Reading the Gospel

Of all the burdens of life, sin is the heaviest. For those enslaved by sin and being crushed under its burden of guilt and shame, the invitation of Jesus, "Come to Me, and I will give you rest," is everything their hearts desire. However, this might be the most misunderstood invitation in history. Jesus calls us to Himself to exchange His burden and yoke with ours. This episode identifies seven st...

Jesus honors John the Baptist in front of the crowd as the greatest prophet ever. Jesus looks at John's whole life and ministry without referencing his moments of weakness and discouragement. Jesus sets an example for spiritual leaders today to honor those who serve God faithfully. We may not understand completely why God did not send His representatives to perform mighty miracles in the non-Jewis...

John the Baptist heard about Jesus' success in preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out demons. And John was in prison, alone, discouraged, and troubled by questions about Jesus and himself. He sent two trusted disciples to ask Jesus, " Are you the One ?" Without pointing to the fragility of human nature and the dwindling of faith in difficult moments, Jesus' answe...

On the surface, this story looks like a routine miracle of Jesus, but it is very deep and rich. Jairus' faith differs from the centurion's, who believed Jesus could heal his servant remotely. Jesus' words that built Jairus' hope are accompanied by one of the most powerful promises, that death is temporary, like sleep, pointing to the morning of the resurrection. This story reminds us that Jesus is...

This healing story describes a weak, shy woman suffering from an incurable chronic disease, touching Jesus' garment from behind and receiving "power" from the source of life and healing. After being healed, this unnamed woman is able to stand in the middle of the crowd and share her testimony. This story has inspired thousands of people in her time (Mark 6:56) and millions later to "touch" Jesus o...

This story, which happens after a full day of preaching in parables and a long stormy night on the sea, brings into focus the direct confrontation between the newly established kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The evidence points to the rules of engagement between these two powers in conflict, with Christ setting the limits for time and space. It is a story that reveals a God that is in...

Calming the storm on the Lake of Galilee was a surprise, even if it was an answer to prayer. The surprise comes from the fact that we want God to answer our prayers in a specific way, as we think. The twelve disciples learned that Jesus was in charge of more than disease and demons; He was in charge of everything else in life. If we start the day with the mindset that God is in control, we walk fe...

This episode is about two applicants to be trained as disciples of Jesus. The first one, a Jewish law teacher, had ulterior motives for joining the select group of disciples. The other applicant, an already occasional follower of Jesus, was also contemplating full-fledged discipleship, but for later in life. Both applicants had their priorities not aligned with the commandment, “Seek first the kin...

The parables from the Sermon by the Sea, as recorded in Matthew 13, illustrate the nature, value, and growth of the Gospel. We receive the Gospel in four different ways. The seed of the Gospel grows in one’s heart as the planted seed grows in the soil. However, the Enemy will plant his seeds of unsanctified cares and worldly pleasures, ending in bitterness, discord, and envy. The Gospel is receive...

Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35 raises many questions, the foremost of which is, Why does Jesus speak in parables? This episode is a general introduction to Christ’s parables. In the first part of the episode, we focus on five reasons Jesus speaks in parables, and in the second part, we point to seven principles of parable interpretation. According to Jesus, people fall into two categories: those who, whi...

In this story, Jesus looks cold, distant, or disrespectful toward His family. But the key to unlocking this story is John 7:5. Moreover, Jesus extends His family to everyone who loves and obeys the will of God. Don’t stay outside. Come inside, and learn from Jesus!

If we want, we always find reasons for unbelief. The Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus could not deny His miracles but accused Him of using Satan's power to perform them. That is the sin against the Holy Spirit. When we continually deny the work of the Spirit or appropriate that work to Satan, there is no one else to work on our hearts to produce repentance. In this story, Jesus demonstrates the...

Jesus resurrects a widow's deceased son without being asked. What moves Jesus to initiate and execute every step of the process? Moreover, this miracle does not require faith or expressed desire as a prerequisite. In this story, we identify God's strategy to challenge the dominion of death and bring assurance that one day, death will be no more.

