Day 284  Reading Schedule: Matthew 11~13

Matthew 11: Rejection of John the Baptist

[Summary]

John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask whether he is the Messiah. Jesus then indirectly declares that he is the Messiah (verses 1-6). After John the Baptist's disciples leave, Jesus gives his disciples a positive evaluation and acknowledgement of John the Baptist in various aspects (verses 7-19). After that, Jesus laments the fact that Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum do not repent. And he declares that the burden and yoke that Jesus gives are easy and light (verses 20-30). 

Matthew 12: The Pharisees Who Reject Jesus Christ

[Summary]

When the Pharisees saw Jesus' disciples walking through the wheat fields on the Sabbath and eating ears of grain, they criticized him for breaking the Sabbath, and Jesus declared that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath (vv. 1-8). Later, on the Sabbath, he healed a man with a withered hand in the synagogue (vv. 9-13). Around this time, the Pharisees plotted to kill Jesus, and Jesus healed many sick people (vv. 14-21). When the Pharisees criticized Jesus' ministry as the ministry of demons because he healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and dumb, Jesus explained the nature of the kingdom of God (vv. 22-37). When some of the Pharisees and scribes asked for a sign, Jesus replied that he would give them nothing but the sign of Jonah (vv. 38-45). Meanwhile, he taught that anyone who does God's will is his mother and brother (vv. 46-50). 

Matthew 13: The Parable of the Sower and the Parable of the Weeds

[Summary]

This chapter is a collection of parables about the kingdom of heaven. The contents are the parable of the sower and its explanation (vv. 1-23), the parable of the weeds (vv. 24-30), the parable of the mustard seed (vv. 31-32), the parable of the yeast (vv. 33), the explanation of the parable of the weeds (vv. 34-43), the parable of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price (vv. 44-46), and the parable of the net (vv. 47-50). As a conclusion to all these parables, he tells the parable of the householder who brings out old and new things from his barn (vv. 51-52). After finishing this parable, Jesus returned to his hometown to preach the gospel and perform miracles, but the people of his hometown rejected Jesus, the son of a carpenter. So Jesus did not do many mighty works there (vv. 53-58).