Dr Paul Allen

Jesus Matthew 18:5–6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned” ( v. 6 ). Just as the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to write five books of the Bible (Genesis through Deuteronomy), so too did He move Matthew to group Christ ’s teaching into five major discourses so that we might recognize Jesus as the new and better Moses, mediator of a new and better covenant. The first of these sections, the Sermon on the Mount ( Matt. 5–7 ), highlights kingdom ethics and the true meaning of God’s law. Chapter 10 is sometimes called the “Missionary Discourse” because it focuses on principles for preaching the Gospel in a hostile world. Matthew 13 is the third major discourse, collecting many of Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of heaven, and discourse number five in chapters 24–25 speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem and the final judgment. Relationships among God’s p...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 13:51-52 "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" ( v. 52 ). Matthew 13 , Jesus' third major discourse in the first gospel, is devoted to parables that explain God's kingdom in Christ . Verses 51-52 c onclude this discourse and look at the Old Testament 's role in the new covenant era. Before His final kingdom parable , Jesus asks His disciples if they have understood all that He has said ( v. 51 ). They answer yes, which is an overestimation of their insight since the disciples later have no clue about the nature of the kingdom and the suffering it entails. For example, Peter will object to the Lord's crucifixion ( 16:21-23 ) and all the disciples flee upon Christ's arrest in Gethsemane ( 26:47...