Archive for December 2021

Job 35, Micah 4-5, John 18:28-40, Revelation 12 John 18:28-40:     Irony and drama—the drama of salvation. The religious hand Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. Pilate, representative of the Roman Empire, the pagan empire that they so despised. And, ironically again, they do not ever enter the “governor’s headquarters” so that “they would not…

Job 34:21-37, Micah 1-3, John 18:19-27, Revelation 11   John 18:19-27: Peter became one of the greatest Christian leaders ever to walk the earth, and yet here we meet him at his worst. It bespeaks the genuineness and reliability of the Bible that it does not sugarcoat the failings of its heroes. They have clay feet. They…

Job 34:1-20, Jonah 1-4, John 18:1-18, Revelation 10 John 18:1-18: What love is this? Judas, intimate with Jesus and the disciples, knowing where Jesus would be, betrays Jesus. Have you ever been betrayed? Perhaps by someone close to you, near to you, dear to you? Take heart that Jesus is able to help you: “For because he…

Obadiah 1-21, Job 33:12-33, John 17:20-26, Revelation 9 John 17:20-26: Jesus’ great prayer also encompasses those who will believe in him. Extraordinary thought: Jesus has in his prayers also those who are not-yet-Christians, but who will become Christians through the testimony, the message, the “word” that Christians deliver. It is easy perhaps to only pray…

Hosea 7-9, Job 33:1-11, John 17:6-19, Revelation 8 John 17:6-19: This prayer of Jesus now takes on yet more profound vistas. Jesus has shown himself to the people that God “gave” him (17:6). Our security as Christian followers is not placed in the sincerity of our devotion, but in the foundation of God’s choice of…

Hosea 5-6, Job 32, John 17:1-5, Revelation 7 John 17:1-5: These few words are packed with theology. They are also replete with meaning, significance, and stunning glory! First of all, note the primary locus of Jesus’ glory. It is this “hour”; that is the hour of the cross. If you want to know what most…

Job 31:24-40, Amos 3-4, John 16:25-33, Revelation 6   John 16:25-33:  Jesus was speaking to them in “figures of speech,” or using analogy and metaphor—picture language—to explain truths that were beyond their ability to grasp literally. There is a place for not speaking literalistically. A child cannot truly understand what it means to be married, and yet will…

Job 31:1-23, Amos 1-2, John 16:12-24, Revelation 5   John 16:12-24:  Jesus had so much more to say to his disciples than the short time he had with them would allow, and that they were then capable of understanding. So, by the gift of the Spirit, the Spirit would lead them “into all truth” (16:12). What does this…

John 16:1-11, Revelation 4, Job 30, Joel 2-3 John 16:1-11: The somber words that Jesus has been leaving his disciples with in this, his farewell discourse, are surprising in their intensity. Why does Jesus not put a more positive spin on everything? Because if he tells them the real deal of what may well actually happen to some…

Job 29, Joel 1, John 15:18-27, Revelation 3:14-22 John 15:18-27: Hate is a strong word. But the reality is that Christians are hated. They are hated by those who are “of the world” because those people “hate” Jesus. Such shocking language for our politically correct culture. But who can doubt the truth of it when we observe…