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Mark 5, Matthew 10
THE BLEEDING WOMAN & THE DISCIPLES SENT OUT Jesus is on His way to the home of Jairus. The dying daughter, we’re told, is 12 years old. We are very rarely told the precise age of anyone in the Bible; and especially in the NT. But the Holy Spirit inspired Luke and Mark to include…
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Mark 4
SEEDS AND SLEEPING IN A STORM There are 3 parables in this chapter involving seeds. We have already looked at the parable of the seeds and soils. Jesus also compared the Kingdom of God to the amazing way that seeds grow without any help. We now understand how they are packed with plant DNA. They…
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Luke 8
In a court of law, when different witnesses tell their perspective of an event, you get different information. The content in this chapter we have already seen in Matthew 8 and 9, and it’s also in Mark 4 and 5, but Luke includes new details. Get out the freeze-dried food and camp stove. This is…
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Matthew 13
“Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.”Matthew 13:1 NLT If you trace the text back to chapter 12, we find out which day Matthew is talking about. It’s the Sabbath. As a refresher: That morning, on the way to synagogue, Jesus and the disciples were eating the free granola…
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Luke 11
HOW TO PRAY 101 Wouldn’t it be cool if Jesus just showed up in person at your church and gave a class on “How To Pray”? I suspect that we’d all be shocked. It would be a very short lecture. I have no reason to think that He would say anything different than He did…
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Matthew 11
THE KINGDOM OF GOD… & VIOLENCE Matthew gives the detail that John is in prison. And he’s not coming out alive. Perhaps he thought that Messiah would overthrow Herod and get him out of jail. Jesus confirms to the crowds that John is indeed more than a typical prophet. He’s the one Malachi foretold: “Look!…
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Luke 7
THE CENTURION (AGAIN) We learn a couple of new details in Luke’s version of this event. A Roman centurion is not going to sponsor the building of a synagogue unless he knows what a synagogue is for and agrees with it and supports the purpose completely. A synagogue is for the gathering of the Jews…
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Matthew 7, 9
JUDGE NOT Matthew 7:1 is the unofficial golden text of sinners and fleshly Christians who chafe at the idea of accountability to others. And that is often how it gets used – like a Get Out of Accountability Free Card. On the other extreme are the Christian “Karens” who make it their business to point…
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Matthew 5-6
With the way Jesus turned the Law inside out in Luke 6, with His upside-down blessings and woes, it would appear that Jesus was attempting to do away with the Law. And He contradicts this: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish…
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Luke 6
In Luke’s account of the events we’ve already read in other Gospels, we pick up a few new details. We learn that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before choosing (from among His many disciples) the 12 Apostles. This was a tremendously significant event and Jesus covered it in many hours of all-night prayer.…
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Mark 3
Mark’s writing is so visceral you can practically feel the sweaty, uncomfortable press of the crowds. They are so desperate for healing that they are basically mobbing Jesus. As someone who has a fairly large personal bubble, I totally get the need to have an escape boat at the ready. The people are pressing in,…
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Matthew 12
SABBATH SNACK There are some mulberry trees along a path that I enjoy walking through the neighborhood. 🌳🌳 They are not my mulberry trees. But if I happen to be passing by and the fruit is ripe, I generally stop and pick a handful to enjoy as I continue. Here’s what God said: “If you…
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