Unless you’ve recently arrived from another planet, you already know that most Christian people believe that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and he was raised from the dead on Sunday morning. But if you …
Christian Holidays #6
Sometimes the simplest answers are the best. I’ve asked again and again why it was that, thirty years after the ascension of Christ—long after everything that was nailed the cross was nailed there—a gentile church …
The Resurrection of Jesus
There is one event upon which all of history turns. It is an event attested well enough that millions of people believe it, and yet vague enough that some do not; although most of those …
Christian Holidays #5
It seems odd, doesn’t it, that a Gentile church, 30 years after the ascension of Christ, was observing the Passover and the seven days of unleavened bread that follow it? And just as odd that …
Three Days and Three Nights
I love a good mystery. Puzzle solving is a favorite pastime of mine. So perhaps I can be forgiven for saying in a recent radio program that God also loves a mystery. Sometimes of course, …
Christian Holidays #4
There’s an old hymn I remember singing in church when I was just a boy. It’s striking to me today, because it represents an understanding of the Bible in earlier generations that I think has …
Christian Holidays #3
How is it possible that a Christian church, some 25 years after the ascension of Christ, was still observing the oldest known Jewish holiday? And they were. It is easily demonstrated. And they weren’t even …
Christian Holidays #2
Not long ago, a woman asked me a hard question: Why did God have to kill all the firstborn children in Egypt. After all, he is God. He is sovereign. He can do anything he …
Christian Holidays #1
Are you ready for a quiz? Grab pencil and pad and write down the names of the two most important Christian Holidays. It should only take you a few seconds. No consulting your calendar allowed; …
Jesus and the Oral Law
The Sermon on the Mount is easily the best known of all Jesus’ discourses, probably because every beginning preacher is encouraged by his mentor to speak about that sermon. So even if you don’t read …
The Authentic Jesus #2
Poor Joseph. It is hard to imagine what a shock it was to him when he learned that his betrothed wife was with child. Understand that, in that society, at that time, this was a …
The Authentic Jesus #1
There are so many mysteries in the Bible. Yes, it was written in another language and in another culture, and there is much we simply don’t know. But I am not talking about that. I …
The Lion of Judah
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Someone recently noted that this Lion of Judah is not a tame lion. Which led me to ponder what we …
Jesus and the Jews
Why did the Jews reject Jesus? The apostle Paul seems to have been very troubled about the issue, and he engages in a remarkably frank discussion of the question in his letter to the Romans. …
The Words of Jesus #47
4 [Jesus], being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, you have heard of me. 5 For John …
The Words of Jesus #46
The whole Christian world believes in the resurrection of Jesus. They believe it because of the testimony of the witnesses. But did you know that no one saw Jesus rise from the tomb? Oh, they …
The Words of Jesus #45
And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming in from the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there …
The Undivided Man
Do you suppose God would ever call a man to be a lawyer or, perhaps, a governor? (And, no, I am not about to tell a lawyer joke.) There is a funny thing about Christian …
The Words of Jesus #44
My heart goes out to Simon Peter. It is impossible to feel what Simon and the others felt on the night Jesus was arrested. They had followed this good and gentle man up and down …
The Words of Jesus #43
Love is no defense against fear. Neither is faith. And if you are afraid, you are no different from any other man. Not even those great pillars of faith that formed the foundation of the …