Advent is the annual celebration of the coming of the Lord Jesus. Yet it’s not just a time for remembering his first advent—his coming in humility to die; it is also a time of waiting for his second advent—his coming in glory to reign. In a world full of darkness, the believer eagerly awaits the dawn […]
The trial of the sinless Son of God reveals that all humanity is guilty. If we look closely and honestly, we will see our own face in the crowd that day, calling out for Jesus to be crucified and for Barabbas to be released. For whenever we reject Christ—living as though Jesus isn’t the King that […]
In Psalm 2:6, God declares that he has set his King on Mt. Zion despite the raging of the nations, and the Scriptures are clear that this anointed King is his only-begotten Son, Jesus. Therefore, whether our response to him is one of indifference like Pilate, contempt like Herod, or hatred like the Jews, we […]
In order for Christians to faithfully follow Christ in this world, they need to be strengthened by God. Paul prayed that the Colossians would be “strengthened with all power, according to [God’s] glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Col. 1:11). One of the most simple yet profoundly overlooked means of receiving such […]
The Olivet Discourse comes at the end of a section of Luke’s gospel that began with Jesus entering Jerusalem and pronouncing judgment on the temple (Luke 19:41-44). In this teaching, Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples primarily about the the future fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. He calls them to […]
During the days leading up to his death in Jerusalem, Jesus has spent his time pronouncing judgment on the temple leadership and the nation of Israel for rejecting him as the Christ, the Son of God. It’s within this context of judgment that we find one of the more familiar stories in Scripture: the story […]
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 wicked and hypocritical, the […]
Jesus told the parable of the ten minas to the crowds, Luke explains, “because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (Luke 19:11). As we have seen throughout the Gospel of Luke, the person and work of Jesus himself was the sign that the […]
The kingdom of God—his reign over all creatures, kingdoms, and history— is one of the central themes of the Bible. Scripture is filled with promises concerning God’s future, everlasting, unchallenged, and glorious rule. Jesus Christ, the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13-14), was the sign that God himself had come in the flesh to inaugurate the […]
