April 6 Luke 5 tells us about a miraculous catch of fish. Simon and his partners, James and John, had been fishing through the night without catching any fish. They had hauled their nets ashore and were cleaning them in preparation for the next night’s work. But, after teaching from one of the boats, Jesus…
The Bible is unapologetically Trinitarian, that is to say, from Genesis 1:1–2 to John 1:1, the Triune God is presented very clearly. And, in Jesus’ ministry, Dr. Luke drives home the close relationship between the Son of God and the Spirit of God, especially here in Luke 4. Some seven hundred years before Jesus’ birth,…
April 4 Following the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3–5, John, son of Zechariah, appears in the vicinity of the Jordan River preaching a very convicting message and urging his audience to repent. He didn’t just call for people to raise their hand, walk an aisle, shake a preacher’s hand, or be baptized as many today are…
April 3 Many of us over a certain age have seen A Charlie Brown Christmas on TV. Charles Schulz’s main character becomes discouraged with all of the commercialism of Christmas. At the pivotal moment, Charlie Brown cries out, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus van Pelt claims he knows. He…
April 2 Chapter 1 covers a lot of ground from Dr. Luke’s careful investigation into Jesus’ background, to his relative John’s birth after his father was struck speechless while serving in the Temple, and finally to Zechariah’s prophecy regarding his son. Luke was a Gentile physician, likely from Troas. His Gentile background is why he,…
Mark 16 Early Sunday Morning, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome went to the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea to put spices on Jesus’ body. Anointing the body was a customary way to pay respects to the deceased. On their way, the women wondered how they would access the tomb, since…
March 29 It’s surprising how much sway the Jewish leaders held over the common people. If you’ve seen a Christmas or Easter pageant, you probably saw the very same characters hail Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday (Mark 11:7–10) and cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion just a few moments later. But,…
March 28 In Mark 14:27–31, Jesus predicted that Peter would deny Him three times. Mark is the only Gospel writer who mentions a rooster crowing twice before Peter’s final denial. (Mark 14:30) All of the disciples present at the Passover feast boasted that they would never deny Jesus. (Mark 14:31) With a little digging through…
March 27 “Not even God Himself could sink this ship!” was the common thought about the R.M.S. Titanic before she sailed her tragic maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. In the first century A.D., a similar attitude was common regarding the Second Temple (Herod’s Temple), the massive complex of buildings with courts, colonnades, balconies, and…
March 26 Jesus tells another parable in Mark 12:1-12. In this story, a man plants a vineyard and hires tenant farmers to tend it. Note that although tenant farmers were given the responsibility of tending the vineyard, it still belonged to the owner of the vineyard. At harvest time, the owner of the vineyard sent…