Limited Faith and the Invitation to Dependence
In the feeding of the five thousand the disciples saw only scarcity and began calculating human resources (Matthew 14:15–21). Five loaves...
Compassion That Meets Desperation
After hearing of John’s death, Jesus withdrew to a desolate place, seeking solitude. Yet the crowds followed Him on foot, and when He saw...
Distress That Does Not Lead to Change
When the fame of Jesus reached Herod’s palace in Matthew 14:1–12, it produced distress rather than faith. Herod had no intellectual...
When Familiarity Breeds Disappointment
Fame has a strange way of distorting reality. One New York writer once observed that fame simply means millions of people have the wrong...
The Net Still Being Cast
Matthew 13:47–52 The dragnet parable bookends the wheat and tares parable, providing another picture of final separation, this time using...
Buried Treasure and Costly Pearls
Matthew 13:44–46 It’s tempting to read these two short parables as pictures of us pursuing God: stumbling on treasure, or searching...
When Leaven Gets In
Matthew 13:33 One verse, and one of the most misread parables in the chapter. People hear “leaven” and picture something...
The Birds in the Branches
Matthew 13:31–32 The mustard seed parable sounds, at first hearing, like good news: something tiny growing into something enormous. But...
Stay Awake: The Enemy Works While We Sleep
Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43 Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares contains a sobering warning: while the servants slept, an enemy...