The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 24-25

Matthew 24

v1-3: Though the temple in Jerusalem was truly glorious it was stained with the sin of the priests and the people, and was infected with the evil teaching of the Pharisees. Now with Christ’s coming it’s glory was eclipsed, and it was time to bring an end to the priesthood and sacrifices and the rest of the ceremonial law, as Jesus spoke of its certain and total destruction.

v4-35: In these last days when people will shrink back and give up following Christ, it is encouraging to know that there will be some who will endure to end. They will endure “to the end of their lives, to the end of their present state of testing, or to the end of these times of suffering,” and those who endure to the end in this way, who suffer for their faithfulness, will be eternally saved.

v36-51: There is a day and an hour coming which has been fixed for God’s judgment called the day of the Lord. But when that day and hour is, is one of those secret things which belong to the Lord our God. Because we do not know when this day and hour is, we should be watchful, showing that we are ready for its arrival, by waiting for and serving the Lord. However, if we are carelessly waiting, it will be a truly sad day and hour for us when it comes.

Matthew 25

v1-13: We are to look for and love and long for the appearing of Christ and show this by our conduct. In addition to revealing God’s patience and giving time for people to repent, Jesus’ apparent delay in returning, tests the profession of His people, giving them opportunity to show that their faith is genuine. “An external profession, performed convincingly… will not take them through to the end.”

v14-30: “Christ’s servants have and receive all they have from him; in themselves they are worth nothing, nor do they have anything they can call their own except their sin.” What we have received from Christ, and everyone has at least one talent (spiritual gift), we are to use in His service as good and faithful stewards, while we wait for His return.

v31-46: God’s kingdom has been prepared for us. Reflect on this. “The Father prepared it for [us] in his thoughts of love, and he provided it for [us] in the greatness of his wisdom and power. The Son bought it for [us], and he has entered the kingdom to go ahead to prepare a place for his people. The Holy Spirit, in preparing [us] for the kingdom, is, in effect, preparing it for [us].” God has prepared this kingdom deliberately for you, personally and particularly, because you have been chosen for salvation.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 22-23

Matthew 22

v1-14: Wherever the gospel is preached, people are invited to the banquet. What a wonderful invitation it is, announcing that “the Father is ready to accept us, the Son to intercede for us, the Spirit to sanctify us; pardon is ready, encouragement is ready; the promises are ready, ordinances are ready to communicate to us God’s blessings; providences are ready to work for our good, and heaven is ready to receive us.”

v15-22: The Pharisees and Herodians were right to call Jesus “Teacher”, for He was both a skilful teacher and a faithful teacher. He knew the way of God, the right way in which we should go, and He has made it known to us. “This is the character of a good teacher, to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and not to suppress, corrupt, or stretch any truth, for favour or affection, hatred or goodwill, either out of a desire to please anyone or a fear to offend anyone.”

v23-33: Those who deny the resurrection of the dead, either are ignorant about what the Scriptures teach or do not believe them. “Christ rose again according to the Scriptures, and so will we.”

v34-40: We are to love God as our God. “To love God as ours is to love him because he is ours, our Creator, Owner, and Ruler, and to conduct ourselves before him as ours, in obedience to him and dependence on him.” But we must also love him as our God because He is our Saviour and He has reconciled us to Himself, and bought us with the precious blood of His Son.

v41-46: “What those rabbis could not then answer, we thank God, is something that the plainest Christian who is led into the understanding of the gospel of Christ can now explain: that Christ, as God, was David’s Lord, and Christ, as Man, was David’s son.”

Matthew 23

v1-12: What the Pharisees and scribes said and did were two different things. They did not practice what they preached. Their way of life contradicted their teaching. They committed the sins which they condemned in others. They were hypocrites who urged others to believe and put into practice what they disbelieve and disobey. We are guilty of the same hypocrisy when we are great talkers of the faith but little doers of faith.

v13-33: The Pharisees were sworn enemies of the gospel of Christ and the salvation it brings because they did all that they could to stop people believing in Him and entering into His kingdom. “It is bad to keep away from Christ ourselves, but it is even worse to keep others away from him; and yet that is usually what hypocrites do; they do not want anyone to go beyond them in religion or be better than they.”

