The Pharisees, often seen as opponents of Jesus give him a warning about a mutual enemy, Herod Anitpas. He apparently wants Jesus dead. Jesus’ reply is not one of flattery, referring to him as a fox. In rabbinic literature, the fox was a contrast to the mighty lion, connected to deception and preying on the “chicks” to which Jesus refers. Jesus sta…

When we first encounter the wounds of Jesus, it is horrific. He is crucified. Nails are hammered through his flesh, tearing fibers as they are forced through his hands and feet. This, of course, to hold him in place as he hangs on the cross spiraling toward death. After he breathes his last, a soldier approaches him and thrusts a spear into his sid…

Jesus is paraded through the streets to Golgatha. Once there, he is nailed to the execution stake where passersby hurl insults at him and mock him. Crucifixion was not just the most horrific forms of execution ever created, it was designed to be humiliating as well; this is why crucifixions were such public affairs. For those who wanted Jesus dead …

Mark tells of the abuse Jesus suffered at the hands of soldiers after being flogged and dragged into the Praetorium. While the scene makes the reader wince at the sheer brutality of it all, there is also something else just below the surface: the way Mark frames the story of what happens to Jesus from the purple robe, to the crown and the homage is…

In a cultural moment where all that we had long placed our trust in seems to be eroding, we ask the question Pilate asked, “What is truth?” John details a conversation between Pilate and Jesus amidst the swirling accusations against Jesus. To get away from the crowd Pilate summons Jesus inside the palace and asks him questions in a seeming attempt …

So many of us believe we have done something God could never forgive. We’ve gone too far. We’ve done too much. We’ve made too many mistakes. But if it is not true of Jesus it is not true of God. What we learn from the life of Peter is no one is beyond the forgiveness of God. Jesus tells his disciples they will all fall away, but Peter insists he is…

In Matthew 26, Jesus is tried before the Sanhedrin and before the Temple authorities. This is more than a passing detail; if the racket they were running was to remain, they had to get rid of this rebel named Jesus. This is what Mark tells us the people at the house of Caiaphas wanted to do: he tells the reader that there was nothing in this trial …

It was night, there were torches, a dispatch of soldiers, swords, groggy disciples and a kiss of betrayal. What a painful moment for Jesus. He knew where this was all going. In the midst of the scene of Jesus being arrested, a disciple grabs a sword and cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Why this? Well, apparently it was a repeat o…

Jesus uses the metaphor of the narrow door as the way to life. While this may seem as though it makes things more difficult and demands more of us, it’s possible there is another way of seeing this. If one is to make it through a narrow door, it suggests we cannot carry much through it at all. We will need to lay things down and let other things go…

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds – yet the mustard plant is the wildest of all plants. One cannot control the mustard plant, no matter how hard they try, and once it is planted and has grown the area in which it was planted can never be cleared of the plants as they will grow again and again. Jesus uses an example that defies the logic…

This week, we consider how unhealthy religion adds burdens to people- it can be something that binds people up in an oppressive way rather than liberating them. The Torah seems clear regarding work on Sabbath. So when Jesus heals a woman who has been oppressed by diseases for 18 years, we should not be surprised the legalistic religious types in th…

In Luke 13.1-9, Pontius Pilate had just done the unthinkable. Apparently, his soldiers attacked worshippers in the temple while they performed their sacred rituals. One might expect heartfelt compassion from Jesus, but he doesn’t respond that way at all; rather he gives a warning of sorts. One that might lead the listener to think that maybe God wa…

Reconciliation is so difficult; at some point you have to admit you are wrong and work toward forgiving the person who did you wrong. For as difficult as this is, Jesus sees this as an essential part of living. The downside of this is that it can fly in the face of what we might want or even demand. It challenges all of us, whether we are those who…

According to Luke 12:49-56, when one chooses to take a stand- to go in a direction, make a decision- division will often follow. This is true even of Jesus and the direction he takes.על ידי Denver Community Church

Shortly after mentioning God’s presence, both Genesis 1 and John 1 speak of darkness. It is in the darkness where we find the Spirit, wind, breath of God fluttering over it like a mother bird watching intently to ensure her chicks don’t fall out of the nest or hit the ground in their first attempted take off. It is in the darkness where we find the…

So many circumstances surrounding the first Christmas recorded in Matthew and Luke were fraught with harsh circumstances. Rather than paint an idillic picture like Norman Rockwell may have, the gospel writers point to the reality of a dark world filled with dark powers at work. Against this backdrop we learn of the birth of Jesus, and even after hi…

With every bit of revelation we receive from God, with everything that is made known there are also some things that remain hidden in the dark. We see this when God comes to his people Israel when they are at the base of Mt. Siani. At no other time in their life had God revealed himself so completely, and yet there was darkness. The writer of Exodu…

Advent is something many are familiar with. Each year we ready ourselves for the coming of our king, Jesus. It is a season. A moment. A way of organizing our time. And we dare not lose the organizing of our time; when we do, we are just left with something else...something out of rhythm, something that has no beat – static, mush, white noise. But w…

This teaching begins with the assumption that we will serve God first, not money. It is within this frame of mind that Jesus says do not worry. Let’s be honest none of us want to have worry or have anxiety in our lives. Yet here Jesus points to both and simply says, “Don’t do this.” The question begs, “Is it possible for me to live a worry free lif…

How much anxiety, worry and fear stem from what we do or do not possess? It’s interesting to note that consternation over possessions is actually what leads Jesus to tell this story. A man wants Jesus to help him get his share of his inheritance. It makes sense, if he’s been cheated out of his share that he would want what’s coming to him. Jesus, h…

Luke 12:1-12 is a troubling passage at so many levels and for so many reasons. Perhaps the most troubling is Jesus’ warning that what is secret will be made known. And it’s troubling because we all have secrets, some even unknown to ourselves. So how exactly will those secrets be made known? Well, when taken in context the larger teaching of Jesus …

Jesus steps into the role of prophet in Luke 11.37-54, speaking to both Pharisees and lawyers at a dinner party. The theme of his words is simple and found right at the beginning; outwardly they are clean, but inwardly they are not. This is an apt description of hypocrisy; what you see is not what you get. Throughout the gospels it seems this is th…

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Jesus’ final words to his disciples as he ascended into heaven were “go.” This reflects something we witness in the life of Jesus that is so compelling that we believe it is the best and brightest hope for the world in which we live. In Jesus, we see all that was promised and a glimpse of what it to come and that we have the hope of the reconciliat…

In his letter to the church in Corinth Paul expounds at great length about the group of Jesus followers being together in unity- and as parts of a greater whole, also being together in diversity. This was not just diversity in their individual gifts, but also diversity in ethnicity, background, preferences, beliefs and practices. To hammer home his…