February 6, 2024
“Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Matthew 24:34 ESV). Many have pointed to this verse to say that Jesus got it wrong. For the generation to which Jesus spoke has passed and the end has not yet come. Even C.S. Lewis, the normally staunch
February 5, 2024
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14 ESV). When the disciples asked Jesus to give them details about His second coming and the end of the age, He replied that one of the signs would
February 4, 2024
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25 ESV). Jesus accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy. For they emphasized outward expressions of holiness without any true heart change. The Pharisees had added dozens of rules
February 2, 2024
‘But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”‘ (Matthew 22:29 ESV). Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for not knowing God’s Word, nor God’s power. Who were the Sadducees? They were a Jewish religious sect that existed during the first century and consisted of a wealthy ruling
January 31, 2024
‘And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”’ (Matthew 20:32 ESV). Jesus was on his way up to Jerusalem for the Passover, headed for his preordained appointment with the cross. With all the weight of what lay before him, he still stopped to heal two blind men
January 29, 2024
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24 ESV). After a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what good thing he must do to have eternal life, the Lord told him
January 28, 2024 | Matthew 20:25-28
We live in a day when many of us are drifting along without a guiding purpose in life. Or we’ve bought into the culture’s idea that happiness and fulfillment come from self gratification, of owning material things and having exciting experiences. Yet we still come up feeling empty and unfulfilled. Or we think that being successful, or being the greatest at something will fulfill us. But as many who have achieved worldly success have said, “It’s lonely at the top.” Because they left behind family or stepped on or over friends while climbing the so-called ladder of success. So how do find our purpose? How do we find ourselves?
Jesus says that the way to greatness, the way to leadership, is serving others. Jesus calls us to be servant leaders. In the book of Matthew, the mother of James and John asked Jesus to give her sons seats of authority in His kingdom. Jesus answered that leadership in His kingdom meant first becoming a servant. We can follow Christ’s call to servant leadership.
January 26, 2024
“Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20 ESV). When the disciples asked why they had been unable
January 22, 2024
‘Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”’ (Matthew 14:31 ESV). In the fourth watch of the night, which was between 3 and 6 AM, the disciples labored to cross the Galilee against a strong headwind, when they were terrified
January 21, 2024
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus” (Matthew 14:1 ESV). This was Herod the “tetrarch” (“ruler of a quarter”), not Herod the Great. He was one of the sons of Herod the Great, and was better known as Herod “Antipas” (“anti + pater” meaning “against the father”). After the death