v34-39: Christ’s came to gather lost people to Himself to give them refuge and rest like “a hen gathers her chicks under her wings for protection and safety and for warmth and comfort.” He is eager to do this. He longs that sinners would come to Him. He takes no pleasure in and does not desire their destruction, but instead delights in their repentance. Sadly, like many in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day, “those who refused to come now at his call will then be forced to depart with his curse.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 21

Matthew 21

v1-11: Jesus is humble and gentle. He is approachable. His entrance into Jerusalem shows this. “He did not come in wrath to take vengeance, but in mercy to bring salvation.” He came sitting on a donkey, a creature made to carry loads, and He has carried the greatest load of all, our sin.

v12-17: Christ, as well as being the great Redeemer, is also the great Reformer. By His Word and Spirit, He corrects ungodliness and gradually restores Christians and churches to how they are meant to be.

v18-22: True faith will produce fruit. A false and hypocritical profession may look good for a time, there may be leaves, but it will not last and will soon come to nothing. “A false and hypocritical profession commonly withers in this world, and this is the effect of Christ’s curse.”

v23-27: Before Jesus called the temple ‘a house of prayer,’ and here He is preaching there. Praying and preaching must go together when we gather as Christians. “To make up fellowship with God, we must not only speak to him in prayer but also listen to what he has to say to us from his word.” Elsewhere church leaders are commanded to give themselves both to prayer and to the ministry of the Word.

v28-32: “Many people speak good words and make fair promises in their religious faith, and make some good suggestions about what they will do, but stay there and go no further, and so come to nothing. Saying and doing are two different things, and there are many who say but do not do… Many people show much love with their mouth but have their heart going in a different direction. They have good intentions to be religious, but they always have something else to do; they find something precious to them that is too difficult to give up, and so their intentions come to nothing. Buds and blossoms are not the same as fruit.”

v33-46: The Pharisees and chief priests knew Jesus was talking about them. “A guilty conscience needs no accuser.” When the word of God rebukes those who hear it, and they realise it is speaking about them, “if it does not do them a great deal of good, it will certainly do them a great deal of harm. If they are not pricked to the heart with conviction and contrition, they will be cut to the heart with rage and fury.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 19-20

Matthew 19

v1-12: “If husband and wife are by the will and appointment of God joined together in the strictest and closest union, then they are not to be lightly, and for just any reason, separated; if the knot is sacred, it cannot be easily untied.”

v13-15: The best thing we can do for our children and the children in the church is to commit them to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to bless them.

v16-22: An excessive love for the world and an enjoyment of it will keep us from eternal life. Christians shows that they are heirs of eternal life by preferring “heavenly treasures to all the wealth and riches of this world” and by being willing to “dispose of what we have in this world for the honour of God and in his service.”

v23-30: “When we think how good God is, it may seem amazing that so few are his, but when we think how bad people are, it is more amazing that so many are, and Christ will be eternally wondered at in them.” That so many are is entirely due to the power of God, with whom all things are possible. Faith is both brought about and sustained by that power.

Matthew 20

v1-16: God saves some when they are young, He saves others in middle age, while still others are saved when they are old. There is hope for everyone who turns to God, and there is no wrong time for us to do this.

v17-19: “Jesus spoke so frequently about his sufferings because through them he was to enter into his glory. It is good for us to think and speak often of our death and of the sufferings that we will probably meet with between this time and the grave; if we make them more familiar, they will become less formidable.”

v20-28: Jesus laid down His life as a ransom for us. Whilst He lived as a servant and went around doing good, it was His death that did the greatest good of all. He was made sin and a curse for us to rescue us. By humbling Himself and serving us, He has set an example for us to follow. We are to humble ourselves and serve one another so that all may be built up in their faith.

v29-34: Our prayers are to be marked by boldness, humility, faith, and perseverance. Remember that when we are praying, we are going to God through Christ, who came to save and to help.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 17-18

Matthew 17

v1-13: Those who love Jesus, and who love to be with Him, love to tell Him so. “Fellowship with Christ is the delight of Christians.”

v14-21: Christ gains victories over Satan by the power of His Word. Those who under the dominion of the devil we are to bring to Christ in prayer and also to bring to them the word of Christ, for this is “the ordinary means by which Satan’s strongholds are demolished in the soul.”

v22-23: “If Christ is a Sacrifice of atonement, he must be killed; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Nothing but the precious blood of Christ would satisfy God’s justice.

v24-27: Whether it was His omnipotence that put the coin in the fish’s mouth or His omniscience that knew the coin was there, it does not matter. What matters is that “it showed that he is God, the Lord of Hosts.”

