What is the “Parable of the fig tree” that Jesus mentions in Matthew 24:32? The fig tree’s branches and leaves will tell you that summer is near, and that when the things he describes take place the time of the end is near. But what does this refer to exactly? Structure helps . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Jesus’ final exhortations anticipate the eschatological discourse of chapters 24-25. Jesus is warning Israel that the only way her house – i.e., the temple – can survive is by hearing and keeping His words. By the time we get to chapter 24, it’s too late. Israel . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Jesus ends the central teaching section of the sermon on the mount with warnings against hypocritical judgment and trusting in power. He again assures us of our Father’s kindness. THE TEXT “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be . . . . Continue Reading »
Matthew 6:17-18: But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your heavenly Father, who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. Fasting was a duty of Jewish piety, and it’s one that the New Testament also . . . . Continue Reading »
Matthew 3:17: At Jesus’ baptism, a voice from heaven said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. Baptism is an adoption rite. By baptism, Jacob enters the family of God. He is going to gain dozens of older brothers and sisters, lots of parents, a heavenly Father, a heavenly . . . . Continue Reading »
Some sins are obvious. Murder is both a sinful act and arises from a sinful motive. After a murder, there’s a dead body and a murderer with a smoking gun. Murder is obviously and thoroughly evil. And the same is true of adultery, theft, false witness, and a host of other sins. In . . . . Continue Reading »
At the beginning of Book 11 of Apuleius’s Golden Ass , Lucius returns to his human shape by prayer. As David Garland points out, the prayer is a good illustration of the kind of pagan prayers Jesus condemns in the sermon on the mount. In William Adlington’s 1556 translation, it reads: . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Jesus teaches that our good works are light in a dark world (Matthew 5:14-16). At the center of the sermon, however, He describes acts of righteousness that are not to be done before men but before God alone. These secret acts are crucial to pursuing a righteousness that surpasses that . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION According to many translations, Jesus instructs His disciples, “do not resist him who is evil” (Matthew 5:39, NASB). This is mistaken. What Jesus says is “do not resist by evil means.” Jesus resisted evil, but He resisted evil by doing good. He calls us to the . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus deals with divorce and remarriage, but His central teaching about marriage is that “From the beginning it was not so.” His point is not mainly to narrow the escape route from marriage. He commands husbands and wives to live together in a way that prevents divorce from ever arising . . . . Continue Reading »
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