A merciful and miraculous act by Jesus causes the Jewish religious leaders to show the worst side of their unbelief. What should be a cause for celebration instead triggers blasphemy and arrogant demands. How Jesus answers these sinful reactions teaches us much about the evil of the human heart, the dangers of self-righteousness, the choice […]
Luke does not record the Sermon on the Mount in its entirety as Matthew does. He spreads the teaching throughout the book and highlights different teaching at different points. In this passage, he records what Jesus says about prayer as found in Matthew 6, but takes a slightly different approach and adds to it a […]
In this text, Jesus answers a question with what most would agree is His most famous parable. The parable of the Good Samaritan is very familiar to any believer and recognized even by those who know next to nothing about the Bible (or who may not even realize it’s from the Bible). The term “Good […]
In a replay of what He did with the twelve (Lk 9:1-6), Jesus sends out a large group of disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God. He sends them to prepare the way for Him as He travels to Jerusalem. In so doing, He teaches us that there is urgency in proclaiming the good news; […]
In these three passages, Luke examines who gains entrance into the kingdom of God. Is it reserved for the ultra-religious, for the highly esteemed, for the rich and powerful? Or is it counterintuitively open only to those who understand they have no qualifications at all? In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, […]
The Magnificat – so named because it’s the first word in the Latin translation of this passage – is a psalm. It’s a poem spoken by a teenager rejoicing over her condition. Her condition is – needless to say – unique in all of history. She’s pregnant. She’s a virgin. And the baby she carries […]
Jesus does not leave us guessing as to what it takes to be His disciple. He has already said a disciple must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and that a disciple has no claim on his own life (9:23-26). In this text He goes further and explains that a disciple can’t seek […]
One of the wonderful things about the Bible is how it presents its heroes. We don’t just read about the triumphs of Abraham, Moses, and David, and they aren’t presented as supernatural saints that never make a mistake. We see their faults and sins too. It’s why the Bible is ultimately a book about the […]
To understand The Transfiguration, it’s important to understand its context. Jesus ended His discussion of the cost of discipleship by telling His followers that He will someday come in glory (vs 26). He then – surprisingly – said that there were some listening to Him who would witness this glory before they died (vs 27). […]
Go for the gusto…Be all you can be…You deserve more…Because you’re worth it… Taste the rainbow…Have it your way…You rule!…Deny yourself and take up your cross. One of those slogans doesn’t seem to fit, does it? That last one kind of ruins the vibe of the preceding seven. It communicates quite a different message than […]
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