Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

The return journey from Emmaus would have take much less time that getting to the village from Jerusalem. When they reached the location, the couple found the disciples there. There is something sad and solemn about the description for here they are for the first time called ‘the eleven’. One of the number had not only betrayed Jesus but had taken his own life. Despite having spent years with Jesus, Judas had never discovered the graciousness of Jesus. They are called ‘the eleven’ although Thomas was not with them on this occasion, as John tells us in his account. In this sermon, we can consider three questions: (1) what happened when Jesus met Peter? (2) What did Jesus say when he met the disciples? (3) What invitation did he give to the disciples when they met him? The compassion of Jesus for Peter The couple from Emmaus believed that they had great news for their friends in Jerusalem concerning the reality of the Saviour’s resurrection. But before they could explain what they had ex...

It was a very important day in the history of Jerusalem when the people held their dedication service regarding the wall that Nehemiah had rebuilt. Yet it would be appropriate to ask if there were any consequences of that meeting. Nehemiah informs us in the passage we are considering that there were both good and bad outcomes. The good outcomes occurred immediately, on the same day, but the bad ones took a while, even a few years, to show themselves. Yet there were connections between them because some of the bad outcomes appeared in the areas of life improved by the good outcomes. The Good Outcomes The first good outcome is detailed in 12:44-47. Supervisors of storerooms were appointed to look after the donations or tithes that the people of Judah gladly gave for the upkeep of the priests and Levites (the Levites did various tasks, such as being gatekeepers of the temple or singers in the temple as well as reading God’s Word to the people). Those contributions by the people were made ...

There are some similarities between these stories. In each a son of Abraham is facing death because of an instruction given by God, but an angel speaks to the parent about deliverance. God had told Abraham to send Hagar away and he had told Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Ishmael seemed to be near death because of lack of water where he was placed, and Isaac seemed to be near death because of his location. An angel of God spoke to Hagar about a supply of water and the angel of the Lord spoke to Abraham about him not having to offer Isaac, and Abraham saw that providentially a ram had been caught in a nearby thicket. In both cases, the solutions which seemed impossible were actually close by. We can see from verse 1 of Genesis 22 that this incident with Isaac is a divine test of Abraham’s obedience. It follows on from another test that the Lord had made of him. In the previous chapter, God had told Abraham to send his other son Ishmael away. And we can see that Abraham complie...

We can well imagine that there would be a great deal of confusion in the thinking of the disciples at this time. The previous few days had been like a rollercoaster for them, with each of them being thrown all over the place mentally and emotionally, as totally unexpected events took place. Their hopes about Jesus had been thoroughly dashed, inexplicable rumours had spread about his body being missing from the tomb of Joseph, and some female disciples had claimed to have seen angels in a vision which stated that he was alive. There would have been a real sense of bewilderment. Talking together (24:13-14) The two we meet with in this passage had decided to go home. One of the couple is identified as Clophas, a man. The other person may have been his wife or perhaps his brother (maybe Clophas had become known in the church, but the other person had not, which would be why only one is named). Given that they stayed near Jerusalem, they were possibly not from Galilee, which would make them...

Sometimes, the people of God have a public celebration. In the Bible, we can think of the celebration of the children of Israel at the Red Sea over the great victory that God had given to them over their enemies. Or we could think of the occasion when David participated in the celebration connected to the ark of the covenant coming to Jerusalem. On those occasions, the people danced and sang with delight and joy. But we don’t only look back to historical events. The gospel allows us to look forward to a great celebration when Jesus will return and his people, a number that no one can count, will gather in the presence of God and thank him joyfully for his great salvation. We could almost say that the smaller celebrations are pointers to the greater one that is to come. And if that was true of Miriam and David, so also was it true of Nehemiah who with Ezra led the celebrations after he with God’s help had made the city secure by completing the wall. It would be beneficial for us to stud...

It may surprise us to see that the first mention of an angel in the Book of Genesis occurs in Genesis 16 with reference to Hagar. It should also surprise to see that the angel who is mentioned is no ordinary angel. We will see that is the case by considering what is said about him. The background The background to the incident is the flight of Hagar from the community gathered around Abram, a community in which the fear of God was found and where he was worshipped. Hagar was an Egyptian, the servant of Sarai, the wife of Abram. As was common in the custom of the time, Hagar had been used by Sarai to try and produce a child as an heir for Abram. Their plan seemed to have worked. Not surprisingly, Hagar regarded Sarai with contempt. Was this community not meant to be different? Sarai’s response was to treat Hagar harshly. Indeed, she did it so strongly that Hagar felt compelled to flee from the community. We can see that the whole situation has gone wrong. Abram and Sarai had used a worl...

Women ministered to Jesus and his disciples during his travels. We don’t know when this practice commenced; Luke in 8:1-3 informs us that it was taking place: ‘Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.’ At least Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James were in Jerusalem at this time (Luke 24:10); so also was Salome (Mark 16:1). But there were others as well. No doubt, they helped Jesus because he had helped them. While we are only told about the help he gave to Mary Magdalene, each of them was grateful to him for revealing his grace to them. There is something very counter-cultural about the way Luke presents ...