will allow our conversations with them to move naturally to spiritual matters over time? Notice how the woman leads the people of the town from her own testimony to a personal interaction with Jesus himself. What aspects of your testimony – your story of how you came to believe in Jesus – might help others enter into a relationship with Jesus? What is the good news you have found in Jesus that others might be interested in if you told them the story of your faith? Notice how the woman is almost antagonistic at the start, responding to Jesus with challenges and putdowns. Jesus sticks with her and gives her room to open up to his message. What does that tell us? What conclusions can you draw about the evangelization process? What ideas does this passage give you for how to tell people about Jesus when they might be ready to hear it? In chapter 2, John told us about what he called Jesus’s first “sign.” In the passage we will look at next, he starts a new series of stories by telling us about the second sign. That suggests that everything we have seen in chapters 2 through 4 might go together: Jesus turning water into wine, Jesus telling us that we need to be born again of water and the Spirit, Jesus telling us that he is the living water. All these stories referred to water. What conclusions can you draw from these stories, and how can you apply those conclusions to your everyday life? Take a step back and consider this: People are often afraid to talk about Jesus because they don’t want to appear pushy. That fear leads us to say too little. Jesus’s approach was not pushy. With the Samaritan woman he mostly made brief and non-judgmental statements and then answered questions when he was asked. Perhaps we need to get past our fears and just talk about Jesus like he is an everyday part of our lives, without making a big deal about it. How does Jesus’s approach to evangelization differ from that of a pushy preacher? How does Jesus’s approach differ from that of someone who thinks that good actions are enough and we don’t need to say anything? How might we adopt the “Come and see” attitude we saw in John chapter 1 (1:39; 1:46) to help people meet Jesus face-to-face without being pushy? Bibliography See John - Bibliography at https://www.faithexplored.com/john/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 John List Next

When Jesus says that he is the Bread of Life, some people grumble. Jesus calls us to believe him and have eternal life. How might grumbling undermine our faith? [John 6:34-50] Previous Next John List John 6:34-47 When Jesus says that he is the Bread of Life, some people grumble. Jesus calls us to believe him and have eternal life. How might grumbling undermine our faith? Underlying image by Brett Jordan, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Word balloons added. Tom Faletti February 22, 2026 Read John 6:34-47 Jesus is the Bread of Life who gives eternal life In biblical interpretation, there is a concept known as a “type” – an event or person or thing in the Old Testament that foreshadows, in an incomplete way, an event or person or thing in the New Testament that has a deeper reality or meaning. The perishable manna in the Old Testament was a “type,” or foreshadowing, of the eternal bread of life that God provides to us in his Son Jesus. In verse 34, it is unclear whether the people in the crowd are beginning to understand that, or if they just want Jesus to feed them physical bread every day (their statement is similar to that of the Samaritan woman who asked Jesus to give her the living water always in John 4:15). In verse 35, Jesus responds with his first “I am” statement – the first of 7 key “I am” statements in John’s Gospel. What does “I am the bread of life” mean? How is Jesus the bread of life? How does what Jesus says in verse 35 parallel what he said to the Samaritan woman about the living water (4:13-14)? In verse 35, what must one do in order to never hunger, and what must one do in order to never thirst? We must come to him in order to never hunger, and believe in him in order to never thirst. In verse 36, Jesus then tells them that they do not believe in him. He does not say this in a way that rejects them. What does he tell them in verses 37-39? Jesus wants only to do the will of the Father and will not reject anyone the Father gives him. He will not lose anyone the Father gives him. In verses 37-38, Jesus says that he does not act on his own but does the will of the one who sent him. In modern terms, we might say that Jesus has his marching orders and is a man on a mission. What are his marching orders? What is the mission? In verse 36, Jesus says that those who are rejecting him have seen him but do not believe. In verse 40 he says that everyone who sees him and believes in him has eternal life. How does it happen that people see Jesus but don’t translate that seeing into the act of believing? Their “seeing” in verse 36 is an awareness of him that does not lead them to put their trust in him. In verse 40, Jesus calls us to go beyond a superficial “seeing” – to really see and act on what they see by believing in him. The word for “see” in verse 36 is a word that means to stare at, but the word for “see” in verse 40 is a word that can be translated as to “behold,” which suggests a focused and receptive attention. Are there ways that we “see” what God is saying to us but don’t act on it? How can we catch ourselves when this is happening, and what can we do about it? What do you think it means to “see” Jesus and believe in him? In verse 40, Jesus adds an additional effect of believing. In addition to having eternal life from Jesus, we will be raised up by Jesus on the last day. Eternal life could be seen as something we have from the moment we believe in Jesus. What is added when Jesus says that we will be raised on the last day? What does this promise mean to you right now in your life? In verse 41, the Jewish religious leaders “murmur” about Jesus. What does that recall from the Old Testament? When the Israelites were in the desert, they grumbled against Moses and complained about how God was caring for them in Exodus 15:24, 16:2-3, and 17:2-3, and Numbers 11:1. God gave them the manna they have just been talking with Jesus about immediately after one of the gripe sessions (Ex. 16). What is wrong with murmuring? Murmuring is a form of grumbling, a lack of trust in God or a form of resistance to what God wants. How are we susceptible to grumbling against God and the spiritual leaders he gives us? What can we do to avoid inappropriate grumbling against God? Notice why the Jewish religious leaders are murmuring about Jesus in verse 41. It isn’t because he is describing himself as the bread of life. They appear to understand that this is a metaphor. What they object to is that he says he came down from heaven. What is their objection to that claim in verse 42? How might we be guilty of judging people based on their background – the class or group that we mentally assign them to – and not give due consideration to how what they are doing or saying might be inspired by God? In verses 43-47 Jesus makes several points in response to their complaint. In verse 44, Jesus says more clearly what he alluded to in verse 37: “No one can come to me unless the Father . . . draws him.” What does this mean to you? Who does God want to draw to Jesus? Everyone. We know from the rest of Scripture that Jesus is not claiming some sort of Calvinist predestination where God assigns people to be saved or damned. We have free will and can choose to come to Jesus or not, and yet God draws us to come to him even before we do so. In what ways does it involve our free action and in what ways does it involve God’s action? Have you ever felt drawn by God (to himself, to Jesus, to the faith)? What did it feel like and how did you react? How do you see God’s hand or God’s grace at work in your life now, even as you act based on your own free will? Jesus sums up what he has been saying with a short statement in verse 47 that doesn’t repeat everything but captures the most essential element. What allows us to have eternal life? Have you told Jesus in a definitive way that you believe in him? Some people go through the rituals but never actually have that conversation with Jesus. Is that something you are feeling called to do right now? If you have already had that definitive conversation with Jesus, is there something you are feeling called to do right now to more fully live out your decision to believe in Jesus? Take a step back and consider this: Murmuring is not solely the province of unbelievers. Even people who believe in Jesus can fall prey to murmuring or grumbling. In fact, grumbling is one of the practices that can be most corrosive to our faith. Grumbling involves complaining in an ill-tempered or annoyed way. When we look at what is going on spiritually, we can see that grumbling is often a sign of trust. When the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and God in the desert in Exodus 16 and Numbers 14, their grumbling was an expressing of their lack of faith in God. Not all complaining falls into this category of grumbling. There are times when it is appropriate to express a complaint. But a complaint can be made with faith that the one hearing the complaint cares and will respond, or it can be expressed in a way that reveals a lack of trust. Hannah was so distressed, by her barrenness and the ridicule to which she was subjected by her husband’s other wife, that she wept bitterly as she prayed to the Lord (1 Sam. 1:10). She was bringing her deep pain to the Lord in faith. Her prayer showed her trust in God. The Israelites, in contrast, were expressing their lack of trust in God. When Paul tells us, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Phil. 2:14), the context is provided in the previous verse: “God is the one working in you . . . for his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). Negative grumbling is unnecessary and out of place when we recognize that God is at work in our lives and that we can trust him. Similarly, Peter says, “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pet. 4:9-10). There is no need for grumbling when we recognize that God is working through us to extend his grace to others through the gifts he has given to us. Yet so often, Christians are prone to grumbling, allowing their negative attitudes to undermine their trust in God. In what kinds of situations, or what areas of your life, might you be prone to the negative complaining or grumbling that may signal that you are having difficulty trusting in God? How can you turn your thinking around, so that you can see more clearly how God is at work in your life and let go of any negative complaining or grumbling? 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

