John Piper, in an introduction to a series of sermons on Isaiah 53: Nowhere in all the Old Testament does the gospel of Jesus Christ shine more clearly than in Isaiah 53. Seven hundred years before Jesus came into the world, God opened the eyes of his prophet to see into the very heart of … More The Gospel According to Isaiah
John Piper, in a sermon on Luke 23 “Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit” We should remember that God’s arms are open and his hands extended to his dying children. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” Not: into the grave. Not: into the void. Not: into the dark unknown. But: into the … More Remember That God’s Hands Are Open to You
Luke 23:38 There was also an inscription over him, [1] “This is the King of the Jews.”39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, [2] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And … More Two Ways to Respond to Suffering
Hebrews 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. We come to yet another passage of Scripture where we see the work of Christ in our lives as “already/not yet” He HAS perfected those who are being perfected…. He HAS sanctified those who are being sanctified… … More Already/Not Yet…Again!
J.C. Ryle on Jesus’ gracious words of intercession from the cross: (Luke 23:32-37) We read that when He was crucified, His first words were, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” His own racking agony of body did not make Him forget others. The first of His seven sayings on the cross was … More Infinite Love and Grace
J.C. Ryle on the Transfiguration account in Luke 9: …this passage shows us that the Old Testament saints in glory take a deep interest in Christ’s atoning death. We are told that when Moses and Elijah appeared in glory with our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration, they “talked with Him.” And what was the subject of … More J.C. Ryle on the centrality of the Cross
Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling … More Death of Jesus and Miracles
J.C. Ryle on Mark’s account of the Crucifixion of Jesus in chapter 15: We shall find it useful to examine separately the several parts of our Lord’s passion. Let us follow Him step by step from the moment of His condemnation by Pilate to His last hour upon the cross. There is a deep meaning … More The Death of our Substitute
During this week leading up to our celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, it is exciting to see passages of Scripture that point us to Christ, even though we may not have seen it at first. Such was the case when I first read about the cities of refuge. But in my research, I came … More “Our Greater Joshua”-Jesus, Our Once-For-All Sacrifice
Matthew 26:2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” J.C. Ryle comments: The connection of these words with the preceding chapter is exceedingly striking. Our Lord had just been dwelling on His own second coming in power and glory at … More The Son of Our Solar System
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 