In the Life of Christ There is something wonderfully refreshing about John the Baptist in Luke 3:15–20. The crowds are beginning to wonder whether John might actually be the Messiah. That would have been an intoxicating moment for almost anyone. Imagine people beginning to whisper that perhaps you are the person God has promised forContinue reading “When the Messenger Refuses the Spotlight”
Category Archives: Jesus Christ
Read the Sermon from the Foot of the Cross
In the Life of Christ When I read the Sermon on the Mount, I can easily turn Jesus’ words into a spiritual checklist. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Pray sincerely. Give without seeking recognition. Refuse lust and hatred. Treat others as you would want to be treated. Those commands are so direct thatContinue reading “Read the Sermon from the Foot of the Cross”
The Savior Who Comes Into the Room
In the Life of Christ There is something about Mark 1:29–34 that makes Jesus feel wonderfully near. He has just left the synagogue in Capernaum, where everyone has been astonished by His authority. He taught unlike the scribes. He commanded an unclean spirit, and it obeyed Him. Then Jesus walks out of that very publicContinue reading “The Savior Who Comes Into the Room”
Repentance That Shows Up on Monday
In the Life of Christ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. — Luke 3:10 That may be one of the healthiest questions anyone can ask after hearing the truth of God: What should I do now? John the Baptist had been preaching repentance with enough force to shake people out of their comfortableContinue reading “Repentance That Shows Up on Monday”
Turn Around—The King Is Coming
In the Life of Christ There is something refreshingly uncomplicated about John the Baptist. He does not arrive in Luke’s Gospel trying to build a following around himself. He has one message because, ultimately, he has one mission: prepare people for Jesus. Luke tells us that John went throughout the Jordan region “preaching a baptismContinue reading “Turn Around—The King Is Coming”
When Love Turns Over the Tables
In the Life of Christ There are moments in the life of Jesus that refuse to fit into the comfortable picture we sometimes create of Him. John 2:13–17 is one of those moments. Jesus enters Jerusalem at Passover, walks into the temple courts, sees the buying and selling taking place there, makes a whip fromContinue reading “When Love Turns Over the Tables”
When Jesus Redraws the Picture of a Christian
In the Life of Christ Every generation develops a mental picture of what a Christian is supposed to look like. Sometimes that picture is shaped by Scripture. Sometimes it is shaped by habit, tradition, personality, or the expectations of the religious community around us. That is why the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7Continue reading “When Jesus Redraws the Picture of a Christian”
WHEN DARKNESS KNOWS WHO JUST WALKED IN
In the Life of Christ There is a striking moment early in Mark’s Gospel that I think we can read too quickly. Jesus enters the synagogue at Capernaum, teaches with an authority unlike that of the scribes, and suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cries out. Mark 1:24 records the spirit saying, “What doContinue reading “WHEN DARKNESS KNOWS WHO JUST WALKED IN”
When God Speaks from the Wilderness
In the Life of Christ Luke does something interesting before John the Baptist ever begins preaching. He gives us names. Important names. Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate. Herod. Philip. Lysanias. Annas. Caiaphas. These were the people who occupied the political and religious structures of authority in John’s day. If you had asked the average person whereContinue reading “When God Speaks from the Wilderness”
When Jesus Keeps the Best Until Now
In the Life of Christ “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” — John 2:5 What we truly believe eventually shows up in the way we live. We may say that we trust God, but trust becomes visible when life puts something beyond our control. That is one reason I loveContinue reading “When Jesus Keeps the Best Until Now”