Matthew 18

v1-6: We are to be humble like little children. Like children we are to desire milk, the milk of God’s Word. Like children we are to trust our father, our Heavenly Father to care for us. Like children we are to be infants in regard to evil. Like children we are to be obedient and teachable. “Pride threw the angels who sinned out of heaven, and pride will keep us out too unless we are converted from it.”

v7-14: “Many successful temptations to sin arise from within ourselves; our own eyes and hands cause us to sin; if there were never a devil to tempt us, we would be drawn away by our own sinful desires.” These sinful desires must be checked and stopped; they must be put to death, even if they are as precious to us as an eye or a hand.

v15-20: We should not speak about the faults of our brothers and sisters to others until we have first spoken to them. The brother or sister is more likely to be won over by our rebuke, when he sees that we are not only concerned for their salvation, but also for their reputation, by telling them about it privately. “Where private warning is not effective, public discipline must take place.”

v21-35: Every time we sin, the debt we owe to God increases. Our debt of sin is very large and so great that we are unable to pay it. Wonderfully, God is a God of infinite mercy and is ready to forgive the sins of everyone who humble themselves before Him. “There is forgiveness with God for the greatest sins if they are repented of… Although our sins are numerous and detestable, they may be forgiven under the gospel.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 16

Matthew 16

v1-4: The Pharisees and Sadducees demands a sign, pretending that if one was provided they would be satisfied and convinced. The truth was that they had already received plenty of signs. We have been given enough to accept Jesus is who He says He is and to trust Him with our lives.

v5-12: Jesus warns His disciples that they should have nothing to do with men like the Pharisees and Sadducees. “Disciples are in most danger from hypocrites; they stand on their guard against those who are openly immoral, but against Pharisees, who lay great claim to devotion, and Sadducees, who pretend to be freely and impartially searching for truth, they are often unguarded.” We need to hear the double warning of watch out and beware of those teachers who have similar motives.

v13-20: The church will have enemies who will fight against it and try to bring about its ruin. These enemies fight against it by “opposing Gospel truths, corrupting Gospel worship, persecuting good ministers and good Christians, drawing or driving them away, persuading them by cunning or forcing them by cruelty to do what is inconsistent with the pure Christian faith.” Jesus’ promise assures us that His church is secure and will be preserved and that these enemies will not be victorious. “The church may be thwarted in particular battles, but in the main war it will win as more than a conqueror.”

v21-23: Satan tempts us with the words of friends when they seek to dissuade us from doing our duty. If we try and stop others from doing or suffering for God what they are called to, we are doing Satan’s bidding.

v24-28: A disciple of Christ is one who comes after Him. They walk in the same way He walked, are led by His Spirit, follow in His steps, and submit to His leadership. “A true disciple of Christ is one who follows him in duty and will follow him to glory. A disciple follows Christ and does not dictate to Christ. A disciple of Christ follows him as sheep follow the shepherd, servants their master, soldiers their commander; disciples aim at the same purpose that Christ had, the glory of God and the glory of heaven.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 15

Matthew 15

v1-9: God’s Word always takes priority over the words of humans.  “A human authority that sets up in competition with divine authority must never be submitted to.”  

v10-20: There is no sin that we commit in thought, word, or deed, that did not originate first in our hearts.  Our problem is that our hearts are by nature desperately wicked.  If we are going to obey God we need to be given new hearts, which is what is promised in the gospel.

v21-28: “Not every accepted prayer is immediately answered.  Sometimes God seems not to give his attention to the prayers of his people.”  Why?  To increase our faith as we become more persistent and even bolder in our asking.  “Disappointments in prayer must stir us to pray further.”

v29-39: If we have been healed of our spiritual blindness, lameness, and muteness, we have far more reason to praise God and bless his holy name, than if we were physically blind, lame, mute and were healed.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 14

