Trust in God and faithfulness to his Kingdom will surmount seemingly impossible obstacles.
Fig Tree Parable
The Fig Tree parable offers assurance that despite the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, Israel will eventually be redeemed.
Carrion Birds
Carrion Birds describes the enormity of the destruction Jesus foresaw. Israel would be rendered carrion to be picked over by the Roman legions.
Gospel Postcard: The Garden of Gethsemane
The traditional location of the Garden of Gethsemane is on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple Mount and its Golden Gate.
Yeshua’s Immersion
The words of the heavenly voice that spoke at Jesus’ immersion foreshadowed the trajectory of Jesus’ career.
Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance
In Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance John the Baptist challenges his audience, which had gone through all the trouble of going out to the Jordan River to receive his baptism, to accept his even more important advice: to repent of their evil deeds and imitate the faithfulness of Abraham their father.
Darnel Among the Wheat Parable
Is the Darnel Among the Wheat parable an allegory about eschatological events, or a lesson about God’s character?
Four Soils Parable
By not revealing what the Four Soils parable was about until its dramatic conclusion Jesus drew in his audience and held their attention, making them the very thing the parable urged them to be: good listeners.
Mustard Seed and Starter Dough Parables
Jesus used the Mustard Seed and Starter Dough parables to demonstrate that the Kingdom of Heaven is a living and active presence that is increasing within the realm of human experience.
Fathers Give Good Gifts Simile
Would you give a hungry child a poisonous arachnid to eat? Probably not, because even sinful human beings are not totally depraved. Would God give you something dangerous and destructive when you ask him for help? Certainly not, because he is the source and foundation of all goodness. In the Fathers Give Good Gifts simile, Jesus concludes his reassuring arguments that God can be trusted to provide for his full-time disciples when they pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry
In Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry Jesus confronted one of the most serious concerns of the disciples: how would their basic needs be met now that they had given up their possessions and livelihoods in order to itinerate full-time with Jesus?
Lost Sheep and Lost Coin Similes
With the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin similes Jesus explained to his critics that he ate and drank with “sinners” because God rejoices when a person repents. God wants his friends—including Jesus and Jesus’ critics—to join him in the celebration.
Holy Land Postcard: Hula Valley Nature Reserve
A visit to the Hula Valley Nature Reserve offers a different kind of Holy Land experience.
Jesus and a Canaanite Woman
Does the story of a Canaanite woman’s encounter with Jesus, which is found in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, show indications of having descended from a Hebrew source? Why did the author of Luke fail to include this story? Explore these questions and more in “Jesus and a Canaanite Woman.”
Sending the Twelve: “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”
Yeshua told his twelve emissaries: “There’s a huge harvest, but a shortage of harvesters. So send word to the owner of the field to hire more workers to help them finish the job.
“Go! But beware, I’m sending you out like a defenseless flock into a pack of ravenous wolves.”
Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple
When three eager prospective disciples asked permission to follow Jesus, Jesus responded to each of them with a riddle. Why would God allow Jesus and his followers to sleep on the ground when he provides safe places even for the animals to sleep? How can the dead bury a corpse? Why would a disciple set his hand to a plow when Elisha had given up plowing in order to follow Elijah? These riddles would have to be puzzled over before their meaning was fully understood. But each of the riddles were ominous, and it appears that each of the three prospective disciples reconsidered his desire to join Jesus.
Chickens and the Cultural Context of the Gospels
One aspect of the cultural context of the Gospels that is often overlooked is the role played by animals. In this article I will explore the significance of chickens in first-century Jewish culture and the part they play in the story of Jesus.
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