What Kind of Soil Is Your Heart?
Jesus had a simple question for the crowd gathered around Him: What happens when the Word of God meets your heart? In Matthew 13, Jesus...
Belong to the Greater Family
(Inspired by Matthew 12:46–50) While Jesus is still speaking, someone tells Him His mother and brothers are outside wanting to talk. He...
He Already Gave You the Only Sign That Matters
Matthew 12:38–45 By this point in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus had cleansed lepers, calmed storms, raised the dead, and — sixteen...
What Falls Out When Jesus Shakes the Tree
Matthew 12:31–37 Jesus says something here that unsettles people: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. If that verse...
The Stronger Man Has Bound the Strong Man
(Inspired by Matthew 12:22–30) A demon-possessed man, blind and mute, is brought to Jesus. Completely helpless. Jesus heals him...
The Gentle King Who Won’t Break You
(Inspired by Matthew 12:15–21) Have you ever felt like a bruised reed — cracked, bent, one more push from snapping? Or like a smoking...
The Withered Hand and the Withered Heart
Matthew 12 presents two conditions within a single synagogue scene. A man’s hand was withered; Jesus spoke, and in the moment of...
Stretching Out What Feels Withered
The man in Matthew 12 could not stretch out his hand until, in obedience, he did. Jesus spoke; the man responded, and strength arrived in...
Of How Much More Value Is a Man Than a Sheep?
When the Pharisees attempted to ensnare Jesus with a question about the Sabbath, He answered with a question of His own. “If one of you...