The husband, a priest under the old covenant, was chosen by lot to burn incense in the holy place in the temple. On this day, fulfilling his duty, an angel appeared beside the altar of incense, near the veil separating the holy place from the holy of holies. After calming the man’s fearful heart, the angel... Continue Reading

For nine months Zechariah was mute. And on the eighth day they took their son to be circumcised, and, as was the custom, they gave him a name at his circumcision. “Will he be called Zechariah?” they asked. “No,” Elizabeth responded. “He shall be called John.”[vii] Zechariah scribbled his agreement on a tablet and, as he... Continue Reading

We might wonder why John the Witness would find such a prominent place in the few verses of the prologue to John’s gospel. It’s because of his function as a witness. John stands as a representative of Old Testament prophecy and promise that point to Jesus Christ as the one in whom all is fulfilled. John... Continue Reading

Jesus gives us an explicit reason for his coming to earth in John 10:10. It is in his great lesson on the sheep and the Good Shepherd, and he says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” His purpose was to... Continue Reading

Ahaz rejected God’s message. He had passed the point of no return.[4] Despite Ahaz’s refusal, God chose to give him a sign anyway. The sign concerned the Davidic line that was under attack but always under God’s protection because of the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:12–16). Isaiah confronted the wicked king: “Hear now, O house... Continue Reading

As Augustine explained, Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh so that our sinful flesh might be cleansed and purified. This shows that it is not the flesh itself at fault, but the sin that corrupts it. That sin must die so that we might live. Thus, Augustine affirmed the created goodness of the... Continue Reading

The loss of our jobs opens our eyes again to the fact that God is that something, that someone better. Or at least we have the chance to believe that’s true, or refuse to believe that’s true and become bitter. If our default is to see God’s role as merely to give us something better... Continue Reading

You tell me that the miracles of Jesus were supernatural. I tell you, they were always restorations of the unnatural to natural positions. When he cured disease, it was but the restoration of man’s normal physical condition. He was taking away the results of sin. So, all along the line of his miracles of healing... Continue Reading

We all feel alone at certain times. It’s common to human experience. Even if we aren’t alone, we feel it. And when we feel alone, we run to the wrong things, things that destroy us. What is it for you? Is it the chemical version? The relational version? The internet version? Or some other version?... Continue Reading

In the third verse of our hymn, given what appears in the first two verses, Christ’s redemption is cast in terms of the eschatological, or final, exodus. It is no longer the exodus from the tyranny of Pharaoh, nor is it the exodus from Babylon, that appears. Rather, Jesus brings an exodus from the oppressive... Continue Reading