Jesus gets in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee when a storm arises. Jesus is sleeping, so his disciples go to wake him. The waves are crashing. The disciples think they will drown. Jesus tells them they have little faith. Jesus calmed the sea, amazing his disciples.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 4: Matthew 8:23-27
10) He calms the storm so his disciples won’t be afraid. As noted by the disciples, the fact that he can command the waves and the wind shows his deity. We also see Jesus needs sleep, too, just like humans.
11a) That they had no faith in him because they were afraid.
b) That he cared for them enough to allay their fears.
12a) Unsure about storm. I’m trying to find a new day job. I’m also looking to maybe move again in the future.
b) I need to have faith in Jesus to calm the storms and sort them all out, sheltering me the entire way.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 4: Matthew 8:23-27
This is one of the best stories about Jesus. Jesus calms the storm for his disciples’ sake, and he shows his power. Plus, I love the whole idea of Jesus calming my storms. Fabulous!
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 4: Matthew 8:23-27
The Sea of Galilee frequently has heavy storms. Capernaum lies on its coast.
Jesus slept through the storm. This shows what rest we can have when we have complete faith in the Father to provide us with what we need and to protect us from the world’s evils.
When you have complete trust in the Father, there is no room for fear. This is why Jesus rebukes his disciples, not for having woken him. If you have the Savior of the World in your boat, you should feel secure. Plus, they had just seen Jesus heal people miraculously. Where was their faith?
Rebuke is stronger than calm. Rebuke means, “to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone or someone’s behaviors.” Thus, some Bible scholars think Satan may have sent the storm to drown Jesus and his disciples.
Here, the disciples see Jesus as fully man and fully God for the first time. This is why they marveled. Powerful stuff!
Jesus crossed over the lake (Sea of Galilee) in order to escape the crowds. A teacher of the law told Jesus he would follow him wherever he went. Another said he would follow him after he buried his father. Jesus said to follow him and bury your dead later.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 3: Matthew 8:18-22
7) The first follower may be in a honeymoon stage, so Jesus tells him it’s not all fun and games. The second follower loves Jesus, but puts his human father first. He is a reluctant follower.
8a) The cost for the first man is giving up everything and living a very simple life with no real home.
b) The cost for the second man is putting him first above his human family and giving his whole heart to Jesus.
9a) People only follow Jesus when it’s convenient for them. The second it gets hard or they have to sacrifice, they bail.
b) You have to do what God wants you to do, not what others want you to do. You have to put God first always, and sometimes that can cause friction between family members. I’ve had to end some relationships with friends over following Jesus’s path for my life.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 3: Matthew 8:18-22
I love how simple Jesus is so that we simple humans can grasp his meaning. It’s simple: follow him completely and totally above all others.
Cool art decor here.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 3: Matthew 8:18-22
Jesus needed a break from the crowds. He did not seek notarity. Many were attracted to following Jesus because they were mesmerized by his miracles. But these two did not have the heart Jesus was seeking.
Jesus is blunt by saying that he truly did not have a home. He lived a very simple life, and by telling the man this, he hoped to not lead him astray about what his ministry was really all about. This is a great lesson for pastors of today.
Fun Fact: “The Son of Man” is used 81 times in the gospels. Jesus referred to himself as this many times, or you’ll see it when someone in the Bible quotes him. It evokes power and glory as seen here (Daniel 7:13-14) and the humility (Psalm 8:4).
What modern readers miss here is that the father of the second man is not dead; if he was, the man would have said something along the lines of digging a grave. Thus, the man wanted to care for his ailing father, which could have been years for all we know. This man was a disciple, but not with the heart of the 12 disciples who were all in. Jesus wants those who are all in for him.
Jesus clearly states that although family is important, he is more so. He is very forthright and honest in his ministry as we should be.
After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus came down from the mountain. His teaching amazed everyone. A man with leprosy approached Jesus and asked him to make him clean. Jesus healed the man and told him to not tell others but instead to go to the priests and offer a gift that Moses commanded as a testimony instead.
In Capernaum, a Roman centurion (an elite soldier) came to Jesus to ask him to heal one of his servants who is paralyzed. Jesus agreed to come. However, the centurion did not think he was worthy to have Jesus under his roof, so he asked Jesus to heal the man from afar. Jesus admired his faith and did so.
Jesus arrived at Peter’s house. His mother-in-law was sick. When he touched her, he healed her.
Jesus healed many more and cast out many demons.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 2: Matthew 8:1-17
3) He asked Jesus in a humble way (kneeling and worshipping him) to heal him and Jesus did. He had faith Jesus could heal him; it was only a matter of if Jesus was willing. Leviticus 13:2-3 tells us that priests declared those with an infectious skin disease unceremoniously. Verses 44-46 tell us that those who continue to have an infectious skin disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, and cry out, “Unclean!” They must live alone and outside of camp. Here, Jesus touches the man without hesitation despite his unclean status.
