Gospel Matthew study

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” ¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” ¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” (Matthew 15:10-20)
As we saw earlier, when the Pharisees saw that the disciples of Jesus did not wash their hands before eating, they said that they violated the traditions of the ancients. Jesus said that they abandoned God’s commandments because of the traditions of the ancients. Then Jesus said: “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” The disciples told Jesus that the Pharisees were offended, and Jesus said:” Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. they are blind guides, here the Lord Jesus talked about their spiritual blindness. ” Then Jesus explained to the disciples that the food that goes into the mouth, passes through the stomach, and falls into the toilet, it does not defile a man, but the sins that come out of the heart and out of the mouth will defile a man.
³⁷ When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. ³⁹ Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? ⁴¹ But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. (Luke 11:37-41)
The Pharisees believed that not washing hands before eating was unclean. They focused on the cleanliness of the outside. The Lord Jesus knew everything and knew people’s thoughts. He knew that although the Pharisees focused on the cleanliness of the outside, their hearts were not clean. The Lord Jesus continued: But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” ³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ⁵ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. ⁹ They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” (Matthew 15:1-9)
Here we see that the Pharisees and scribes came to the Lord Jesus and told him that his disciples had violated the traditions of the ancients, because they did not wash their hands before eating. The Pharisees always found fault with the Lord Jesus and his disciples. Jesus told them that they had violated God’s commandments because of their traditions. The Old Testament says, “Honor your father and mother” and also says, “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But the Pharisees said, “if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it.” The Pharisees abandoned God’s commandments because of their traditions. Jesus quoted the verses of the Old Testament.
¹³ The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. (Isaiah 29:13)
The Pharisees valued traditions, received the human rules they have been taught, but abandoned God’s commandments. They honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from God.

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. ²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. ²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ²⁸ “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33)
Here we see that after the Lord Jesus performed miracles and fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes, he asked his disciples to get into a boat and cross to the other side of the sea. After the crowd dispersed, he went up alone to the mountain to pray. We see the importance of prayer. The Lord Jesus left the crowd and went up alone to the mountain to pray, to be alone with the Father. During the fourth watch of the night, that is, from one to three o’clock in the morning, the Lord Jesus was walking on the sea, and the boat was in the sea. When the disciples saw the Lord Jesus walking on the sea, they were afraid and thought it was a ghost. When the Lord Jesus told them that it was Him, Peter asked the Lord Jesus to let him walk across the water to him. Peter was afraid and was sinking because of the strong wind, but the Lord saved him. It was amazing that as soon as the Lord Jesus got into the boat, the wind stopped, and the disciples worshiped Him and said, “You are truly the Son of God!” They worshiped Him because they knew that He was the Son of God. The Lord Jesus walking on the water manifested His divinity. He is the Son of God, the Messiah, and the Savior. I hope that more people will accept the Lord Jesus as Lord and savior and receive eternal life.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” ¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. ¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Matthew 14:13-21)
Jesus feeding 5,000 people is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. The parallel passage says that many people followed Jesus because they saw the miracles he performed on the sick. Here, it says that when the Lord Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them and healed their sickness. The parallel passage says that the Lord Jesus not only healed the sick, but also preached to them. Here, it says that the 5,000 people do not include women and children. If women and children were included, there would be many more people. In the parallel passage Philip said, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” Two hundred denarii was equivalent to 200 days’ wages for an average person at that time. The Lord Jesus fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes, and the leftovers filled 12 baskets. The parallel passage says that when the people saw the miracles Jesus performed, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world!”
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Here in the Old Testament, Moses has predicted the coming of the prophet, that is the coming of the Lord Jesus.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:53-58)
The Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. Here it says that he came to his hometown, which is Nazareth. The Lord Jesus taught in the synagogue, and they were amazed by his wisdom and miraculous powers. But they said, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? They also knew his mother Mary and his brothers and sisters, so took offense at him and did not respect him. The Lord Jesus said: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” They did not know that the Lord Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah, and they did not believe in him. Because of their unbelief, the Lord Jesus did not perform many miracles there. Although the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus, people in other villages were waiting for his salvation to come.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)
This parable is similar to the parable of the wheat and tares we studied earlier. Here the fish represent people. The Lord Jesus told his disciples to be the fishers of men. The sea represents the world. The net was cast into the sea and gathered all kinds of fish, which means that the gospel will be spread throughout the world. When the net is full, people will draw it to shore. That is, at the end of the age, when the Lord Jesus comes again, he will send angels to separate the righteous from the wicked. What does a righteous person mean? A righteous person is one who practices righteousness, practices God’s righteousness, do God’s will.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17)
This was the message that the Lord Jesus preached at beginning of his ministry. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Lord Jesus hopes that everyone will repent and turn to him. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God, the kingship of God. If a person is willing to live under the kingship of God, believes and is baptized, he will receive the Holy Spirit, has the presence of the Lord, and has the kingdom of heaven in his heart, when the Lord Jesus comes again, the angels will take him to the kingdom of heaven to be with the Lord, as mentioned in the parable.
⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ ¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
Here we can see that the Lord Jesus does not like self-righteous people, people who despise others, He likes humble people. If we see our sins, confess and repent, we will be forgiven by Him, and we will be considered righteous in His eyes.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44)
We see that when the man found the treasure in the field, he hid it instead of took it away. Why? Because the field did not belong to him, it was illegal for him to take away the treasure hidden in the field. However, if he bought the field, all the treasures in the field belonged to him.
From the previous parable study, we know that man represents the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus, and the field represents the world. So what does the treasure represent? Some people think that the treasure represent God or the Lord Jesus, but the treasure is hidden in the field, we can not say that God or the Lord Jesus is hidden in the world. The treasure represents man. Everyone is created by God. In God’s eyes, they are all treasures and precious. So the Lord Jesus was willing to sell everything he had to buy this field. In order to redeem mankind, the Lord Jesus died on the cross. He gave up his life and shed his precious blood. He redeems us from the world with his precious blood.
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, (Exodus 19:5)
This is what God said to the Israelite. If they listen to God and keep God’s covenant, then they are God’s treasured possession.
I tell you, even so there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:10)
Here we see that when one sinner repents, the angels of God will rejoice over him, and heaven will rejoice over him. There are many treasures on earth. Every time the Lord Jesus finds a treasure, he will rejoice, and heaven will also rejoice. The Lord Jesus is willing to find every treasure, and is willing for everyone to turn to him and be born again and saved.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

