Throughout His ministry – now going on three years – Jesus has battled the expectation that He will be a political Messiah, one who fulfills all the prophecies of a triumphant ruler who will lead Israel over its enemies. The expectation stems from a misunderstanding of Old Testament prophecies about His second coming. His followers […]
Life and belief are urgent. That’s the quick message of this passage. For the second time in this chapter (see also 13:1-9), Jesus stresses that the time for belief is right now. Other questions about salvation and who will be saved and how many and where they’re from or whether certain people will get in […]
Jesus engages in another Sabbath Showdown and uses it both to illustrate the dangers of hypocrisy and to make a statement about why He came to earth. Ultimately, the healing of the woman with the demonic disease, while glorious and loving, is about more than her and more than the Jewish religious leaders. It’s about […]
9:1-6 This is somewhat of an odd event. No way to know where all the disciples go, how long they’re gone or what Jesus does during their absence. It could be that this is a rehearsal for what they’ll be called to do after the ascension. Jesus gives them a mini-great commission and sends them […]