4a) The centurion asked Jesus to heal one of his servants who is paralyzed. Jesus agreed to come.
b) However, the centurion did not think he was worthy to have Jesus under his roof, so he asked Jesus to heal the man from afar. Jesus admired his faith and did so.
5) Healing people showed Jesus’s compassion, his authority, and his power. It also showed he fulfilled prophecy, as we read in Isaiah about how their savior will heal the deaf, the blind, the lame, to free captives from prison, and to release those in the dark. It revealed he was God’s chosen one.
6) It’s encouraging that Jesus has the power to change lives.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 2: Matthew 8:1-17
I love these stories of Jesus’s healing ministry. It gives me hope that Jesus will heal others, and I love to imagine what it would have been like to see Jesus do so.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 9, Day 2: Matthew 8:1-17
We will not see 10 miracles that Jesus performs after the Sermon on the Mount. This served to further establish his authority. Matthew puts these in no particular order, and they differ considerably from the order in Mark and Luke. These chapters will focus on Jesus’s power and authority over all things. Here, we’ll see three people who normally would have been ignored in the Jewish culture.
The Healing of the Leper
Leprosy was akin to COVID-19 except you had no hope of a cure. You had to stay in isolation, away from friends and family. You had to stay 6 feet away from lepers (sound familiar?), so you wouldn’t be unclean. Those with leprosy were essentially dead. This man wanted cleansing — cleansing of his life, of the treatment he had to endure, of the mental anguish he suffered.
NOTE: This is the first place in the Bible where Jesus is called Lord. And note it’s by a leper, an outcast in society. It’s also Jesus’s first recorded healing in the Gospels.
You could not touch a leper, but Jesus did. He didn’t have to, but the leper needed to be touched. Mark 1:41 Jesus has compassion. He shows this to us each and every day.
We see Jesus carefully controlling his reputation when he tells the leper not to shout to the world what happened. Instead, he tells the leper to go quietly to the priest so he could be declared clean and enter society again. He did not want the crowds to get excited. Instead, he meets us where we are at. However, we see in Mark that the leper proclaimed his healing anyway. (Mark 1:44-45).
The Centurion
Jesus lived in Capernaum Matthew 4:13 , so he was going home here.
The Centurion was a man of substance, stature, and wealth. He must have cared a great deal about his servant to come to a Jewish leader on his behalf. Under Roman law, if a slave became ill, the owner could kill him. This would have been the normal reaction, not going to a rabbi.
FUN FACT: There are at least 7 centurions mentioned in the New Testament, and they are all good-hearted.
Jews were not allowed to enter Gentiles’ homes because they would become unclean. The centurion knew this so was looking out for Jesus.
The centurion understood that Jesus did not need to be present to heal. He had faith in Jesus’s powers.
You could say that this centurion understood who Jesus was much more than 99% of the Jewish people at this time, and more than most of the spiritual leaders/Pharisees, too.
Jesus praised this faith, going further by saying that Gentiles will share in God’s kingdom, too. He says that Jews are not guaranteed entry just because of their identity, either.
Heaven will have people sitting and people from everywhere.
FUN FACT: Jesus spoke of hell more so than any other in the Bible.
Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law
This makes it clear that Peter was married, making it clear you did not have to be celibate to be a priest. Again, Jesus uses a touch to heal; he cares for the big hurts and the small hurts alike. She rises and serves.
Jesus Heals Many
Matthew shows Jesus as the true Messiah and the one Isaiah speaks of. Jesus takes our sicknesses and carries them himself. This is how we can be with God.
There were many possessed of demons at this time, and the reasoning for it is unclear. Bible scholars say it was just a dark time and magic was prevalent.
God heals physically in many ways as we see here — with a touch, words, and other ways. Jesus heals those who ask, those who others ask for, and those who don’t ask. God is sovereign in His healing powers.
The road to life has a small gate and is narrow and only a few find it. The road to destruction is wide and broad and many enter.
Watch out for false prophets whom you will know by the fruit they bear. They will bear bad fruit and can only bear bad fruit. Good trees bear good fruit, and bad ones bear bad. Bad trees are cut down and thrown into the fire.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 4: Matthew 7:13-20
9a) That the path to life (heaven) is only through him and not many will find this path. John 14:6 says he is the only way to God. He is the way, the truth, the life. Acts 4:12 says salvation is found only in Jesus.
b) They want to believe the path to heaven is more complicated than that, and they want to be able to do what they want without following God’s law and still gain access to heaven.
10a) They bear bad fruit. John 15:16 says God chooses those to be with Him to bear lasting fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
b) You have to have the ability to discern those who are false prophets from those who are true; those with good hearts versus those who are bad. Judging is about ensuring you are holding yourself to the same standard when you judge others. Thus, by looking at people’s fruit/good deeds, this can help you discern the truth.
11) Be careful of smooth talkers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and others who sound/say something that is too good to be true. Pray and discern to ensure you are not being led astray.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 4: Matthew 7:13-20
Good reminder that God chooses those who go to heaven, and that you have to be wary of false prophets.
