“Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (Luke 8:25). Having just witnessed Jesus rebuke the wind and the waves, the disciples posed this question among themselves. They knew that controlling the forces of nature and calming the raging seas are activities that only God himself...
“A sower went out to sow his seed”—so begins one of the most familiar parables of Jesus, a profound teaching found in all three Synoptic gospels (Matt. 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15). Jesus frequently would illustrate kingdom truths and spiritual realities with images, stories, and experiences from everyday life that would relate to...
In preparing the way for the Messiah, John the Baptist made known that God’s judgment on the unrepentant was imminent. He had proclaimed: “His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17)....
All throughout Scripture, we are given glimpses the promise that one day sin and death will be no more. In the Old Testament, we see hints of this future hope through different characters, prophets, and events, all of which point to God’s final answer to the sting of death and the power...
The healing of the centurion’s servant—like the many other miracle accounts in the Gospels—is often understood to be highlighting the faith or belief of the centurion. Indeed, he is an admirable character, one to whom Jesus marvels and says, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith”...
The story of the wise and foolish builders, found at the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, is a familiar one to most. Having taught on living the life of the kingdom and what it means to be an authentic disciple, Jesus warns those who would presume to call him ‘Lord’...
Continuing his teaching on how we are to treat our enemies, Jesus unfolds further what it looks like to truly love others. Those who expect others to not be judgmental, condemning, or unforgiving, yet fail to extend grace and forgiveness themselves are hypocrites. Only those who have come to know the gospel of...
As Jesus continues preaching to the crowds about kingdom living, he now moves into one of the most difficult, yet most distinctly Christian, teachings in his sermon: love for enemies. Jesus here commands his disciples that they must not only love them, but do good to them, pray for them, and...
What does it mean to be truly blessed? According to the kingdom of this world, the blessed are those who earn the most and have the best. They are the rich, those satisfied with the comforts of this life, and those who are accepted and praised by all. But according to...