Gospel of Matthew Devotional

Our devotional begins February 15. Join us here each day for a new devotional through Easter Sunday.

READ: MATTHEW 1:1-17
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Matthew lists five women in Jesus’ family tree? You can read about the stories of Tamar (Genesis 38), Rahab (Joshua 2), Ruth (Ruth 1-4), and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) in the Old Testament. Each of these women was a non-Israelite with a scandalous background who demonstrated faith in God. Matthew shows us that God works through unexpected people and in unexpected ways.

Respond:

Journal about someone in your spiritual family tree. How did God work in their life? What is something you learned from them? Pray to thank Jesus for being Immanuel: “God with us.” The Son of God took on humanity to be born as a poor, humble, refugee baby. We meet all of God’s power and love in the face of Jesus: the fully God and fully human King.

READ: MATTHEW 1:18-25
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that four different titles are used in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth? He is the “Messiah/Christ,” God’s Anointed and Chosen One. He is the descended “Son of David,” God’s Promised King. He is “Jesus,” the One Who Saves.

Matthew strategically shares names, dreams, and Old Testament allusions to reveal Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity and Israel. Most significantly for this birth narrative, Jesus came as “Immanuel”: Our God Who took on humanity to be with us.

Respond:

• Journal about a time when you felt the presence of God with you. What was that like? How did that change you?

• Pray through these four titles of Jesus. Praise Jesus using those four titles. Ask Jesus to act in your life today according to one of those titles.

READ: MATTHEW 2:1-12
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that the word “worship” shows up at the beginning and the end of the Magi’s story (see verses 2 & 11)? Matthew highlights that the Magi, or the wise men, traveled hundreds of miles and sacrificed expensive gifts to worship Jesus as the King who came to rescue people from every nation. When we see Jesus clearly, how can we help but “open our treasures” and worship Him?

Respond:

• Journal about your own journey to Jesus. How did the Holy Spirit lead you to encounter Jesus for the first time?

• Pray about something that God may be leading you to surrender or sacrifice to worship Jesus as your King.

READ: MATTHEW 2:13-23
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ family flees from Israel to Egypt as refugees? Hundreds of years before, an Egyptian Pharaoh had oppressed ancient Israel by murdering their baby boys (see Exodus 1:8-2:10).

Matthew shows how the corruption of Israel’s current king, Herod, led him to act in the role of that oppressive Pharaoh. In an ironic reversal, Egypt now becomes a place of safety where Jesus, the new and better Moses, will be delivered so He can grow to become the ultimate Rescuer of God’s people.

Respond:

• Journal about a fear that you have right now. What do you do and where do you go when you look for safety?

• Pray to thank God for being a God who hears the cries of the oppressed, responds with rescue, and actively works out His plan for the healing redemption of our world.

READ: MATTHEW 3:1-17
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that all three persons of the Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) are revealed during Jesus’ baptism? As the Holy Spirit descends on the Son, the Father tells the world Who Jesus is. Before Jesus did any of his great works on earth, the Father already declared His love for the Son. Because we are united to Jesus by faith, we can hear the Father say the same words over us: “This is my child, whom I love; with them I am well pleased.”

Respond:

• John the Baptizer called people to repent: to turn from their old life to experience new life in God’s kingdom. Journal about something for which God is calling you to repent. What is a sin that you want to confess to God so you can find forgiveness and healing through Christ?

• Pray about the words the Father says to the Son through the Spirit. Ask God to show you how those same words are true of you in Christ. Ask God to reveal the false identities you create for yourself instead of trusting in the identity that God has given you as His beloved child in Christ.

READ: MATTHEW 4:1-11
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronomy three different times during His testing in the desert? Jesus demonstrates how we can fight temptation with God’s truth. And by quoting from the beginning of Deuteronomy, Jesus shows that He is passing the test that Israel and Moses failed in the wilderness over 1,000 years before.

Respond:

• Journal about a temptation with which you are currently struggling. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a passage of Scripture that you can memorize to fight against that temptation with God’s truth.

• Pray to thank Jesus for overcoming that temptation in His life. Rest in the fact that Jesus understands the difficulties we go through because He was tested in every way, except He was without sin (see Hebrews 4:15).

READ: MATTHEW 4:12-25
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Matthew summarizes Jesus’ basic teaching as “the kingdom of heaven has come near”? Jesus calls people to reorient their lives to live in a new reality: God’s rule has arrived. Through King Jesus, God is reclaiming and restoring our world.

When Jesus’ first disciples responded to this good news, they gave up their lives to follow Jesus, become like Jesus, and participate in the mission of Jesus.

Respond:

• Journal about the moment that you decided to trust and follow Jesus for the first time. How did you recognize Jesus as the true King of the world? Since then, how has Jesus formed you and challenged you to participate in God’s kingdom right now?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to show you how God’s kingdom is already arriving around you through the rule and work of King Jesus today.

