Bible Note #63: Zacchaeus #6–The Power of God’s Grace and Kindness

Zacchaeus had experienced that grace and kindness from his new Lord.  Now, he was going to live by it in his own life.

Bible Note #62: Compassion & the Anger of Jesus–Mark 3:1-6

They knew that Jesus was guided by compassion for the weak and broken and not by some hard-edged interpretation of the law.

Bible Note #60: Zacchaeus #4–Getting into the Story–Jesus Make a Lot of People Mad

So, I’ve now provided some background material (see links to previous "Zacchaeus" posts at the end of this post ) for understanding this powerful encounter between Jesus and the chief tax collector in Jericho—maybe more background information than you really wanted (judging from the amount of traffic those earlier posts have generated).  Let’s now dive … Continue reading Bible Note #60: Zacchaeus #4–Getting into the Story–Jesus Make a Lot of People Mad

Bible Note #59: Zacchaeus #3–Tax Collecting in Roman Palestine

Right up front, Luke tells us two key pieces of information about Zacchaeus.  He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.  These two facts were not unrelated.  Zacchaeus was rich because he was the chief tax collector of the region. Let’s review some of what it meant for Zacchaeus to be a tax … Continue reading Bible Note #59: Zacchaeus #3–Tax Collecting in Roman Palestine

Bible Note#58: Zacchaeus #2–Some Background

In order to understand this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9), we need to know a little bit about the geography of the Holy Land in Jesus' time.  So, let’s start with this question: where was Jericho and what was Jesus doing there?  I’ll address the second question first. What was Jesus doing in … Continue reading Bible Note#58: Zacchaeus #2–Some Background

Pastor Note #137: Other People’s Sins & Reading the Bible

When reading the Bible, do you ever find yourself convicted about some sin in your life?  Do you find that the Bible sometimes points out something about the way you’re living that just isn’t right with God?  That’s uncomfortable, isn’t it?  Let me suggest a surefire way to keep that from happening.  Try to always … Continue reading Pastor Note #137: Other People’s Sins & Reading the Bible

Bible Note #6 — The Bible and Worship

The Bible is a very obliging book in at least one particular respect, and that is that the Bible explains in fairly straightforward terms what it is.  That fact hasn’t caused scholars and others to refrain from arguing about the matter.  That argument has been going on for centuries, off and on.  But especially in … Continue reading Bible Note #6 — The Bible and Worship