Quotes worth thinking about. Previous All Special Materials Next Quotes Quotes worth thinking about. Tom Faletti September 26, 2025 This collection will grow over time. Quotes on issues of faith, life, truth, and justice, etc. FAITH There are no ordinary people “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” – C.S. Lewis. The Weight of Glory . 1941. LIFE Measure your performance by how much better you made the people around you “The most important measure of how good a game I’d played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.” – Bill Russell. Inscription engraved on a block that stands with a statue of Mr. Russell at Boston’s City Hall Plaza See John Hareas. “City of Boston celebrates Bill Russell: Player, activist, mentor.” NBA.com , 1 Nov. 2013, https://www.nba.com/news/bill-russell-city-of-boston . Recover from your mistakes “If you stumble, make it into a dance.” – Inside a Dove candy wrapper TRUTH Read old books “Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. . . . Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us. Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction. To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them.” – C. S. Lewis. “Introduction” to On The Incarnation , a translation of Athanasius’s On the Incarnation of the Word of God . Translated by Sister Penelope Lawson, a nun in the order of the Convent of the Community of St. Mary the Virgin. Originally published in 1944. Current edition published by GLH Publishing, Louisville, KY, 2018, pp. 2-3. (Italics are in the original; boldface added. In the original publication, the translator was listed as “A Religious of C.S.M.V.” Athanasius’s treatise was written prior to A.D. 319.) JUSTICE Justice, injustice, and democracy “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” – Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971). In the foreword to The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness: A Vindication of Democracy and a Critique of Its Traditional Defense . 1944. University of Chicago Press, 2011, p. xi. (See Joseph E. Hartman. “Democracy and Sin: Doing Justice to Reinhold Niebuhr.” Academic Questions . Fall 2015. National Association of Scholars . https://www.nas.org/academic-questions/28/3/democracy_and_sin_doing_justice_to_reinhold_niebuhr#_ftnref27 .) (For clarity in the 21 st century, the quote is often rendered: “Humanity’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but humanity’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”) PURPOSE God has created me to do Him some definite service; I have a mission [A slightly shortened version of this is often printed with the title “The Mission of My Life”] “1. God was all-complete, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His will to create a world for His glory. He is Almighty, and might have done all things Himself, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all created to His glory – we are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name. “2. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his – if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. “3. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me – still He knows what He is about.” – John Henry Newman (1801-1890). “Hope in God – Creator.” 7 Mar. 1848. In Part 3: Meditations on Christian Doctrine, in Meditations and Devotions of the late Cardinal Newman . Edited by Fr. William Neville. London: Longmans, Green, 1893. Newman Reader , https://www.newmanreader.org/works/meditations/meditations9.html . THE POOR Contact with the lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord “Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor. The same Jesus who tells us, ‘The poor you will always have with you’ ( Mt 26:11), also promises the disciples: ‘I am with you always’ ( Mt 28:20). We likewise think of his saying: ‘Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me’ ( Mt 25:40). This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.” – Pope Leo XIV. Dilexi Te (Apostolic Exhortation on Love for the Poor) . The Vatican , 4 Oct. 2025, https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html , par. 5. Love for God is not possible for the Christian without love for the poor “In his new apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te , Pope Leo . . . traces the uninterrupted centrality that the poor have played in the Church’s proclamation of the Gospel in every age and culture, and the rich legacy that the saints have left us in their comprehension that love for God is not possible for the Christian without love for the poor.” – Robert McElroy (Cardinal of the Archdiocese of Washington). “Cardinal McElroy’s statement on Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation ‘Dilexi Te.’” Archdiocese of Washigton , 9 Oct. 2025, https://adw.org/news/mcelroys-statement-dilexi-te/ . 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 All Special Materials Next

Peter and Judas illustrate 2 different ways to respond when you have committed a serious sin. How can you stay connected to a God who loves you even when you deny him? [Matthew 26:69-75; 27:1-2; 27:3-10] Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 26:69-27:10 Peter and Judas illustrate 2 different ways to respond when you have committed a serious sin. How can you stay connected to a God who loves you even when you deny him? Caravaggio (1571–1610). The Denial of Saint Peter . Circa 1610. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Denial_of_Saint_Peter-Caravaggio_(1610).jpg . Tom Faletti September 18, 2025 In Matthew 26:69 through 27:10, we see Peter’s denial and Judas’s betrayal, and 2 very different approaches to what to do next when you have sinned. Matthew 26:69-75 Peter denies Jesus 3 times We see here that Peter did not run away and hide after Jesus was arrested. On the contrary, he has come to the courtyard of the high priest, inside the high priest’s house. What do you think is going through his mind before the first servant girl calls him out? Look at each of the 3 times Peter is accused of being associated with Jesus and how he responds. What do the people say, and how does he respond? Notice how the vehemence of Peter’s denials escalates from “I don’t know what you are talking about to “I don’t know the man” to cursing. Sometimes sin starts small. How can we train ourselves to be honest in little things, so that we do not turn out to be dishonest in big things? After the first woman questions Peter, he moves from the inner courtyard out to the porch. Why do you think he didn’t just leave the place entirely at that point? This is a sign that Peter’s devotion to Jesus was great, even though his fear turned out to be greater than his courage. How do you think you would have responded to Jesus’s arrest? Would you have been at the high priest’s house in the first place, or would you have been somewhere else? How long would you have stayed there, before you decided it was too dangerous and you left? If you had been challenged about being one of the people with Jesus, what would you have said? Are there ways that we avoid making clear our association with Jesus today? Are there certain places, or conversations, where you decide to keep your mouth shut? Are there times when you, in effect, deny your connection to Jesus? The Romans rotated their soldiers every 3 hours during the night. The changing of the guards at 3:00 a.m. was called “cock-crow” and was marked by the sound of a trumpet. It is possible that this is the meaning of what Peter hears in verse 74, not a literal rooster crowing. When Peter hears the cock crow, how does he react? When the deed has already been done – when you have said or done something and later you deeply regret it – what do you do next? What would God want you to do, when you have failed to be true to your faith or to your relationship with him? Matthew 27:1-2 The chief priests hand Jesus over to Pilate After a night of agony, a mock trial, and abuse, what happens to Jesus in the morning (27:1-2)? Some scholars believe it is only now that the Sanhedrin formally passes judgment on Jesus rather than having done so during the night. Either way, they now have a plan for achieving their goal of having him killed. They bring him to the Roman governor, who has the power to carry out a death sentence. What do you think Jesus is thinking at this point? Matthew 27:3-10 The death of Judas How does Judas react to the action of the Sanhedrin? Recall that one of the theories for why Judas betrayed Jesus is that he was trying to push Jesus to act decisively to usher in the kingdom. In verse 3, Matthew tells us that when Judas saw that Jesus had been condemned, he repented, or regretted what he had done, and tried to return the 30 pieces of silver. How does this support the idea that Judas did not think what he was doing would hurt Jesus? What do you think Judas thought would happen when Jesus was arrested? Are there times when we use immoral or questionable means to try to force things to go in a particular direction? Why is that wrong, and why do we sometimes want to do it? It is wrong to do something evil, even if it will allow us to achieve something good, because we are meant to be like God, and God does not do evil in order to achieve good. This issue is sometimes described by saying that the end doesn’t justify the means: i.e., your goal (the end) is never so important that it justifies doing something immoral (the means) to achieve it. When a person is willing to use immoral means to achieve a good goal, how is that a sign of lack of trust in God? How can we train ourselves to use only godly ways of trying to achieve the goals we seek? In verse 4, how does Judas describe what he has done? How do the chief priests and elders respond to Judas? What does their response mean? In verse 4, the chief priests say to Judas, “See to it yourself” (Matthew 27:4, NRSV). In our day, we might say, “That’s not my problem.” Was it appropriate for the chief priests to try to absolve themselves of their role in Judas’s betrayal by saying, in effect, “Not my problem”? Think about our own lives now. When is it fair to excuse ourselves from involvement in another person’s concern by saying, “That’s not my problem” or “Don’t blame me,” and when do we have moral responsibilities despite our protests? In verse 5, we learn that Judas is in such a great state of despair that he kills himself. What do you think Jesus would have said to Judas, if he could have talked to Judas before Judas initiated his act of suicide? How can we help people who are considering suicide, whether because of despair, depression or other mental health issues, loneliness, pain, abuse, or other underlying issues? What can we say and how can we point them toward the help that is available to them? If someone expresses suicidal feelings to you, take it seriously. Don’t say, “Oh, they would never do that.” Take time to listen, recognize the pain they are experiencing, and let them know that people care – that they are seen as valuable. And help them get help. In the