Having silenced the Pharisees and the Herodians, Jesus was then faced with another question from the Sadducees. This time, however, it wasn’t a political question to entrap him, but a theological one to humiliate him; it was a question about resurrection. And Jesus’ response (just days before his own bodily...
When asked by the Pharisees and Herodians whether or not it was lawful for Jews to pay tribute to Caesar, Jesus replied by asking whose image was engraved upon one of their coins. They answered him: “Caesar’s.” This set the stage for one of Jesus’ most famous teachings: “Render to...
A parable is a story or saying designed to teach a deeper truth through a comparison with every-day realities. Greg Lanier explains why Jesus told parables: “Like the prophets of old, Jesus used parables to reveal the mystery of the kingdom, to stimulate reflection on sin, to call people to...
After the triumphal entry, our Lord’s first order of business was not with the Roman occupation but with the Jews and their temple. Rather than fulfilling its role as a “house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:6-7), the temple had become a “den of robbers” (Jer. 7:9-11)—a sanctuary for...
The Bible uses the imagery of fruit and fruitfulness often, and God’s word is clear that the fruit we bear in this life either leads to death or to eternal life. Yet, in one sense, to bear fruit leading to death is ultimately to be unfruitful. In other words, there is...
Today, it is often suggested that Christians are to move past the gospel and on to the so-called “deeper things” of the Christian life. But is this really what Scripture teaches? For Paul, you should not—indeed, you cannot—move past the gospel to deeper things. For what could be deeper than...
The Christian life is to be a life characterized by good works. These good works are anything done in faith for the good of others and the glory of God. Paul reminded Titus of this fact when he wrote that God’s grace had appeared in the person and work of...
One of the main themes of Titus is that sound doctrine leads to wholehearted devotion. The false teachers on Crete were trying to produce godliness through their doctrine—by conformity to a set of rules and external regulations. However, their legalism only resulted in detestable, disobedient sinners with defiled hearts, “unfit...
In contrast to the false doctrine of the legalists, which was only leading to ungodliness and worldly passions, Paul commands Titus to “teach what accords with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Only healthy, gospel teaching will produce true godliness in the lives of its hearers. Then Paul describes for Titus what...