Monthly Archives: November 2019
My morning Bible reading brought me to Matthew 14 where John the Baptizer confronted King Herod, the immoral despot who, had divorced his wife in order to marry his brother’s wife. John’s truth to power was, “It is not lawful for you to have her” (Matthew 14:4). Herod might think and act like he was above the law, but he was not above God’s law. The response of the autocrat was unsurprising. His modus operandi was to eliminate anyone who…..
Jesus frequently faced off with the Pharisees about how to understand and apply the Old Testament law. In Matthew 12 they accused Him of endorsing law-breaking when His disciples, on the Sabbath, picked and ate heads of grain. Jesus reminded them of two OT illustrations of apparent law-breaking which obviously were not: the priests’ Temple service on the Sabbath and David and company when they ate the consecrated bread. Jesus’ stunning claim to be “the Lord of the Sabbath” and…..