During the hustle and bustle of Holy Week, Jesus retreated to Bethany to spend some quiet hours with His disciples. At the gathering that evening, Jesus dined, rested, and enjoyed the company of beloved friends at the home of Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6, Mark 14:3). I’m gonna climb out on a limb and suggest that on some earlier date, Jesus had healed his host of his ugly disease. I’ll also suggest that Simon was the father of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised after being in th

If you knew that you would be executed on Friday, what would you do on Monday? What would top your final to-do list? On the Monday of Passion Week, Jesus did what He had done at the beginning of His ministry. Immediately after the water-to-wine miracle at Cana, Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. “In the temple he found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. After making a whip out of cords, he drove ev

We call it Passion Week or Holy Week. It starts on Palm Sunday and comes to its grand finale on Easter Sunday. It begins with Jesus humbly riding a young donkey into Jerusalem, crescendos at Calvary, and culminates as Jesus victoriously vanquishes death and the grave. More than half a millennia before the first Palm Sunday, the Prophet Zechariah had foretold, “Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal

In his farewell address, Moses told the Hebrews that they stood at the “Y” in the road. “Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God... all the peoples of the earth will see that you bear the Lord’s name, and they will stand in awe of you” (Deuteronomy 28:1–1

Compare the prophet Samuel to John the Baptist. Both were born to mothers who had been barren until their miraculous conception. Both were transitional figures, ushering in a new era. Samuel closed the period of Judges and served as Israel’s first prophet while John the Baptist closed the Old Covenant and the Law. Samuel anointed David, the great king. John the Baptist introduced the Lamb of God, the Son of David, the King of kings. Both stand tall among the greatest of Bibli

The Book of Judges records the three-hundred-year period extending from the death of Joshua to the beginning of Samuel’s life and leadership in Israel. After the death of Joshua, “another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surroundin

“Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears... She pleaded, ‘Lord of Armies, if you will take notice of your servant’s affliction, remember and not forget me, and give your servant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life’ ” (1 Samuel 1:10-11, CSB). Hannah addressed the “Lord of Armies” (1 Samuel 1:3, 10, CSB). That’s the “Lord of Hosts” (ESV, KJV) or “Lord Almighty” (NIV). In Hebrew, “Yahweh Sabaoth.” This is the first time this title is used in th

Eighteenth-century England needed revival. It was an evil place. Into that world, God sent a woman named Susanna. Susanna married Samuel Wesley and they had 19 children; among them were Charles and John. God used Susanna's boys to usher in the great Wesleyan Revival, to inaugurate the Methodist denomination, and to change the course of history. Israel in the 12th century BC was an evil place. The last verse in the book of Judges tells the story! “In those days there was no k

Kneel beside Moses and listen as he prays. “Thank you, Jehovah God, for saving your people from slavery and for taking them safely and miraculously through the Red Sea. But Lord, have you seen this wilderness? It’s dry and desolate! And Lord, this hungry hoard needs some food. Oh God, give us today our daily bread!” For four decades God’s people were utterly dependent upon God’s gracious provision. They certainly would have died of thirst and starvation, but God’s supply was

The Pharisees were show-offs! They prayed, not to worship God and advance His kingdom, but to prove their own great spirituality. With puffed-up pride, they entertained their admiring spectators with their lengthy orations. In response, Jesus said, “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites.” Instead of standing on the “street corners to be seen by people,” Jesus instructed His disciples to “go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who i