Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

​ Psalm 110 is cited several times in the New Testament. Jesus mentioned it on different occasions and some scholars argue that the letter to the Hebrews is a sermon or exhortation based on the psalm. Peter referred to it in his address to the crowds gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. We cannot tell how much David grasped about the words he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write, although he would have realised that he was describing a divine Person who would have a throne, an army and a battle culminating in complete victory over his enemies. Christians, because they live in the period after the crucifixion of Jesus and because they have the New Testament as well as the Old Testament and because they have been given the Spirit in greater measure than believers did in Old Testament times, can locate where the details of this psalm fit into the order of events that involved Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament. Identification David begins his psalm by des...

It has often been observed how much instruction Jesus gave at mealtimes or at feasts. We can think of the meal that Matthew laid on for Jesus or the Passover meal that the disciples arranged for Jesus in the Upper Room. The request There are many reasons for asking a person for a meal. In New Testament times it was a sign of friendship and fellowship. Is that why the Pharisee asked Jesus to his home for a meal? Probably not, given the details that are mentioned subsequently. So why would the Pharisee have asked him? One reason could have been a desire to have a well-known person in his house because it would look good to others. A second reason could have been a desire to trap Jesus and get him to do or say something wrong. And a third reason could have been a wish to demean Jesus because the Pharisee did not offer to Jesus common courtesies connected to the comfort of a guest. Maybe he invited Jesus only out of curiosity, to find out more about him. Yet Jesus went to the man’s...

Luke in Acts 9:19-30 gives a brief summary of what happened to Paul after his conversion. The details he mentions here are not the only ones found in the New Testament about this period. In Galatians 1:15-24, Paul mentions some other details, including the length of time between his conversion and his return to Jerusalem, which was three years. Paul was aware of his calling as an apostle of the Gentiles (Gal. 1:15), although he does not mention any contact with them during those three years, unless it was when he went to Arabia. Yet since he knew what he was going to be, it is appropriate to regard them as years of preparation. We can consider the progress by looking at geographical locations that he mentions. In Arabia Paul mentions in the passage from Galatians that the first thing he did after his conversion was not to consult with anyone, not even with the apostles in Jerusalem. Instead he went into Arabia (Gal. 1:17), which is a term that describes the area around Dam...

This particular visit by Jesus to his home synagogue is also told by Mark (6:1-6). Another visit, which occurred earlier after his period of temptation in the desert, is recorded by Luke (4:16-30). On that previous occasion, the people of Nazareth were so incensed by Jesus’ address that they tried to throw him over the cliff near the edge of the town. This caused Jesus to move his home to Capernaum. So here we have him returning to Nazareth for a brief visit. Why did Jesus return to Nazareth on this occasion? Perhaps he wanted to visit his family who still lived there and who had tried to get him to move back there. Or he would have wanted to give spiritual blessings to those he had lived alongside for years in that town. Given that Jesus did everything out of love we can be assured that this was a major reason why he went back. Despite its previous rejection of him, Nazareth had a place in the affections of Jesus. The earthly family of Jesus This paragraph is of interest...

John here writes a statement that is one of the profoundest ever written because it summarises the incredible experience of the Son of God. The apostle says that the Son became something that he was not before without ceasing to be what he always had been. We can consider some points he makes about what happened. The title of Jesus John here calls Jesus the Word and we can see that he has been using it since the beginning of the chapter. Why does he use this word to describe Jesus? So we can look back to how he uses it previously. In verse 1, we can see that John uses the title when describing the contact that Jesus had with God before verse 14 occurred. It was contact because John says that Jesus was with God – ‘with’ means contact. What does John say about this contact? First, he says that it was eternal because it took place before what he calls ‘the beginning’. By ‘the beginning’, he probably refers to the original creating of all things. This contact had been going on ...

The seventh parable in this seven-fold description of his kingdom by Jesus is different from the other six in that it focusses on what will happen at the close of this age when he returns. The previous six had described different aspects of the kingdom between his first and his second comings. Parable one about the sower and his seed illustrates different responses to the message of the kingdom. In parable two, about the weeds in a field, Jesus tells his disciples that expressions of evil will exist in his kingdom until the second coming – they were put there by the devil. Parables three and four tell us that despite the attempts of the devil to damage the kingdom it will continue to grow until it is very large. In parables five and six, Jesus mentions that his followers will not be converted in the same way, but they all will prize above all else the salvation found in him. Jesus informs his disciples about the meaning of his seventh parable, which he had not done with regard to ...