This second tour through the villages of Galilee - as the first one - focuses primarily on preaching the gospel and teaching the principles of the kingdom of God. In addition to the twelve, Jesus takes a group of women disciples, those healed of a disease or demon possession. Both men and women are created in the image of God, redeemed by the substitutionary death of Christ, called to serve, and e...

Why would Satan make a person mute? Satan tries to hurt God and destroy His people in many ways and forms. The educated, soft-spoken, dressed-up Pharisee and the violent, self-cutting, always-screaming demon-possessed man living in the tombs were both controlled by the same demonic power and had the same destructive purpose. This story, and many others in the gospels, remind us that Jesus is more...

The healing of these two blind men in Capernaum, while similar to other healing events, reveals more about Jesus' ministry and character. In this story, He is accessible to people; He can be found when they are in need. The two blind men are united in the plural "we," they do not compete for healing. Pain and suffering bring people together. Do you have spiritual friends you can count on when you...

A Roman army commander asked Jesus to come and heal his sick servant, whom he valued highly. This story builds on the tension between the elders' statement, "he is worthy," and the centurion's assessment, "I am not worthy." We have the same inner struggle when we pray to God, especially when we ask for forgiveness. Am I worthy? In those moments, we should remember that Jesus considered us worthy t...

After focusing on the nature of His Kingdom and its citizens' privileges, in Matthew 7 Jesus enumerates our responsibilities. To build our lives on the solid rock of the Word of God, to beware of false prophets,  to judge no one because having a log in our eyes we cannot see others clearly, to treat others the way we would like them to treat us, and to ask God for whatever we lack in regard to all...

The second part of the Sermon on the Mount focuses on the personal relationship with God, which should not be performed in public, but rather manifested "in secret." Prayer, fasting, helping the needy, laying up treasures in heaven, having a positive outlook on life, and trusting God as provider, are among the privileges of the citizens of the Kingdom. The Pharisees considered all these to be resp...

After appointing the twelve disciples, Jesus proclaimed the constitution of His Kingdom, including the bill of privileges and responsibilities for its citizens. Matthew 5 defines the nature of the Kingdom and proclaims its core principles in the form of eight beatitudes. This chapter is built on the tension between mingling with the world we are called to transform - as the salt mingles with the f...

When He became popular, Jesus chose twelve disciples to train and send to other towns and villages. Jesus was growing His ministry, and His method was people. Among the twelve there were old and new followers, coming from different places and walks of life. Some were inclined to doubt, others to fight. Others were just looking for an opportunity. But if they had one thing in coming, it was a deep...

Before this event, Jesus was accused of breaking the Sabbath after He healed someone. This time, the Pharisees are looking to accuse Jesus before He performs a miracle. Evil has grown in their hearts. Jesus uses this man with a withered hand as an open lesson to teach people about God's intended purpose for keeping the Sabbath, which is to save and do good. What a contrast with those Jews' intenti...

When confronted by the Pharisees for breaking the rabbinic rules in regard to keeping the Sabbath, Jesus pointed to the story of Creation and reminded them that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Human beings are so important to Him, that He set aside one-seventh of His time to spend with Adam and Eve. He designed the Sabbath to be a channel of delivering His spiritual blessings, to connect us with Hi...

Talking to John's disciples, Jesus encourages them to cut ties with the Jewish traditions, such as fasting, and have a fresh start in His kingdom. Jesus is not against fasting, but there is a time for everything: a time for celebrating and a time for fasting. We need to pray for the wisdom to understand each time. What is Jesus calling you to do now?

The calling of a tax collector named Levi Matthew surprises us. In fact, God always surprises us! In those times, tax collectors were considered double sinners, because they sold their souls to the Roman Empire to collect the tax and then extort their Jewish brothers. But Jesus justified this action by saying: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners!" Are you called by God?