Stagione 2
Once I Was Blind
I Am the Light of the World
Whoever Humbles Himself
Whom Say Ye That I Am?
It Is I; Be Not Afraid
Bread Enough and to Spare
Seed, Storm, and Sea
A House Built on the Rock
Blessed Are You
John 9:1–10:39; Matthew 11:20–30 Jesus heals a man who has been blind from birth, and the healing itself becomes more controversial than the blindness ever was, as the Pharisees interrogate the man, his parents, and finally throw him out of the synagogue. Jesus finds him afterward and tells the Pharisees who are listening that he is the good shepherd, who lays down his life for the sheep — a shepherd the sheep actually know, unlike a hired hand who runs at the first sign of danger. Jesus pronounces judgment on towns that saw his miracles and still wouldn't repent, then offers rest to anyone weary enough to come to him. Months later, at the winter Feast of Dedication, the crowd surrounds him in the temple and demands a straight answer. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: John 9:1–10:39; Matthew 11:20–30 ("once I was blind, now I see," the Good Shepherd, and the Feast of Dedication).
John 7:53–8:59 Scribes and Pharisees drag a woman caught in adultery before Jesus, testing him with a question about the law of Moses — and he stoops down to write in the dust before answering. Still in the temple, Jesus tells the crowd that he is the light of the world, and the conversation that follows grows sharper with every exchange, as he tells them the truth will set them free, and makes a claim about himself that leaves some of them reaching for stones. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: John 7:53–8:59 (the woman caught in adultery and Jesus' extended teaching in the temple, including "I am the light of the world" and "before Abraham was, I am").
Matthew 18:1–35; John 7:2–52 Jesus calls a small child to stand among his disciples and tells them that whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven — then teaches them how to handle a brother who sins, and how many times to forgive. As the Feast of Tabernacles approaches, his own brothers don't believe in him, so he goes up to Jerusalem quietly. Halfway through the feast, he begins teaching openly in the temple, and the crowd can't agree on who he is — some call him a good man, others say he deceives the people, and the officers sent to arrest him come back empty-handed. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 18:1–35; John 7:2–52 (teaching on humility and forgiveness, the parable of the unmerciful servant, and controversy at the Feast of Tabernacles).
Matthew 15:21–17:27 A Canaanite woman's persistent faith wins her daughter's healing, and Jesus feeds a crowd of four thousand for the second time. When religious leaders demand a miraculous sign, he refuses, and warns his disciples about a kind of leaven far more dangerous than yeast. At Caesarea Philippi, he asks the question this whole Gospel has been building toward — who do you say that I am? — and Peter's answer becomes the rock on which everything else stands. Six days later, on a mountain, Peter, James, and John watch Jesus transfigured before their eyes, talking with Moses and Elijah, before coming back down to a father whose son needed healing the other disciples couldn't provide. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 15:21–17:27 (the Canaanite woman, the Feeding of the Four Thousand, Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi, the Transfiguration, and the coin in the fish's mouth).
John 6:14–15; Matthew 14:22–36; John 6:16–71; Matthew 15:1–20 Astonished by the miracle they've just seen, the crowd is ready to force Jesus to be their king right there on the spot. Instead, he sends them away and climbs a mountain alone to pray, while his disciples row out into a night that turns rough — until they see him walking toward them on the water itself. The next day, the crowd catches up on the far shore, and Jesus tells them plainly that he himself is the bread of life come down from heaven, a teaching so hard that many who had followed him turn back. When Pharisees from Jerusalem confront him about unwashed hands, he tells them what actually makes a person clean or unclean has nothing to do with soap and water. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: John 6:14–15; Matthew 14:22–36; John 6:16–71; Matthew 15:1–20 (Jesus walking on water, the Bread of Life discourse, and true versus ceremonial defilement).
Matthew 9:27–34; 13:54–58; 9:35–11:1; 14:1–21; John 6:1–13 Two blind men and a mute man are healed, and Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, where the people can't see past the boy they remember. Moved by the crowds like sheep without a shepherd, he calls his twelve disciples together and sends them out with authority to heal and instructions on how to carry it. Word reaches Herod's court that a prophet has been executed — the very man whose head was given to a dancing girl on a platter. Grieving, Jesus withdraws by boat to a quiet place, but the crowds find him anyway, and by evening, both Matthew and John tell of the day he fed five thousand people from five loaves and two fish. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 9:27–34; 13:54–58; 9:35–11:1; 14:1–21; John 6:1–13 (healing miracles, the rejection at Nazareth, the sending of the Twelve, the death of John the Baptist, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand).
Matthew 13:1–53; 8:18–34; 9:18–26 Sitting in a boat just offshore, Jesus teaches the crowds in parable after parable about what the kingdom of heaven is really like — a sower, a mustard seed, a hidden treasure, a net full of fish. When two men offer to follow him, his answers cost them more than they expected. That night, a storm nearly swamps the boat while Jesus sleeps, and on the far shore, two demon-possessed men meet him among the tombs. Back in Galilee, a synagogue ruler begs him to heal his dying daughter, and on the way, a woman who has suffered for twelve years reaches out just to touch the edge of his robe. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 13:1–53; 8:18–34; 9:18–26 (the Parables of the Kingdom, the calming of the storm, the Gadarene demoniacs, and the raising of Jairus' daughter).
Matthew 7:1–29; 8:5–13; 11:2–19; 12:22–50 Jesus finishes the sermon he began on the mountainside, then heals a Roman centurion's servant from a distance and tells him no one in Israel has shown such faith. From a prison cell, John the Baptist sends his own disciples to ask if Jesus is really the one they've been waiting for. Accused of casting out demons by the devil's own power, Jesus answers with a warning about the sin that can never be forgiven — and when his own mother and brothers come looking for him, he redefines what family really means. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 7:1–29; 8:5–13; 11:2–19; 12:22–50 (the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, the centurion's servant, John the Baptist's question, and controversies over Jesus' authority).
Matthew 5:1–6:34 Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up a mountainside and, for the first time in this harmony, sits down to teach at length. He opens with a list of blessings that turn the world's expectations upside down, then calls his followers salt and light before turning to the law itself — anger, lust, oaths, retaliation, and love for one's enemies. He teaches them how to give, pray, and fast without putting on a show, warns against storing up treasure on earth, and tells them not to worry about tomorrow, trusting a Father who already knows what they need. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 5:1–6:34 (the Sermon on the Mount, part one — the Beatitudes, salt and light, the fulfillment of the law, and teaching on prayer, fasting, treasure, and worry).
Matthew 9:9–17; John 5:1–47; Matthew 12:1–21 Jesus calls a tax collector named Matthew away from his booth and eats with him and his friends, prompting questions about why his disciples don't fast like John's do. In Jerusalem for a feast, he heals a man who has waited thirty-eight years beside the pool of Bethesda — on the Sabbath, drawing open hostility from the religious leaders for the first time. Back in Galilee, his hungry disciples pick grain as they walk through a field on the Sabbath, and he heals a man's withered hand in the synagogue that same day, standing his ground each time on what the Sabbath is really for. We are in a Matthew-John Harmony. Today's episode covers: Matthew 9:9–17, John 5:1–47, Matthew 12:1–21 (the calling of Matthew, healing at the pool of Bethesda, and two Sabbath controversies).