Jesus and the demoniac

Jesus demonstrated His supreme power over nature in the stilling of the storm (Mk. 4:35-41), and immediately after crossing the lake to the other side, he is confronted by a powerful demoniac (Mk. 5:1ff). We know he is powerful because the man has lost complete control over his senses, as evidenced by his lack of […]

Understanding Christ’s Parables

In Mark 4 (the parallel passage of Mt. 13 and Luke 8) Jesus begins teaching in parables, starting with perhaps the most well-known parable, the parable of the soils. Yet as He taught, the disciples were confused (v. 10; cf. also Mt. 13:10; Lk. 8:9) — why was He changing His method of teaching, and […]

The compassion of Christ

A student once asked anthropologist Margaret Mead the indications of civilization in a culture. He thought that she might reply with something like a clay pot or a fish hook or a grinding stone. Instead, he was surprised by her answer, “a healed femur.” Mead explained to the young student that no healed femurs are […]

He’s about forgiveness

Some things never change. Ask the bystander on the street (or in the mall) about Jesus and it might be said that He was a wise teacher, or an inspiring model to follow, or a moderate political activist, or a social reformer, or a compassionate servant and healer. But few will address the reason Christ […]

The miracles are not about the miracles

In Matthew 9, the writer records five healings or miracles of Jesus: the healing of the paralytic man the healing of the hemorrhaging woman the raising of the official’s daughter from the dead the healing of the two blind men the casting out of the demon from the mute man Additionally, Matthew notes that “Jesus […]

Honoring Christ

It’s late Saturday morning and you are trying to make progress on your too-long weekend to-do list when your door bell rings. You weren’t expecting company and as you go to the door you glance outside the window and don’t see a car in the driveway. “I wonder who it could be,” you muse. You […]

Only God

We like stories. Sometimes they are dramatic, sometimes inspiring, sometimes perplexing, sometimes amusing, and almost always entertaining. But we don’t just tell stories to entertain each other. Our stories have purpose; they are designed ultimately to illustrate a truth and instruct the mind and conscience. The writers of Scripture used stories in the same way […]

Nowhere to lay His head

The humanity of Christ is a great comfort for believers. Certainly we are dependent on His deity, for that is where His authority and His redemptive powers reside, yet in His humanity, we have a Savior who is sympathetic to our needs. He understands us and our circumstances (e.g., Heb 4:14-16). Yet it can be […]

Jesus prayed

It’s a short sentence almost hidden (you will miss it if you read too quickly) between two accounts of healing by Jesus: “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Lk. 5:16). Now think about that for a minute. Jesus was a man, but He was also fully God. He had […]

Three portraits of Christ

In John 2, Christ interacts with three different groups of people: His mother and the members of a wedding party, the Jewish leaders in the Temple, and a broader group of people in Jerusalem. [Aside: It’s interesting that the ones who are most prominent at a wedding — the bride and groom — are not […]

The temptation of Christ

Among evangelicals, there are two ways of thinking about Christ and His temptation. No orthodox believer thinks that Christ sinned, but there is debate about whether he could have sinned. The view that Christ could have sinned is termed peccability (“able not to sin”) while the view that Christ could not have sinned is designated […]

Satan and temptation

The temptation of Jesus (Mt. 4:1-11) is often used as an illustration of how Satan attacks believers, or how believers should respond to Satan’s deceptive offerings, or how the Word of God is sufficient for every need, or how Christ is sympathetic to our temptations because He has endured every kind of temptation. All those […]

What shall we do?

I moved to Southern California early in the summer of 1984 — the year the Olympics were held in Los Angeles. Virtually as soon as we arrived, we noted that there was a barrage of information about what to do to prepare for the traffic nightmare that was anticipated to ensue as soon as the […]

He has authority

Writing in World a few years ago, Gene Veith observed that, “People today want to feel moral. But they do not want objective, transcendent absolutes — such as the Ten Commandments — whose authority comes from God.…They prefer to construct an ethical system that does not make them feel guilty.” In general, people want authority, […]

The beloved Son

It seems self-evident that a father would love his child. There are aberrations to that statement, but in general it’s true (as Christ Himself verified, Mt. 7:9-11). Even unredeemed men enjoy taking their sons to the park to throw the ball and are happily willing to sit down with their elementary-aged daughters for “tea.” And […]