Matthew 20:21-22, “‘[Let] these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and one at your left in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you ask.’” Matthew 27:37-38, “‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one at the right and one at

  Matthew 26:64, “I tell you, *from now on* you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Jesus seems to be implying that humanity begins to see the divine Son of Man enthroned in the sky and coming in power when He

  Matthew 23:38-39, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” What catches my attention here is the “for I say to you…” This phrase is introducing the explanation as to why

  Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…” Fear. Of course you know that Jesus actually says that we cannot serve both God and money.

  Matthew 6:8-9, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”   Short Thoughts: When we pray this, we are asking for the beauty of God’s identity—as He has made it known in the crucified and risen Son—to illuminate and saturate

  Matthew 3:17, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”   Short Thoughts: And all who are trusting Christ as their life, have entered into this same fellowship as beloved sons and daughters, with whom the Father is well pleased.   Long Thoughts: By virtue of the Christian’s union to God

Matthew 5:16, “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Short Thoughts: Christians ought to be explicit about Jesus When our good works are flavored and illumined by the supremacy of the slain and risen Lord, they become pointers

Matthew 1:21-23, “…you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name ‘Immanuel’ (which means God with us.)” In the evenings

Matthew 5:10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the final of the “Beatitudes” pictures…..The main points that I wanted to hit in this final image were: 1) To be persecuted “for righteousness’ sake” is to be persecuted—whether intentionally or unintentionally on the part

  Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” As the Church reconciles the shattered family of humanity to one another and to God, she manifests and continues the work of the True Child of God: the crucified and risen Lord whose blood has purchased all true and lasting

  Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” While preparing for this picture, I was pointed to Psalm 24:4-6, which is the primary OT context that Jesus seems to be drawing from in this Beatitude. There the concept of a “pure heart” seems to be unfolded in v.4b, namely,

  Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

  Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Matthew is most likely not talking about Pauline righteousness (ie, The righteousness of Christ imputed to the believer by grace through faith), though that is certainly necessary. The righteousness in view here is likely a life of practical,