Meeting With Christ

God is not a God of the few, a God of the wise, or a God only of those who think they are spiritual. He is a God who will go to great lengths to search for the sinner – any sinner. That is what Jesus wanted to communicate in the parable of the lost sheep. Let’s read that story. Luke 15.1. Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes comp...

Today we are going to look at this beautiful parable of the Lord's teaching in Luke 15.8-10, what is usually called the Parable of the Lost Coin. I have no hesitation to say that it is a very beautiful parable and yet, it is stated so briefly in these three verses. This is what we read. Luke 15.8-10. Luke 15.8. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, s...

The parable of the lost son is probably one of the most powerful pictures of the forgiving love of God. Through that story, Jesus presents a vivid illustration of God and His mercy for repentant sinners. The passage goes from Luke 15.11 to v. 32. Since it is rather long to read, I will just describe it. Text format available. Read and download this episode in text format on our website at the foll...

Of all the parables of Jesus, the parable of the shrewd steward is probably the most difficult one to interpret. The story raises many puzzling questions. Particularly troubling is the commendation by the master of his manager who, in the text, is presented as a dishonest person. How can this unrighteous manager be held as an example for the Christians to follow? We will consider this question in...

Among all the parables that Jesus had taught, there is only one which does not limit its action to events in this world but carries over into the next. It is the parable of the rich fool and Lazarus. Let’s read this interesting story. Luke 16.19. "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 "But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus,...

This lesson forms the second part of a study on the parable of the rich fool and Lazarus. We mentioned in the first part that the kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’ parables. This kingdom refers to God’s rule or reign. We used the word ‘kingship’, the kingship of God, and we explained why it is important to understand it well. Without the kingship of God in a person’s life, salvation is...

In order to give His disciples a perspective on the meaning of servanthood, the Lord Jesus told the parable of the unprofitable servant. This story is found in Luke 17.7-10. We will read from v. 5. Luke 17.5. And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6 And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the se...

Christian believers must be patient in prayer until the Lord’s return. That is the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the unjust judge. Let’s read this story. Luke 18.1-8. Luke 18.9. And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gath...

We know from personal experience that things are not always what they appear to be. People are not necessarily what they might seem to be on the surface. The parable of the Pharisee and tax-collector causes us to be reminded of this fact of life. It is a story in which we find a reversal of the normal human perception of spirituality. Let’s read it in Luke 18.9-14. Luke 18.9. And He also told this...

The kingdom of God exists in the present, but is also in a state of expectant fulfillment. It is therefore ‘now’, but at the same time ‘not yet’. Because the Jews struggled to understand this two-stage view of the kingdom, Jesus told the parable of the pounds. He did this by indirectly referring to events that had taken place more than thirty years ago and which were still in the memory of His lis...

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Many Christians are familiar with this verse in James 1.22. 'Don't just listen. Do it.' It summarizes well the parable that we are going to study today. In the Parable of the Two Sons, the Lord Jesus teaches that the person who refuses to do what is asked of him but who subsequently changes his mind and does the task is...

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants has the characteristic of being both historical and predictive. It is historical because Jesus told the history of Israel as God sees it. It is predictive because the Lord revealed precisely what was going to happen to Israel: the nation was going to reject the Son of God. And because of their rejection, God will transfer the responsibility of the kingdom to other...

The Parable of the Wedding Feast is the third in a series of three and forms the climax to the Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21.28-32) and of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21.33-46). It contains the good news of an open invitation to salvation. But as we will see, it also contains the sobering reminder of the seriousness of discipleship for those who respond to the invitation. Let's read the stor...

We will continue today our study of the Parable of the Wedding Feast. We concluded the lesson the last time by saying that the believer must wear the appropriate clothes at the wedding feast. He must wear a wedding garment. Without that garment, there can be no guarantee of salvation. The parable mentions a man who was without such a garment. He was later thrown into the outer darkness where there...

The Sadducees were a political party of priestly and aristocratic tendency which became relatively influential in Israel at the time of Jesus. They had one particularity: they denied the idea of a life after death. The Sadducees accepted only the first five books of the OT as authoritative. For them, the Pentateuch was the supreme authority in matters of faith. And they maintained that since they...

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught how to live. The counterpart of the Sermon on the Mount is, in my opinion, Matthew 23 where Jesus taught how not to live. In this chapter, Matthew 23, Jesus criticized false religion, especially false religious leadership. The tone of His message is extremely harsh. It has a lengthy introduction (vv. 1-12), then a very long body composed of seven woes (vv....

In our previous lesson, we began the study of Matthew 23, a well-known chapter where Jesus exposed ruthlessly the failings of the religious leaders. Seven times He used the solemn expression 'woe to you.' Six times He called them 'hypocrites.' Twice He spoke of them as 'blind guides,' twice as 'fools and blind,' and once as 'serpents and a brood of vipers.' This is probably the most stern and sust...

Matthew 23 contains seven denunciations against the Jewish leaders. 'Woe to you,' Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees. We saw in our previous lesson that the expression 'woe to you' is an exceptional cry of grief as well as a threatening complaint. We have already discussed woe #1, #2, #3 and #4. In this lesson, we will look at woe #5, #6, and #7. Matthew 23 contains seven denunciations agains...

The Lord Jesus denounced the Pharisees more than any other kind of people. We saw in the last two lessons that in Matthew 23, He called them 'hypocrites' six times (verses 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29) and explained various manifestations of that spiritual problem. We saw that it is something perilous, something that will result in spiritual death. Jesus said very plainly that the place of the hypocrite...

In our last lesson, we were discussing the subject of hypocrisy in Matthew 23 and we saw that hypocrisy is a sin that has catastrophic consequences. When Jesus said, How will you (scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites) escape being condemned to hell (Matthew 23.33)? or He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24.51...

In the past few lessons, we have been studying Matthew 23. We spent quite some time on the seven 'woes,' seven accusations against the scribes and the Pharisees for their failure to live up to their position as guardians and teachers of God's law. Today I would like to return to the last woe and explore the concept of sonship from a biblical perspective. What does the Bible teach about sonship? Le...

We have studied many of Jesus' words and now we are approaching His teaching concerning the last days, the end time. In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age ? In theology, the subject of 'the end of the age' is called 'eschatology.' Eschatology is from the Greek word eschatos , which means '...

One of the sternest words the Lord Jesus ever used to sinners is found in Matthew 23.33:  You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?  Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, calling them serpents and the sons of vipers. ‘You are the offspring of snakes that cannot escape the damnation of hell!’ There is one topic here that we need to look at, and it concerns the Lor...

This lesson is the second part of a teaching on hell. We concluded our last lesson by looking at three biblical expressions related to hell: (1) 'the weeping and gnashing of teeth,' (2) 'the fire of hell,' and (3) 'the outer darkness.' We mentioned that though the imagery is different, all these expressions involve the idea of death. The 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' is the reaction of a person...

Jesus' great love for Israel is seen in a passage which is often known as 'Christ's lament over Jerusalem.' Let's read this passage. Matthew 23:37-39. Here Jesus sighed from the depth of His heart and wept. Matthew 23:37. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her w...