Posts by Josh Moody

Genesis 29-30, Psalm 12, Matthew 5:21-32, Acts 7:39-60 Matthew 5:21-32: As we enter into this middle section of the Sermon on the Mount, before we come to the particularities of exactly what it is that Jesus is commanding, it is important to notice and reflect upon the basic repeated structure and refrain. Jesus begins by…

Genesis 27-28, Psalm 11, Matthew 5:13-20, Acts 7:1-38 Matthew 5:13-20: This part of the Sermon on the Mount, in the section we are reading this morning, comprises two distinct sections, aims, and goals.   In the first, verses 13-16, Jesus is thinking about the witness, the lifestyle, the impact on the world, of this little fledging…

Genesis 25-26, Psalm 10, Matthew 5:1-12, Acts 6 Matthew 5:1-12:  These Beatitudes, which begin and launch and frame the Sermon on the Mount, are so rich with meaning and practical powerful impact, that to tackle them as one in a single devotional is nigh on impossible. I have preached several times on the Sermon on…

Genesis 24, Psalm 9, Matthew 4:18-25, Acts 5:17-42 Matthew 4:18-25: Jesus calls Peter and Andrew with a simple and profound utterance: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (4:19). They were already fishermen—fishers of fish. But Jesus was now calling them to be fishers of men. They were being tasked with a…

Genesis 21-23, Psalm 8, Matthew 4:12-17, Acts 5:1-16 Matthew 4:12-17:  The arrest of John had some impact on Jesus, in that hearing of his arrest “he withdrew into Galilee” (4:12). Perhaps he withdrew to pray, or re-gather for the next great stage of his ministry now that John, his forerunner, had been arrested. At any…

Genesis 18-20, Psalm 7, Matthew 4:1-11, Acts 4:23-37 Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus’ temptation functions at two levels for us. First, it tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are—yet without sin—and so encourages us that he is able to empathize with our weakness (Hebrews 4:15); that no temptation has seized us except…

Genesis 15-17, Psalm 6, Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 4:1-22 Matthew 3:13-17:  The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is one of the most compelling and dramatic moments in the Gospel accounts. It has several remarkable features.  For one, we see Jesus here showing a degree of humility that is extraordinary. John is correct: Jesus does…

Genesis 12-14, Psalm 5, Matthew 3:1-12, Acts 3 Matthew 3:1-12: “In those days John the Baptist”—so enters, in Matthew’s Gospel, this strange, extraordinary and great figure of biblical history: John the Baptist. He it is who prepares the way for the Lord, making straight his paths in the wilderness, declaring that Jesus is the Christ,…

Genesis 9-11, Psalm 4, Matthew 2:13-23, Acts 2:22-47 Matthew 2:13-23:  Prophetic fulfillment and angelic intervention. It is clear, from Matthew’s account, that what is happening is of cosmic, supernatural, world-changing impact. Not all the time do angels appear in the Bible. They turn up fairly rarely in the Old Testament, and not much more frequently…