Word Surprises

In John 21 we read that after the Resurrection Jesus gently, but without avoidance, opened up the wound of Peter's betrayal when Jesus was being tried by the High Priest and the Roman authorities. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves Him reminding Peter that he had denied knowing Jesus three times. Jesus ensured these denials were brought out into the open and dealt with so that Peter could be confident that he was forgiven and restored. After this, Jesus then told Peter what his future would hold and that he would die in old age and in his death he would glorify God. He then challenged Peter by saying  " Follow Me ".  Peter by now is feeling so much better than he had felt for days and is grateful that he is restored in his relationship with Jesus but he also seems to be excited by what Jesus has said and questions the Lord about John's future. Jesus responds with: John 21:22   “If I   will that John remain   till I come (again), what is   that t...

Matthew 16:15-19 15 He (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” When Jesus spoke these words to Peter, He was not just only saying that Peter was: Blessed  because his confession came from the Father Himself (verse 17), but also that he was: Identified. When Jesus used Peter's full Hebrew name (Simon Bar-Jonah), He was identifying Simon Peter as a person with a unique Hebrew identity before God and a son of the prom...

Matthew 11:25-12:21 The earlier chapters of Matthew describe how Jesus had seen the brokenness and burden of the Jewish people and how they  "were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd"  ( Matthew 9:36 ). This was because Israel no longer heard from their Great Shepherd.  Israel at the time was oppressed by the Romans who had conquered their land. In turn, the Romans had allowed Herod Antipas to rule the nation and tax them heavily. Finally, there was an oppressive religious hierarchy that dominated the spiritual heart of the nation. This group included the Pharisees and the Sadducees and they demanded strict obedience to the law of God by the people of Israel. They saw themselves as examples of faithfulness but sadly they missed the intent of the Law which was to love God ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ). Jesus saw that the people were weary of trying to comply with the Pharisaical view of the Law and that they had lost heart. In their minds God was afar off and...

Matthew chapter 8:1-34 documents a veritable avalanche of miracles that resulted from Jesus' ministry to the Jewish people.  Matthew 8 lists: the healing of a leper,  the healing of a paralyzed Gentile servant,   the healing of Peter's mother-in-law from a fever, the freeing of two men from demon possession, and continues in chapter 9 with  the forgiving and healing of a paralytic man, the calling of Matthew to follow Jesus, the raising of a girl from the dead, the healing of a women from twelve years of illness, the restoration of sight for two blind, and  the restoration of a mute man's ability to speak again. Then at the end of chapter 9, in verses 35-36, Matthew succinctly characterizes the key aspects of Jesus' ministry, their impact and what motivated Him: 35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He...

The Three Temptations of Jesus  are recorded in Matthew 4:1-11 and are well known. However they warrant a closer look because of the subtlety of the temptations and the details hidden in the narrative. The Setting: In  Matthew 3:13-17  the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist and the events that followed are described. As Jesus arose from the water the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. Following this a voice spoke from heaven declaring " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased " . ( Matthew 3:13-17 , Mark 1:11-13 ).  What is surprising is that after this wonderful moment the Holy Spirit immediately sends Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil ( Matthew 4:1 ). In obedience Jesus fasts for 40 days and nights and at the end of the fast, as Matthew records in superb understatement, " He was hungry ". It is at this time that Satan appears to take advantage of Jesus' weakened st...

In the first reference to Joseph in the  New Testament (NT) there is a hidden gem that is easily missed amongst the sixteen genealogical verses that are the start of Matthew chapter one. These verses list Joseph's ancestors back to Abraham in 1850 BC and the little gem relates to the name of Joseph's father:  "and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ" (Matthew 1:16). What is interesting is that the Joseph of the Old Testament (a distant relative of the latter Joseph) also had father called Jacob:  "The sons of Rachel, Jacob ’s wife, were Joseph and Benjamin" (Genesis 46:19). It seems a surprising coincidence and when we examine their lives it is apparent that there are intriguing parallels between them.  Joseph with Jesus ⇨ Both endured humiliation and embarrassment  From Genesis 37- 41  we know the Old Testament (OT) Joseph experienced many hardships before becoming the second-in-command of the kingdom of Egy...

Matthew 1:1 - 2:23. My seven year reading plan now switches to the New Testament and the book of Matthew. Again, the impact of reading slowly has allowed me to see surprising things that I've missed over the years. In this case it is Joseph who was Jesus' earthly step-father. There are just 14 verses about Joseph but these few verses paint an amazing picture of what a faithful man is like. Matthew 1:19-20 - a just man:  these verses describe how Joseph, who was betrothed to Mary, has just found out that she is pregnant. She would have told him about the visitation of the angel but it is still a big shock to Joseph and he considers secretly breaking the betrothal because he wouldn't want to make a public example of her. Although Joseph is troubled by what is happening, verse 19 gives a clue as to why Joseph was carefully thinking about things. It was because he was a just man. He wasn't a man who would burst into a tirade of anger and accusation but a man who could cont...

Although Exodus 33 is primarily about God's meeting with Moses to reestablish the covenant between God and Israel there is, hidden within it, a description of how God relates to us.   Exodus 33:12  Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth...

Exodus 31  is a chapter about a very special person called Bezalel. He was called by God to lead a team of artisans to build the Tabernacle so God could display His presence amongst His people. While reading this chapter about Bezalel's calling I did wonder why God would want the Israelites to build the Tabernacle and not just create one Himself?  Bezalel by Paul Tissot To a certain degree God did all of the ground work to bring the Tabernacle into existence anyway: He planned what He wanted and spoke the detail to Moses, He provided the resources and building materials via His creation, He made special rare and precious materials available from the gifts that the Egyptians gave to the Israelites as they fled Egypt ( Exodus 12:35-36 ),  He provided specialist artisans to lead this task, and  He provided the remaining work-force from His people. However, he didn't just "zap" the Tabernacle into being as this would mean the relationship with His people would be one-sid...

I've now finished reading Genesis and Exodus and it took nearly a year! Like so much of Genesis, Exodus is amazing and contains little gems of truth that show, from the Fall of Adam and Eve, how God has been constantly speaking about the Savior to come. The life of the main character in Exodus is Moses who was called by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage and into freedom. What is surprising to see is how Moses' life was a harbinger of the ministry of Jesus and the parallels between their lives. Moses with Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration * The Parallels of Moses' and Jesus' Lives Both were divinely saved from death as a baby:   Moses was saved from death at a time when the Pharaoh of Egypt had declared all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed at birth. ( Exodus 1:15-22 ).  Ironically, Moses was rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh and was part of her household until Moses was 40 years of age ( Exodus 2:1-11 ). Jesus was saved from being killed by King Herod as a...