Biblical Studies / Life of Jesus

  • Israel’s Failure Undone

    Matthew 4:5–7

    Dr. R.C. Sproul has said that God does not speak with a forked tongue — He cannot lie or contradict Himself. Jesus refuses to accept an interpretation of one passage that contradicts another. As we study the Bible we should ...Read More

  • Israel, the Son of God

    Hosea 11:1–7

    New Testament fulfillment language does not always mean a prophet directly saw an aspect of Jesus’ ministry. When the Apostles say Christ fulfilled a prophecy, they sometimes mean that He is the true realization of a particular old covenant theme ...Read More

  • Jesus Answers His Accusers

    Matthew 26:63b–68

    In spitting upon Jesus and striking Him, the leaders are the ones who commit blasphemy. However, as John Calvin writes, “this insolence was turned by the providence of God to a very different purpose; for the face of Christ, dishonored ...Read More

  • Jesus Cleanses the Temple

    Matthew 21:12–13

    Our Redeemer’s cleansing of the temple at the very least illustrates how concerned He is with the purity of worship. Our corporate praise and prayer is something that is always in need of reformation, for it is easy for ...Read More

  • Jesus Commissions the Twelve

    Matthew 10:1–15

    Jesus’ selection of twelve disciples is intentional and patterned on the twelve tribes of Israel. Just as God once formed His people from the twelve sons of Jacob, so too does Christ form a new people starting with the twelve ...Read More

  • Jesus, Friend of Sinners

    Matthew 9:9–13

    We are all recovering Pharisees who must get over our tendency to frown only upon certain sins. John Calvin comments that we must “never think it strange that he should gather to salvation those who have been the worst of ...Read More

  • Jesus Heals a Leper

    Matthew 8:1–4

    Though not all diseases will be healed before the Lord returns to consummate His kingdom, we can be sure that He will cleanse the sins of everyone who confesses Him as Savior and follows Him as Lord (1 John 1 ...Read More

  • Jesus Is Arrested

    Matthew 26:47–56

    Christians know that we need to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us, but sometimes we have “defended” Christ improperly. Sometimes, like Peter in today’s passage, we have pursued aggressive violence. Other times ...Read More

  • Jesus Leaves the Temple

    Matthew 24:1–2

    It is a terrible thing to think that the Lord can become so fed up with those who claim to be His servants that He departs from their presence. God sometimes seems absent to us because we have grieved Him ...Read More

  • Jesus on Trial

    Matthew 26:57–63a

    Zephaniah 3:5 assures us that the Lord is perfectly righteous and therefore incapable of any injustice. We must therefore, unlike the Sanhedrin in Jesus’ day, learn to hate injustice and to do whatever we can to make sure that ...Read More

  • Jesus Overcomes Satan

    Matthew 4:8–11

    Matthew Henry comments that “the best of saints may be tempted to the worst of sins.” Though Jesus never sinned, Satan left the worst temptation of all for last — blatant idolatry. If our Lord faced such a test, we too ...Read More

  • Jesus Predicts His Betrayal

    Matthew 26:20–25

    Calvin reminds us to “always place before our minds the providence of God, which Judas himself, and all wicked men — though it be contrary to their wish, and though they have another end in view — are compelled to obey.” The ...Read More

  • Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

    Matthew 26:30–35

    In the second volume of his commentary on Matthew, James Boice says that today’s passage is encouraging because it affirms that Christianity is for weak people (p. 563). Zechariah 13 says that though believers may sinfully abandon their master ...Read More

  • Jesus Stands Before Pilate

    Matthew 27:11–23

    Our God is a God of justice (Deut. 10:18) and is angered any time justice is not done. We likewise must be moved to work for justice, and being reminded that Rome did not deal with Jesus righteously should ...Read More

  • Jesus Stills the Storm

    Matthew 8:23–27

    We put our lives in Jesus’ hands based on the evidence of His power. Today’s passage shows us that we can trust Him because He has authority over all nature and is worthy of our faith since He is ...Read More