At the Temple Anna and Simeon Bless Jesus Luke 2:39 They returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. (Luke 2:39) As we’ve covered, Mary and Joseph go to the temple in Jerusalem when Baby Jesus is eight days old. They do so to consecrate him to God as their first-born male and to […]
Mary Treasured These Things and Pondered Them in Her Heart Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2:19) Mary’s delivery had been a private experience. Now a bunch of strangers show up. They’re nearby shepherds who have left their sheep unattended to make a surprise visit. […]
Though They Didn’t Believe in Him at First, They Later Did John writes that even Jesus’s own brothers did not believe in him. We can assume this applies to his sisters too. How shocking to learn that Jesus’s siblings didn’t believe in him or who he really was. They grew up living with the Son […]
Elizabeth’s Unborn Child Leaps for Joy at the Sound of Mary’s Voice Luke 1:39–45 “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Luke 1:45) Not only will Mary have a baby, but her much older relative Elizabeth will have one too. Mary sets off to visit Elizabeth. This […]
The Angel Gabriel Has Some Shocking News for Young Mary Luke 1:26–30 “Greetings, you who are highly favored!” (Luke 1:28) Back to Luke’s narrative, our story switches from foretelling the birth of John the Baptist to foretelling the birth of Jesus. Just as the angel Gabriel gave exciting news to Zechariah and Elizabeth, the angel […]
Baby Jesus in the Temple Luke 2:21–24 He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. (Luke 2:21) The shepherds arrived shortly after Jesus’s birth to see the child the angel had told them about. Our story picks up eight days later, when it’s time to circumcise him. We’re […]
Segregating the Two Sides of Christmas Is Christmas an important holiday to you? I suspect you’ll say, “yes.” And if you follow Jesus, you may say Christmas is the most important holiday because it celebrates his birth some 2,000 years ago. That’s when Jesus came to earth to live among us and die in our […]
Mary’s Psalm of Praise Luke 1:49–55 “Holy is his name.” (Luke 1:49) Mary’s psalm of praise continues by commending God for who he is. Her recitation of his attributes builds on Old Testament truths, quotes, and allusions, presenting an informed scriptural understanding of how God has been at work. She starts by declaring that he […]
When Christ Speaks, We Should Be Ready to Listen What Jesus says is important to us as his followers. The passages in the Bible that we need to pay the most attention to are the words of Jesus. Some Bibles even highlight Jesus’s words by putting them in red. We call these red-letter editions. People […]
God Won’t Strike Us Dead If We Question Him Many people in the Bible question God. These aren’t fringe malcontents. They’re some of our favorite Bible characters and, I suspect, some of God’s favorite people too. They include Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and even Jesus. I can’t recall a single verse where God strikes […]