Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Sometimes we know that a major event is ahead of us, but we don’t experience the importance until we come very close to it. Everyone who sits an exam should have prepared for it, but even the best student has some apprehension when the time of the exam draws near. While the event is not a surprise, the realisation of what depends on it brings extra pressures. That kind of experience is a poor illustration of what Jesus went through in Gethsemane. Unusual aspects As we consider the incident, we will see some surprising aspects. One of them is that Jesus allowed others to see him in his distress. We know that the disciples fell asleep during their time in the garden, but if they had remained awake they would have seen all his actions and heard all his cries. The fact that Jesus allowed himself to be seen at that time is a challenge to how we react in situations which threaten us and look as if they might overpower us. Often, we put on an external appearance that is the opposite of...

Paul continues with his theme of his readers ‘working out their own salvation’. In the previous verses his challenge to them included the necessity of doing so with fear and trembling because of the presence of God. The Lord sees everything that takes place in their lives and he also knows their motives. Clearly the presence of God should cause believers to behave correctly. If they do not, then he will chastise them. What does Paul have in mind when he urges his readers to engage in this activity? His desire is that they would become like Jesus. So we should bear in mind the description of Jesus that Paul gave in verses 5-8, especially about humility, and in verses 9-11, especially about pleasing the Father. Living before a watching world The first reason that Paul gives is that his readers should remember who is watching them. He reminds them that it is not only God who is doing so. There is another audience observing them, and that is the society in which they live, which P...

The time remaining on earth for Jesus before he would be arrested is getting very short. In a few hours he will be arrested and crucified. Yet it is obvious that he wanted to spend the evening with his disciples and we know from John’s Gospel that Jesus gave a lot of instruction to his disciples while they were together in the upper room, even although John does not mention the change to the Lord’s Supper. But then Matthew, Mark and Luke don’t mention that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet at that time. A very significant day It is worth reminding ourselves that in the Jewish reckoning of time the institution of the Lord’s Supper took place on the same day as the trials and crucifixion of Jesus. As far as the Jews were concerned, the day began with sunset and ended with sunset. In our reckoning, the Lord’s Supper took place on Thursday evening, and the other events are timed on that evening or else during the next day. We regard the crucifixion as taking place on the Friday. In t...

Paul begins these verses with a ‘therefore’, which alerts us to a connection between what he has previously written and what he is about to write. I suppose the ‘therefore’ could refer to the example of Christ in verses 6-8, or to the future universal acknowledgement of Christ when all will confess that he is Lord, or to the demand that everything should be done to the glory of God the Father. In any case, we can see how each of these possible references should affect our Christian living. In these two verses, Paul reveals his pastoral heart. He displays affection when he calls them ‘my beloved’, he gives encouragement regarding their obedience, and he also writes with a measure of seriousness. Of course, pastors and other church leaders should have other qualities, but these three are essential features of a Christlike pastor.  His description of the Philippians also shows Paul’s apostolic authority because he says that previously they have obeyed his teachings. His authority...

As we know, the time we are studying in this section in Matthew is the last week in the life of Jesus. The previous chapters had detailed what took place on the Tuesday and we now move on to the Wednesday. Jesus tells his disciples that Passover is in two days time, on the Friday. It looks as if Matthew (and Mark) have inserted here an account of the anointing of Jesus by Mary in Bethany which had happened a few days previously (see John 12). Most  commentators suggest that what Matthew and Mark did was place the account of Mary here because they wanted to make a contrast between her and the religious leaders and with the disciples as well, especially Judas. There is nothing inappropriate in such a method. In this way, it is possible to say that the accounts are of the same incident.  When we read the account of Matthew, we can see that there are several contrasts in this passage and we can consider some of them. Contrast 1 – who is in charge? Jesus says to his discip...

These verses in Philippians contain the second half of Paul’s description of the person and work of Christ. While the previous verses concerned the humiliation of Jesus (vv. 6-8), these verses are concerned with his exaltation (vv. 9-11). The previous verses were also concerned with what Jesus did in order to humble himself whereas these verses are concerned with what the Father did in exalting Jesus. As we think of these verses, we can see that are an example of his own teaching regarding the path to exaltation. In Matthew 23:12, he said: ‘And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ Jesus had not exalted himself, instead he humbled himself and then experienced exaltation by his Father. Paul, in these verses, is referring to the exaltation of the humanity of Jesus. Prior to the ascension, the feet of Jesus had never walked the streets of heaven, the eyes of Jesus had never gazed on its splendour, the ears of Jesus had not heard its lang...