kingdom ⁽⁹⁵⁾

Isaiah 1:10–31, Habakkuk 1:2–4, Luke 17:5–10 In many courtrooms, there is an image or a statue of Lady Justice. Lady Justice is the supposed personification of the ideal judicial system: blind (no favoritism), sword (swift and cutting decision), scales (balance of “good” and “evil”), toga…

Ezekiel 27:1–36, Ezekiel 28:20–23, Luke 10:13–16 To understand Jesus’ “woe” statements, one needs to understand history. While Tyre and Sidon were now (in Jesus’ time) prosperous cities, their pride, pagan behavior, and anti-Israel behavior had gotten them a lot of punishment. After Ezekiel’s prophesy, the…

Luke 23:50–24:12, John 19:38–42, Matthew 10:32–33 Joseph of Arimathea is described differently by Luke and John. Luke describes him as good, righteous, and looking forward to the kingdom of God. John describes him as a secret disciple of Jesus. On the surface, these appear to…

Philippians 2:12–18 The Philippians may be slacking off in Paul’s absence. At least that seems to be Paul’s concern. When Paul speaks about “working out” salvation, a better way to phrase it may be, do the Christian life in all that you do. Don’t just…

Leviticus 21:16–24, Matthew 20:29–34, 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 Even today people struggle with blindness. Granted, today those who are blind have legal protections, braille, technology, and acceptance that wasn’t part of other cultures. In the New Testament era, the only “job” the blind could get was…