Sermons from January 2024
Faith Beyond Borders
You’re probably aware of the animosity the Jews had for their Roman occupiers, so something in this passage immediately jumps out. This centurion–a daily visual reminder of Rome’s presence–has the kind of relationship with the Jews that several Jewish elders willingly went to Jesus to plead on his behalf. “He is worthy,” they said, which is incredible. Worthy? Really? A Roman centurion? They were obviously impressed with him, and so was Jesus. Luke tells us that “Jesus . . .…
Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory
Jesus seems to have been determined to let people know that he wasn’t interested in a certain kind of power. In the text above, he directly rebuffs Satan’s attempt to lure him into bypassing the suffering that lay ahead for the immediacy of some kind of political position with all of its trappings. After one particularly notable miracle, the people wanted to make Jesus their king, a lifelong dream for many would-be rulers. Jesus quickly fled the area to spend…
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