READ: MATTHEW 5:1-20
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus uses the word “blessed” nine times to begin the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus flips the concept of blessing—living the good life as a result of God’s favor—upside down. Matthew shows us that through Jesus’ kingdom, God’s blessing is coming on those we least expect: the losers, the grievers, and the outsiders. Jesus welcomes everyone to receive His life and to live as salt, light, and a city of transformed people who show the world the character of God.

Respond:

• Journal about Jesus’ three images of the kingdom community: salt, light, and a city. What kinds of “good deeds” in your life could draw the world to glorify our Father in heaven?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to make you see people the way that Jesus does. Read through the nine “blessed” statements. Which one seems the most strange to you?

READ: MATTHEW 5:21-48
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus gives six illustrations of kingdom “righteousness”? Jesus describes the fullest expression and underlying wisdom of God’s ancient laws given to Israel using the examples of murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and neighborly love.

In each case, Jesus shows that true righteousness requires an inner transformation of the heart. Disciples who receive His Spirit and His righteousness are becoming the kinds of people who naturally love their enemies, treat women and men with dignity, and speak with simple honesty: in short, they live as the people God has always designed humanity to be.

Respond:

• Journal about someone you know who has been formed in the righteousness of Jesus’ kingdom. Which one of illustrations describestheir heart the most?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to show you where He wants to grow you in the righteousness of the kingdom. Ask Him to stir your imagination with a vision for how your community would be different because of the righteousness of Jesus.

READ: MATTHEW 6:1-18
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 4:17-20

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ prayer has two halves? The first half focuses onheaven: God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. The second half focuses on earth: our food, our forgiveness, and our protection. In the middle, we find Jesus’ mission statement: “on earth as it is in heaven.” Followers of Jesus today still pray this prayer to participate in God’s kingdom coming on earth.

Respond:

• Journal about the request in the Lord’s Prayer that strikes you the most right now.

• Pray the words of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Let each phrase guide you to praise God, participate in God’s work, ask God to meet specific needs around you, and confess your sins to God.

READ: MATTHEW 6:19-34
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice the word “therefore” at the beginning of Jesus’ teaching on worry (Matthew 6:25)? Jesus connects our posture toward wealth to the power of worry in our lives. Jesus makes three contrasts: two treasures, two eyes, and two masters. When we make our generous God the true Master of our lives, He aligns our priorities with His kingdom and richly provides for everything we need to live a righteous life of generous love toward God and others.

Respond:

• Journal about something that is currently worrying you. Which of Jesus statements on wealth and worry seems most powerful for your life today?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything in your life that you are serving as a “master” other than God. Ask Jesus to free you from that idol through His power to the glory of the Father.

READ: MATTHEW 7:1-12
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ instruction on judging others is intentionally placed near the end of the Sermon on the Mount? As we seek to follow Jesus’ commands, we may be tempted to judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions. Jesus invites us to let God be the Judge, focusing first on our own sins so we can live authentic lives in community together.

Respond:

• Journal about someone that you are currently judging in your own life. How does your judgement hold you back from experiencing God’s transformative love in your own life? How does your judgement keep you from loving them like Jesus does?

• Pray for something you are still waiting for God to do. Jesus tells us to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking as we trust our generous Father to give us good gifts.

READ: MATTHEW 7:13-29
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that the Sermon on the Mount ends with two roads, two prophets, two disciples, and two houses? Jesus is intense. He does not let his audience sit on the fence or choose any neutral ground. Jesus only gives people who hear His teaching two options: Respond with total surrender or watch your life fall apart.

Respond:

• Journal about the passage that challenges you the most from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. How would your life be different if the Holy Spirit shaped you to be the kind of person who naturally practiced what Jesus taught there?

• Pray to ask God to show you how you can go beyond reading the words of Jesus to actually building the house of your life around Jesus’ commands.

READ: MATTHEW 8
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus “touched the man” with a skin disease? According to the laws of Moses, touching someone who was ritually unclean also made you unclean. But Matthew emphasizes how instead of people’s uncleanness contaminating Jesus, Jesus’ purity heals our uncleanness. Jesus’ compassion moves Him to come close, touch us, and heal us.

Respond:

• Journal about the kinds of people that you naturally avoid. How may Jesus be calling you to reach out and “touch” them with compassion?

• Pray to thank God for God’s compassion for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you more aware of how Jesus draws near to you in your weaknesses today.

READ: MATTHEW 9:1-17
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that when Jesus offers the paralyzed man forgiveness for his sins, Jesus responds to their faith? These friends demonstrate how faith in Jesus leads to sacrificial love as we hold others before Jesus in faith.

