Posts by Josh Moody

Isaiah 9-10, Proverbs 20:1-15, Luke 21:20-28, Hebrews 2:10-18  Luke 21:20-28: Jesus now once again predicts the future as a concertina—first the near horizon and then the far horizon as the prediction expands. Verses 20-24 concern the fall of Jerusalem. Jesus’ counsel to “flee” when “you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” was heeded by many Christian disciples who did…

Isaiah 6-8, Proverbs 19:15-29, Luke 21:1-19, Hebrews 2:1-9 Luke 21:1-19: (Luke 21:1-4) Jesus is observing a characteristic activity of the temple: the wealthy putting their gifts in the offering. Are they doing so ostentatiously? At any rate, their giving is observable. By contrast he then observes a poor widow who only puts in a very small amount of…

Isaiah 3-5, Proverbs 19:1-14, Luke 20:41-47, Hebrews 1:10-41  Luke 20:41-47: Having roundly defeated his adversaries so that (in Luke 20:40) “they no longer dared ask him any questions,” Jesus now takes his turn to ask a question himself (Luke 20:41-47). This question is designed to expose the illogical argument that his opponents were employing when they rejected the…

Isaiah 1-2, Proverbs 18, Luke 20:27-40, Hebrews 1:1-9 Luke 20:27-40: The Sadducees were a group of religious devotees who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, were particularly identified with the upper elite, a sort of royal aristocratic religious party. They were distinct from the Pharisees in holding that there was no resurrection of the dead—and also in only…

Esther 9-10, Proverbs 17:15-28, Luke 20:20-26, Philemon 12-25 Luke 20:20-26: Once more trying to trap Jesus, they send spies (Luke 20:20), pretending to be sincere, and ask him a cunning question. First of all, they start with flattery. Flattery is normally a trap (Proverbs 29:5), but here their flattery has a particular aim. They are encouraging him to…

Esther 7-8, Proverbs 17:1-14, Luke 20:9-19, Philemon 1-11 Luke 20:9-19: In response to the religious leaders’ unwillingness to be authentic in their response to Jesus and accept him as the Son of God, Jesus tells the people a parable. Note: when someone refuses the gospel, it is right to offer a warning, even if it is couched in…

Esther 5-6, Proverbs 16:17-33, Luke 20:1-8, Titus 3:9-15 Luke 20:1-8: When people do not like what someone is saying or doing, they rarely actually change the words or the deeds themselves. It is easier, and often more effective, to instead challenge the right that the person has to do those things. If you can caricature that person as…

Esther 3-4, Proverbs 16:1-16, Luke 19:39-48, Titus 3:1-8  Luke 19:39-48: (Luke 19:39-40) The Pharisees long for the people to stop praising Jesus. So it ever was thus: false religions and false religious leaders will strongly advocate against the praising of the name of Jesus. The word “God” or “providence” they may have less objection to. But the name…