Archive for September 2021

Isaiah 42-43, Proverbs 26:1-16, Luke 23:26-31, Hebrews 9:11-28    Luke 23:26-31: As we approach the crucifixion itself, we come across two sets of characters that interact with Jesus as he goes to The Skull (23:33). The first is Simon of Cyrene. Unwittingly, he is employed as a cross bearer for Jesus, to carry the cross behind Jesus. He…

Isaiah 40-41, Proverbs 25:15-28, Luke 23:13-25, Hebrews 9:1-10 Luke 23:13-25: (23:13-16) Pilate is now insistent that because he, and also Herod, have found there to be no guilt in Jesus, that he should be set free. Not, however, before he is punished (23:16), presumably as a sop to the accusers of Jesus, intending to mollify them with at…

Isaiah 37-39, Proverbs 25:1-14, Luke 23:1-12, Hebrews 8:7-13  Luke 23:1-12: (23:1-5). Now begins the more formal Roman legal process. The Jewish leaders are seeking the death penalty, so they bring him before the Roman authorities and accuse him of matters that amount to treason (23:2). He is, they say, enacting a political movement that is putting himself as…

Isaiah 34-36, Proverbs 24:23-34, Luke 22:63-71, Hebrews 8:1-6  Luke 22:63-71: (22:63-65) They mock Jesus. How can this be? People are cruel, and cruel authority is cruelest of all. If they do such things when the trees are green, what will they do when it is dry? If they treat the Master in this way, how will they treat…

Isaiah 31-33, Proverbs 24:1-22, Luke 22:54-62, Hebrews 7:11-28 Luke 22:54-62: How is it that such a faithful man as Peter would deny Jesus three times? He starts out well enough. He follows Jesus as Jesus is taken away into custody, following albeit at a distance (22:54). He is bold enough, though, to go right into the courtyard and…

Isaiah 29-30, Proverbs 23:19-35, Luke 22:47-53, Hebrews 7:1-10 Luke 22:47-53: The most extraordinary few verses ever written. Who could have believed it? One of Jesus’ own, Judas, one of his very disciples, acts to betray him. And does it so apparently callously: with a kiss. The logic of sin is illogical; the rationality of evil is irrationality; trying…

Isaiah 27-28, Proverbs 23:1-18, Luke 22:39-46, Hebrews 6:13-20  Luke 22:39-46: Jesus withdraws, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. The disciples follow him. Now comes a scene famous, notorious, powerful, sad—and yet wonderful. That such a One as this should give his life for a worm such as I! His suffering leads to our healing, his…

Isaiah 24-26, Proverbs 22:17-29, Luke 22:31-38, Hebrews 6:1-12  Luke 22:31-38: (22:31-34) In Western culture, even in the church, we often gloss over the reality of the supernatural, but texts such as this remind us that Satanic adversary is real and active. We are in a spiritual battle. Oftentimes tensions at home, at church, in ministries, or in our…

Isaiah 21-23, Proverbs 22:1-16, Luke 22:24-30, Hebrews 5 Luke 22:24-30: So many books have been written about leadership, and yet so few of them grasp this principle that Jesus here teaches—a principle that is at the heart of who is and what the gospel is. First the contrast. The Gentiles have a certain style of leadership. Often we…

Isaiah 17-20, Proverbs 21:17-31, Luke 22:14-23, Hebrews 4:12-16 Luke 22:14-23: This meal is now laden with gospel significance, each and every part. First, it points to Jesus’ coming suffering (22:15). The Lord’s Supper, when we eat it now on the other side of the cross, points back to Jesus’ death for us. Second, it points to the kingdom…