These are hard texts, but the are good news because they show that Jesus is God, and therefore worthy of all allegiance. For if Jesus is not God, he could not have called for absolute allegiance. But if he is God, then anything less than a call to absolute, unqualified allegience would have been a massive disservice […]
The Final Days of Jesus
In these final days before Easter, it would be a great idea to pick up my friend Justin Taylor’s excellent new book The Final Days of Jesus (co-authored with NT scholar Andreas Kostenberger). His book goes through the last week of Jesus’ life, culminating in the crucifixion and then the resurrection. We often think we “know […]
Interview with Justin Taylor on The Final Days of Jesus
I recently had the chance to interview Justin Taylor on his excellent new book The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived, which he co-authored with New Testament scholar Andreas Kostenberger. The book is fantastic and makes the events of Jesus’ final week real in a new way. […]
Why it is So Important to Distinguish Jesus from Religion
Jefferson Bethke, in Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough, talks about how he came to recognize this his senior year in college while serving as an RA in his dorm. There are some really excellent points here: So being a follower of Jesus […]
The Meaning of the Sabbath Day
The Sabbath Day represented the eternal spiritual rest that comes through faith in Christ (Hebrews 4:11). But it also represented something else — namely, the means by which Jesus won that rest for us. For the Sabbath day (Saturday) is the one full day that Jesus’ body lay in the grave. He died on Friday […]
On What Date Was Jesus Crucified?
Probably Friday, April 3, AD 33. Which means exactly 1,979 years ago today.
Jesus is Not an Angel
How angels respond to worship: And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep […]
In What Ways Did Jesus Suffer?
Jesus’ sufferings were more than just physical. He experienced the full range of human suffering, to the greatest extent: He was betrayed: “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48). He was taken captive: “Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him” (Matthew 26:50). He was […]
The Objective Nature of the Work of Christ
I love this quote from Mike Horton’s The Gospel-Driven Life: On Good Friday, at about noon, all of those whom God had chosen from every tribe and nation across the millennia of human history became legal beneficiaries of heaven, coheirs with Christ.
6 Things Christ Accomplished by His Death
Here’s a very brief summary of the six core things Christ accomplished in his death. 1. Expiation Expiation means the removal of our sin and guilt. Christ’s death removes — expiates — our sin and guilt. The guilt of our sin was taken away from us and placed on Christ, who discharged it by his […]