January 2019

One atheist used Matthew 16:27–28 to explain his rejection of Christianity. Speaking to the South London Branch of the National Secular Society in 1927, Bertrand Russell said, I do not believe that one can grant either the superlative wisdom or the superlative goodness of Christ as depicted in the Gospels;…

We have defined two terms Jesus used in Matt 16:17–19 in previous posts. Jesus used “my church” to mean the congregation that comprises those in covenant with God during the messianic age. Scripture speaks of local churches as “the church” by synecdoché, each one representing the whole. The “kingdom of heaven” refers…

What did Jesus mean when he said, “I will build my church”? In last week’s post (here), we defined the terms “church” and “kingdom” as Jesus used them in Matt 16:18–19. The church (Gk. ekklēsia) comprises all persons in covenant relationship with God during the messianic age. The kingdom is…

Jesus asked his disciples an important question. “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13). Peter responded correctly: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” (Matt 16:16 HCSB). Jesus then gave Peter a great revelation: Thou art Peter, and upon this rock…

The scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus’s disciples for violating a Jewish hand-washing tradition. In his response, he quoted Isaiah 29:13:  Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from…