For a final time during Saul’s lifetime the narrator shows the high qualities of David and the deficiencies of Saul. Instead of fighting against his own people, as Achish’s invitation almost forced him to do, David became involved in a more appropriate battle against Israel’s perennial foes, Read More →
The Old Testament book of 1 Samuel is a record of triumph and tragedy. Its three main characters, Samuel the prophet, Saul, and David are among the most powerful people in the Bible, yet their lives were scarred by far-reaching mistakes. The people of Israel thought their nation would be more Read More →
If we were to stop and think what was most important in church relationships, I do not think many Christians would come up with this quality: humility. ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom?’ ask the disciples. Christians are often preoccupied with that question. And, in sharp contrast to the Read More →
Jesus now leaves Galilee for the last time, and the Pharisees come to test him on a hot contemporary issue, divorce. They were out to trap Jesus in front of the large crowds that followed him. Jesus refused to be drawn. Instead of talking primarily about divorce, he goes behind that regulation Read More →
The suffering Son of Man, who comes to Jerusalem to give his life as a ransom for many, enters the capital not as a messianic figure on a warhorse but, as Zechariah had anticipated in his prophecy centuries before, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Read More →