Jesus heals this man’s soul (forgiving his sins) and body (restoring his legs), showcasing his power to rescue every part of our world as He brings the life of heaven to invade the corruption of earth.

Respond:

• Journal about one way that you have experienced the healing power of Jesus in your spiritual, emotional, social, vocational, or physical life.

• Pray for someone: Carry them before the Father in the name of Jesus to intercede for them through the Holy Spirit.

READ: MATTHEW 9:18-38
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus was on the way to a synagogue leader’s house when he stopped to heal a woman from her bleeding? Matthew shows us how Jesus’ sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and His compassion for people led Jesus to be interruptible. We may feel like Jesus doesn’t have time for us, but His presence and power are always available to anyone who looks to Him in faith.

Respond:

• Journal about a time when someone allowed themselves to be interrupted for you. How did that make you feel?

• Pray to thank God for revealing Himself to us in Jesus: the King who stops to see each one of us in the crowd. Spend time resting with Jesus as our God who sees us.

READ: MATTHEW 10
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice three of the special descriptions that Jesus’ disciples have in this list? Matthew “the tax collector,” Simon “the Zealot,” and Judas Iscariot “who betrayed him.” Matthew notes that Jesus gathered around Himself a diverse group of followers from different social, political, and religious worlds. And Jesus sent this group out to share His good news with power before they were even fully trained!

Respond:

• Journal about some of the brothers and sisters in Christ that God has put into your life. How are they different from you? What can you learn from them?

• Pray to ask God to show you the fears that keep you from sharing the good news of Jesus’ kingdom with people in your school, on your team, or at home. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a partner and speak through you with power as you go out anyway.

READ: MATTHEW 11:1-19
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that even John the Baptizer, Jesus’ cousin, doubted if Jesus was God’s promised Messiah? John seems to have wondered: If Jesus is Israel’s promised King, then why am I still stuck in prison? Jesus says that the life and power of His kingdom is already changing the world if John will open his eyes to see it. Matthew gives us Jesus’ response to John to show us that no matter our current circumstances, Jesus is still in charge.

Respond:

• Journal about a difficult time in your past. How did God carry you through that time? Can you see how Jesus was working as our King especially through that situation?

• Pray about a current difficulty in your life where you need to trust God. Ask God to show you how He is working through that situation over the coming months.

READ: MATTHEW 11:20-30
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus uses the word “yoke”? A yoke was an ancient farming tool used to connect two oxen, donkeys, or other animals plowing a field. The word became a metaphor for following someone’s way of life: their interpretation of God’s wisdom.

Jesus invites us to find true, satisfying rest by apprenticing under His way of life. We can walk side-by-side with our King, receiving wisdom and rest from His gentle and humble heart.

Respond:

• Journal about something that is making you feel weary and burdened right now. How is Jesus inviting you to find rest for your soul by experiencing His kingdom life in that situation?

• Pray to thank Jesus for working to secure the rest that our souls need through His incarnate birth, righteous life, sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, triumphant ascension, and restorative return as our King. Trust Him with your burdens today.

READ: MATTHEW 12:1-21
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 6:9-13

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus calls Himself the “Lord of the Sabbath”? Since the time of Moses, God’s people were commanded to take one day a week to stop working, rest, and worship God as their Creator and King. Jesus says that He is the one who gives us true rest (see Matthew 11:28-30). Our Lord gives us the Sabbath as a gift to enjoy, not a rule to restrict.

Respond:

• Journal about ways that you can worship and enjoy God as your Creator and King by setting aside one day or half a day this week to stop working or studying, spend time with people, exercise, pray, and do only things that help you draw close to God and enjoy God’s world.

• Pray to thank Jesus for securing our ultimate peace and rest through His life, death, and resurrection. Ask God to speak to you as you take this time to rest with Him.

READ: MATTHEW 12:22-50
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus redefines His family lines? Jesus cared for His mother and dealt with the doubts of His brothers. But ultimately, Jesus came to launch a Spirit-empowered family that heals all ethnic, gender, class, and social divides to embody God’s unified kingdom rule (see Galatians 3:28).

We belong to a family that stretches across the globe and throughout history. Jesus wants that family to be more united in mission and love than any biological family.

Respond:

• Journal about your positive or negative church experiences. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to help form your church or group into a Jesus-shaped family?

• Pray to ask the Father to help you to see your brothers and sisters in Christ as a true family: a Spirit-filled community where needs are met and everyone can contribute.

READ: MATTHEW 13:1-23
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ first parable is a story He tells about four kinds of people who respond to the good news about the kingdom? These people are represented by the path, the rocks, the thorns, and the good soil. Matthew puts this parable before Jesus’ other parables to show that the condition of our heart determines how we will receive Jesus’ teaching in our lives.