United States, getting help can start with the simple act of calling 988. In verse 6, we find that the chief priests are very concerned about the moral issue of what to do with the money that Judas gave back to them. They want to do the ethical thing with it. It's funny how we can be so focused on doing the right thing or avoiding sin in one area of our lives that we totally miss the fact that we may be participating in something evil in another area of our lives. What does that irony say to you? How do the chief priests solve this problem? What do they do with the money? Acts 1:18-19 passes on to us a different story about what happened to Judas and the 30 pieces of silver. Both stories agree that the money was used to purchase a field that then became known as the “Field of Blood,” but the details differ. In verse 9, Matthew refers to Jeremiah. This is one of the rare places where some scholars think Matthew might not have been as careful as usual with his Old Testament references. Jeremiah does not talk about 30 pieces of silver. Zechariah has a passage where 30 pieces of silver are thrown into the Temple (Zech. 11:12-13). The rest of what Matthew describes can be connected loosely to various events in Jeremiah. Jeremiah 18:2-3 talks about a potter. Jeremiah 32:6-9 talks about the purchasing of a field. And in Jeremiah 19:1-15, Jeremiah goes out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem, where in his time Jews were offering child sacrifices to false gods, breaks a potter’s jug, and declares that Jerusalem and its surrounding towns will be like that jug: their enemies will slaughter them and so many people will be buried in that valley of Hinnom that they will run out of space for more burials. (That place is the location of the garbage dump that was known as “Gehenna” in Jesus’s time, which Jesus used as a term for hell.) The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible ties it together in this way: “Ancient tradition locates Judas’ burial site (Field of Blood) in the same valley of Hinnom, precisely where Jeremiah smashed the pot and foretold its destiny as a future graveyard (Jer. 19:11). Matthew may think of the smashed vessel, originally a sign of Judea’s demise, as also a prophetic sign of Judas’ destruction” (Matt. 27:8-10 fn, p. 58). Matthew might have been working from memory rather than having the Old Testament texts in front of him, which might explain how he conflated these various Old Testaments passages. God inspired the authors who wrote the Scriptures, but he worked through real human beings who were real authors, not dictation machines, and God clearly didn’t consider it necessary to force Matthew to be precise here. It doesn’t affect our salvation or the overall gospel message. In Peter’s weeping and Judas’s despair we see very different approaches to how to deal with our own serious sin. Compare and contrast Peter and Judas’s betrayal and how they acted when they realized they had done wrong. How are they similar and how are they different? Both did wrong, and both eventually recognized it. Peter stayed committed to the community of disciples and is still with them two days later. Judas decided he had no options and gave up. He lost all hope. This is not the first time Peter has gotten something wrong: remember “Get behind me, Satan” (Matt. 16:23). What is different about Peter’s relationship with Jesus, compared to Judas’s relationship with Jesus? What can we learn from Peter’s example that might be useful in our own lives? Take a step back and consider this: Peter, for all his flaws, got some important things right. He realized that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. He poured his life into serving Jesus and letting Jesus be his Lord. And he realized that Jesus loved him so much that Jesus would never give up on him, even if he had denied Jesus. Some Christians find it easier to embrace the first two points – that Jesus is God and that we are called to serve him – without fully embracing the third point: that Jesus’s fundamental attitude toward us is love. Particularly if we were raised in households where love was conditional, or brought up in churches where God was presented more as a wrathful judge than as a loving Father, it can be hard to understand that third point: that God loves us unconditionally, even when we do wrong, and that we can stick with him even when we have failed. This understanding of Jesus’s love does not give us license to sin. Peter would be the first to say that the fact that Jesus forgave him did not mean it was OK to sin; rather, Jesus’s unalterable love made him want all the more to avoid sin. But it can make a huge difference in our lives if we understand that Jesus loves us even when we sin and doesn’t withdraw his love from us when we have a catastrophic failure of faith. We are taught that God is always watching us. Do you picture God’s “watching” as being more like a police officer always on the lookout to see if you break the law, or more like a parent seeing and delighting in every new step a young child takes? Take a moment to picture God delighting in you, and loving you so much that he keeps loving you even when you falter and sin. Bask in that love. What do you want to say to this God who loves you so much? Now take it a step further. If this is how God loves us even when we sin, and we are called to be like God, then this is the attitude we are called to have toward others when they sin. We are called to love even those who mistreat us or betray us. How can you immerse yourself in the love of God so deeply that you can love others as Jesus still loved Peter and Judas after they sinned against him? What is one step you can take to extend that unconditional love of God toward people in the world around you today? 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

The 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching, with Scripture passages that support those themes. Previous Justice Articles Next The Bible and Catholic Social Teaching Examples of how the Bible supports Catholic social teaching. “Separation of Sheep and Goats.” Byzantine mosaic reproduction. Early 20th century (original dated early 6th century). Metropolitan Museum of Art , CC0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Separation_of_Sheep_and_Goats_MET_cdi24-144-4s1.jpg . Tom Faletti December 9, 2024 The Bible and Catholic Social Teaching “Catholic social teaching is a central and essential element of our faith.” – United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Catholic Social Teaching,” USCCB , https://www.usccb.org/offices/justice-and-peace/catholic-social-teaching . Catholic social teaching draws on 4 streams of knowledge: The Bible , including specific passages and overarching themes. (All of Catholic social teaching is based on Scripture, starting with Genesis: We are made in the image of God.) Church documents , including encyclicals and other documents written by the popes, documents of Church councils, pastoral letters from conferences of bishops, etc. The 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching identified by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Facts and analysis , including an examination of root causes that underlie specific issues. Themes of Catholic Social Teaching 1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person - All people are made in the image and likeness of God, so we must protect life and preserve human dignity from the beginning of human life to the end. Scriptural Support: Genesis 1:26-31 ; Luke 10:25-37 ; Romans 12: 9-18 . For more, see Life and Dignity of the Human Person | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Abortion; euthanasia; the death penalty; terrorism; war; immigration; racism. 2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation - All humans are social beings and are called, and must be welcomed, to participate in community. Scriptural Support: Romans 12:4-8 ; 1 Peter 4:8-11 ; Leviticus 25:23-28,35-43 . For more, see Call to Family Community and Participation | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Government support for families; education; homelessness; new immigrants in your community; people with disabilities; people on the fringes of society; the role of Christians in politics/government. 3. Rights and Responsibilities - Everyone has human rights and a duty to care for and share with those who lack what is required for human decency . Scriptural Support: Isaiah 1:16-17 ; Luke 16:19-31 ; Psalm 72:1-14 . For more, see Rights and Responsibilities | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Protection of life; access to food and water; access to shelter and basic health care; education; employment; equal treatment; protection from discrimination, injustice, and oppression; rights of conscience and religion. 4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable – We must put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first. Scriptural Support: Zechariah 7:8-11 ; Isaiah 58:6-10 ; Matthew 25: 31-46 . For more, see Option for the Poor and Vulnerable | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Poverty; safety net programs; support for people with disabilities; refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants; people threatened by violence; orphans and children in foster care. 5. The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers – We must ensure that workers are treated fairly and that their rights are respected. Scriptural Support: Deuteronomy 24:14-15 ; Matthew 20:1-16 ; James 5:1-6 . For more, see The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: A just/living wage; basic benefits; time off (sick/vacation/family leave); employment training/assistance; fair treatment/equal employment; unions/collective bargaining. 6. Solidarity – We must stand with others in their struggle for justice and work for the common good of all people. Scriptural Support: Proverbs 31:8-9 ; Psalm 82:3-4 ; Leviticus 19:33-34 ; 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 . For more, see Solidarity | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Advocating for the oppressed, needy, voiceless, migrant, disabled, ill, abused, etc.; humanitarian aid to poor people in other countries; supporting people whose human rights are violated; weighing private interests vs. the common good in society. 7. Care for God’s Creation – We must be good stewards of creation and protect the environment. Scriptural Support: Genesis 2:15 ; Leviticus 25:18-24 ; Matthew 6:25-34 . For more, see Care for Creation | USCCB . Examples of relevant issues: Air and water pollution; conservation; climate change; location of sites with toxic substances/environmental hazards; contamination of soil and groundwater; waste management; deforestation; surface mining. For a summary of the 7 themes, see Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching Handout from Catholic Relief Services. For more information about the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching, see Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching | USCCB , which has a separate page on each of the 7 themes, with relevant Scripture passages and excerpts from Church teachings and documents. 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

