Who is Jesus?

3372) A Hundred Christs

Rembrandt’s Head of Christ, c. 1648-1650 ———  By Harry Blamires, On Christian Truth, 2005:      A child was born in Bethlehem and his name was Jesus.  When he grew up he healed the sick and restored the dead to life.  He called himself the Son of God and declared, “I and the Father are […]

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3333) Peace and Justice and Pontius Pilate (2/2)

      (…continued)  I went to church conventions for over 40 years.  I heard many debates on resolutions in which well-meaning Lutherans have supported various causes in the name of peace and justice.  Some have wanted to support unjust regimes because at least they kept the peace, and some have wanted to support violent revolutions

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3332) Peace and Justice and Pontius Pilate (1/2)

     Many Christians place a great emphasis on ‘Peace and Justice’ issues.  There are many churches in which you will hear more about peace and justice than about Jesus Christ.  To be concerned about these issues is certainly implied in the teachings of our Lord, who was called the ‘Prince of Peace,’ and who

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3309) Understanding Caiaphas

Caiaphas, James Tissot  (1836-1902) ——————— John 11:47-50  — The chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.  “What are we accomplishing?” they asked.  “Here is this man performing many signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away

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3308) The Temptation of Christ (2/2)

      (…continued)  Jesus is enduring these forty days of suffering in the desert because God the Father Himself is putting him through it.  Why would God do that?  Part of the answer can be found in Hebrews 5:8: “Although he (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience by what he suffered, and once

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3307) The Temptation of Christ (1/2)

Above painting:  The Temptation of Christ, Titian (1490-1576) In this brilliant depiction of the temptation story, Titian paints the devil as an innocent child, appealing to Jesus to turn the stone he is holding into bread.  He is illustrating the fact that temptations can appear to be very innocent, as it says in II Corinthians

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3242) Word for Word

     Max McLean (1953- ) is a stage actor, writer, and producer.  I first heard of him in 2009 when he received national acclaim for his performance of Mark’s Gospel.  This award–winning stage production consisted of nothing more than Max McLean reciting the entire Gospel of Mark on stage.  There are no other actors

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3203) The Truth About Everything

   Above painting:  The Crucifixion, Paolo Veronese, 1580      In his book Death on a Friday Afternoon, author Richard John Nuehaus made an amazing statement.  He said, “If what Christians say about Good Friday is true, then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything.”  That is an incredible statement to make, but it

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3202) Love and Power in Holy Week (2/2)

     (…continued)  When you want to get someone to do what you want them to do, you can try and find ways to get power over them.  But that is not the only way.  You can also use ‘authority.’  There is a difference between power and authority.  Those words can be defined in different

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3201) Love and Power in Holy Week (1/2)

     Todd and Maggie had a big fight and broke up.  Todd, as always, had not been treating her very well, and Maggie told him she wanted to call it quits.  Todd wanted to get back together, but he wasn’t about to apologize, so he tried a different tactic.  He asked out Ellen, Maggie’s

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