The reader of Matthew’s gospel goes to many places with Jesus, as we have noted in these last few chapters…by the sea, on the water, in the region of Tyre and Sidon and even at Caesarea Philippi. But the next place that jesus would go, according to Matthew 17:1-13, was the mountain top, where he was transfigured before three of His disciples. This would be a moment they would never forget, as evidenced by the later of two of them, Peter and John, whose testimony about Jesus is clear. They saw His glory.

Message

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• Our travels with Jesus
• Next event in a long
  line of them…
• Sleepy disciples …now and later
• See how this transfiguration confirmed…

1. An unwelcome message (v.1-3, 12)
2. An unfinished story (v.4-6)
3. An unmatched Saviour (v.7-8)

What was Jesus’ purpose here?
From the mountain of glory to the cross of shame!

After Peter twigged who Jesus was in Matthew 16:16, Jesus took the time to explain to his disciples just what kind of Messiah he was. He was one that would suffer and die at the hands of the Jews. While this fact may have been lost on the twelve, they would also have been overwhelmed at what Jesus went on to say next; that they were also destined for suffering and would need to bear their own crosses. What did Jesus mean by all this? These disciples were about to find out…

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• That major turning point!
• Yes he was the Messiah, but what kind?
• Get His identity right, but get his purpose right too!
• See how in this text we find that …

1. As Messiah, He would give up His life (v.21-23)
2. As disciples, they should give up their lives (v.24-25)
3. As witnesses, they would see His glory (v.26-28)

The kind of life He calls us to…
Three reasons why he calls us to this kind of life!

There’s no doubt that Matthew 16:13-20 is one of the key texts of the New Testament for so many reasons. In it, we find that Jesus challenged his disciples with two urgent questions and then three follow up statements all of which were designed to bring the 12 to a point where they were put ‘on the spot’ in relation to Jesus’ identity and then also about their own task in the world as the foundation of the church Jesus came to build.

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There are many who presume or assume that Jesus never stood for much, and that he endorsed social developments or changes that we think of! However in Matthew 16:1-12, this is proved to be false. Here, Jesus spoke out strongly both to his disciples about the influence of the Jewish religious leaders, and he also spoke strongly to them! We would do well to hear what he had to say, so that we are well warned and carefully and rightly directed!

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• The Jesus who stands for many causes…
• This Jesus who ‘never criticized anyone’
• After the feeding of the 4,000, Jesus spoke out!
• See in this text that Jesus had to …

1. Confront the demands of naked unbelief (v.1-4)
2. Warn the disciples about false teachers (v.5-7)
3. Reprimand the disciples about lacking faith (v.8-12)

Unbelief – not due to a lack of evidence!
He gets us! Make sure you get Him!

It’s somewhat of an oddity that Matthew records the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15.29-39 so soon after the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew 14:13-21. But the two incidents are not the same. Matthew wasn’t confused and wrote down the same incident twice. Each of the ‘feeding miracles’ have their own contexts and particulars, so they were certainly different in his mind and in the mind of Jesus! Even so, it sowrth noting that the two miracles – though essentially the same – have their own purpose in Jesus’ ministry.

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• Didn’t we just cover this text??
• This miracle follows the Canaanite woman’s faith
• Where this miracle takes place…Gentile territory
• See in this text how we are told about …

1. The wideness of His compassion (v.29-31)
2. The sureness of His actions (v.32-36)
3. The satisfaction in His provision (v.37-39)

The physical needs are most felt…
The spiritual needs are more urgent!

It’s interesting to note how matthew has recorded the meeting between Jesus and the woman from Canaan directly after his comments relating to who is ‘clean or unclean’ and who is ‘defiled or undefiled’…because this woman was most certianly ‘unclean’ as well as ‘defiled’ in the eyes of the Pharisees and even in the eyes of the disciples who just wanted to shoo her away. But not Jesus. Even though it appeared that he wasn’t listening to her, he was, and he gave her what she asked for…and more!

Message

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• Jesus in an unusual place meeting an unusual person
• A turning point in Matthew’s gospel
• This woman – a real ‘outsider’
• See how we are told about their conversation …

1. A discouraging beginning (v.21-24)
2. A challenging middle (v.25-26)
3. A satisfying end (v.27-28)

Saving faith in surprising places…
Outsiders are more than welcome…!

As soon as Jesus was back in the midst of the Jewish people, the Scribes and Pharisees questioned him about his lack of enforcement of the traditions around hand washing. Rather than explain himself directly, Jesus in turn, responded with questions as to why the Pharisees and Scribes failed to comply with God’s commandments about honouring their parents, so that they might escape the full force of their responsibilities. He also went on to explain that external hand washing (as well as any kind of food) does nothing to deal with the problem of our sinful hearts, reminding them that only a complete transformation from within, from the heart, is what God ultimately requires.

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• From miracles and action to debate
• Hand washing?
• Was Jesus a traditionalist just for the sake of it?
• See how the text tells us about traditions, and …

1. The confrontation that began (v.1-2)
2. The critique that followed (v.3-9)
3. The clarification that resulted (v.10-20)

Traditions and us!
Caring more about the externals than the internals…

After Jesus fed the 5,000 with bread and fish, he proceeded to perform another miracle. This one, however was not on land, but at sea, and it was not in the day, but in the dark, and it was not done before the eyes of the crowds, but for his disciples alone. After sending away the crowds, Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, after also sending away his disciples in a boat to cross the lake. In the middle of the night, when the disciples had found the crossing hard going, Jesus came to them and gave them assurance of his person and power. Disciples who feel as though that they have been abandoned by Jesus, need to think through who it was that Jesus was praying for up there on the mountain, and that there is no barrier to his coming to his disciples in their hour of need.

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• ‘Born to be at sea’…
• Following on from the feeding of the 5,000
• A miracle on land, now one on water!
• See how the text tells us about …

1. The priority Jesus gave to prayer (v.22-24)
2. The encouragement Jesus gave to disciples (v.25-33)
3. The healing Jesus gave to the sick (v.34-36)

Life lesson 101…
Your times are in His hands.

After Jesus received the news of John’s death, he withdrew from public appearances to go away to a lonely place with disciples for some rest and prayer. However, according to Matthew 14:13-21, the crowds twigged where he would be and soon were there too. Jesus, however, as a true Shepherd of the sheep, put their needs before his own and had compassion upon them, even providing them with a free meal. All this happened far away from the eyes of the religious leaders and rulers, but not was not hidden from the eyes of his watching disciples who were taught a number of lessons.

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• A text we know well…
• From John back to Jesus…
• Just one year left for Jesus to live!
• See how the text tells us about …

1. How Jesus demonstrated His compassion (v.13-15)
2. How Jesus instructed His disciples (v.16-20)
3. How Jesus showed His sufficiency (v.19-21)

His ability. Our problem.
‘You give them something to eat!’

After Jesus was rejected by the people of Nazareth, the text of Matthew 14:1-12 shifts to focus our attention on what was happening in the mind and heart of King Herod. Having heard about the miracles and ministry of Jesus, Herod, prompted by his guilty conscience, wrongly assumed that Jesus was John the Baptist ‘raised from the dead’. To fill in why Herod thought this, Matthew then explains for his readers how it was that John’s life ended in martyrdom – ultimately because of a partying King who made an dangerously open-ended promise to a dancing girl.

Message

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• A sad text!
• From Jesus to John…
• Which King Herod is this?
• See how the text tells us about …

1. The awful danger of rejecting conscience (v.1-5)
2. The strange reward for faithful service (v.6-14)

Herod’s conscience and yours
The cross – the cure for all sin and guilt!