Category: Christian Spirituality
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“Who Do You Say That I Am?”: Jesus’s Question and the Hinge of Our Faith
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:22–33)…
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Jesus in a Land of Monsters: Spiritual Warfare, the Gates of Hell, and the Cosmic Gospel of Christ
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter…
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Try Me and See: Jesus and the Test of Obedience
Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven … But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves … Do you not yet understand, or remember?” (Matthew 16:1, 8-9, NKJV) I think I…
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Signs from Heaven and the Way to Be Saved: Jesus and the Pharisees’ Demand for a Sign
The Pharisees and Sadducees approached, and as a test, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them: “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be good weather because the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to…
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Hope, Tragedy, and Why Our Labor Does Not Need to Be in Vain
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus. “This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.” For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother…
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The Danger of Familiarity and Why We Need to Hear the Gospel Again
“He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, aren’t they all with…
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The Storehouse of the Scriptures: How the Kingdom Opens Up the Meaning of the Bible
“Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they told Him. “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.” When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there. (Matthew 13:51-53) Over the…
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Wheat, Weeds, and the End of the Age: What the Parable of the Tares Says About the World Today
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: I will open My mouth in parables; I will declare things kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then He dismissed the crowds…
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Now, Not-Yet, and Presently Working: How the Kingdom of God Has Entered Our World
He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to…
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Seed and Soil: What Happens When the Word Comes to Our Hearts
You, then, listen to the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. And the one sown on rocky ground — this is one who hears…