Matthew 14

v1-12: There is a difference between sinning with regret and showing regret for sin. It is possible to sin reluctantly but nevertheless carry on sinning. If saving conversion is to come from the terror of conviction, there needs to be a godly sorrow which leads to repentance and belief. Herod was sorry for putting John to death but not sorry enough to repent.

v13-21: When you look on a vast crowd of people, what is your response? The Lord Jesus when He saw a great multitude was filled with compassion at “how many precious, immortal souls there are, most of whom… are neglected and about to perish” and it grieved His heart. Does this grieve yours?

v22-33: Trials reveal the strength of our faith in Jesus. “The more clearly and fully we know his name [Jesus’ character], the great assurance we will have to trust Him.”

v34-36: “Christ is in heaven, but his word is near us, and he himself is in that word. When we combine faith with the word, applying it to ourselves, depending on it, and submitting to its influences and commands, then we touch the edge of Christ’s cloak. It is by a mere touch that we are made whole.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 13

Matthew 13

v1-23: While it is God’s grace that gives us understanding of His Word, it our duty to give our minds to understanding it. The sad truth is that of those who hear the gospel, only one in four, produces mature fruit. If we are going to be fruitful hearers, we need to put what we hear and understand into practice, so that “our attitudes and the direction of our lives are consistent with the gospel we have received, and we do as we are taught to do.”

v24-43: The disciples coming to Christ for further explanation reminds us that it is good to make the most of every opportunity we have, to talk about the preaching we have heard. A good discussion about the sermon, is a way of helping one another to understand it, to remember it, and to be affected by it, “for we lose the benefit of many sermons by worthless and unprofitable talk after them.”

v44-52: If we are to instruct others in the truths of God, we need to be instructed well ourselves, so we have something to bring out of our storerooms. Bringing out of our storerooms is what we must do. “Many people are full but do not express themselves… we store in order to give out, so that others may benefit.”

v53-58: “Lack of faith is the great obstruction to Christ’s salvation.” If someone is not saved by Jesus, it is not because He is not powerful to save them, or that He is not gracious enough to save them, but because of their lack of faith in Him.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 11-12

Matthew 11

v1-6: There is nothing more encouraging to God’s people when they are in distress than to hear of how Christ has been at work. John was in prison so was unable to see what Christ was doing, but he had heard about His works.

v7-15: “The greater the difficulties we have overcome to hear the word, the more we should be concerned to benefit from it.” People flocked to the wilderness to hear John, but many went “to have something to talk about rather than to be made wise for salvation.” John’s ministry was to make people ready for Jesus by revealing their sin and misery and need of a Saviour. The end of the sermon is not the end of the sermon, it is just the beginning.

v16-24: “God uses various methods to deal with people of different kinds of personality.” Sometimes His voice thunders from Mount Sinai, other times He speaks in a still small voice from Mount Zion. John’s ministry and Christ’s ministry looked different but the aim was the same, the conversion and salvation of souls.

v25-30: We must come to Jesus and depend on Him as our Rest, receiving the salvation from the burden of sin He offers. We must come to Jesus and submit to Him as our Ruler, carefully and cheerfully obeying all His commands and directions. We must come to Jesus and learn from Him as our Teacher, daily listening to the instructions He gives by His Word and Spirit.

Matthew 12

v1-14: It is not enough to know what the Scriptures say. We need to know what it means. Failure to know what it means can lead to using God’s Word in ways that it was never intended to be used.

v15-21: “The great purpose of the gospel is to lead people to trust in the name of Jesus Christ” because He is the One who was chosen to be God’s servant in order to redeem us from our sins. Every spiritual blessing and benefit we now have or can ever have is due to the fact that God was well-pleased with His servant.

v22-37: Christ is the stronger man who ties up the strong man who is Satan. Every time someone is turn from darkness to light, from sin to holiness, from this world to the world to come, that is proof that Satan is tied up and Jesus is doing what He came to do.

v38-45: Jonah in the belly of the fish was as good as dead, expected to be dead, considered dead, but then after 3 days he showed himself to be alive. The very fact that Jonah was alive and preaching in Nineveh was proof that God was with him and the truthfulness of his message of judgment. Jesus will be dead. Not as good as dead, actually dead. But He will be rise from the grave and show Himself to be alive, and this will be proof that He is who He says He is and He has done what He said He would do. He is Lord and Saviour and Judge. He will give His people rest by saving them from their sins and giving them eternal life; and He will judge His enemies and condemn them to hell.

