What defiles a person
Jesus addresses the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, giving us some guidance of how to avoid the same sin. As Jesus describes how pride works, He is giving us correction on the many ways in which we can become Pharisees ourselves.
Take heart; it is I
Jesus spends some time with His heavenly Father and then walks across the water to catch up with His disciples. When they see Him, they are in the middle of fighting the wind and storm; they think that Jesus in a ghost. He calms them and the storm by simply being present. We can find […]
Eat and be satisfied
Jesus feeds the five thousand. In this miracle, Jesus confronts the disciples with their inability and the overwhelming abundance of God. He also uses this physical means to reveal a spiritual truth: He is the Bread of Life, sent to fill us.
Preparing the way
We step aside from the story of Jesus and the disciples to learn about what happened to John the Baptist. The man who was sent to prepare the way for the Jesus lost his head in a foolish promise at a dinner party. In this, we see how getting caught up in the ‘things of […]
Shake off the dust
Jesus sends the disciples out to share the good news of the gospel. As they go, they are given the words to speak, the power to heal, and the authority to cast out demons. He uses this to reveal to them that God will provide the power to accomplish all that He calls them to.
Do not fear, only believe
Jesus continues to illustrate his parable teaching through miraculous works, this time healing a woman who had been ill for over a decade and then raising a child who had passed away. In these, Jesus continues to establish His authority, but also to give us assurance that He is working in this world to overcome […]
The mercy of Jesus
Jesus teaches His disciples another lesson in the healing of the man with many demons. This miracle reveals the mercy of Jesus within the story, but it is also meant to point to the coming of the Kingdom and how His mercy operates in the eternal plan of God. As Jesus saves and pushes out […]
Peace! Be still!
Jesus brings His disciples out to the middle of the sea and a storm sets in. While they stress out, Jesus sleeps. As they question how He could do this, Jesus gets up and clams the storm. In this, we see a clear picture of the authority of Jesus, along with an example of what […]
Parables of the Kingdom
Jesus presents three parables that give a glimpse into the character of the Kingdom. In this, He assures that it WILL come, it is being built by God NOW, and in its culmination it will grow BIG (more immense than we can imagine). All of this creates the foundation for us to have courage and […]
Ears to hear
Jesus begins this section of parables with one that explains his use of parables. In the Parable of the sower, Jesus both reveals kingdom truths and makes it clear that many will not hear the good news.
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