S – Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.

Matthew 10:16 CSB

O – “Shrewd” – phrŏnimŏs:  sagacious or discreet (implying a cautious character;  denotes practical skill or acumen; intelligence or mental acquirement

“Innocent” – akĕraiŏs:  unmixed, i.e. (fig.) innocent:— harmless, simple.

James Strong, The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).

* Jesus is saying they should practically apply intelligence and wisdom and don’t get mixed into the emotions and temperature of the moments.  Keep it simple.

A – This is great wisdom for us today.  If we can apply the intelligence and wisdom God gives us each day without letting our emotions and feelings dictate our actions, we would be in a great place.  I know I can build “a story” about a situation and need to keep it to the truth.

R – Lord, I invite you to be in all that I face today.  I pray for the ability to draw from the wisdom and intelligence you have provided for me.  I ask that your Holy Spirit guard my emotions and feelings.  Help my thoughts, words and actions bring honor to You and your presence into each situation.

S – Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.^, For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:12–13 CSB

O – Commentary: I want mercy and not sacrifice Jesus is quoting Hos 6:6, which critiques Israel for focusing on the letter of the law while ignoring its spirit. God desires His people’s faithfulness and steadfast love more than their ritual observances.

 Faithlife Study Bible

A – God wants our hearts before he wants our actions.  If we get our hearts right, everything else lines up.  That will reflect in how we interact with others.  It will cause us to move in “mercy” (compassion, courage) and not sacrifice (ritual, selfishness).

R – Lord, I need my heart to line up with your heart today.  I can be selfish and self-centered.  It causes me to do things in a perfunctory way. Give me a heart that demonstrates my love for you and others.  Let me be a vessel of your mercy and grace in all situations today.

S – He said to him, “Am I to come and heal him?” 

⁸ “Lord,” the centurion replied, “I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority, having soldiers under my command

Matthew 8:7–9 CSB

O – Heal (θεραπεν́σω). So A. V. and Rev. The word, however, originally means to attend, and to treat medically. The centurion uses another and stronger word, shall be healed (ἰαθήσεται). Luke, who as a physician is precise in the use of medical terms, uses both words in one verse (

9. Also (καὶ).  “I also am a man under authority,” as well as thou. (Tynd., I also myself). The centurion compares the Lord’s position with his own. Christ had authority over disease. The centurion also was in authority over soldiers

Word Studies in the New Testament

A – Both words mean a lot to this passage.  Jesus asked about doing a medical miracle and the Centurion answered with a finished work.  The soldier could do that because he understood authority.  We need to understand the authority we have in Christ not to activate our faith but to walk confidently in it.

R – Lord, thank you for our relationship with you. It gives us the ability as your child to walk in the authority you give us in the name of Jesus.  We can expect miracles to happen in the physical and spiritual realms.  Increase our faith each day because we know our authority comes from you and not us.  

S – Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?

Matthew 7:3 CSB

O – Jesus is talking about judging others.  We can focus on the minor things that others do and judge them for it.  Yet, we have our own faults and do not address them.

A – When Jesus interacted with people, he focused on their heart.  He recognized that their physical attributes were secondary to their spiritual attributes. That is tremendously difficult to do. The only thing I can control is myself.  I must do life with others but my responsibility is for me to grow in my relationship with Him.

R – Lord, forgive me for judging others.  I recognize that I fall short in my own life.  Start with me today.  Help my thoughts, words and actions line up with your will and purpose for my life.  I surrender my desires to you today.

S – But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.^{, 7} When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

Matthew 6:6–7 CSB

O – “Secret” – kruptŏs, kroop-tos´; concealed, i.e. private:— hid (-den), inward [-ly], secret.

The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words

When you pray individually, it should be private (secluded from the display of others) and inward (coming from within).  God will see those prayers and answer them.  Don’t think your eloquateness or length of prayer makes a difference.

A – A relationship goes better when it is genuine and from the heart.  Our prayers should be that.  Not a list that prattles on but a relationship building conversation.

R – Lord, thank you that I can talk to you and you want to talk with me.  In getting to know you, I reverence you as the God of everything.  Yet, you allow me to share my heart in good and challenging situations.  Meet me in those moments so I can grow closer to you.

S – Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 

      Matthew 5:48 CSB

O –  Commentary:  He did not lower His standard to accommodate humans; instead He set forth His absolute holiness as the standard. Though this standard can never be perfectly met by man himself, a person who by faith trusts in God enjoys His righteousness being reproduced in his life.