³³ He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” ³⁴ Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. ³⁵ So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” (Matthew 13:33-35)
Previously, the Lord Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed, which talks about the development of the kingdom of heaven, just like the mustard seed, which grows from the smallest seed to the largest vegetable and becomes a tree.
Here, the Lord Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough. What does this mean?
⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)
Paul said the same thing here, “a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough” This refers to the fact that there was adultery in the Corinthian church. The yeast here refers to sin. leavened with malice and wickedness mentioned here all refer to sin. Sin will affect the entire church. There is adultery in the church, Paul wants the church to excommunicate him. We see that the church may be affected by sin.
Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be^[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. (Luke 12:1)
Here the Lord Jesus said that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6) Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matthew 16:12)
Here the Lord Jesus wants the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The yeast here refers to their teachings, that is, wrong teachings.
Here we see that yeast represents sin and wrong teachings, sin and wrong teachings will affect the church. We should read the Bible more, do the Lord’s will, if we have sins, confess and repent of our sins, draw near to the Lord, have a close relationship with the Lord, be the sheep that listen to the Lord’s voice, and discern the wrong teachings.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

³¹ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. ³² Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)
Here the Lord Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds. It is planted in the field. The parallel passage in Luke’s Gospel says that it is planted in the garden. When it grows, it is larger than all garden plants and becomes a large tree. The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, was very small at the beginning, starting with the Lord Jesus and the twelve disciples. The Lord Jesus only had three years of ministry on earth, but it developed into the largest. We know that the gospel spreads globally and the kingdom of God develops globally. When the Lord Jesus comes again, he will rule the world for a thousand years, and the world will be at peace. The parable talks about the birds of the air coming to lodge in his branches. The Kingdom of God becomes a shelter for people, a place for people to live, a resting place.
²² “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³ On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. (Ezekiel 17:22-23)
This is a similar parable in the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. It talks about the cedar tree growing up from small and all kinds of birds nesting under it. This prophesies the development of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Christ from small to large, becoming a shelter for the people.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30)
Here, the Lord Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a man sowing good seed in a field, that is, sowing wheat in a field. Here, the man or the owner is the Lord Jesus, and the field represents the world. The enemy sows weeds among the wheat. The enemy is the devil, Satan. The good seed is the son of the kingdom of heaven. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. When both the wheat and the weeds grow up, the servants of the owner of the field ask the owner whether he wants to pull out the weeds. The owner says no, and waits until the harvest time to pick out the weeds and bind them into bundles and burn them, while the wheat is gathered into the barn. The harvest time is the end of the age. The reapers are the angels.
 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Here Revelation talks about the second death, that is, the death of the soul, which is the burning of the weeds mentioned earlier.
¹⁴ I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man^[a] with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. ¹⁵ Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. (Revelation 14:14-16)
Revelation here talks about in the future, at the end of the age, the Son of Man, that is, the Lord Jesus, and the angels will use a sickle to reap the harvest, that is, to gather the sons of the kingdom of heaven.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9)
Here the Lord Jesus taught the parable of the Sower. The seed represent the word of God, and the soil represents the heart of man. The seeds were sown on four different kinds of soils, representing four different kinds of responses to the word of God. The seed sown on the roadside are eaten up by birds, this means that people hear the word of God but do not understand it, and the evil one, the devil comes and takes away the seed sown in their hearts. The seed sown on rocky places are those who hear the word and immediately receive it with joy, but they have no root in themselves and are only temporary. But when the sun came up, the sun represents trouble or persecution, that is when trouble or persecution occurs because of the word, they immediately fall away. The seed sown among thorns are those who hear the word, but then the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. The seed sown on good ground are those who hear the word and understand it. They bear fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold.
May God bless you and your family! 🙏😊