This is a perennial question, and for good reason. Previous Next Table of Contents If God is All-Good and All-Powerful, Why Does He Allow Suffering? This is a perennial question, and for good reason. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti (to be continued) 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 Table of Contents Next

The baptism of Jesus, and how it relates to you. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 3:13-17 The baptism of Jesus, and how it relates to you. Image by Kaleb Tapp, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti March 15, 2024 Matthew 3:13-17 Jesus is baptized by John What happens in this passage? What do you think is the most significant word or statement or detail in this account, and why? William Barclay notes that the Jews had never seen baptism as being for Jews, but only for non-Jewish proselytes joining the Jewish faith. In their mind, baptism was for sinners, not the for the Chosen People. When John came baptizing and Jews submitted to his baptism, they were recognizing in a new way their own sin and their need for God to do something about it (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1 , pp. 52-53.) Matthew is the only Gospel to include John protesting that Jesus should not be baptized. What is Jesus’s response? What is “righteousness,” and what does it mean to fulfill all righteousness? To live a “righteous” life is to live a life totally in accordance with the will of God. To “fulfill all righteousness” suggests that God wanted Jesus to do this. Why do you think Jesus chose to be baptized (or that the Father wanted Jesus to be baptized) when Jesus was not in need of repentance? One of the reasons Jesus might have done this was to demonstrate his identification with humanity. By accepting baptism, Jesus was identifying himself with sinful humans, counting himself as being one of us, which he will do in an extraordinary way on the Cross. In what ways does a willingness to be baptized show an attitude of humility? As the Son of God, Jesus was greater than John; but here he was placing himself in a position of submission to John (see Matthew 1:11). This act of placing himself in the inferior position is one of the early examples of what I call Jesus’s downside-up approach to life – he cares about the people in what society considers to be inferior positions. Here, he even takes the lesser position for himself, as he will do at other times in his ministry. He was constantly serving those who should be serving him, and making that the norm for Christian living. Matthew is establishing from the beginning that Jesus is the Messiah, but a particular kind of Messiah. How does Jesus’s decision to be baptized reflect the kind of Messiah he is? There is a really important point here about John. It says he “consented” (3:15, NRSV). What is the importance of our consent in doing the work of God and fulfilling all righteousness? Why do you think God speaks from the heavens at this moment? God rarely manifests himself with an audible voice. Why here? In Mark 1:11, the voice says, “ You are ” my beloved son. In Matthew 3:17, the voice says, “ This is ” my beloved son.” One version of the statement is directed toward Jesus and the other is directed toward the onlookers. Does that difference bring out different nuances about what is going on here? What do God’s words tell us about Jesus? The proclamation from heaven about Jesus harkens back to two Old Testament passages. Psalm 2 is about the anointing of the king but points to the Messiah. Verse 2 refers to the Lord and his “anointed.” The word “Christ” is the Greek word for “anointed one,” and “Messiah” is the Hebrew word for “anointed one,” so we look at Psalm 2 as speaking about the Messiah. In verse 7, God says, “You are my son; / today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7, NRSV), words that echo in God’s words when Jesus is baptized. Similarly, Isaiah 42:1 begins the description of the Suffering Servant that culminates in the great prophecies of Isaiah 53 that point to Jesus’s crucifixion. In 42:1, God says, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, / my chosen one with whom I am pleased” (Isaiah 42:1, NABRE), again using words that echo in Jesus’s baptism. God seeded the Old Testament with prophecies that pointed to Jesus and then confirmed them as Jesus began his ministry. Baptism is accepted by most Christian denominations as a sacrament instituted by Christ. How does what happens to Christians in baptism parallel what happens in this story about Jesus’s baptism? Notice the similarities in these brief summaries from two different Christian traditions: The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible says: “The water, Spirit, and divine voice signify the effects of baptism whereby the soul is cleansed (Acts 22:16), the grace of the Holy Spirit is imparted (3:11; 1 Cor. 12:13), and the recipient is adopted as a beloved child of God (3:17; Gal. 3:26-27; Catechism of the Catholic Church 537)” ( Ignatius Catholic Study Bible , Matthew 3:15 fn., p. 12). Evangelical Presbyterian theologian Vern Poythress writes: “So the features depicted in Jesus’s baptism by John come to apply through Jesus to us. We are cleansed from sin by the washing with Jesus’s blood, signified by the water of baptism. Heaven is opened to us through Jesus, giving us communion with God the Father (Heb 10:19–20). We receive the Holy Spirit, who descends on us when we have faith in Christ (Rom 8:9–10). We hear the voice of God the Father, who calls us sons in union with Christ the Son (Rom 8:14–17; Gal 4:4–7), and who is pleased with us on account of his being pleased with his eternal Son (Eph 1:4–10)” (Vern Poythress, “The Baptism of Jesus,” The Gospel Coalition , https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-baptism-of-jesus/ ). What does the baptism of Jesus say to you about your own life? How does the Trinity show up here, and why is that significant? It took Christians hundreds of years to work out exactly how to speak accurately about the Trinity, but they did not make up the concept – it shows up here at the very beginning of Jesus’s ministry as the Father speaks about the Son while the Holy Spirit hovers over it all in the form of a dove. Not are not the same as Jesus, but you too are a beloved son or daughter of God. If God proclaimed something about you, what would he want you or others to know about you? Take a step back and consider this: When Christians are baptized, they are making a public profession that they belong to God the Father (or their parents make that profession on their behalf, in the case of infant baptism). They are embracing what Jesus has already done for them, and looking forward to what God will continue to do in them by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you have been baptized, how are you embracing and living up to what you professed (or what was professed for you on your behalf) when you were baptized? If you have been baptized, how are you embracing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit received in your baptism? Is there more you might consider doing to respond to the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? If you have not been baptized, is this something you should consider? If so, who could you talk to about it? 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 fulfills the Old Testament: the Law and the Prophets. Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus fulfills the Old Testament: the Law and the Prophets. Image provided by Wix. Tom Faletti April 26, 2024 Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus came to fulfill the Law What does Jesus say in verse 17? Jesus refers to “the law and the prophets.” The law and the prophets are two of the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament. The “law” is the Torah, the first 5 books of the Old Testament. The “prophets” refers to the books of the prophets – Isaiah, etc. The third division of the Hebrew Bible is the “writings” – which includes the Psalms and other books of literature (Proverbs, etc.) that are grouped with the Psalms in the Hebrew Bible. In Matthew, Jesus uses the phrase “the law and the prophets” here and in three other places: Matthew 7:12; 11:13; and 22:40. In 7:12, he says that the “Golden Rule” – do unto others as you would have them do unto you – is the law and the prophets. In 22:40, after talking about the two Great Commandments – love the Lord our God and love your neighbor – he says that all that is written in the law and the prophets hangs on these two commandments. Jesus says he did not come to “abolish” the law and the prophets. What would it mean to “abolish” them? And therefore, what does it mean to not abolish them? What does it mean to “fulfill” the law and the prophets? To “fulfill” means to “complete,” or to bring to completion, or to have reached the point of completion. To “fulfill” the law and the prophets can be explored in two ways: How the law is fulfilled as we follow the moral law first outlined in the Old Testament; and How Jesus , by his life, death, and resurrection, fulfilled the purposes and promises of God presented in the Old Testament. With regard to Jesus, it is useful to note that in Luke 24:44, Jesus said that “everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (NRSV). There, he is referring to all three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures. With regard to how the law applies to us, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible comments that the New Covenant Jesus presented “perfects and transforms” the Old Covenant: “While sacrificial laws of the OT expired with the sacrifice of Jesus, the moral Law (Ten Commandments, etc.) was retained and refined” (fn. to 5:17, p. 15). In the next section of Matthew’s Gospel, we see Jesus transforming the teachings of the Old Testament in ways that we still try to follow today. In what ways do we continue to follow the commandments of the Old Testament and embrace the teachings of the prophets? How does our commitment to following the law allow the law to fulfill its intended purpose? In what ways did Jesus fulfill the law and the prophets? Some scholars argue that this teaching in Matthew contradicts what Paul says when he says that we are not justified by doing the works of the law (for example, in Galatians 2:15-16; Romans 3:21-31). How would you respond? Is Jesus saying we are justified by doing the works of the Law? Is Paul saying we don’t have to obey the basic commandments of the Law? Or do these passages of the Bible