Category: Matthew
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Sheep and Goats
Matthew [23] records Jesus’ lamentation over Jerusalem, “how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing, but you would not. See, your house is left to you desolate.” Pointing to the temple buildings, he said, “not one stone will be left upon another that will not be […]
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Heart of Flesh
Ezekiel 36 talks about the uncleanness of Israel, not just in the land but in the presence of all the nations to which God had driven them out. This uncleanness is not dirtiness but death, the death of empty idolatry, of exposed flesh, the death that Jesus says comes up from the inside, from the […]
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Covenant King
2 Samuel 7 is a passage we hear frequently. It is an important passage because it is God’s establishment of His covenant with David. The chapter is divided into two sections. The first section starts with the king sitting in his house and goes through the vision that God gives to Nathan the prophet. Yahweh […]
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Messianic King
Psalm 110 celebrates God’s gift of a messianic king over the people and the restoration from judgment*. It echoes themes from earlier in the Psalter. This king to whom Yahweh says, “sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool,” is the same one who received the commendation, “You are my Son; […]
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And to Your Offspring
Genesis 12 records the call of Abram and the beginning of his establishment as the father of many nations. God promises, “to your offspring I will give this land,” and later says, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be […]
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The Implanted Word
Jesus points to the shema‘, the Hear, O Israel, as the greatest commandment, “You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” All the rest of the Law and Prophets is an expansion […]
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The Heart with the Treasure
It’s easy to see the law as harsh and oppressive. Martin Luther counted it as an enemy sided with the flesh and the devil, set against us to destroy us. It’s understandable. We are sinners. We have broken the law. We carry guilt with us. So, when we read things like, if you turn away […]
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Triumph of the King
Paul contends that through the cross, Christ disarmed and overcame all rulers and authorities, the principalities and powers of the world. This isn’t limited to demonic or evil human forces. He triumphed over the state, the family, the tribe and clan and nation so that he can say “all authority in heaven and on earth […]
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Shadow of Things to Come
Deuteronomy 16 covers the three yearly feast times which were required attendance for all Jewish males of fighting age. The Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread was specifically a memorial of the deliverance from Egypt. The day after the Sabbath after Passover was the Feast of Firstfruits, from which the 50 days were counted to […]
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Into the Name
Woven throughout the later chapters of Isaiah is the theme of a new Exodus, a return from the exile of Babylon. Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind, He frees the prisoners from the dungeon and leads them out. He causes His light to go before them, just as He did with the pillar of […]