Month: October 2025

Matthew 17:24 – On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”  ²⁵ “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.  But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”  ²⁶ “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.   “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! ²⁷ However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.” (NLT) 

At first glance, this passage appears to be about paying taxes, but there is so much more to be gained.  Indeed, the kingdom is to be gained!  (Although I must admit, finding money in a fish to pay taxes would be nice!)  The Temple tax was a bit controversial by the time of Jesus, and it seems that collectors of the Temple tax sought to include Jesus in the controversy.  The Sadducees did not approve of the tax.  Some Jewish men only had to pay it once in their lifetime, while most others paid it yearly, but again, there is much more here than the Temple Tax. 

In verse twenty-five, Jesus asks Peter if kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered, to which Peter answers: “They tax the people they have conquered”.  This might seem confusing to us, for certainly governments have taxed their own people even in ancient times.  In this verse Jesus is giving Peter a choice – would a king rather tax his own people or the people he has conquered.  Peter answers that it is those who have been conquered.  Jesus gives an answer that should be – for all who call Jesus their Savior – an absolutely liberating answer:  “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!” 

We get caught up in the matters of tax, while Jesus slips in something prophetic.  When we choose to be citizens of the kingdom that Jesus came to establish, we are free!  The Apostle Paul shares the following on this subject in his letter to the Galatians: “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.” (Galatians 4:4-7). 

When we choose to live in the kingdom of God, not only are we free, we are heirs of the kingdom!  Today, let us celebrate our freedom from sin and death.  Let us praise God for our adoption! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 17:14 – At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”

¹⁷ Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” ¹⁸ Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.

¹⁹ Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”   ²⁰ “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (NLT)

In this passage the disciples were unable to cast out a demon.  We should note that Jesus had previously given the disciples the authority to cast out demons (Matthew 10:8), and they had been successful at casting out demons in the past (Luke 10:17).  Now when they were unsuccessful in casting out demons, Jesus tells them that they did not have enough faith.  This passage can teach us much about ministry.

First, it should teach us not to get into the rut of doing ministry the same way all of the time.  The disciples had been successful in casting out demons in the past, and now they were most likely going about their ministry duties in pretty much the same way, expecting pretty much the same results.  Every situation, like every person, is different.  The methods for success that we may have had in ministry a year ago, or even a month ago, may not work today.  We need to address every opportunity for ministry as a unique opportunity.  Even if our ministry is greeting people at the door of the church, our next time of service may be completely different than the past.  We should enter into every time of service and ministry with prayer, asking for the presence of the Holy Spirit, never taking for granted that our time of service will be the same old thing.

Next, this passage teaches us that no matter what success we may have had, we need to go to Jesus when we are confronted with a challenge.  I find it interesting that while the father of the demon possessed man went to the disciples first, when they were unsuccessful it was the father that went to Jesus – and all the while the disciples seemed to have waited in the background. It was the disciples’ ministry to cast out demons, when they were unsuccessful they should have gone straight to Jesus.

This is not to say that we should not point people in the right direction when we are unable to help them, but when we have a ministry task we should be quick to go to Jesus in prayer.  Not going to Jesus while we are engaging in ministry shows that our faith is in ourselves, and not in Jesus.  When our faith is in ourselves, we have set ourselves up for failure. 

Today, let us not only be people of faith, but people whose faith is in Jesus! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 16:13 – When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  ¹⁴ “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”  ¹⁵ Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. ¹⁸ Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (NLT)

In this passage Jesus and his disciples have come to Caesarea Philippi. Not only was this a predominantly Gentile area, its inhabitants practiced many of the world’s religions.  Caesarea Philippi was also a center for the worship of the pagan god Pan, the god of nature.  Against this backdrop Jesus asks his first question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Jesus certainly knew what people were saying, but he was setting up the disciples for the most important question we can ever be asked, “But who do you say I am?”  We may know what others say about Jesus.  Like Jesus and the disciples, we have probably heard people say a number of things about Jesus.  Some good things, some not so good.  Ultimately, we must answer for ourselves, and we do!  Whether we verbalize it or not, each and every day we say who we believe Jesus to be.  We say it not only by the way that we speak, more importantly we say it by our actions.  How we live our lives will tell the truth more than any words of confession we can say.  Are we living life as if Jesus really is the Son of the living God?  Are we living life as if Jesus really is our Lord?  This is a question we must ask ourselves, and often. 

Today, let us live like Jesus is Lord of our life.  Let us live in a way in which our actions speak loud and clear! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Matthew 16:1 – One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

² He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; ³ red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! ⁴ Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away.

⁵ Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”   ⁷ At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. ⁸ Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? ⁹ Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? ¹⁰ Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? ¹¹ Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

¹² Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (NLT)

Before Jesus walked the earth, the people of Israel spent a lot of time trying to make God happy.  They spent even more time worrying about whether or not they had sinned and made God angry.  After Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead, his message was called Good News.  It was called Good News for a reason!

In this passage, the religious leaders are asking Jesus for a sign.  He tells them the only sign that he will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah – coming back after three days in the tomb.  Jesus then warns the disciples about the yeast of the religious leaders.  Verse twelve tells us that the disciples finally came to understand that Jesus was speaking of their deceptive teachings.  Friends, there are still religious leaders who preach and teach deception! 

I believe that the most common deceptive teaching is the teaching that we somehow have to earn our way into heaven.  We cannot!  Heaven is a free gift.  Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.  He then tells us in Ephesians: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT).

It’s called Good News for a reason!  It’s called Good News because God’s love and mercy is not something we earn, it’s something we receive.  We are told in Romans 11:6 that God’s grace is free and undeserved.  We do not have to live life in fear of God’s wrath.

Today, rejoice, celebrate, and praise God for God’s free and undeserved grace!  That, my friends, is truly Good News! 

Posted by Ramón Torres