For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Mal. 3:6 Think about the changing fortunes of Israel through the ages. Time and time again, the tiny family of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob was on the brink of extinction. Famine almost did them in, but God sent Joseph …
When Jesus saw it, he was much displeased (Mk. 10:14). What was our Lord displeased about? He was displeased - indeed, much displeased - that the disciples had rebuked those who brought their children to Jesus to be blessed. The disciples and the Lord had too very different ideas of what was …
And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Rev. 20:12 Revelation 20 begins with the famous passage on the millenium which has caused so many disputes and killed not a few trees from the paper generated over the volumes written upon it. I …
And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly. 2 Chron. 29:36 This sentence concludes the description of the restoration of divine worship under the leadership of King Hezekiah, after it had been sadly neglected under the reign of his …
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it. Jn. 14:13-14 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should …
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19 Christmas has come and gone for another year. It was so on the first Christmas as well. We are not to think that angels appeared to shepherds every night, or that mysterious magi kept showing up to give gifts. There was that …
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Mt. 1:23 What is the significance of the virgin birth in terms of the person and work of Christ? It’s not that God could not have brought his Son into …
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Mt. 1:21 What does this tell us about Christ? I love the fact that the Bible doesn’t leave us to guess. In fact, the names given to our Lord by the angel (v. 21) and by prophesy …
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. Mt. 1:18 Most of the time, when people talk about the arrival of Jesus in this world, the focus is on the humiliating circumstances in which he was born: the birth in a stable, laid in a feeding trough, born to humble and poor parents, welcomed by a …
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Mt. 1:1 Matthew begins his gospel with the words “the book of the generation (genesis - translated birth in 1:18) of Jesus Christ” (1:1). This is a title for chapters 1-2, which tells us who Jesus is and where he came …