It was necessary, unavoidable that The Son of Man be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again for two reasons: (1) our biggest problem is sin and (2) we need the ressurection life of Jesus in us to overcome that problem.

The important lesson Matthew wants us to learn from watching and listening to Jesus in this passage is how to avoid stumbling on account of Jesus. Our passage reveals 5 ways that we can avoid stumbling: · Understand what it means to stumble. · Settle in our heart, mind, soul and body that Jesus is the Messiah. · Hear and see the activity of Jesus in us and around us. · Tell what we have heard and seen to unbelieving and doubting persons. · Align our expectations with reality.

We began Matthew in December 2019. By design, the journey is slow. It's slow because we take substantial detours to emphasize the important seasons in the Christian year and important emphases within the life of our congregation. Our journey is slow because we take the time to go deep. For example, we…