Pilate tries to free Jesus by getting the crowd to ask for his release. But it goes horribly wrong and Pilate has Jesus killed to save himself trouble. How does it go wrong? Jerusalem’s leaders stir the crowd to turn
Playing politics
Jerusalem’s first century leaders are ready to kill Jesus. But they can’t do it; it has to be the Roman authorities. So they drag him off to the governor, looking to manipulate Pilate into doing their dirty work for them.
Straight talk
Paul has finally arrived in Rome. His priority is to speak with the Jewish leaders, to assure them that he has committed no crime but that, rather, he has found Messiah – the hope of Israel. Paul had a deep
Prodded by the Lord
We like to tell anecdotes: stories from our lives which stand out. They aren’t simply factual records. Rather, we shape them to be striking, memorable and suited to the effect we want them to have. Sadly, due to our sin,
Slave to love
Jesus is God’s eternal Son (He 1:1-4). Yet his life on earth was slave-like (Ph 2:6-7), lived under the brutal authority of worldly powers and often utterly exhausting. Why? In order to save his people from sin (Ph 2:8; 1Jo
The church before the world
How did the first Christians see their relationship with the society around them? Here in Acts 24, we see three things in Paul’s words and actions which give a partial answer to that question Firstly, they saw themselves as witnesses
Final justice
God is triune, three who are one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Hence, when God made man in his image, he made us not simply as solo creatures but for community. This means that others affect our behaviour. In our
True justice
If the material universe is the ultimate reality, then our concerns about right, wrong and justice are simply human inventions to make life more bearable; they have no bigger meaning since the universe ‘doesn’t care.’ We, however, cannot treat them