fit together even though they may be looking at the issue from different perspectives? Some scholars overstate Paul’s rejection of the Law. Paul affirmatively cites the Ten Commandments in Romans 13:8-10 and says they are summed up in the command to love your neighbor, as Jesus said in Matthew. And throughout his letters, Paul expects a high moral standard of the people to whom he is writing. We are not justified by doing the works of the law – we still need salvation through Jesus; but Jesus expects us to follow the Ten Commandments and also other elements of the moral/social law – for example, to care for the poor, treat workers justly, welcome the stranger, etc. In verse 18, Jesus says that not one letter of the law will pass away. The word for “letter” is literally the Greek word iota – their name for the letter “i,” which is the smallest letter in Greek as it is in English. It is important to note that Jesus is not endorsing all the tiny details of the interpretations of the Law that the scribes and Pharisees had piled on top of the actual words of the Old Testament Law. He broke their "laws" frequently and derided them for their excessive devotion to the laws they had made. But he is expressing a deep reverence for the word of God handed down in the Old Testament itself. Jesus’s reference to heaven and earth passing away may be recalling Isaiah’s prophecy of a “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17, NRSV and NABRE). In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says that nothing will “pass” from the law “until all is accomplished.” This could be interpreted as referring to the “eschatological” end of the world (the “end times”), but it makes more sense to understand it as referring to Jesus’s fulfillment of the law and the prophets by his death and resurrection. Jesus has already preached that the kingdom of heaven is near. In what ways are we living, metaphorically or partially, in the “new heavens and new earth” that Isaiah foretold, even as we wait for its complete fulfillment at an end time that is yet to come? In what ways do the law and prophets still apply to us in this interim time we live in? Given that Christians do not accept the obligation to carry out all 613 commandments in the Old Testament – for example, we do not follow the kosher laws, the sacrificial laws, or other ceremonial laws – how do we know which laws Jesus still expects us to follow today? Notice in verse 19 that Jesus does not consign to hell those who break the commandments, but he says they will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven. What do you think this means? What might “least” look like in heaven? Verse 19 particularly makes a point about teachers. Why are they so important? Jesus ends this passage with a statement that would have been a surprise to his followers. The scribes and Pharisees sought to live at an extreme or maximum level of righteousness. What does Jesus say in verse 20? What do you think Jesus is telling you, in saying that your righteousness must be greater than that of the people who are trying the hardest to be righteousness? For you, what is the good news in this passage? Take a step back and consider this: If the Law was a sentient being, you might picture it eagerly anticipating its “fulfillment.” It was created for a purpose – to prepare the way for Jesus and the salvation of not only the Jewish people but all of humanity. Now, in Jesus, the beginning of that time of fulfillment is at hand. We, too, are on a path to fulfillment. God is working his character into us and reflecting his goodness and love out through us to a world that desperately needs opportunities to see God through us. In the end, our goal is to allow God to work his character fully into us so that we are like Jesus. I can’t be exhibiting God’s character and manifesting God’s love if I am insulting, unfaithful, hateful, etc. – issues that Jesus will take up in the next passage. Those attitudes do not reflect the image of God because God does not have those attitudes. If my ultimate fulfillment is to be like Christ, then those attitudes must go. The moral law set forth in the Old Testament, however, does reflect aspects of God’s character. The Law helps me understand, in some ways, the kind of person God is calling me to be. For you, is the Law a bad guy that prohibits you from doing what you want to do and being what you want to be? Or is it a good thing that reminds you of what you want to do and who you want to be? How does the Law help you to live the life of Christ? How can you embrace more fully this vision: that the Law, which is fulfilled in Christ, is not something to be abolished but rather is a support for your life of faith that can help you reach your ultimate fulfillment in Christ? 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

Are you wearing spiritual clothes fit for life in the kingdom of heaven? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 22:1-14 Are you wearing spiritual clothes fit for life in the kingdom of heaven? Francisco Goya (1746–1828). La parábola de los convidados a la boda [The parable of the wedding guests] . Circa 1796-97. Oratory (Chapel) of the Santa Cueva (Holy Cave), Cádiz, Spain. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_par%C3%A1bola_de_los_convidados_a_la_boda_por_Goya.jpg . Tom Faletti August 9, 2025 Matthew 22:1-14 The parable of the guests at the wedding feast Read only Matthew 22:1-10 first . Verses 11-14 are an extension of the story with a separate point. What happens in this parable? Note: Luke tells a somewhat different version of this parable (Luke 14:15-24) where it is just a banquet not a wedding feast, and none of the king’s servants are mistreated or killed. Also, Matthew adds an entirely separate addition to the story that we will look at shortly (vv. 11-14). Some scholars suggest that Matthew tailored the story to the particular needs of his community and the particular point he wanted to make here. It is also possible that Jesus told this story more than once and in this instance told it in a way that connected with the point he made in the preceding parable about the wicked tenants. The image of a feast is a common way of thinking about what heaven might be like, and Jesus says that this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven. Why is a banquet of feast a particularly good image of heaven? Note: The Greek word translated “slaves” or “servants” in this parable is doulos . This word generally means “slaves.” It is often translated “servants” because, although slavery in the Roman Empire often was brutal, slaves often had much more freedom than we envision when we think of American, plantation-based, race-based, segregationist slavery. In the Roman Empire, slaves often did the same jobs as free people, side by side with free people. They could receive wages and in some cases were able to buy their own freedom. To avoid giving the wrong impression, a majority of English translations from the King James Bible to the present have used the word “servant.” Who do the different players of the story represent in the kingdom of heaven – who is: the king? the son? the invited guests? the first group of servants/slaves (who are ignored/rebuffed)? the second group of servants/slaves (who are mistreated/killed)? the third group of servants/slaves who go invite people in the streets? the people “bad and good” who are found on the streets and invited? The parable is generally interpreted as referring to these people: God the Father, Jesus the Son of God, the people of Israel (the Jews), the prophets, more prophets and perhaps John the Baptist (and Jesus also might fit here in the sense that he was inviting the people of Israel to enter the kingdom of God), the apostles/early Church, and the Gentiles. The king is excited to have his invited guests come to the wedding banquet. What does this tell us about God? God wants to share his presence and joy with humans. He wants us to be with him. He’s persistent. Why would this particular kind of feast – a marriage feast for the son – be an especially appropriate image of heaven? How do the invited guests react? Notice that some of the invited guests just dismiss the invitation and go about their business, but other invited guests mistreat and kill the servants. Who do the people who kill the servants represent? The Jewish leaders, past and present. How might people in our day be like the ones who ignore the invitation because they are too busy? Is there a danger that even people who are members of the Church might be like these people who are “too busy” to spend time with God? What in your life might sometimes seem so important that you might miss out on joining in the Lord’s banquet celebration? Are there ways that we allow even mundane matters to distract us so that we don’t participate in the joy of spending more time with God? In verse 7, the king destroys the murderers who killed his servants and burns their city. Many scholars think that Matthew is alluding to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, and that is one of the reasons they think that the Gospel of Matthew was written after AD 70. Luke does not have this verse, which might be support the idea that Matthew added it to the original story. When the New Testament was written, there was no such thing as quotation marks in writing, so Matthew would not have had any way to signal that he was adding a note of commentary or interpretation. In verse 7, which is not in Luke’s version of the parable, it sounds like Matthew is suggesting that God destroyed Jerusalem because Jesus was killed there. Some people are troubled by that image of God, because it seems to suggest that God is a vengeful god (“you killed my son, so I’m going to kill you”) rather than a loving God. What do you make of this verse? The king still wants guests. He still has a banquet prepared and a banquet is no good without guests, so what does he do? Who do these new guests represent in the kingdom of heaven? In the immediate telling of the parable, they represent tax collectors, prostitutes, and other “sinners” who repent. By the time of Matthew, they also represent the Gentiles, who were a significant part of Matthew’s community. In our time, they represent us. The king then tells the servants/slaves to invite anyone they can find, “bad and good.” Why does God invite even the “bad” to come spend time with him in his banquet? Being there can start a change. God is inviting us to come to him even when we are not perfect, because he wants us to be with him and grow to be like him. How does this inclusion of the bad and the good describe the Church (i.e., Christians as a whole) throughout history and in our day? What does this welcoming of the bad and the good tell us about God? How does this part of the story illustrate the meaning of “grace”? What is the message Jesus is trying to get across to the Jewish leaders? What is the