Posts

Jesus interacting with a Samaritan Woman (John chapter 4)

Image
  Apostle John is relating to us the ministry of our LORD Jesus Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the Gentiles. Jesus’ ministry commences with the clearing of the temple in chapter 2. The bulk of chapters 3 and 4 features two major encounters, one with a representative of the Jewish religious establishment (Nicodemus; 3:1-21) and one with the Samaritan religion (a Samaritan woman; 4:5-26). The Imprisonment of John the Baptist Jesus travels from Judea to Galilee, passing though Samaria. John 4:1-4 “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.” Apostle John tells us that Jesus has departed from Galilee and three reasons are given for that: 1. John tells us that Jesus was making more disciples than John the Baptist and His disciples were baptising more disciples than ...

The Dual Nature of Sin's Impact on Humanity

The Dual Nature of Sin's Impact on Humanity Spiritual and Physical Ramifications The effects of sin on the human condition are two sides of the same coin: 1. Spiritually, sin separates us from God by making us enemies of His holiness. 2. In parallel, physically, sin separates us from one another by making us adversaries due to our selfish hearts. Consequently, sin has rendered us spiritual enemies of God and physical enemies of one another. Throughout history, God has offered provisions to address both of these predicaments, beginning as early as the Garden of Eden. 1. First, the LORD God addresses our spiritual separation with a spiritual covering, which He prescribed for humanity to accept and believe by faith. This divine plan was foretold in Genesis 3:15: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel." Here, the LORD God promised to send a seed, ...

The Olivet Discourse (Introduction)

Image
Matthew Chapter 24 The Olivet Discourse: Future for the Jews, Jerusalem, World and the Future Coming of Jesus Christ. If we look at the map of the world, Israel is located in a strategic position at the crossroads of three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. When Israel was a United Kingdom during the time of King David and Solomon (1047–930 BCE), “the whole world sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God has put into his mind” (1 Kings 10:24, ESV). The prophet Ezekiel says: “Thus says the LORD God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the centre of the nations, with countries all around her.” (Eze. 5:5, ESV). In order to understand Matthew chapter 24, we need to read it within the context and interpret it with Jewish lens. In doing so, we observe the following about the city of Jerusalem: 1.       On this map we can confidently agree that Jerusalem is the geographic centre of the earth. 2.       Secondly...

The Temple of Herod

Image
  History of Herod’s Temple History tells us that in 20BC, King Herod started restoring the Temple that started in the time of Nehemiah, and it took about 80 years with 18,000 men to build the temple and finished around 64BC. And six years later the whole temple compound was totally destroyed. Solomon’s temple and Zerubbabel’s temple, including the Hasmonean additions, were confined to the top of the hill called Mount Moriah, bounded on the east and south by the Kidron Valley and to the west by the Tyropoean Valley. The temple faced east toward the Mount of Olives. To the north of the mount was the Roman Antonia Fortress, and to the west and south was the city of Jerusalem. In order to enlarge the sacred platform, Herod expanded the area of the Temple Mount to the south and west by fill and erecting a series of arched vaults. He thus doubled the size of Solomon’s temple mount. According to the Mishnah, Solomon’s temple mount was a square of 500 cubits on each side (861 feet/262...

What is the birth date of Jesus Christ? Was 25 December a fake date all along?

Many Christian traditions, if not all, observe Christ's birthday on December 25th and the Eastern churches celebrate on January 6th. But we know very well that this is not the date for our LORD's birthday. Is it important to get the date right? Many, I have heard arguing with me, that it is not important, as long as we celebrate it one day a year. However, when we observe the text of Scripture and we discover that the answer is in the Scripture itself, that should amaze us to know that God did not want us to be ignorant and it demands a bit of intellectual exercise to study and observe carefully the text in front of us. 1 Thes 5:21 test everything and hold fast what is good 1 John 4:1 Beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from God for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Mass of Christmas is a catholic church service held on Christmas eve. Jesus said, “they worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men”...

6 hours of utter agony for JESUS to pay for the sin of man

Image
The meaning of the Cross                                           1.     The ultimate demonstration of God's LOVE Many people would say that it is the cross is the symbol of Christianity. Others would say that it is the means of Roman justice as capital punishment for criminals. Both of these answers are insufficient to the real meaning behind the cross because it is the ultimate demonstration of the love of God. Paul said in Romans 5:8 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. " The cross is the proof that there is no length to which God will not go to win the hearts of men. It shows how far God will go to bring us to Him. 2. Totally Unexpected by the Jews For the Jews living 2000 years ago in Israel, the cross was an unexpected to be associated with their Messiah. It was unthinkable. The Jews were expecting a political M...

Le Pardon - Ça veut dire quoi ? Pourquoi est-ce essentiel pour le chrétien?

  Pardon parmi les croyants Matthieu rapporte le quatrième des cinq principaux discours de Jésus dans son Évangile au chapitre 18. Alors que son ministère terrestre touche à sa fin, Jésus a passé beaucoup de temps à clarifier son identité et sa mission (chapitres 14-17). Jésus instruit ses disciples sur la nature de la communauté pour la nouvelle alliance, ici au chapitre 18, il explique les caractéristiques de la communauté du royaume : la vie communautaire qui caractérisera leurs relations les uns avec les autres et avec le monde en général.  La parabole du serviteur impitoyable Matthieu 18:21-35 Jésus souligne l’importance du pardon. Parfois, nous devenons si zélés à servir dans l’Église et nous passons peu de temps à étudier l’importance du pardon et à vivre paisiblement les uns avec les autres.  Nous n’abordons que tres rarement la relation interpersonnelle au sein de la communauté du corps du Christ.  Combien de fois dois-je pardonner ? Matthieu 18:21 Alors Pie...