‘This is how it will be at the end of the age…’Five Parables from Matthew’s Gospel (3)[Matthew 13:24-52] The skeletal remains of an ancient fishing boat recovered by archaeologists from the Sea of Galilee serve as a reminder that fishing was as essential as farming in...
‘New treasures as well as old…’Five Parables from Matthew’s Gospel (4)[Matthew 13:24-52] Among the 38 parables of Jesus gathered by the Evangelists we find some of the most memorable tales of all time, with striking characters and endings that pack a...
‘But who is my neighbor?’The Good Samaritan[Luke 10:29-37] A rabbi once challenged his disciples to recite the Torah, the Law of Moses, while standing on one foot. This caused great dismay, for the pupils knew that there are no fewer than 613...
‘This very night your life is being demanded of you’The Parable of the Rich fool[Luke 12:16-21] In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that verbal expressions of anger are a violation of the Sixth Commandment forbidding murder: ‘If you say, “You fool,” you will be...
‘They have Moses and the prophets’The Rich Man and Lazarus (1)[Luke 16: 19-31] ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day’ (Luke 16:19). Here was one who lived the opulent dream fantasized by the wealthy grain...
‘You received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things’The Rich Man and Lazarus (2)Luke 16: 19-31 ‘Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. No, I have not come to destroy them, but to fulfill them’ (Matthew 5:17). Thus...
‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’The Rich Man and Lazarus (3)[Luke 16:19-31] As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (John 9:1-2)....
‘Joy in Heaven’The Heart of the Third Gospel (1)[Luke 15:1-10] Many of us can offer testimony to the joy with which the Christian life can fill us — that extraordinary sense of grace, peace and comfort light years beyond anything that fleeting earthly delight can...
‘He was lost and has been found’The Prodigal Son[Luke 15:11-31] There is a strange, paradoxical quality to the parables of Jesus. The settings and characters are from normal everyday life. The stories have a comprehensible and comforting ‘Sunday School’...
‘Are you envious because I am generous?’The Good Employer[Matt. 20:1-16] We need to understand two important realities about the grace of God as depicted in the parables of Jesus. The first is just how extraordinary God’s forgiveness, His generosity and His outreach...
