Bible In 90 Days: Matthew And Mark

For 1- 814, click the "Bible in 90 Days" link below.

Matthew:
815.  The geneology includes both godly and ungodly characters.  It is completely honest. Women are included too, including Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba.  Ruth and Rahab were Gentiles.
816.  Joseph could have had Mary stoned, but he was a just man, not wanting to disgrace her publicly.  To have obeyed the letter of the Law with bad motives, such as revenge, would have made Joseph unjust.
817.  How could people seek answers concerning prophecies of the Messiah, then try to thwart God's stated purposes?
818.  John the Baptist preached repentance and the Kingdom of Heaven.
819.  John warned that repentance must be demonstrated by actions, the bearing of fruit.
820.  Jesus' obedience led to His baptism by the Spirit.
821.  Satan, twisting God's Word, was trying to get Jesus to reveal who He was in illegitimate ways.
822.  Jesus responded to Satan using Old Testament scripture.
823.  Jesus preached repentance and the Kingdom of Heaven.
824.  Jesus told Peter and Andrew they would be fishers of men.  They must have desired this already in their hearts and then responded to Jesus' invitation.
825.  People from all over came to Jesus.  This benefitted the Apostles on their missionary journies later on.
826.  Mt. 5:6 is usually translated "...those who are hungry and thirst for righteousness..."  The NLT renders it "...those who are hungry and thirst for justice..."
827.  Mt. 5: 10-16 go together as one unit.
828.  The Law will remain until its purposes are fulfilled.
829.  One must follow the Law better than the Pharisees to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
830.  Mt. 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43: Jesus was dealing with corruptions of God's Law, not criticising the Law itself.
831.  Jesus is raising the standards of following the Law.
832.  Mt. 5:48- "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."  To be interpreted in light of 5: 43-47.  A good Wesleyan proof text.
833.  Chapter 6:1-18- Deals with following God with pure inward motives rather than concerning oneself with what the perceptions of others- in giving, prayer, forgiving from the heart and fasting.
834.  Interpret 6: 1-4 in the context of 5: 11-16.
835.  Mt. 6: 19-24- We are not to seek treasures on earth.  Then in v. 25, Jesus transitions to trusting God for all that we do need, like food and clothing.
836.  Mt. 5: 27, 34 controls the interpretaion of 5: 25-34.
837.  Mt. 7: 1-5 does not teach that we must not confront others about sin, but that when we do, we must deal with our own sin first so we can counsel correctly.
838.  Mt. 7:6 must be interpreted in light of 7: 1-5.
839.  Mt. 7:11 shows that there is goodness in men and women, but not a goodness that saves.
840.  Mt. 7:12- "Do for others what you would like them to do for you.  This is the sum of all that is taught in the Law and the prophets."
841.  Mt. 7:15-20- To identify a godly person, look at the fruit.
842.  Mt. 7: 21-23- Obedience to what God says is the test of discipleship.
843.  Mt. 7: 24-27- Hard times come to the wise and the unwise.  Only the godly will stand.
844.  Jesus touched lepers, a violation of the letter, but not the spirit of the Law.
845.  The Roman Centurion used his own reason to understand Jesus's authority.
846.  Israelites will not enter the Kingdom because they are Israelites.  But many Gentiles will enter.
847.  Concerning the man who wanted to bury his father before he followed Jesus, Jesus refered to the father as spiritually dead, not physically dead.
848.  The Pharisees understood that Jesus was claiming to be God when He forgave sins.
849.  The power to heal was proof of Jesus' authority to forgive sins.
850.  The parables of the wineskins and the cloth was to show that the Jesus' teachings were to be followed in a new way, not by way of the religious formalism of the past.
851.  Mt. 9: 37-38- Shows that God will not do certain things unless we first ask Him.
852.  Jesus told the 12 disciples to go only to the lost sheep of Israel, which is a different command than in Lk. 10 when Jesus told the 70 to speak to all.
