We are starting a new series within the Gospel of Matthew that we are calling The Hard Sayings of Jesus. Matthew 16-20 contain some of the hardest teachings of Jesus and some events in Jesus’ life that are hard to understand. Before we begin, I want us to think about this idea. Jesus did not teach only simple concepts. Jesus did not keep things easy for his listeners. Jesus definitely did not keep his teachings easy for his disciples. Jesus says things that cause people to leave. Jesus says things that cause people to think that he has a demon (John 7:20; 8:52; 10:20). Jesus says things that even caused disciples to leave him (John 6:66). But Jesus was not afraid to teach the truth, even if the truth was hard to accept. I hope we can prepare our hearts to listen to Jesus and accept his teachings so that we can truly say we are disciples of him…
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