What should we do when passages of the Bible anger or frighten us?
I heard RC Sproul answer that question once. His advice is mark the passage in your Bible, move on but spend time on it later. Devoting special attention to solving difficult passages increases our understanding (eventually) and our study skills.
But what if once we understand the problem passage, we still don’t like it?
There are only 2 options: either the author of Scripture needs to change His thinking or we need to change our thinking. When I find myself being critical of Scripture, it’s usually because the Scripture exposes something in me that I don’t want to see. The places where Scripture rubs me wrong are usually the areas I most need to grow in grace and mercy.
Speaking of difficult passages, we will tackle the “fulfillment” passages from Matthew 2 in March. I learned a lot from studying them, and I’m excited to share it with you. I hope you’re enjoying the Gospel of Matthew so far.
Thanks for listening and welcome new subscribers!
Podcasts
01 Gospel of Matthew Introduction
Jesus claimed that “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given to him (Mt 28:18). If that’s true, and I believe it is, then we benefit by learning all we can about Jesus. Matthew wrote this gospel to tell us who Jesus is and what that means for us.
02 Matthew 1:1-17 The Genealogy of Jesus
Writers are usually told to start their books with a hook that will immediately engage their readers. Matthew begins his gospel with a list of names. Could anything be more boring? Yet Matthew did start with a bang. This list is relevant to every human being who ever lived.
03 Matthew 1:18-25 The Birth of Jesus
You would think that a passage covering the birth of Jesus would be easy “Christmas stuff” we’re all familiar with. Don’t be fooled. Matthew’s account raises some interesting theological questions.
04 Matthew 2:1-23 The early life of Jesus
Matthew draws many parallels between the early life of Jesus and the Old Testament to reinforce his main point: Jesus is the Christ, the son of Abraham and son of David, who will fulfill God’s promises.
New Bible Study resources
- Chronological List of the Old Testament Prophets
- Who was James?
- New Testament History from Alexander to Titus
- Understanding the New Testament Priesthood
- Who were the Samaritans?
- What is the Septuagint?
Listeners have told me that their podcast feed is often limited to the last 20-30 episodes. You can find all previous podcasts here on this website and you can make your own “app” to locate them quickly.
Please tell your friends about the podcast — but more importantly, encourage them with something you learned.
Next: March 2021
Previous: January 2021
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
