Year: 2020

“Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13) Many first-century Jews had hopes that their promised Messiah would be a political leader, someone who could lead Israel in a revolution against the Roman Empire. Their hope was that Jesus could lead the nation to independence again. So in our reading from John 12 for today,…

“So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10) If you have a tendency to remind people of all the good things you do and the sacrifices you make, read what Jesus said: “When you have done…

“Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.” (John 11:43-44) Scholars describe the raising of Lazarus as the seventh and final “sign” or miracle in the book of John, and — as we can…

“This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3) The disciples see a man who was born blind, and they assume that his blindness is someone’s fault. This was a common way of thinking about suffering in those days. Sickness and disability were often believed to be a result…

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) Jesus challenges a crowd that is ready to stone a sinful woman to death. He says that only those who are without sin have the right to throw a stone — and, one by one,…

“I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them.” (Acts 26:17) Paul’s ministry began when he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. In that humbling encounter, the Lord said to him: “Rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose,…

“Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” (John 6:35) Here Jesus was challenging people who wanted him to lead a revolution. Their nation was occupied by the Roman Empire, and many people were hoping that their promised…

“In his defense Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’” (John 5:17) In this episode Jesus finds himself in trouble with the religious authorities for healing on the Sabbath. They saw it as “working” on the Sabbath, the day on which people…

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalms 1:2) When you go beyond simply reading your Bible and take the time to meditate each day on its truths, you begin to think like God. And when that happens your life changes for the…