Noah and Lot were far from perfect men, but they listened to their God (see Genesis 6-9 and 18:16-19:29). When God’s merciful warnings came, they had ears to hear and were saved. The rest of the people during their times chose their own terrible ends by treating the words of their Maker with contempt.
Read MoreWhen Luke wrote the stories of Christ’s life down in his Gospel, he made sure to record how Jesus wants His followers to live life for Him.
Read MoreOne of the best things about reading about Jesus is how surprising He often was. He never seemed to do quite what His disciples, the religious leader, or even His family, expected.
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 eyes of the whole nation were on Jesus, wondering what the unpredictable young preacher would do next. Everyone knew that the most powerful religious leaders in the land had turned against Him. They were looking for any excuse to get rid of Him.
Read MoreIt was the time of the Passover Feast for the nation of Israel. Over two thousand years before, God had brought the Hebrew people out of their slavery to the Egyptian Pharaoh. The Pharaoh had been given chance after chance to set God’s people free, but he had refused.
Read MoreAs the Lord Jesus moved from Jericho on the path to Jerusalem, the people wondered what would happen when He got there. Would He reveal Himself as the conquering Messiah? Would He usher in the Kingdom of God?
Read MoreEveryone in Jerusalem was preparing for the Passover Feast. Pilgrims from all over Israel would begin to stream into the city. Jews and converts to Judaism from distant lands would travel to the City of David for the annual celebration.
Read MoreAs Jesus stood in a courtyard of the Temple, He had already begun to declare His indictment against the religious leaders of Israel. It was a mighty confrontation. Here was the Son of the living God, pronouncing God's rebuke against the leaders of His holy nation…His treasured possession.
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 MoreJesus and the disciples were sharing their Passover dinner. Jesus knew that this would be His last meal with the men who had journeyed with him all over the nation of Israel. They labored with Him among the crowds on hot days, walked the many miles from town to town, leaving all the comforts of home and family life to devote themselves to this Lord and the proclamation of His Kingdom.
Read MoreThe Passover Feast was a high and holy event for the Jewish people. It celebrated the memory of the great day of salvation in Jewish history. Fifteen hundred years before Jesus came to earth, God set His people free from the horrible oppression of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
Read MoreJesus shared the first Communion with His disciples at the Passover Feast. He knew that the time had come for Him to give up His life as a sacrifice, and so He gave them a ritual the symbolized His great offering. It was a command that would be followed by every generation of His Church up to today.
Read MoreAs Jesus sat with His disciples in the Upper Room, He continued to give them His last lessons before His journey to the cross. Over and over again, He showed the deep interconnectedness that they would have with Christ and His Father through the Holy Spirit.
Read MoreAs Jesus spent His last evening before His arrest with His disciples, He promised that He would send a Counselor to them once He was gone. The Spirit of Christ would come into their hearts and give them guidance and power to continue on the work of the Kingdom.
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 MoreAs Jesus and His disciples celebrated the Passover, the Lord revealed the mysteries of God’s plan to them in a much fuller way than they had ever understood before.
Read MoreJesus knelt in prayer in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane. In an agony of prayer, He asked His Father to remove the terrible trial before Him. The Father’s answer was no, and so He surrendered to His Father’s will.
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