In Luke 7:36-50 Jesus has been invited to dinner at a Pharisees house when a sinner woman (possibly a prostitute, at any rate a known sinner) shows up at the banquet room; according to H. H. Haley “an oriental banquet was a sort of public affair” so in accordance with that culture she had the […]
Weather you view the story in Luke 16:19-31 as a parable or an actual event the “bottom line” remains the same. Material wealth in itself should not be viewed as a sign of God’s favor and blessing, neither should the lack thereof, in itself, be viewed as a sign of His disfavor or judgment! God […]
In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus spoke a parable to all those that trust in their ancestry or their good works for salvation. In this parable He contrasts a Pharisee and a tax collector: the Pharisee, one of the religious elite, comes to the temple to pray and begins by telling God how good he is, he […]
In response to a question regarding religious observances in Matthew 9:16-17 Jesus speaks two parallel parables portraying the old covenant with the new, the old life with the new. The old forms of religion, which in this case was ritual fasting suggesting to us somberness and mourning over the brokenness caused by sin, but now […]
In Luke 15:8-10 Jesus uses the scenario of a woman that has lost a valuable silver coin. The message in this parable is exactly the same as that of the preceding one about the lost sheep, but using a different picture, the “or” in verse 8 clearly indicating this. Such coins were “often worn in […]
In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells a story of a father with two sons. Since we do not have space in this meditation to talk about both sons we are focusing on the younger, who approached the father asking to receive his inheritance early. According to Jewish law at the father’s death the younger son would […]
It is almost beyond our human comprehension that the Co-Creator of the entire universe would become an implanted seed, leaving the riches of heaven and be born of a woman into the poverty of fallen humanity; but “though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor…” 2 Corinthians 8:9. He was born in […]
The story of Zacchaeus recorded in Luke 19:1-10 is a true picture of one truly seeking to know God; Jesus was passing by and Zacchaeus had a real desire to see Him, an inner urge that in Matthew 5:6 Jesus called “hunger and thirst” saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for […]
The story of Christ’s Crucifixion is brought to us by all four gospel writers, but would be incomplete without the accompanying account of His Resurrection. Atonement for sin was made through His Crucifixion and the shedding of His blood, but New Life is obtained through His Resurrection! On that Resurrection morning more than two thousand […]
You may ask, Does God really hear my prayer, and if so does He answer the prayer of mere men? The Bible says “whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved’ Joel 2:32, a fact restated in Acts 2:21. That means even if you are not yet a Christian all you need […]