As Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He proclaimed six different ways that the Jewish leaders of His time had distorted and misused the high and holy Law of the Old Testament. In His protection against the rages of evil in this world, God gave commands against murder, adultery, and divorce so that sin would be restrained.
Read MoreIn the midst of Christ's busy ministry of teaching and healing throughout the region of Galilee, one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dine in his home. Many of the Pharisees had already rejected the Messiah completely, but this one was still struggling with how to understand the coming of Jesus and His remarkable miracles.
Read MoreThe disciples knew that something epic was coming. Jesus had performed incredible miracles right in front of their eyes. The lame walked, the blind could see, and the dead rose at His command. When He told the sea to be still, it obeyed.
Read MoreIt was a miracle that nobody had heard of before. A man that had been born blind…that didn’t even have the proper eyes to restore sight to…was given his sight. Once again, Jesus, the radical young preacher that was turning the nation of Israel upside down, had done something nobody could explain.
Read MoreThe Pharisees were looking for a way to accuse Jesus. If only He would do something that they could use against Him…if only they could get Him to break the Law.
Read MoreAs Jesus finished His astonishing teachings about prayer (see Story 151), He moved on from the region in the north and worked His way through Perea. He journeyed as far as the region of Judea, on the far side of the Jordan.
Read MoreJesus had a way of turning everything upside down. When the disciples tried to block the crowds from troubling Him with their children, Jesus not only told them to let the children come to Him…He told them that they needed to become more like the children!
Read MoreJesus was headed for Jerusalem. As they walked along the road, He strode with determination to move towards His task ahead. The disciples were amazed and full of fear. Everyone knew the rumors about the plans of the Sanhedrin.
Read MoreThe religious leaders were mad. And they were scared. Nobody, not even the most brilliant minds in the nation, had the courage to stand up to Jesus any more. He was too quick. He spoke with a power and an authority that they had no answer to.
Read MoreThursday of the week-long Passover Celebration had come. It was the Day of Unleavened bread, one of the highest feast days on the Jewish calendar. The official Passover lamb would be slaughtered in memory of that epic event in Egypt when God waged judgment on the Pharaoh.
Read MoreOn His last night with His disciples, Jesus finally made it clear. The Kingdom they were going to proclaim would be far different from what they had imagined, but it was also far greater and more wonderful. As Jesus looked ahead to the days and years to come, He lifted up His eyes to His Father in Heaven and prayed.
Read More