853.  Judas was given the same power the other disciples were given.
854.  The disciples were to practice relying totally on God on their journey.
855.  The student and the slave share their master's fate.
856.  The world can kill the body, but only the Father can send the body and the soul to Hell.
857.  Its not that we are to actually hate our loved ones, but our love for them cannot be greater than our love for Jesus.
858.  How do we prove that Jesus is the Messiah?  See Mt. 11: 4-5.
859.  All believers have in them the Kingdom of Heaven.  That is why they are greater than John the Baptist.
860.  The violent take the Kingdom, those that give their all to possess it.
861.  Jesus describes the generation He was addressing as one which tries to make God respond to their religious activity.
862.  Only the truly child-like will understand the Gospel.
863.  Jesus healing on the sabbath led to the 1st discussions among the Pharisees on killing Jesus.
864.  Anyone who performs the Fathers will is in the family of God.
865.  The parable of the farmer scattering seeds is to show that the most important element in Evangelism is the quality of the soil the seeds are planted in.
866.  Peoples' hearts are closed to the message of the Kingdom of God because they themselves have chosen not to see or hear.  So God cannot heal them.
867.  The Kingdom will have evil purged from it and then the righteous will truly shine.
868.  Unbelief on the peoples part prevented Jesus from performing miracles in Nazareth.
869.  Mt. 10: 34- 39 must be interpreted in the context of Mt. 15:1-9.
870.  Jesus expected the disciples to understand more than they actually did.
871.  Jesus's feeding of the 4 and 5,000 should have proved to the disciples that Jesus would protect all who trust in Him.
872.  After Peter's declaration as to who Jesus actually is, Jesus prepares them for what will happen to Him in Jerusalem.
873.  The motives of the disciples were mixed.  They had selfish ambition.
874.  Mt. 16:28- "And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see me, the Son of Man, coming in my kingdom."  The Transfiguration.
875.  Mt. 17:5- "...This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him.  LISTEN TO HIM." (caps mine)  God was telling Peter and the others to believe Jesus when He speaks of what will happen to Him in Jerusalem.
876.  The disciples should have had enough faith to cast out the demon in the boy in chapter 17.  That is why Jesus is exasperated with them.
877.  Jesus speaks of cutting off members which cause us to sin in context of not tempting other people.
878.  When a fellow believer listens to counsel and confesses sins, that person is truly forgiven.
879.  The message of the unforgiving debtor- refusal to forgive will put you in your own prison.
880.  The disciples' reactions to Jesus' teaching on marriage worries them.  They still share the same attitudes toward women and marriage as the Pharisees.
881.  Jesus tells the rich young man only God is good.  Since Jesus is good, it follows that Jesus is God.
882.  Jesus only lists the final 6 commandments to the young man.
883.  The rich can be saved, but only by God.
884.  When Jesus spoke of His disciples sitting on 12 thrones, the disciples heard this with mixed motives.  That is why Jesus told them the least important will be the greatest.  20:1-16 is linked to 19: 27-30.
885.  When Jesus was praised by the little children as the Son of David in the Temple, they were speaking of Him as if He were God.  This is why the Pharisees were upset by the childrens' praise.
886.  When the Pharisees refused to answer Jesus' question concerning John the Baptist, Jesus refused to answer theirs.  He was not going to argue with them since their arguements were not rooted in sincerity.
887.  Jesus, in speaking of who the Messiah is, says not only is He the Son of David, but He is God as well.
888.  The Pharisees obey the letter of the Law, but ignore justice, mercy and faith.
889.  Mt. 23: 34-  Here Jesus speaks of sending prophets Himself, claiming to be God.
890.  The disciples asked Jesus when the Temple will be destroyed and the End come.  In their minds, it is one question.  But are they really asking two seperate questions?
