Category Archives: bible

Teachings of Jesus: Matthew 10:23-27

Jesus offers a fundamental image of His Kingdom. You cannot hope to understand the Covenant, Jehovah, the Messiah or following Christ unless you understand the concept of eastern feudalism. The primary issue in eastern feudalism is that everything is personal. … Continue reading

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Teachings of Jesus: Matthew 10:16-22

We continue with the same context as in the previous lesson: Jesus gives His disciples a commission to share His haggadah on the Galilean preaching circuit. This is all under the Covenant of Moses, but specifically fitting in with rabbinical … Continue reading

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Teachings of Jesus: Matthew 10:5-15

Most people don’t quite get what’s going on here. First, we have to understand something of the religious behavior of Jesus’ day. Jesus was an established rabbi; no one questioned His status. He probably wore a distinctive rabbinical garment. We … Continue reading

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Nebuchadnezzar Was a Good Guy

So why was it God depicted Nebuchadnezzar as the golden head of the statue in Daniel’s vision? Some things are obvious. The most popular answer from Western Christians is that Neb was simply fulfilling God’s plan. He had utility and … Continue reading

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Reviewing Daniel’s Statue

Review the prophet’s vision of the statue in Daniel 2. As with any proper parable, the image has meaning that branches out into all directions. It bears applications of divine wisdom to far more than one element in human existence, … Continue reading

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Sermon on the Mount 20

Jesus uses another common parable from the Talmud. It was widely known in that part of the world that during rainy season, it could fall in torrents, rinsing the rocky places bare and flooding the wadis. Jesus could have easily … Continue reading

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Sermon on the Mount 19

False Disciples 7:21-23 Jesus continues the thought in the previous lesson — there are false prophets and false disciples. The same criterion applies; it’s not enough to observe protocol. There has to be a solid connection with the heart and … Continue reading

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Sermon on the Mount 18

False Prophets 7:15-20 This passage stands on a very large contextual background. Initially, a prophet gains a hearing by performing miracles and/or predicting things that consistently come to pass. However, Deuteronomy 13:2-4 is a strong example of pointing the people … Continue reading

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Sermon on the Mount 17

Justice 7:12-14 First off, Jesus quotes directly from the Talmud, something accredited to several rabbinical scholars, but is found in far more ancient traditions all over the Ancient Near East. It’s the Golden Rule, which the Talmud states in the … Continue reading

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Sermon on the Mount 16

Just Ask 7:7-11 First, we must establish that ask-seek-knock are ancient common images of prayer and worship in Hebrew culture. In this context it should be painfully obvious we aren’t talking about mere hedonistic comforts. The whole point here is … Continue reading

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