'Disciples' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
John 1:37-42… “He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.” According to John’s gospel, after John the Baptizer pointed out Jesus to a couple of his disciples, they decided to check him out by spending some time with him in the place where he was staying. One of those disciples was Andrew, and he was blown away by…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 4:18-23 …“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.” vs. 23 Since Jesus’ ministry did not focus on baptism, he concentrated on a teaching, preaching, and healing ministry that brought him to many villages in Galilee and beyond. It was obviously the kind of mission that was more than he could handle by himself; and from the beginning he gathered a…
Daily Devotions
Matthew 4:12-17… “Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee…From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” John the Baptizer had a significant following in the area of Judea, a part of King Herod’s territory, and because John had been critical, Herod had been keeping an eye on him for a long time. Jesus had been hanging out with John’s disciples, and had likely been listening to…
Daily Devotions
All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” vs. 16 1 Timothy 3:14-17 Each part of the Hebrew scriptures has a different origin story. Some came via oral traditions, stories of the ancestors passed on through generations, others came from the court histories of both Judah and Israel, many were preserved and edited by scribes working in the temple. A large number were worked and reworked during the…
Daily Devotions
Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” vs. 26 Luke 14:25-33 There are times when reading gospels can be confusing. It seems strange for instance that Jesus would tell his disciples that following him would mean they would have to hate their biological families. We can only begin to understand when we realize that he’s talking about the cost of discipleship.…
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
Daily Devotions
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’” vs. 34 Mark 8:34-38 Jesus certainly didn’t try to lure people into becoming his disciples by offering them promises of financial gain or material success. Instead he tells them that the way to new life was through self-denial. In order to save their lives, they would have to lose them.…
Daily Devotions
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’” vs. 13 Matthew 16:13-17 There was a lot of speculation about Jesus during his ministry. There was a heightened sense of expectation among the people, and many were wondering if God had at long last sent his messiah. John the Baptist had garnered a good bit of attention, but now that he’d been arrested and killed,…
Daily Devotions
Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.” vs. 19 Matthew 14:18-21 The miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude with a few loaves of bread was a favorite of the gospel writers, appearing six times in all, twice in Matthew and Mark. And while…
Daily Devotions
Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’” vss. 16-17 Matthew 14:15-18 Jesus has been curing people in the crowd who needed healing and now the disciples become aware of an even more basic need. These people needed something to eat – they were getting hungry. The disciples propose a sensible solution, one that we might have considered. Why not shift…
Daily Devotions
And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’” vs. 52 Matthew 13:44-52 Jesus closes out this series of parables with an enigmatic saying that can be understood to describe what he had been doing in his teaching. He certainly did not disdain the law and the prophets that were a part…
Daily Devotions
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” vss. 19-20a Matthew 28:18-20 The gospel of Matthew concludes with what has come to be known as the Great Commission, and these few mountain-top words have pretty much defined the Church’s understanding of its mission from the beginning. While the early disciples likely did…