Jesus has come home but it’s not so welcoming any more. Opposition tests him, demanding evidence that God is with him. Israel has always been like this, wanting God to prove himself before they’ll trust him. Jesus will have none
An act of kindness
Still outside of Israel, Jesus’ behaviour is not like at home. He is not yet these people’s king. Nonetheless, he has compassion on a large crowd of them after 3 days together. He has food but they do not, so
He has done all things well
Jesus continues his quiet trip outside of his homeland’s borders. However, his reputation precedes him and a disabled man is brought for healing. Jesus deals with him personally, showing gracious understanding for his needs as one who is deaf and
Crumbs from the table
Jesus has found many in Israel to be as the Old Testament prophet Isaiah once described: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” So he takes a break from the nation by moving
Well-dressed man
Jesus has healed a vulnerable man whose suffering with mental illness has been extreme and whose life has been abused by evil spirits. Now, this man is at peace, sitting with Jesus, wanting to learn and grow. Indeed, he’d love
Clean in Christ
Peter, in Acts 10, learns an important lesson as Jesus prepares him to meet with a Gentile. But what does the apostle mean when he says he no longer regards anyone as ‘unclean’ (v28)? To start to get into his
No longer a dry tree
To join Jesus’ church ought to feel like coming home to God, it ought to feel like you’re finally fitted into where you belong. Jesus showed this in the way he treated social outcasts (Lk 15:4-10) and in our verses