Matthew

The Genealogy, and the Birth

Forty-two generations — including Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah, four women the genealogies usually leave out. Then Joseph, told in a dream not to divorce her quietly.

Magi, and the Flight

Foreign astrologers reach the child before anyone in Jerusalem does. Herod’s order, the escape into Egypt, and the mothers of Bethlehem refusing to be comforted.

John at the Jordan

The preaching in the wilderness, the warning to those presuming on descent, and the baptism — where John protests and is overruled.

The Wilderness, and the First Four

Forty days, three temptations, each answered from Deuteronomy. Then Capernaum, and four fishermen who leave the nets.

The Beatitudes

Blessings on the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the merciful and the persecuted. Salt and light. The law not abolished but filled full — and then six times, “you have heard it said… but I say to you.”

Giving, Praying, Worrying

Do your giving where no one sees it. The Lord’s prayer. You cannot serve God and money. Look at the birds and consider the lilies — and do not be anxious about tomorrow.

The Narrow Gate

Judge not. Ask, seek, knock. Whatever you want people to do to you, do to them. The tree known by its fruit, and the two houses in the storm.

Authority

A leper touched, a centurion’s servant healed at a distance with a word, Peter’s mother-in-law, the storm stilled, and a man with nowhere to lay his head.

The Tax Collector’s Table

A paralytic forgiven before he is healed. Matthew called from the tax booth, and the meal that follows — “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” A ruler’s daughter, and a woman who touches the fringe of his cloak.

The Twelve Sent Out

Named, then sent with no money and no spare tunic. The warning that this will divide households, and the assurance that not one sparrow falls unnoticed.

John’s Question

“Are you the one, or should we look for another?” The answer is a list of what is happening: the blind see, the lame walk, the poor have good news preached to them. Then: come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden.

Sabbath Controversies

Grain picked on the sabbath and a hand restored in the synagogue. The quotation from Isaiah at the centre — a bruised reed he will not break, a smoking flax he will not quench.

Parables of the Kingdom

The sower and the soils, the wheat and the weeds, the mustard seed, the leaven, the treasure in the field, the pearl, and the net — and the note that in his own town they took offence at him.

Five Loaves

John the Baptist executed at a birthday party. Jesus withdraws to a lonely place, is followed, and feeds five thousand. Then the walk on the water, and Peter sinking.

The Canaanite Woman

A dispute about washing hands and what actually defiles. Then a foreign woman who will not be put off, wins the argument, and is told her faith is great.

“Who Do You Say That I Am?”

Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi, and then Peter rebuked within six verses. Take up the cross — and the question about gaining the world and losing your soul.

The Transfiguration

The mountain, the cloud, and the voice. Then down again to a boy his disciples could not help, and a coin found in a fish’s mouth to pay a tax he did not owe.

The Child in the Middle

Greatness redefined by putting a child in the centre. The lost sheep, the process for confronting someone who wrongs you, and the servant forgiven a fortune who would not forgive a little.

Divorce, Children, Wealth

A question meant as a trap, answered from Genesis. The children brought and the disciples rebuked for turning them away. The rich young man who goes away grieved.

The Workers in the Vineyard

Everyone paid the same regardless of hours — and the complaint that follows. Then James and John’s mother asking for the best seats, and the answer about the one who serves.

The Entry, and the Temple

Riding in on a borrowed donkey. The tables overturned and the quotation about a house of prayer made a den of thieves — and the blind and lame coming to him there.

The Wedding Feast, and the Questions

The invitation refused and the streets swept for guests. Then three traps: taxes to Caesar, marriage at the resurrection, and the greatest commandment — answered with two.

The Woes

Seven woes on the scribes and Pharisees — tithing herbs while neglecting justice, mercy and faith; straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel — ending in grief over Jerusalem.

The Discourse on the End

The temple buildings admired and then foretold as rubble. Wars, famines, false messiahs, and the warning that no one knows the day or the hour.

The Ten Virgins, the Talents, the Sheep and the Goats

Three parables about readiness, and then the criterion stated outright — I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in prison. Both groups ask when they saw him.

The Supper, and Gethsemane

The anointing at Bethany defended. The bread and the cup. The prayer three times in the garden while the others sleep, the arrest, and the courtyard fire where Peter warms himself.

The Crucifixion

Judas returning the silver. Pilate washing his hands. The mocking, the darkness, the cry from the cross, the torn curtain — and the women watching from a distance.

The Empty Tomb

The guard set and the stone rolled back. The women told first, and sent. Then the commission on a mountain in Galilee — and the note that some doubted.