Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

We have seen that this prophecy is largely a collection of interactions between the Lord and the Israelites, sometimes with the priests and at other times with the people in general. They have complained against his providences, although as Malachi points out, these troubles came because they were not honouring the Lord as they should have done with their sacrifices and tithing. In verses 13 to 15, we see a repeated complaint that the people had. They accused the Lord of failing to bless his people, despite their perceived outward adherence to his commandments. Their eyes looked only on external matters, and therefore they noticed that they were worse off than those who did not acknowledge God. It is clear from the passage that these complainers were practising formalism . They wore the attire of mourners, but they did not have a broken and a contrite heart. The words of Jesus, ‘Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted,’ did not apply to them. Instead they were goi...

Matthew omits a detail found elsewhere (Jesus was taken first to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas) and instead focuses on the trial before Caiaphas. The fact that there were two high priests shows that those leaders paid no attention to the instructions of God about that role – the law stipulated that there could only be one high priest at a given time. Annas should have been the high priest, but the Roman authorities had also made his son-in-law Caiaphas high priest in a form of rotation. This particular trial does not seem to have involved the full Sanhedrin because it met later that day (Matt. 27:1). Perhaps Caiaphas had invited those members he could rely on or maybe some could not attend because the meeting was arranged suddenly. Jesus went through six trials at this time: (1) At the home of Annas, (2) at the home of Caiaphas, (3) the Sanhedrin, (4) before Pilate, (5) before Herod, and (6) before Pilate.  The people present here had met in anticipatio...

The Bible is full of many unknown characters who served Jesus in their day. Take, for example, Tychicus; in Acts 20:4 he accompanies Paul on his last journey to Jerusalem; he was with Paul in Rome during his first imprisonment and carried Paul’s letters to Ephesus (6:21) and to Colosse (4:7); later he went back to be with Paul (Titus 3:12) and he was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:12). Or take Priscilla and Aquila: they helped Paul evangelise Corinth (Acts 18); then they moved to Ephesus where a church met in their house (1 Cor. 16:19); later they moved to Rome where again a church met in their house (Rom. 16:3-5). Paul valued these forgotten servants of Christ. He describes Tychicus as ‘a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord’ (Col. 4:7), and he describes Priscilla and Aquila as those who ‘risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them’ (Rom. 16:4). Paul founded the church in Phi...

Malachi, in this book, is pointing out spiritual defects in the lives of the people of his day. Here he comes to deal with the matter of tithing. Because they had not tithed according to God’s instructions, they revealed that their hearts had departed from God. This practice had been going on for a long time, from the days of their fathers, which may be a reference to those who returned from the exile in Babylon or to those who lived before the exile. The people did not give the issue much thought. But God did; he regarded their failure as robbery.   There were three kinds of tithes in Israel. In general, they were used for the upkeep of the temple, the daily sustenance of the priests, and the care of the poor. The tithe was not limited to money but included a tenth of a variety of things. Failing to give as God required was the equivalent of plunder.   This is an astounding assessment. For a thief to rob a weak person is understandable even although it is a cruel crime; ...

In verse 46, Jesus had informed his disciples that Judas had arrived with his armed mob, with the intention of arresting his former Leader. It is evident from the words of Jesus that he wanted the disciples to go with him for he said, ‘Rise, let   us be going.’ He was not suggesting that they should run away from the mob and leave him by himself. Instead, just as he and they had gone together to Gethsemane, so they would go together to meet the mob. John does say in his account that after Jesus had revealed his glory in front of the mob, he told them to arrest him and let his disciples go. Obviously, he wanted them to have another view of his identity that was very different from what they had seen when he was distressed in Gethsemane. The sign Matthew says that Judas had agreed to identify who Jesus was for the mob. This action must have been required for one or more of several reasons. It may have been dark, but that is unlikely because Passover occurred at full moon and t...

So far in our studies in the second chapter of Philippians, we have considered profound doctrines connected to the person and work of Christ and to the nature of sanctification. In the closing passages of the chapter, Paul brings to our attention two of his colleagues (Timothy and Epaphroditus) and at first glance the descriptions of them are so straightforward that we might be tempted to imagine that these biographical profiles do not contain important matters. Yet we only have to ask one question and we will see that the passages are very significant. The question is, ‘How did Timothy and Epaphroditus come to have these characteristics in their lives?’ In verses 19 and 23, Paul reveals his intention to send his colleague Timothy to Philippi once he finds out the decision of the Roman court concerning his appeal to Caesar. Yet he submits his intention to a higher Lord than the Roman Emperor when he prefixes it with the words, ‘But I trust in the Lord Jesus.’ This prefix reveals a...