Mark 9:38-41 / Luke 9:49-50…This is an occasion for Jesus to discuss His authority and its delegation. The disciples are suspicious of this exorcist who claimed Jesus’ name, whose faith resulted in miracle-working. Yet the exorcist is not using... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 18:1-5 / Mark 9:33-37 / Luke 9:46-48…We should not think that Jesus is simply speaking about how we might lack the purity of a child’s heart. The words of the Lord here are more radical than that.In today’s society children are safeguarded... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:24-27…There is no tax on the treasure God bestows upon us in Christ. We are free men (John 8:32 / 2 Corinthians 3:17 / Galatians 5:1), but we must not use this as an occasion of license (1 Peter 2:16). Rather, we are to let love limit our... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:22-23 / Mark 9:30-32 / Luke 9:43-45…The disciples had been told about the resurrection of Jesus before. Now it was the second time, and Jesus was also warning them ahead of time about the treachery and betrayal that lie ahead. While it... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:19-21 / Mark 9:28-29…These other disciples who had not gone up the mountain had nevertheless had mountaintop experiences before. They knew Jesus was the Son of God, they had been commissioned by Him to heal the sick, cast out demons and... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:14-18 / Mark 9:14-27 / Luke 9:37-42…Peter, James, and John had been on a mountain where they saw Jesus in His glorified state. They also saw Moses and Elijah, and they heard the audible voice of God from above as confirmation. It was a... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:10-13 / Mark 9:11-13…The Old Testament closed with a promise (Malachi 4:5-6), and some 400 years later, that hope, God’s promise, is now fulfilled. The one like Elijah has come. After the Transfiguration, the disciples ask Jesus, “Why do... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 17:1-9 / Mark 9:2-10 / Luke 9:28-36…Jesus sometimes brings us to a “mountaintop experience”, and we see and hear wonderful things. We want to stay there and glory in His presence, yet we must come back down to earth, as it were. When we do... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 16:24-28 / Mark 8:34-9:1 / Luke 9:23-27…Jesus connects His unique sufferings and death with the life that He expects His disciples to live. In doing so He tells us what we should do and why we should do it. Discipleship is about self-d [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
Matthew 16:21-23 / Mark 8:31-33 / Luke 9:22…Wherever God is moving powerfully, Satan is sure to be there to try and counter. Peter had just been given the great revelation of Jesus as the Christ. Jesus spoke of His resurrection, and how His church... [ ... ][ abbreviated | read original blog ]
