Open the Bible UK Daily

“I have not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfil them.” MATTHEW 5:17 Jesus came into the world to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, and He did this in His death. The prophets had spoken of a suffering servant who would be “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5). And in the Psalms, David described the suffering of a man whose hands and feet wo...

“I have not come to abolish [the Law or the Prophets] but to fulfil them.” MATTHEW 5:17 Jesus came into the world to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, and He did this in His birth and in His life. The prophets had spoken about the One who was to come, on whom the hope of the world depends. The prophet Isaiah said that a virgin would conceive and bear a son (Isa. 7:14), and when Mary bore Jesus, thi...

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. MATTHEW 5:17 This is Jesus' first statement about why He came. A good teacher anticipates misunderstanding, and here, Jesus corrects a false assumption. Many people think the Bible says: 1) we are all sinners under the condemnation of God’s law; 2) Jesus came to pay the price of o...

“I came that they may have life.” John 10:10 It will soon be Christmas when we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ. God came down from heaven and entered our world. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Why did Jesus come? The entire New Testament answers that question. Paul tells us that Jesus came to reconcile us to God: “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not...

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again… And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things o...

He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Mark 8:33 When we sin, there is always a story of how we came to do what we did. Someone says, “This person put me in an impossible position. I was provoked, and that is why I acted as I did.” When Eve was tempted and committed the first sin, she said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13). The serpent was responsible for the deceiving;...

But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Mark 8:33 When Peter rebuked Jesus, he was trying to stop Jesus from going to the cross—we should be very thankful that Jesus rebuked Peter. Imagine Peter standing at the pearly gates of heaven. If Jesus had followed Peter’s counsel, what would have happened to him when he arrived? Peter knocks on heaven’s door and an angel answers, “Who are...

“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22 If ever there was a moment when you would feel you could have full confidence in what someone said, this would be it. Peter was blessed by God. He had been walking with God in the flesh. God has opened his eyes to the truth about Jesus—surely what this man says must be right! But Peter’s well-meaning counsel to Jesus was com...

“Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Matthew 16:22 If you have faith in Jesus, there will be times when you are tempted to tell Him what you think He must do. That is what Peter was doing. Telling Jesus what He must do might sound like faith, but it is the opposite of faith. Here is the great contradiction: on the one hand, to confess Jesus as the Christ means that you embra...

Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, [Jesus] rebuked Peter. Mark 8:32-33 This is a story about two rebukes: Peter rebukes Jesus, and Jesus rebukes Peter. There are certain times when we are especially vulnerable to temptation. One obvious example is when we are tired. When we are tired, we do not see things clearly and we are less careful in what...

He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31 There are four things that Jesus must do: suffer, be rejected, be killed, and rise again. When Jesus told this to the disciples, Peter “took him aside and began to rebuke him” (8:32). Jesus “said this plainl...

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!” Matthew 16:16 Peter did not come to this confession of faith suddenly. He had been in the company of Jesus for eighteen months. Faith in Jesus had been forming; convictions about Jesus had been settling. Faith is formed by walking with Jesus, and it may be that for some...

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 What is the rock on which Jesus will build His church? Some say it’s Peter. Some say it’s faith. Some say it’s Jesus. When there is debate over how to understand a verse, a good question to ask is whether there are other Bible passages that shed light on this...

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17 Jesus said to Peter, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you.” You didn’t work this out for yourself. And you didn’t get this faith from someone else. As you think about your own journey to faith, if you are a believer, you will be able t...

“You are the Christ.” Matthew 16:16 Confessing faith in Jesus does not mean that you have your whole life sorted out—that you never have doubts and that all your questions are answered. What it does mean is that you embrace Jesus as your teacher, your saviour, and your master. Your teacher Embracing Jesus as your teacher means that you give up your right to disagree with Him. When you commit to le...

“You are the Christ.” Matthew 16:16 Faith is a believing response to Jesus in which we confess two things: 1) who He is in relation to God, and 2) who He is in relation to us. Let’s look today at who Jesus is in relation to us. Peter called Jesus the Christ, and the name means “Messiah” or “Anointed One.” But this raises the question: anointed, chosen, set apart, for what purpose? Throughout the B...

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Matthew 16:13 Son of Man was a favourite name that Jesus used for Himself. And this was a question about culture. Jesus was inquiring, “Tell me what people are saying about Me. What are the prevailing ideas about Me in your culture?” Opinions about Jesus were all over the map. “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of t...

“You are… the Son of the living God.” MATTHEW 16:16 Do you have faith? Faith is not confidence in ourselves. Faith is not confidence in the church or in other Christians. Faith is a believing response to Jesus. You may say, “I’ve been disappointed by Christians and hurt by the church.” The good news is that Jesus does not ask you to confess faith in other Christians or to confess faith in the chur...

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:32-33 The disciples probably still had a thousand questions. Why did Jesus allow this storm? Why did He tell them to get in the boat when He knew a storm was coming? Why did Jesus leave the disciples straining at the oars for so long? Why did He not come in the...

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Matthew 14:30 We do not know how far Jesus was from the boat when Peter stepped onto the water, but suppose Jesus was 50 feet from the boat. Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter put one foot on the water. It held. Then he swung his weight over the side of the boat and stood with both feet on the water. He looked...

He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matthew 14:29 Jesus can impart His power so that you can do what would not otherwise be possible. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). What has Jesus called you to do that you fear is beyond you? You say, “I cannot do it.” Yes, you can, for Jesus will give you what you need to do...

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Matthew 14:28 Would you have said this? Most people would not have the courage. Maybe you would have said, “Lord, if it is you, calm this raging storm, and take us safely to the shore.” When we face a great trial, our natural reaction is to ask, “When will this be over? When can I get back to the life I want to l...

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. Matthew 14:26 The disciples felt they were in the presence of evil. After all, it was dark, the wind was howling, and the waves were beating against the boat. When the light of Jesus’ presence drew near, they thought they were seeing a ghost. They were afraid that the nigh...

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side… the boat… was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Matthew 14:22-24 The disciples were caught in a storm, and Jesus was not with them. They were stuck in the middle of the lake. Storms often pass quickly, but this one just kept coming. The disciples were straining at th...

When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. Matthew 14:23-24 Jesus fed 5,000 people, multiplying five loaves and two fish in His hands. And when the crowd saw what He could do, they wanted to take Jesus by force and make Him king (John 6:15). Some of the disciples probably liked this idea, so to...