Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? For God said: Honor your father and your mother; and, the one who speaks evil of father […]
Paul’s appeal to Caesar in the courtroom of Festus, the governor of Celicia, when being charged by Jews from Jerusalem of profaning their temple, caused him to be in Rome to appear before Caesar by chapter 28 of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke wrote that while waiting for that trial, Paul lived for two years in his own rented […]
In the first few verses of Matthew chapter 18, Jesus answered His disciples’ question, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” Their question had nothing to do with dying, and nothing to do with going anywhere. It was a “now” question. “In Your Kingdom, who is the greatest?” might be a good paraphrase of it. Having that in […]
1 Corinthians 12 Now, about spiritual matters… Verse 7: the Spirit manifests in each person with some supernatural power. One Spirit gives all the gifts, and that same Spirit gives a gift to each member of the body of Jesus. Perhaps the main point there is unity in diversity. In verses 4 through 27, Paul wrote about what he called […]
In Jeremiah 10:7 Jeremiah called Yahweh “King of the nations.” When John received the Revelation of Jesus, he mentioned in chapter 1, verse 5 that Jesus was already Ruler over all the kings of the earth. In the revelation given to him, it was pointed out to him in 17:14 that Jesus was already Lord of lords and King of […]
“Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.”(Matthew 13:52 HCSB ©®) Israel’s descendants became a nation when Yahweh drew them out of slavery in Egypt. What came after the nation of Israel was the Kingdom of […]
Many people argue fiercely about their theological debate points. Many people fiercely accuse others of breaking the religious laws they have adopted. Many people have greater love for their rules and doctrines than they have for Jesus, and far more than they have for each other. “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved […]
The Pharisees had the Scriptures memorized. As Jesus said, however, they neither knew God nor His power. As Stanley Jones would say, just having the Bible without the Spirit to bring it to life is just the Word made words. Jesus is the Word made flesh.If a seeker of truth, reading the Scriptures in order to know God and His […]
But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons!” And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will […]
And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus assigned them. And having seen Him they worshiped; but some doubted. And having come to them, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Me. Therefore having gone, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the […]