Jesus is tackling sinful pride in his disciples which is leading them to mistreat others whom he would value and love. So he speaks firmly to the twelve. They have to change their mindset to one of humility and self-sacrifice,
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
Rules for life
The appearance of Jesus like the Old Testament Lord walking upon the sea was an important new stage in his work. But as the kingdom goes forward, its opponents rise up to resist it. Ancient Israel should be the seed
Muffled voices
As Jesus’ popularity grows, he has to take care with the crowds since they could easily try to fit him into their expectations and ideas rather than listen to his teaching about God’s will. So Jesus uses parables to find
Bittersweet finale
The end of Luke’s second book has a bittersweet taste to it. The bitterness comes from the rejection of Paul’s gospel by many of his fellow Jews in Rome, which highlights the power of sin in human hearts. The sweetness
Make me smile
Joy is found throughout the New Testament. Yet it often occurs in situations which involve pain or trouble, including our passage. So what is this joy and how can we experience it? Paul has preached Jesus as resurrected saviour to
Lessons from a synagogue
Across 2000 years, the Christian church has told the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s done so in a wide variety of contexts and ways. Here we have a very early example in Luke’s brief summary of the apostle Paul’s
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
What were you thinking?
Acts is about a vital period in history when the foundations were laid upon which Jesus’ church has been built (Ep 2:19-22). Key to this task was the apostles’ teaching (2:42). They’d spent 3 years with Jesus, watching, listening, learning.