Respond:

• Journal about either the “rocks” or the “thorns”:

  • Rocks: Have you seen trouble or persecution cause someone to fall away from Jesus? How can God help you stay close to Jesus during hard times?

  • Thorns: Have you seen worry or worldly desires keep someone from growing in Jesus? How can God help you put Jesus and His kingdom first?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to enrich the soil of your heart. Ask Him to fill your imagination with a vision of how a hundredfold crop in your life would change the world for God’s kingdom.

READ: MATTHEW 13:24-58
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that the phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like…” shows up seven times in this section? Matthew has crafted this chapter to showcase Jesus’ teaching method: Jesus creatively uses ordinary images to force people to rethink their paradigm of how God is working to restore the world through Jesus’ kingdom.

Respond:

• Journal about one of these parables that seems the strangest to you. How does it invite you to meditate and ponder God’s rule revealed in Jesus? How does it challenge your assumptions of reality?

• Pray through one of Jesus’ parables from this section that seems the most familiar to you (the weeds, the mustard seed, the treasure, or the net). Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you something new about God’s kingdom from that parable.

READ: MATTHEW 14:1-21
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice the interplay between Jesus’ desire to be alone with the Father and Jesus’ desire to serve people? Jesus seeks solitude after hearing about the death of His cousin, John the Baptizer. Stopped by the crowds, Jesus’ compassion leads Him to stay and feed people. Immediately after dismissing the crowd, Jesus gets on a mountain to pray and be alone with the Father.

Respond:

• Journal about whether you tend to prioritize being with God or working for God in your own life. How is the Holy Spirit leading you to integrate contemplation and action?

• Pray to be alone with the Father. Simply sit before the Father, clothed in the righteousness of the Son, and filled with the Holy Spirit. Hear Him say the same words of Jesus’ baptism to you: “This is my beloved child, with whom I am well pleased.”

READ: MATTHEW 14:22-36
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice the moment when Peter begins to sink beneath the waves? It happens when Peter focuses on the wind instead of Jesus. As the Son of God, Jesus demonstrates His authority over the world by walking on water and silencing a storm. Like Peter, Jesus invites us to walk with Him. But it takes faith to focus on our King in front of us instead of our fears around us.

Respond:

• Journal about something that you are afraid of right now. How is that fear holding you back from stepping out with Jesus in faith?

• Pray to spend time with Jesus. Picture Him inviting you to walk with Him on the waves. Turn your eyes away from the wind and toward His face. Listen to His words: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

READ: MATTHEW 15:1-20
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus refers to the Pharisees’ handwashing as a “tradition”? While the laws of Moses only prescribe handwashing for priests serving in the temple (see Exodus 30:17-21), the Pharisees had expanded that rule for daily life. To them, handwashing was about more than hygiene: it was a way to practice ritual purity to please God.

Jesus uses this as an example to demonstrate that true purity before God is demonstrated in holy living that overflows from a cleansed heart.

Respond:

• Journal about Jesus’ statement: How are the words coming out of your mouth or the actions of your body demonstrating the purity of your heart?

• Pray to ask the Holy Spirit to purify your heart so that your daily actions can match your Jesus-following intentions to the glory of the Father.

READ: MATTHEW 15:21-39
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ actions are connected with his “compassion for these people”? Jesus is drawn to heal, serve, and feed people because of His endless love for us. Matthew also notes how Jesus fed such a huge number of people with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. Jesus miraculously multiplies even the smallest things that we bring to Him.

Respond:

• Journal about something in your life that Jesus may be calling you to give to Him. What lie makes you believe that your time, skills, or money are too small in the hands of Jesus?

• Pray: Thank God for being your Provider by naming specific things that God has provided for you in the past.

READ: MATTHEW 15:21-39
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that Jesus’ actions are connected with his “compassion for these people”? Jesus is drawn to heal, serve, and feed people because of His endless love for us. Matthew also notes how Jesus fed such a huge number of people with only seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. Jesus miraculously multiplies even the smallest things that we bring to Him.

Respond:

• Journal about something in your life that Jesus may be calling you to give to Him. What lie makes you believe that your time, skills, or money are too small in the hands of Jesus?

• Pray: Thank God for being your Provider by naming specific things that God has provided for you in the past.

READ: MATTHEW 17
MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 16:24-27

Receive:

Did you notice that when Jesus reveals His true glory to His disciples, Moses and Elijah appear with them on a “high mountain”? After the exodus from Egypt, Moses met with God at Mount Sinai. Hundreds of years later, Elijah met with God at Mount Sinai. These two prophets represent the Torah and the Prophets of the Old Testament. And now, on a new mountain, they meet God face to face in the person of Jesus Christ.

Respond:

• Journal about a time when you experienced Jesus in a new way. How did God teach you to “listen to Him”?

• Pray to thank God for fulfilling every promise of the Old Testament through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, our promised King.