Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

If we were wanting to have a supporter in our cause, we would prefer that he had resources and was influential in the community. Imagine what the disciples would have thought initially when this important person indicated that he wanted to identify himself with Jesus. This man had wealth, energy, contacts and influence. He was very different from the disciples in those ways. Yet things did not work out as he had hoped. The Dialogue As we can see, the man was eager to hear from Jesus and respectful towards Jesus. Yet within his question to Jesus we can see that the man was full of self-confidence because he reckoned that he was able to do something to achieve eternal life. Moreover, we can deduce from the response of Jesus to the man’s use of the adjective ‘good’ that he had not grasped who Jesus really is. He recognised that Jesus was a guide, but he did not appreciate that Jesus was God. In addition, we can see that he did not understand grace, but instead had a legalistic atti...

Jesus was aware that the day of his death was drawing near. He knew that it was going to take place in Jerusalem during the upcoming Passover, and he journeyed there determined to fulfil his mission. Yet he also knew that he would engage in various activities before his arrest and would need a base while he was there. The place that he chose to stay in was with a family he knew well in Bethany, the place of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Simon the leper John tells us that the Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha lived in Bethany. Matthew and Mark say that the home in which this incident took place belonged to a man called Simon the leper. Clearly he was no longer a leper because if he was he could not have been present for the meal. Who was Simon the leper? There are several options. One is that he lived in another house from Lazarus and his sisters, perhaps one that was bigger and more suitable for feeding a large number of people. Another option is that he was the father of Laza...