“Matthew,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – The Lord’s standard is perfection which I cannot achieve. Yet, I choose how I think, speak and act.  I can make choices that allow me to grow and mature.  Perfection isn’t a legitimate goal.  Continuing to grow and reflect the heart and character of God is a daily one.

R – Lord, thank you for your grace and mercy that allow me to grow each day.  Help me to make choices that will grow my heart and character to reflect you.  Give me strength and courage to do that in good and bad times.  While Your standard is perfection, I am grateful that you love me in my journey.

S – Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ Then the tempter approached him…

Matthew 4:1–3 CSB

O – Commentary:  Jesus was led by the Spirit: The temptation was providentially arranged by God as a test of the Messiah’s character (see Deut 8:2). • to be tempted there by the devil: This test of character, initiated by God (who tempts no one; see Jas 1:13–14), was accomplished through the devil’s own desire to lure Jesus into sin.

 New Living Translation Study Bible 

A – God set this up and allowed Satan to do his work.  Jesus (the Second Adam) won in direct temptation where the first Adam did not.  Satan tempted Jesus with something He did not have and Jesus used God’s words and character to defeat him.  Jesus fasted 40 day and was hungry before the devil showed up.  Jesus was vulnerable and weak and still won.

R – Lord, I pray for the same strength and character through the Holy Spirit.  No matter the circumstances, help me to use your Word and character to defeat the enemy’s temptations.  I want to walk in purity and victory.

S – Jesus answered him, “Allow it for now, because this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John allowed him to be baptized. 

Matthew 3:15 CSB

O –  to fulfill all righteousness. What did Jesus mean? The Law included no requirements about baptism, so Jesus could not have had in view anything pertaining to Levitical righteousness. But John’s message was a message of repentance, and those experiencing it were looking forward to a coming Messiah who would be righteous and who would bring in righteousness. If Messiah were to provide righteousness for sinners, He must be identified with sinners. It was therefore in the will of God for Him to be baptized by John in order to be identified (the real meaning of the word “baptized”) with sinners.

A – Jesus identified with with sinners in that He was baptized.  He also identified with them on the cross when he took their sin upon his sinless body.  It show amazing love for someone who never knew sin to identify in someone else’s mess.

R – Lord, you demonstrated your love then and each day that I walk with you.  Thank you for your love that you graciously give to me.  I know I am a sinner and you can understand my challenges.  I ask for strength and courage to grow through those things.  

S- Matthew 2:9 (CSB): 9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 

O – Commentary: The journey of the Magi from Jerusalem wrought a further miracle. The star they had seen in the East now reappeared and led them to a specific house in Bethlehem where they found the Child Jesus. Bethlehem is about five miles south of Jerusalem. “Stars” (i.e., planets) naturally travel from east to west across the heavens, not from north to south. Could it be that “the star” which the Magi saw and which led them to a specific house was the Shekinah glory of God? That same glory had led the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years as a pillar of fire and cloud. Perhaps this was what they saw in the East, and for want of a better term they called it a “star.” All other efforts to explain this star are inadequate (such as a conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars; a supernova; a comet; etc.).
The Bible Knowledge Commentary

A – The glory of God cannot remain hidden. I want my life to illuminate His glory as well.  

R – Lord, I pray that my life would draw others to you.  I recognize my faults and sin but know that in covering that with Jesus’ blood, people see Him.  I want to know you more today and reflect your character.  Let my life bring glory to you today.

S – Matthew 1:23 (CSB): See, the virgin will become pregnant 
and give birth to a son, 
and they will name him Immanuel, 
which is translated “God is with us.” 

O – The angel quoting Isaiah is reminding Joseph of an important part of the Christian beliefs.  700 yrs before, it was prophesied that God would be with us.  God himself would live amongst His people.

A – Two applications – 1.  Jesus not only experienced the good and bad of being human.  He is compassionate to our joys and wins.  He also knows our temptations and challenges.  So much that He paid the price for them on the cross. 

2.  God is still with us in the form of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus advocates for us in heaven with the Father but the Holy Spirit is our guide and teacher.  That makes God accessible to all people and not just those seeking the “man” as when Jesus was on earth.

R – Lord, I am grateful that you came to earth and experienced what I feel and think. Where you didn’t sin, you have grace because you know the pull of temptation and sin.  You know me.  I surrender all of it to the blood of Jesus for your forgiveness.  I invite your Holy Spirit to lead me to day so I can walk in your presence, power and compassion for others.