Matthew 18:23-35 Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
This parable comes in response to Peter’s question about how many times should we forgive our brother. Jesus answers by showing that the kingdom of heaven is about forgiveness. Some people know they have much that needs to be forgiven. When standing before God, they recognize they have a greater debt to pay than they can ever pay back. The law shows us the enormity of our debt, and that we deserve punishment. Since you can’t earn much money in prison, there’s no way you can pay it back. Such is the case with sin. The little that we can do on our own efforts won’t make a dent in the amount of harm we have done by our actions. All one can do is to plead for mercy.

Matt. 15:21-28 Jesus Tests a Canaanite Woman’s Faith
It’s nice to know the details about the historical witness of this and every other story in the Bible, but if it doesn’t impact me and my life for the better, what value is it? How does this story impact MY life? And how does it impact YOUR life?The Canaanite woman was considered an outcast in the eyes of the children of Israel, a Gentile. Since most Christians today are not converted Jews, she represents us. And

Matthew 13:24-30 The Wheat and the Tares
After many forms of teaching and miracle stories in the first twelve chapters of Matthew, the gospel writer fills this chapter with parables. The first parable is the Sower and the Seed, after which the disciples ask Jesus why he teaches in parables. Jesus speaks, “I do it to show you that people can hear and see something without understanding it” and “it fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah.” Then Jesus explains the parable of the Sower. The second parable is a literary duplicate of the first. Jesus tells a parable of the wheat and tares. Matthew then tells us another place in the Old Testament (Psalm 78) where the Messiah will speak in parables. Then Jesus explains t

Matthew 13:24-30 The Wheat and the Tares
After many forms of teaching and miracle stories in the first twelve chapters of Matthew, the gospel writer fills this chapter with parables. The first parable is the Sower and the Seed, after which the disciples ask Jesus why he teaches in parables. Jesus speaks, “I do it to show you that people can hear and see something without understanding it” and “it fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah.” Then Jesus explains the parable of the Sower.

Matt. 11:2-11 Evidence that Jesus is the Messiah
I’m going to change the way in which I blog these gospel texts. In the past, I’ve been more academic, more religious, more exegetical about the text, letting Martin Luther contribute to the discussion. I’m feeling a little blogged down by this format. Rather than cover a whole text, or be limited by one text a week, I plan to blog about a text from Luther's Church Postil that we are studying for the week, and a p