Latest Commentaries

The incredible work of Jesus on the cross transformed the physical and spiritual world.

The supremacy of Christ is the foundation for all things. There are many practices and traditions meant to reflect this reality. Paul implores the Colossians not to confuse the traditions with the supreme foundation.

Paul encourages the believers to remember and stand firm in their established faith. The deceptions of the world can easily distract us from the true path.

The unity of spirit binds all believers across all geography and time. Paul is fighting from a distance to help ensure the loud and present voices of the day do not drown out the unifying work of Christ and His Gospel.

Paul is working hard to proclaim the mystery of God to the people of Colossae and the surrounding region because it is right and because it is in their best interest.

Jesus tells the first of four parables to illustrate the things He told the disciples about His coming and the end of the age. The first parable is called “the parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servants.” 

Jesus ends His answer of the three questions with an admonition to the disciples to be ready at all times. 

Jesus gives His answer to the disciples’ first question about "When will these things happen?" He tells them even though the signs He gave will indicate His approach is very near, that "No one knows the day or hour of His return, but the Father alone." He parallels His return to the Days of Noah. The judgment will suddenly come upon those who are not ready just like it did at the flood.

Jesus begins His answer to the disciples’ first question, “When will these things happen?” He shares the parable of the fig tree as a way to say: pay attention to the signs and seasons so that you will be ready when the day is near. Jesus promises that this generation that sees the signs will not pass away until these things occur. Heaven and Earth will literally pass away, but Jesus’s words will endure forever.

Jesus finishes the answer to the second question about the sign of His coming. Jesus will gather His elect, shake the powers of the heavens, and come to earth on the clouds of glory. He will be seen by those on the earth, and the tribes of the earth will mourn.

Jesus continues to answer the disciples’ second question regarding the sign of His coming and identifies the second precursor as the great tribulation. It will be a time of unprecedented peril. He makes it clear that no guessing will be needed. If there is any doubt, then it isn’t Him. When He comes, everyone will know it. 

Jesus begins His answer to the disciples’ second question about the sign of His coming. He refers them to the prophecy from the Book of Daniel called "the Abomination of Desolation." This is not the sign of His return, but it is a precursor to it. He warns His disciples to flee Jerusalem as soon as they see the sign in order to escape the bloody danger that will instantly follow.

Jesus answers the disciples’ third question first. Their question was “What will be the sign of the end of the age?” He answered that it will come after greatly increased lawlessness, and after the gospel of the kingdom is preached in the entire world as a testimony to all the nations.

Jesus prefaces His response to the disciples’ three questions with a warning. He warned them to not be deceived by the many false Messiahs who would appear and lead many people astray.

Matthew begins his record of Jesus’s Olivet Discourse. As Jesus and His disciples leave the temple He tells them that it will be destroyed. This causes the disciples to ask three questions concerning future events. Jesus will answer the questions in the verses that follow.

Jesus calls for the believers to pay close attention to what He is saying. If they are faithful witnesses, even to the point of death, if they overcome the world and live in obedience to God, they will not suffer loss at the judgement seat of Christ.

Jesus encourages the Smyrna believers to be courageous in the face of their coming trial. They will be imprisoned, and it will test their faith, but the test will ultimately end. If they are faithful even to the point of dying, Jesus will reward them greatly in Heaven.

Jesus, conqueror of death, addresses the church in Smyrna. He tells them He knows their sufferings and their worldly poverty, but reminds them they are rich in spiritual wealth. They are being persecuted by Jewish enemies.

Jesus’s final public teaching before His arrest was a lament and acknowledgment of His people’s rejection of Him as the Messiah. It was coupled with a prophetic promise that He would be received by His people upon His return to earth at His second coming.

Jesus’s final woe of warning to the scribes and Pharisees was condemning. In it He demonstrated how they were just like their fathers who murdered God’s prophets when they killed John the Baptist. He also said they would get their fill of even more prophet’s blood—so much so that they would become as guilty as though they killed every righteous person from Abel to Zechariah.