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Zacchaeus was rich but Jesus made no demands for him to give away all his goods to the poor as He did with the rich young ruler. Zacchaeus had already repented and money was no longer his god, as was revealed by his actions. It seems that Zacchaeus was going above and beyond the requirement of restitution as stated in Mosaic law by offering to give half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold for his theft.
Publicans were hated by their fellow Jews. They were especially despised by the religious Jews as the epitome of sinners and Jewish religious laws prevented devout Jews from keeping company with any publican. To eat with a publican was unthinkable as the Jews...
IF YOU KNEW THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO COME BACK AT 12 NOON NEXT SATURDAY, WHAT WOULD YOUR LAST WEEK BE LIKE? WOULD YOU KEEP DOING THE SAME THINGS AS YOU HAVE BEEN DOING IN THE PAST? THIS IS REALLY SOMETHING FOR ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT.
The devil will always have someone available to tell us why we shouldn't expect to get results when petitioning God. Most people would rather stay with the crowd and not do anything to draw attention to themselves even if that means not getting their needs met. They will try to make you conform as well. If this man would have listened to the crowd, he would not have received his healing. "Ye have not, because ye ask not" (Jas. 4:2).
This blind man is a good example of an active kind of faith. He was not passive in his approach toward healing. He boldly cried out to Jesus for mercy. When the crowd ridiculed him and told him to be quiet, he cried out even louder for mercy.
Many people believe that God can perform the miracle...
I WAS READING 1ST JOHN 2:2-3 THIS MORNING AND WONDERED IF ANYONE WAS HAVING PROBLEMS UNDERSTANDING THESE TWO VERSES. THE VERSES READS AS FOLLOWS, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who say, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him". WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS TALKING TO THE JEWS WHO WERE UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF LAWS THAT PERTAINED TO JUST ABOUT EVERY ASPECT OF
Jesus told His disciples many times of His death but this is the first time He indicated the reason for His death. Now it is clear that His death would be a "ransom", defined in the Greek as a means of loosing by paying a price.
The words "ransom" and "redeem" were used interchangeably in scripture.
Not only would Jesus pay the price for sin but also His death would be substitutionary. In 1 Timothy 2:6, the word "ransom" is taken from the Greek word "antilutron" which means "a redemption-price." The Greek word "anti" means "in place of." In other words, the ransom avails for all who will accept it (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 10:13).
The price paid for our redemption is the life of Jesus, that is, Jesus' blood (Col....
The Greek word for baptize is "baptizo." This word was used by Plato (fourth century B.C.) to describe a man being "overwhelmed" by philosophical arguments; or it means sponges being "dipped" in fluid; and by Strabo (first century B.C.) to describe people who could not swim as being "submerged" under water. Josephus in the first century A.D. used the word to describe the city of Jerusalem as being "overwhelmed" or "plunged" into destruction by the Romans; and Plutarch (also first century A.D.) used this word to refer to a person being "immersed" in the sea. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the O.T.), "baptizo" is used to describe Naaman dipping...
WHY IS THERE SO MUCH MISERY IN THIS WORLD WHEN THE BIBLE TALKS SO MUCH ABOUT LOVE. JUST LOOK AT A FEW VERSES HERE:
This parable begins with Jesus' statement that the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who is a householder (owner of an estate). He went out early in the morning to hire workers to work in his vineyard for the day. An agreed upon price was set at a penny, the normal wage paid daily for a laborer. Later, around 9 a.m., the landowner encouraged others, standing idle in the marketplace, to work in the vineyard, not for a set wage but for "whatsoever is right." The landowner employed more laborers at noon, at 3 p.m. and even some at 5 p.m. when there was only one hour left to work.
According to Jewish law, wages must be paid each evening before the sun sets. When it came time for the steward to...
Notice that the scripture makes special mention of Jesus loving this rich young ruler. This is stated after this young man said he had kept all of God's commands, which was not the truth. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment that states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3), and also the tenth commandment that says, "Thou shalt not covet..." (Ex. 20:17). Jesus' tough answer of "sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor" was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man's money had become his god and it had to be dethroned...