Good read on false prophets.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 4: Matthew 7:13-20
As Christians know, the path to heaven is narrow and difficult and will not be easy to traverse. Jesus is telling his disciples to prepare for future hardships.
Being aware that there are false prophets is step one. Watch out for those who motivated purely by self-interest. Do these prophets teach God’s Word, are people growing in God, and do they live out God’s teachings?
Before judging others’ fruit, judge your own. Are you bearing good or bad fruit? You are either bearing one or the other. Those who bear neither good nor bad are considered bad.
“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” If you ask God, He will give you good gifts like we would our kids.
Do unto others what you want done to you. This is the Law.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 3: Matthew 7:7-12
6) “Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.” He promises that you will receive, you will find, and doors will be opened.
7a) That God cares for us more than anything even though we are evil.
b) Romans 8:28 says that God works through all things for our good. After all, God gave us His only Son and gives us all things in His grace.
8a) Be very gentle, listen, offer advice, help, be caring and compassionate.
b) Matthew 22:34-40 teaches us that the greatest commands are to love God and love your neighbor. God gave us the to show us how to live and to point to Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for us. God gave us all of this out of His great love. When we love, we have God’s heart.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 3: Matthew 7:7-12
This is one of my favorite verses of the Bible. God makes things so simple, yet we humans complicate them so much. Ask, seek, and knock. Then love. That’s all it takes to be God’s.
A great read about the best way to live. Check it out!
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 3: Matthew 7:7-12
Jesus takes more time to teach us how to pray. When we ask, we receive, which is the reward of asking. When we seek God, we’ll find Him. He doesn’t hide from us. We knock at God’s door (heaven) to be let in. God opens the door in response to us knocking.
You enter into the Gospel like you enter an open door. While it is there, you have to ask for it and seek it out.
Sometimes you must keep asking, seeking, and knocking; God does not answer immediately. Prayer shows our dependence on God.
God wants to give us what we ask for and more.
The Golden Rule
The negative form of this was a popular saying in Jewish culture at the time. “You should not do to your neighbor what you would not want him to do to you.” Jesus turned a negative into a positive. Many cultures have a similar saying to the Golden Rule. Jesus wants us to take action.
You cannot break any of God’s laws by treating others as we want to be treated.
None of us can maintain this high standard except Jesus, but it is a worthy goal.
Jesus is still speaking his sermon on the mount. Do not judge others, and you won’t be judged. Quit being a hypocrite and judging others for it. Do not give your valuables to others who may trample them and tear you to pieces.
BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 2: Matthew 7:1-6
3a) Just that — Don’t judge others and think you are better than them when you are not.
b) Discernment by definition is “the ability to judge well” or in Biblical thinking “perception in the absence of judgment with a view to obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding.” God helps you arrive at the best decision. Romans says that discernment is knowing the right thing to do and doing it. You will be able to know God’s will and be able to do it, too. Philippians says discernment is knowing what is best in order to do good and avoid sin. Hebrews says God blesses wise discernment.
c) Galatians says that believers should help those who have been caught in sin with a spirit of forgiveness. If you know about God, you must share it with others. Ephesians reminds us to be gentle, humble, and patient with others in love. Christians are to support one another, forgive each other, and help each other to be better discerners and walkers in God’s word.
4) You must be merciful because you yourself have faults, too, and are in need of mercy. James reminds us to speak and act as though you will be judged.
5) I judge others when they do behavior I think is not right. I have to remember that I probably do the same things, am a sinner, and I’m in need of mercy, too.
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 2: Matthew 7:1-6
I love being reminded about how wrong judging is and to not do it. It’s such a human thing to do, to think better of yourself than others, but in God’s eyes, we are all the same. We need to look at others as such, too.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Matthew Lesson 8, Day 2: Matthew 7:1-6
You will be judged the same way you judge others. That being said, approving of others’ behavior is not the same as judging. This verse does not say you have to approve, only not to judge and/or treat others differently because of what they do, say, or believe.
Can you judge others’ behavior? Yes. But you must do so in the same manner that you want to be judged. Since a lot of people judge others by different standards than they judge themselves, it is often best not to judge at all.
Jesus uses an example to drive home his point. A plank is much larger than a speck. We are often blind to our own faults, but can see the smallest faults in others. In short, we are hypocrites. First, fix your own faults before you worry about others’.
Still, Jesus said we must use discernment to not give precious things to those who will not appreciate them. Or, do not give unbelievers holy things.
Bible scholars say that pearls are precious items. Do not give them to those who don’t want to receive them.
In sum, don’t give all of your precious strength and valuables to those whom God has not prepared to accept him. Look for those who are ready to receive Christ.
I thought I’d focus on cool items for the Lord’s prayer since it’s so integral to our lives. These below make great gifts for the holidays (that will be here soon enough!).
Enjoy!
*As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
In Capernaum, a Roman centurion (an elite soldier) came to Jesus to ask him to heal one of his servants who is paralyzed. Jesus agreed to come. However, the centurion did not think he was worthy to have Jesus under his roof, so he asked Jesus to heal the man from afar. Jesus admired his faith and did so.