v46-50: Christ’s followers “are those who do the will of his Father, those who not only hear it, know it, and talk about it but also do it.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 10

Matthew 10

v1-4: The disciples were instructed to pray that God would raise up and send out workers into the harvest field, and here we have an immediate answer to that prayer. “What we pray for according to Christ’s direction will be given.”

v5-15: “It is good for the disciples of Christ to make the best of the present situation, to remain faithful in it and not be constantly moving because of every dislike or inconvenience.”

v16-25: Those who follow Christ must expect to be hated. “Those who Christ loves are hated by the world.” It is a mistake to think that our profession of faith will protect us from the world. While there are people who reject Jesus, those who are children of God must expect to feel the enmity of those who are the seed of the serpent.

v26-31: “It is better to fall under the frowns of the whole world than under God’s frowns.” Remember God is the One who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Fear God not people.

v32-39: The best way of getting ready for heaven is to hold lightly to the things of this present world. To leave, lose, or suffer for Christ is more than worth it.

v40-42: How are you treating Christ? Ask yourself, how are you treating His people. “Jesus Christ takes what is done to his faithful ministers, whether kindly or unkindly, as done to himself, and considers himself treated as they are treated.”

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)

The Big Read – Daily Read

Read Matthew 8-9

Matthew 8

v1-4: The healing of the leper is proof that Christ can save his people from their sins. “Sin is the leprosy of the soul; it excludes us from fellowship with God, and if we want to be restored to that fellowship, we must be cleansed from this leprosy, and this should be our great concern.”

v5-13: When we humbly confess our sins and spiritual needs to Jesus we can expect to receive a favourable answer from Him like the centurion did. Isn’t this an encouragement to come to Christ for mercy?

v14-17: We are saved by Christ to serve Christ. “It is right that those whom Christ has healed should minister to him as his humble servants all their lives.”

v18-22: Before anyone begins to follow Jesus, they should sit down and count the cost so that they are aware of what they are committing to.

v23-27: The cry of the disciples was “Lord, save us.” They believed that Jesus could save them and they begged Him to. Christ came into the world to save, but it is only those who call on the name of the Lord that will be saved.

v28-34: The demons know, believe, and confess that Jesus is the Son of God. They know who Jesus is but hate Him and refuse to submit to His rule. “It is not knowledge but love that distinguishes saints from devils.”

Matthew 9

v1-8: If Jesus has the power to give eternal life, He also has the power to forgive sins. If we are to reach heaven the great barrier of our guilt must be removed.

v9-13: Christ is found by those who do not seek Him. Matthew was not looking for Christ, but He was found by Him. Jesus spoke first. He said “Follow me,” and “the same divine almighty power accompanied this word to convert Matthew that accompanied the words, “Arise and walk,” to heal the paralytic.”  Those whom Christ is seeking will arise and follow Him at His call.

v14-17: The other Gospel writers record how the Pharisees joined with the disciples of John in accusing Jesus about what He and His disciples were doing. “It is nothing new for evildoers to set good people at each other’s throats; if the people of God differ in their attitudes, scheming adversaries will seize the opportunity to sow seeds of discord and make them angry with one another.”  Be on guard against this.

v18-26: The little girl really was dead, but not so to Christ who had already “determined to make her death merely a sleep.” This is true for all who die in the Lord. For them, death is a sleep, and “on the morning of the resurrection, when they will awake refreshed, to a new life, to be richly dressed and crowned; they will awake to sleep no more.”  This the hope that Christ gives to us who believe.

v27-34: Faith comes by hearing. These two men could not see Jesus or His miracles, yet they believe He can heal them. We cannot see Him either, and yet we trust that He can save us based on what we have heard about Him.

v35-38: Sheep need shepherds. Everyone who loves Christ will want to pray that He will raise up more faithful, wise, and hardworking labourers to be used by Him in the salvation of sinners and the strengthening of saints. When there is lack of good workers, we should pray more.

Quotes from Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

(Photo: Brad Neathery)