message for us? Now let’s look at the additional section Matthew adds that is not in Luke’s story. It is like an additional parable added on to the earlier parable. Read Matthew 22:11-14 . What happens? People are sometimes uncomfortable with the idea that people who were invited in off the streets could be criticized for not wearing the proper clothes. This would miss the point. Scholars suggest that we might picture it this way: The guests might have been provided wedding robes by the king, or the invitation might have named a specific time that gave them time to go home and put on the proper attire for the wedding banquet. It was the norm at the time for a king to send out invitations in advance to let people know that they were going to be invited to a feast and then send out a second notice when it was time to come. So we shouldn’t take this part of the parable too literally. Instead, we should ask: This is a parable about the kingdom of heaven. What are the proper “garments” to wear in the kingdom of heaven? What should we clothe ourselves with? Read Colossians 3:12-14 . What does Paul tell us to clothe ourselves with? In Colossians 3:12-14, he tells us to put on compassion, kindness, humbleness, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love. In other words, live a life fitting for being at the banquet of the Lord. God is inviting us to put on those garments, which are his garments. In Romans 13:14, Paul tells us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for our sin-based desires. Returning to Matthew, who does the guest who is not properly dressed stand for? This guest might represent people who respond to God at a surface level but don’t actually let him transform them. They do not show any recognition of the relationship with God (the king) that they have been invited to embrace. How might we be guilty of not fully putting on the metaphorical “garments” that are fitting for living with God now and forever in the kingdom of heaven? Does it make sense to you that God would invite everyone, good and bad, including us, into a relationship with him, but expect us to respond by putting on the proper “attire” for being at his heavenly banquet? Some scholars like the idea that God supplies the proper garments to us – he doesn’t expect us to be holy on our own. How does that image reflect your relationship with God? In Revelation 7:13-15, the ones who are wearing white robes are those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. In 19:6-8, at the wedding feast of the Lamb, his bride, the Church, is wearing a bright clean garment made out of “the righteous deeds of the saints.” Read Matthew 7:21-23 . What would Matthew say is necessary to be clothed properly for the kingdom of heaven? We need to do the will of God. In Matthew 22:14, many translations say, “many are called,” but the verb in that phrase has the same root as the word “invited” in the parable. When Jesus in Matthew 22:14 that “many are invited but few are chosen,” what does that tell us? The invitation to be part of God’s kingdom goes out far and wide, and everyone is given a chance to come to God’s heavenly banquet. But not everyone does their part. Jesus is not saying that God is selectively allowing only a few people into heaven. In the contrary, he is saying that some people don’t choose to do what is necessary to belong there. What do you need to do to be properly “clothed” for God’s great banquet feast in heaven? Take a step back and consider this: Regardless of whether the king provides the wedding robes to the guests or they are given time to get properly dressed before they come, one thing stands out: The man at the end of the story is not properly clothed. When the king points this out, the man is unable to offer any argument or defense. He is not dressed properly to be celebrating with the king at the heavenly banquet. To what extent do we have a choice as to what “garments” we put on as we participate in the kingdom of God? How do we “choose” our garments? How can you, by the choices you make, embrace a life that puts on the love and compassion of Jesus? 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

At the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus turns water into wine. It is far more than a miracle; it is a sign that God is present, calling us to “Do whatever he tells you.” [John 2:1-11] Previous Next John List John 2:1-12 At the wedding feast at Cana, Jesus turns water into wine. It is far more than a miracle; it is a sign that God is present, calling us to “Do whatever he tells you.” Paolo Veronese (1528-1588). Venedig Die Hochzeit zu Kana (The Wedding at Cana) . Circa 1571. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Gallery), Dresden, Germany. Photo by Tom Faletti, 25 June 2024. Tom Faletti November 8, 2025 Read John 2:1-12 The wedding feast at Cana What happens in this incident? We don’t know how many disciples Jesus brought with him to the wedding – even the wedding host might not have known how many were coming. But those disciples got to see how Jesus addressed the shortage of wine, and John tells us in verse 11 that this strengthened their faith. Let’s look at the whole story. First, look at the interaction between Jesus and his mother. Does Mary actually ask Jesus to do something? How is she both deferring and pushing? Does Jesus say yes or no, or does he leave the conversation unsettled? Jesus calls his mother “Woman.” Although that may not have been rude in his time, it was also not a normal way to address one’s mother. Scholars think that Jesus is signaling that whatever he does will not be based on his family connection to Mary. What guides Jesus’s decisions throughout his ministry? On what does he base his decisions? Jesus does what is the will of his Father. In verse 4, Jesus says, “My hour has not yet come.” Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus’s “hour” is the time of his suffering (his “Passion”) and death, and sometimes also includes his resurrection and ascension (for example, John 13:1). What does his “hour” have to do with whether he does something here? Although this miracle may have important symbolic meaning, it also shows in a small and practical way that Jesus cares about the little things – the everyday things in life that matter to us humans. How have you seen ways that Jesus cares about the little things in our lives? How does this encourage you to trust Jesus in every part of your life, not just in the “big” decisions? In the other Gospels, Jesus says, “This is my body.... This is my blood” at the Last Supper. John does not include that in his account of the Last Supper. Instead, he presents Jesus as the Bread of Life in chapter 6 after the multiplication of the loaves. In the Old Testament, there are poetic passages that refer to wine as the “blood” of grapes (Gen. 49:11; Deut. 32:14). Is John similarly replacing the Last Supper cup of wine with this provision of wine at Cana? How is this miraculous sign of providing wine for all like his gift of himself to us in what Christians commemorate in “communion” or the “Eucharist”? Mary tells the servant, “Do whatever he tells you” (verse 5). How is that an appropriate guide to everything we do in our lives? Jesus gives the servant some instructions, and they do what he tells them to do, even though he doesn’t explain why. Have you ever had a situation where you felt that God was asking you to do something that was perplexing but that turned out to be the right thing to do? What happened? Is there a particular challenge you are facing right now, or a difficult part of your life, where God might be asking you to “Do whatever he tells you”? What might he be asking you to do? In verse 11, John calls what happened here the beginning of Jesus’s “signs.” A sign is something that points to something bigger than itself; it tells or proclaims something about the thing it is pointing to. John will show us 7 of Jesus’s signs – actions that are more than just physical miracles, actions that point to something bigger. In what way is this miracle a “sign”? Beyond just the physical miracle, what does it tell us or show us? It demonstrates the power of Jesus in such a way that his actions glorify God. John makes connections between Jesus and Moses in a variety of places in this Gospel. He has already suggested in chapter 1 that Jesus is greater than Moses (1:17). Moses’s first “plague” in Egypt was to turn water (the Nile River) into blood (Ex. 7:14-19). Jesus’s first sign is to turn water into wine. What might be the connection? What was the point or “sign” in Moses’s action and how was that similar to Jesus’s “sign”? Both signs called people to respond to God, who was speaking through the person standing in front of them. Through Moses, God was saying, “Let my people go.” Jesus is communicating the love of the Father. In verse 11, John tells us that this first sign revealed Jesus’s glory, “and his disciples believed in him.” John is suggesting that for some of the disciples, this was a turning point. Why might this have been a decisive factor that brought them to believe in him? How important are Jesus’s miracles or “signs” to your faith? What do they tell you or how do they support your faith? If you were at the wedding feast at Cana, through whose eyes would you have seen what Jesus did? (The disciples? The servers? The chief steward/headwaiter? The bridegroom?) And how might this miracle have affected you? John not only tells us about the surface level – what physically, literally happened – he also helps us see the deeper spiritual implications. Besides what we have already discussed here, what other spiritual insights do you see? What can you bring from this story into your everyday life? Take a step back and consider this: Imagine you were the water in the story of the wedding feast at Cana. You were poured into the jars used for purification, so you expect that you will be used to help a human who needs to be purified (besides ritual washings before meals, Jews went through purification rituals after having been defiled by contact with a dead animal, a grave, or something else that conferred ritual impurity). The humans are having a party, so you don’t really expect to be needed right now. It’s not the time for purification rituals. Suddenly, voices are talking near you, someone draws a ladleful of you out of the jar, and you realize that something has changed. You’re no longer just water for purification. You have been transformed into something more! Jesus has changed you into wine – something that will bring joy to others and glory to God. (That’s what Jesus does. He transforms us into something more than we were.) You, the water-turned-into-wine, catch a glimpse of the one who has done this. They call him Jesus, and he is smiling. He clearly loves being with other people. And you have made him happy by fulfilling the purpose he assigned to you. Jesus does this with us, too. He does it with everyone who follows him. Opportunities appear that may bring joy to others and glory to God. They may be big or small. It might be the chance to offer a smile or a cheery greeting to someone in need, which might bring them more joy than a glass of wine ever could. It might be a simple act of service; a fully engaged, eye-to-eye conversation; an effort to speak out for justice for those whose voices are not heard. In ways too numerous to count, God seeks to transform the situations we are in. He gives us the opportunity – the privilege! – of letting him first transform us into more than we were, so that we can do more than we were doing to convey the love of God to those around us. God is always finding opportunities for us to bring joy to others and make them more aware of the presence of God in their midst. How can we be ready and flexible, so that when Jesus calls us to do something different, we can fulfill his purposes even though we might not see the full picture of what God is doing? 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