891.  The key of endurance- LOVE.
892.  The End will come only after the Gospel of the Kingdom is preached over the whole world.
893.  When Jesus was annointed by Mary in Betheny, she understood that Jesus was to die, more so than the 12 disciples.  The events of the annointing drove Judas to betray Jesus.
894.  When the disciples saw that Jesus would not resist arrest, they were siezed with fear and fled.
895.  The shedding of innocent blood by Manasseh was the stated reason why God sent Judah into exile, so the land could be healed.  When Judas confesses that he has betrayed an innocent man, the priests respond-"Why do we care?...Thats your problem."
896.  If the wine mixed with bitter gall made one suffer less, perhaps that is why Jesus refused it.
897.  "Eli, Eli, lema sabacthani."  Said in Aramaic.  The Hebrew speaking Jews perhaps did not understand?
898.  The NLT leaves out the verses depicting Jesus' body being speared.
899.  After Jesus was raised from the dead, the priests were more concerned about covering it up rather than responding to the Resurrection.
900.  Jesus will be with us to the end of the age- the Holy Spirit in us, the promise of the Father. 

Mark:
901.  People publicly confessed their sins and repented.  Baptism was a public sign of repentence.
902.  Jesus taught every Sabbath in the synagogue.  He taught like one who has authority, not like the teachers of the Law.
903.  Because Jesus had no sin, the demons knew who He was.
904.  Jesus commanded the demons to be quiet concerning His identity.  It was not yet time to make a full and public pronouncement concerning His identity.
905.  Jesus expelled the demons and the people responded: "What new teaching is this?"  If theses acts are part of Jesus ministry while on earth, how does this affect our ministry?
906.  If Jesus expelled demons everywhere, just how widespread is demon possession?
907.  Jesus knew it was more important to spread the Gospel message rather than minister in just one place.
908.  Jesus' family thought He was insane, even Mary, who knew the Father's promises concerning Him.
909.  The Parables describe the Kingdom of God.
910.  In the parable of the soils, each individual has the ability to determine the quality of the soil he/she has.  Otherwise, why would Jesus tell a story about the soil of our hearts if we could do nothing about it?
911.  Jesus expected His disciples to understand the parables and have faith.
912.  The more openness to Jesus' message, the more understanding you will have.
913.  Jesus' hometown was offended that He performed miracles rather than being amazed and grateful. 
914.  Herod liked to hear John the baptist, but John's message disturbed Herod.  How typical is this among those we evangelize today?
915.  Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the loaves did not cause the disciples to exercise faith.  Their hearts were hard and they did not believe.
916.  When Jesus healed the man with a speech impediment by spitting, Jesus wanted to keep the healing secret.  Is this because Jesus was concerned the crowd would put their faith in the method?
917.  Satan wants us to look at everything from a human point of view. 
918.  When Jesus told the disciples He had to die and be raised again, they did not understand.
919.  We must have the qualities of salt and live in peace among each other.
920.  Children and the blind were looked down upon, which was why the disiples and the crowd thought they were a bother to Jesus.
921.  When James and John claimed they were able to drink the cup of bitter sorrow, they were boasting about their strength.  Little did they realize the Holy Spirit within them would enable them.
922.  The 12 disciples and the other followers had a dreadful feeling as Jesus went to Jerusalem.  They did not understand His message concerning His death, but they knew it was dangerous to go to Jerusalem.
923.  When we prays, one must forgive those we have a grudge against or else God will not hear our prayers.
924.  The Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus for chasing the money changers out of the Temple as well as for speaking parables against them.
925.  When the Pharisees asked Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar, they didn't try the direct approach but tried to trick Him through flattery.
926.  The Sadducees didn't know Scripture or the power of God.
927.  Jesus was more sorrowful for the seperation from God's precense while on the Cross than for the physical suffering.
928.  To end at v. 8 in chapter 16 is not to conclude the theme of the Resurrection as Jesus makes no personal appearence.  The shorter ending provided by the NLT is too abrupt an ending.