There's a sharp change in tone between chapters 11 and 12. From technical arguments about Jews and Gentiles, Paul soars into a meditation on what God's mercy means for our conduct. In a society where status was everything, he asks his reade...

This section of Romans 15 ends with a benediction (verse 13). Paul has finished his arguments and his teaching about Jews and Gentiles, and commends his readers to God in their discipleship. Romans has a reputation for being a complicated book – it...

After his betrayal, Jesus is 'tried' by the chief priests and elders, who are determined that he should die. As they don't have the authority to execute him, they need the permission of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Everyone knows about the five loaves and two fish that miraculously became enough to feed a whole crowd. With slight variations, the story appears in all four Gospels. Like many others, it has Old Testament roots: Elisha does the same sort of thing i...

The Old Testament prophet Zechariah had spoken of a day when the Messiah would arrive, not on a warhorse but a donkey. The people who cheered for Jesus as he entered Jerusalem had spent their entire lives under Roman rule. They couldn’t wait for th...

The book of Isaiah has sometimes been called the 'fifth Gospel' because of its foreshadowings of the story of Jesus. It's here at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, describing John the Baptist in his proclamation of the coming Mess...

Romans 9–11 is a separate section in Paul's letter; some have even suggested that he might have included here something he'd already written. In these chapters, he's exploring what it means to be a Jew in the light of God's reve...

There’s something quite wistful or plaintive about John the Baptist’s message to Jesus. He is in gaol, having offended the powerful Herod Antipas. John the Baptist is an authoritative, charismatic figure, like Elijah, but Elijah, plunging into de...

There are indications in the Gospels that Jesus’ family were worried about and even hostile towards his ministry. Perhaps they have come to him on this occasion to try to talk him out of his mission. His words about family are quite startling even ...

Matthew 18 contains some hard Jesus sayings: on pride, temptation and the wages of sin. And yet, read these passages closely and there’s always an underlying vision of deliverance.

The Sermon on the Mount covers Matthew 5–7. It's the longest block of teaching in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and contains some of Jesus' most challenging teaching – and his most comforting.

Matthew 8 contains a series of miracles and encounters with Jesus, each of which illustrates something of his power and his character. This little story is multi-layered. In demonstrating his power over the tempest, it refers back to Old Testament im...

Until now in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has been doing well against the opposition he faced. Now, the forces of darkness are beginning to gather against him, and he starts to prepare his disciples for what lies ahead. They don’t like it; they have s...

The book of Isaiah is full of foreshadowings of Jesus. Chapter 40 marks the beginning of a new section which may have been written by a different author; most scholars don't think the book was written by one person, though they all stress its ar...

In the first part of Matthew 6, Jesus tells his hearers that they shouldn't make a show of their religious duties in public, but keep them between themselves and God.

Isaiah 42 contains one of the book's four 'servant songs', which speak of the 'servant of the Lord'. In Isaiah's mind, the 'servant' was Israel, chosen by God to fulfil his purposes in the world as they lived f...

For those of us who grew up going to Sunday school, it’s hard to read these verses without thinking of the teaching song, ‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’. It’s catchy – but it misses the point, which is that while both the men ...

Deuteronomy is framed as Moses' final warnings and commandments to the people before his death. Here, towards its beginning, there are the words that lie at the heart of the Jewish faith, recited every day by observant Jews as the Shema, beginni...

As we read this chapter, it might help to remind ourselves of the title of the book – it's the letter to the Hebrews. In other words, it's aimed at Jewish Christians deeply immersed in what we call the Old Testament. They were looking for...