Picture a courtroom on the last day. The defendant lays out his case: prophecy, exorcisms, mighty works, all of it done in Jesus’ name. Three times he presses the point, in your name, in your name, in your name. And here is what makes this so frightening. There...
Jesus is not saying it is wrong to call Him Lord. It is exactly the right thing to call Him. In the world Matthew first wrote to, confessing that Jesus is Lord was a radical and costly thing, because the accepted confession of the day was that Caesar is lord. To say...
Jesus ends His greatest sermon not with a soft benediction but with a warning meant to unsettle us. Notice carefully who is turned away here. These are not the obvious rebels who cursed the name of God and wanted nothing to do with Him. These are people who call Jesus...
All week we have used this passage as a tool for evaluating others. Before we close, turn it on yourself. Read verse 18 again: a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. A tree does not decide to bear grapes. A tree bears what it...
This is a hard verse, and it should not be softened. Jesus is quoting John the Baptist word for word. John had said the axe is already laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10). John...