If we try to make sense of God based on our human limitations, we will misunderstand the Scriptures and the power of God. How can the Scriptures guide us to a bigger picture? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 22:23-33 If we try to make sense of God based on our human limitations, we will misunderstand the Scriptures and the power of God. How can the Scriptures guide us to a bigger picture? Image by Frank McKenna, provided by Unsplash via Wix. Tom Faletti August 18, 2025 Matthew 22:23-33 The Sadducees and whether there is a resurrection This is the second in a series of 3 challenges Jesus faces when he arrives in Jerusalem – this time from the Sadducees. The Sadducees believed only in the Torah – the first 5 books of the Old Testament, which Christians sometimes refer to as the Pentateuch, which is Greek for “five books.” The Sadducees did not consider the books of the prophets authoritative, nor did they accept the wide body of oral tradition that the Pharisees adhered to. Since the Torah does not suggest that there is a resurrection or an afterlife, the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection. The Sadducees tended to be wealthy. They made up a major portion of the political leadership among the Jews and tended to be collaborators with the Roman occupation. But those characteristics do not seem to be relevant here, where the question revolves around their religious beliefs. The Pharisees believed in a resurrection and an afterlife. They not only believed in an afterlife of the soul (as, for example, the Greeks believed); they also believed that our bodies are raised. They pointed to passages later in the Old Testament that provided varying degrees of support for such a position. Here are some of those passages: Isaiah 26:19 says, “Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.” Ezekiel 37:1-14 describes a vision of a valley of dry bones. The bones come back together and regain flesh and skin, breath enters them, and they come to life. Although in the passage itself the image is of a new Israel being restored after the exile to Babylon, Jews (and later, Christian commentators) saw it as a sign or foreshadowing of individual resurrection. Daniel 12:2 says that after a time of terrible persecution, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Psalm 73:24-25 says, “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward [or, in the end] receive me with honor [or, into glory].” This could merely mean that the psalmist will be restored, in this life, after when the difficulties he faces are over, but some saw it as a description of entering into God’s realm like Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11-12), both of whom are described as being taken up to God without dying first. The Sadducees, who don’t believe in an afterlife, approach Jesus with a puzzle that they think shows the foolishness of believing in a resurrection. What is the problem the Sadducees pose? There is a commandment in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, that directs a man to marry his brother’s wife if his brother dies childless, so that through the first child of that union the brother will have a legal heir. Genesis 38:7-11 gives an example of a refusal to follow this command. Both of these books are part of the Torah, the limited part of the Hebrew Scriptures that the Sadducees acknowledged. The Sadducees imagine a series of brothers marrying the same woman, each dying before any offspring is produced, and they ask: Whose wife is she in heaven? In verse 29, Jesus tells them they are wrong (misled, led astray) for two reasons they don’t know the Scriptures and they don’t know the power of God. How is knowing both of those critical to the spiritual life? In verse 30, what does Jesus say about how they are thinking incorrectly? Jesus says there is no marriage in heaven, because in heaven people are like angels. It is important not to misinterpret the statement that humans are “like angels.” Humans in heaven are “like angels” in the sense that, like angels, they live forever and don’t need to engage in sexual reproduction in order to produce offspring and keep the family line alive (see New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV , Matthew 22:30 fn., p. 1780). This does not mean we are like angels in other ways; for example, unlike angels, we will have a body in heaven. Angels are a different kind of creature than humans. They only have a spiritual nature and don’t have a body or a material nature. Although Jesus frames his answer in terms of the Sadducees’ underlying assumption, common at the time, that the point of marriage is to carry forward the family line. This should not be misinterpreted to mean that that is the only purpose of marriage. St. Paul, and theologians and everyday believers throughout the centuries, have seen much more in marriage, in addition to its function of continuing an individual’s family line and ultimately propagating the species as a whole. In verses 31-32, Jesus turns specifically to the Scriptures. We might expect Jesus to focus on how they are wrong in not accepting the parts of the Old Testament that the Pharisees accept. Instead, in verse 32, Jesus quotes from Exodus 3:6, which is in the Torah, the part of the Old Testament that the Sadducees do accept. What does God say in Exodus 3:6, and why does Jesus argue that this indicates people do live on after death? In Exodus 3:6, God says, “I am” the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They must be alive, because otherwise God would have said, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob before they died. The fact that he is still their God indicates that they are still alive. God is the God of the living, not the dead. The Sadducees are wrong about the Scriptures partly because of their crimped reading of the Torah. They think marriage works the same way in heaven as on earth, which shows that they think that heaven isn’t all that different from earth. Why is thinking that heaven is like earth such a big error, not just with regard to the question they asked but in our understanding of heaven more generally? Jesus also says the Sadducees are wrong about the Scriptures because they have not noticed a key statement by God in their Scriptures that presupposes that people do live on after death. What does this tell you about Scripture study? Now let’s come back to the fact that Jesus says in verse 29 that the Sadducees are also wrong because they do not know the power of God. What is it that they are missing about God’s power? They think that God is limited by what we understand from our human perspective. They think he is only powerful enough to create physical lives, which come and go. They don’t think that God has power over death and can extend life beyond death. At a fundamental level, they don’t understand how powerful God is. They underestimate God. In what ways do we tend to act like God is bound by human limitations or underestimate God’s ability to transcend problems that stump us? There are a lot of different threads in this exchange between Jesus and the Sadducees. What insights does this passage give you about God, or heaven, or the resurrection, or the Scriptures, or yourself? Take a step back and consider this: It is possible that the Sadducees didn’t really want to think of God as having a power and perspective that transcended theirs and could cut through their conundrums. They were very invested in their own power and comfortable with their own ways of seeing things. Accepting a God who transcends their power might have forced them to rethink some of the ways they were using their own power. How does our own desire for power affect our responsiveness to the power of God? How does our belief that we have power, at least in some areas of our lives, sometimes make it harder to appreciate the Scriptures and the power of God? Where, in your own life, do you need to let go of your preconceived notions about God and his ways? And replace them with what? 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

How does Holy Communion help you to enter into the new covenant that Jesus offers us? Previous Matthew List Next Matthew 26:26-35 How does Holy Communion help you to enter into the new covenant that Jesus offers us? Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). Eucharist . Circa 1637-40. Cropped. The National Gallery, London, UK. Photo by Tom Faletti, 28 May 2025. Tom Faletti September 16, 2025 Matthew 26:26-35 The Passover meal: The first communion/Eucharist The Passover seder involved a variety of steps. Participants drank four cups of wine, spread over the course of a meal that lasted several hours. They ate certain foods that had symbolic meaning. For example, parsley or other greens were dipped in salt water, symbolizing the early hope the Israelites had when they first came to Egypt (the greens) turning to bitter tears (the salt water) in their period of slavery. At one point in the Passover meal, the unleavened bread is called the “bread of affliction.” It is broken by the person leading the seder and passed around. Matthew 26:17 refers to the Feast of Unleavened Bread because in Jesus’s time, the two feasts were celebrated together. What actually happens in this passage? What does Jesus actually do? What is your understanding on the meaning of what happens here? Background regarding communion/the Eucharist The Christian denominations don’t agree on what is happening here. If you are studying this passage in a group, this is not the place to try to convert each other. Listen to others, humbly share what you believe, and leave it to the Holy Spirit to work in everyone’s heart. If we don’t treat each other lovingly, even when we disagree, we haven’t grasped what Jesus is all about. Here is some background for those who have an interest in understanding how different Christian denominations approach the Lord’s Supper: Christians of all denominations look to this meal as the basis of the ritual they celebrate in their worship services or liturgies. Catholics call it the “Eucharist” or “communion” and call the service the “Mass.” Evangelicals and other Protestants usually call it “communion” or “the Lord’s Supper.” Whatever they call it and in whatever way they celebrate it, the roots of their practice are here in Jesus’s final meal before his death. Christians don’t just celebrate it yearly the way the Jews celebrated the Passover – but instead celebrate it weekly, or daily, or monthly – because in Luke 22:19, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me” or “in memory of me.” Christians have different ideas about what happens at their worship services or Masses. Catholics believe that the bread and wine, when consecrated, actually becomes the body and blood of Christ even though they remain under the appearances of bread and wine. Catholics call this “transubstantiation.” Orthodox Christians believe the consecrated bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, but they do not try to define in dogma the mystery of that transformation and they do not accept the Roman Catholic formulation of “transubstantiation.” Nevertheless, they share a belief in a literal transformation of the bread and wine that traces back to the earliest writings of Christians (going all the way back to Justin Martyr around AD 155). Lutherans believe that the body and blood of Christ are “truly and substantially present” in the consecrated bread and wine but that it is still bread and wine. Episcopalians believe that Christ’s body and blood become “really present,” without any need for the consecrated elements to stop being bread and wine. Most other Christian bodies reject the idea that the bread and wine literally “become” the body and blood of Christ. They generally believe that Christ is present spiritually, but not physically. Another point separates believers: Most Christians believe that the communion service or Eucharist or liturgy is a memorial, or commemoration, or remembrance of the Jesus’s Last Supper, or of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection more broadly. Some denominations believe that it goes further: that what Christ did 2,000 years ago is made truly present to us now. For example, Catholics believe that the Mass is a memorial but also more: They believe that, in the Mass, Christ’s unique, once-and-for-all sacrifice is made present again in our midst. They are not saying that the Eucharist is a new sacrifice each time – there was only one sacrifice made by Christ on the Cross – but they believe that single sacrifice is re-presented to us and that the Mass allows us to enter now into what happened then. We are not going to resolve these issues here. If you are studying in a small group, please accept the fact that Christians disagree, share what this passage of Scripture means to you, listen to others, and avoid arguments, which rarely resolve anything and can undermine the cohesiveness of your group. How important is communion to you, and why? Why do we generally have “communion” as a communal event? We pray individually, but we don’t have our own private moments of partaking of bread and wine. Why is this something meant to be done together? In verse 26, what does Jesus say the bread is? Catholics take Jesus’s words “This is my body” literally, while most Protestants consider it symbolic. What do the words “This is my body” mean to you? Even people from the same denomination can bring a richness of personal perspectives and experiences to this question. As far as doctrine goes, Catholics are the literalists here, whereas sometimes in interpreting other verses of the Bible it is Protestants who insist on more literal interpretations. God keeps loving us despite our disagreements. In the Passover seder, one of the cups of wine that the participants drink is associated with the covenant established by God when he gave the Law to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Jesus was incredibly well versed in the Scriptures and may have been thinking about Exodus 24:8, which he referred to “the blood of the covenant” – a sacrifice made by the Israelites as they entered into the covenant with God at Mt. Sinai. (This is different from the sacrifice of the Passover lambs as the Israelites prepared to leave Egypt.) In verse 28, Jesus identifies the cup as being a covenant, but this covenant is different from than the earlier covenants God made with Israel. How does Jesus describe this covenant? If you were expecting the word “new” in this verse, you are thinking of Luke 22:20, where Jesus says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” In Matthew 26:28 and Mark 14:24, Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant.” The covenants in the Old Testament are solemn agreements between God and his people. How is Jesus’s blood a covenant with us? In verse 28, what does Jesus identify as the purpose of the pouring out of his blood? His blood is poured out for the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus says this, Jesus is making a connection with Isaiah 53:12, where Isaiah says of the Suffering Servant that “he poured out himself to death, / and was numbered with the transgressors; / yet he bore the sin of many, / and made intercession for the transgressors” (NRSV). How does this connection of the cup to the forgiveness of sins relate to you? What difference does it make in your life? How is Jesus’s new interpretation of the Jewish Passover an additional demonstration of his authority? At many places in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been reinterpreting the Jewish Scriptures: You have heard it said . . . , but I say. . . . Now, he has reinterpreted the foundational feast of Passover. Now he shows that he also has authority over Jewish liturgical practices. How does the new covenant inaugurated here have power that the earlier covenants did not have? How do you think Matthew and the believers of his time felt about the Lord’s Supper described here? What do you think Matthew is trying to tell us? Note: In verse 29, Jesus says he will not drink wine again “until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” This statement is usually interpreted as referring to the heavenly banquet that is envisioned for us in heaven. Notice in verse 29 that even though Jesus knows he is going to die, he knows this is not the end. He is still thinking about his Father’s kingdom and looking forward to the future. How can this attitude be helpful to you in your own life’s journey? In verse 29, Jesus says that he will drink “with you” in the Father’s Kingdom. That assurance extends to us as well. What is your reaction to the idea of that someday you will eat and drink with Jesus in heaven? When you receive communion at church, what is going through your head? In what ways do you see Christ in the Eucharist/communion and/or see it as a means of becoming more fully united with Christ? Augustine gave a homily about the Eucharist for new converts who were baptized at Easter or Pentecost around A.D. 408 in which he took the idea that the consecrated bread is the body of Christ and connected it to the idea presented by Paul that we are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). Augustine said: “Be what you see; receive what you are” (Augustine, “Sermon 272”). How do you see the “body of Christ” in communion? How do you make the most of the experience of receiving communion? Focus now on Matthew 26:31-35 , where Jesus predicts Peter’s denial Jesus tells them several important things in verses 31 and 32. What does he tell them (1) about themselves; (2) about himself; and (3) about what will happen afterwards? He says: (1) They will desert him and scatter. (2) He will be stricken, but he will also be raised up and he will go to Galilee. (3) They will meet him in Galilee (going “ahead” of them implies they will go as well). The Old Testament passage Jesus quotes in verse 31 is from Zechariah 13:7. In verse 33, how does Peter respond to the claim that they will desert Jesus? Peter carries forever the stigma of having denied Jesus because we have the full story of his denial. But what does v. 35 tell us about the other disciples? In verse 31, Jesus said, “You will all. . . .” Do you think the other disciples were different from Peter in their denial/desertion? Peter was not a coward. He tried to defend Jesus with his sword when Jesus was arrested, and he followed Jesus right into the courtyard of the high priest’s compound. But in the end, it turned out that he had too much confidence in himself. We sometimes think our faith and loyalty and courage are greater than they are. What caution can we take from Peter’s misplaced confidence? Read Matthew 26:41 and then re-read what Jesus says in verses 31-32. How do you think Jesus feels about the disciples? Is he angry? Embittered? Lovingly aware? How do you think Jesus feels when you turn away from him in big or small ways? How do these verses provide encouragement in difficult times? Notice that even though Jesus has just told them they will desert him, he also says in v. 31 that he expects to see them later in Galilee. Do you find that God is also that way with us: that even though we mess up, he never rejects us – instead he just keeps expecting us to show up the next time? What does this tell you about God? Take a step back and consider this: The Passover feast was a celebration of God’s acts of salvation in the history of the Jewish people. Jesus’s sacrifice of himself ushered in a new covenant that fulfills and transcends the previous covenants God made with his people. We see these previous covenants in the Old Testament: God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants after the flood (Gen. 8:20-9:17); a covenant with Abraham that established a nation that would be God’s special people (Gen. 17:1-14); a covenant with Moses and the Israelites that gave them the Law (Ex. 19-24); and a covenant with David, through whose line the messiah would come (2 Sam. 7:1-17; summarized again in 1 Chron. 17:11-14). Later, God promised that he would establish a new covenant that would be for all people (Jer. 31:31-34). Jesus establishes that new and eternal covenant through his death and resurrection. In fact, Jesus Christ brings all of the covenants to their fulfillment. How is God’s relationship with the Jewish people through many centuries important to Christians? What difference does it make in your life that Jesus has both fulfilled the old covenant and established a new covenant? A covenant is a solemn agreement between humans and God (or between humans with each other ). Do you think of yourself as being in a “covenant” relationship with God? How is it helpful to think about your relationship with God in that way? 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