This story can be an unsettling one. We think of Jesus as full of compassion, yet when a Gentile woman came to him for help, he at first ignored her. Then Jesus spoke...
One of the things I love about the Gospels is how honest they are in their portrayal of the disciples. Not only does this fact argue strongly for their historical reliability, but it...
In Jesus' feeding of the 5,000, we glimpse his compassion for people. But his feeding miracles reveal more than this. They also connect Jesus with God's work and promises in the Old Testament. Even...
Along with the New Testament Gospels, the first-century Jewish historian Josephus records with scorn the fact that Herod Antipas married Herodias, who had been the wife of his own brother ...
A baseball player who donned the New York Yankees' pinstripes for the first time felt a challenge to new levels of excellence—as if his job description were rewritten and his performance standards...
“What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘excellence’?” I posed the question to my good friend Stuart Evey, age 71. In the 1970s, Stuart was a high-ranking executive with Getty Oil. In fact,...
Jesus had been going around in Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and doing mighty works of power. But when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth, those who had...
In 1911, Cal Rogers answered a national challenge to fly from New York to Long Beach in 30 days. Day one, he flew 105 miles. Day two, he crashed into a chicken coop...
The phrase "kingdom of heaven" appears commonly in the Gospel of Matthew. It is a variation of the phrase "kingdom of God" that appears occasionally in Matthew and more frequently in Mark and Luke....
As Jesus preached in the rural regions of Galilee, he naturally communicated his message with common illustrations from everyday life.
I'm not sure if you've noticed this, but churches are caught in the throes of a war over music and worship. Have been for close to 20 years I would say. At issue...
We know this parable as "The Parable of the Sower." But it could also be called "The Parable of the Soils." As Jesus interprets the parable in verses 18-23, he emphasizes the different...
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Jesus lived in a culture that prized family above just about everything else. Some Jewish teachers even claimed that honoring one's father and mother was the most important of the Ten Commandments....
Jesus used a familiar agricultural image to explain how the character of our life will produce either good or bad results. If we are a good "tree," then so will be our "fruit."...
For contemporary American and European readers of the Gospels, Jesus' encounters with demons can seem strange, otherworldly, and downright unsettling. We don't tend to think of our world as filled...
Jews in the time of Jesus were divided on the question of exactly what sort of activity should be permitted on the Sabbath. Among the Pharisees, some allowed for healing on the Sabbath...
Marcus here. Happy Fourth of July! I really shouldn't be posting today, but I couldn't resist linking to this great interview on Sam Van Eman's blog New Breed of Advertisers. Especially since the...
In the early 80's, my wife and I became rather hooked on British sit-coms, which were shown on PBS back in those days before we had cable or DVD. One of our favorites...
Jesus offered rest to those who were carrying "heavy burdens." This spoke especially to the Pharisees and those under their influence, who had "improved upon" God's law by making it much stricter...
