Matthew 27:48, 50 Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink… 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.       In Psalms 22 and 69 (circa 1000 BC), David penned the prophetic words that Jesus would fulfill on the cross. He cried out to God, saying, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd,...

Matthew 26:26-29 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 “But I say to you, I will not...

Matthew 21:18, 23 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city… 23 When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”       It was on Wednesday morning April 1, AD 33 of Jesus’ passion week that the events of Matthew 21:23-27 unfolded, conti...

Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” Jerusalem was teeming with people for the annual Passover when Jesu...

Matthew 21:1-5 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them...

Hebrews 11:13-16 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have h...

Hebrews 11:11-12 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.            Having highlighted the great faith of A...

Hebrews 11:10 …for [Abraham] was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.       What must Abraham have thought after God appeared to him in Ur, promising him a land where he would be blessed and where his name would be great (cf. Gen. 12:1-3)? Since it is known through archaeology that Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham lived was a thriving metropolis, Abraham ...

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose archit...

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as a man who was “righteous… blameless” and as one who “walked with God.” Now since no man is righteous (Rom. 3:10; cf. Ps. 14:1-3) ...

Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.In Romans 12:3 Paul speaks of both the grace given to him by God and the faith God has measured to him. It is grace, God’s first gift to man, that opens the door to His second ...

Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.       One of the most enigmatic characters in t...

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.       Genesis 4:3 says that, Cain, a son of Adam and Eve, brought “an offering” to God from the ground. Perhaps Cain was a farmer. In contrast to this, his brother Abel brought G...

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.       Prior to anything tangible existing, God was existing—all three members of the Trinity dwelling together in eternity in perfect love and unity, lacking nothing. Everything that this one God existing eternally in three distinct persons chose ...

Hebrews 10:39—11:2 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.       Having warned his audience about the eternal dangers of turning against Jesus Christ after having previously believed in Him (10...