Latest Commentaries

Jesus offers His easy and light yoke to everyone who is tired from trying to bear the heavy burdens of the religious establishment.

Jesus prays to His Father in Heaven, revealing His relationship to God as His Son. And as the Son’s identity is revealed by the Father upon those whom He chooses, so is the Father known only by those the Son wills to reveal.

Jesus rebukes the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their lack of repentance in light of the many miracles that He performed among them. He says that even the pagan and wicked cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom would have shown more repentance.

Jesus demonstrates how Judea has rejected John as Elijah and Himself as the Messiah with a short parable about children playing different kinds of music for others who refuse to accept it.

Jesus continues His affirmation of John the Baptizer and his role as the forerunner to the Messiah. By extension Jesus is also testifying that He is that Messiah.

With John the Baptizer’s disciples leaving the scene, Jesus uses this occasion to begin a conversation about John’s role and hopes that the crowds had for this man. But as Jesus does so, He powerfully reveals His own Messianic identity for those who have ears to hear.

John, who has now been imprisoned sends a cryptic question to Jesus inquiring if He is the Messiah or not. Jesus responds with a clear, but coded, answer. 

Matthew has finished relaying Jesus’s instructions to His twelve disciples on their mission to preach to the towns and villages of Israel that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

Jesus instructs the seventy how to respond when a town receives them favorably and how to respond when a town receives them unfavorably.

Paul comforts the Thessalonians who were worried that if they died before Jesus’ second coming, they would remain dead and would miss out on spending eternity with Jesus. Paul clarifies that dead believers will be resurrected and meet Jesus in the air at His coming, and living believers will subsequently join them, and all will be with the Lord forever.

Paul urges the believers to increase in their love, to be sanctified by focusing on their own business and working hard at their own jobs, rather than becoming burdens to others.

Paul gives an analogy about the importance of living a clean life, to view one’s self as belonging to a special purpose given by God. We are not plates made of wood or mud, we are like plates of gold and silver, meant for honorable use. Thus, Paul warns Timothy against lust, against idly talking about things that lead to arguments; rather he is to be loving and peaceful, patient and kind to the believers he teaches, gently correcting them and guiding them to truth.

Timothy should remind those he teaches that they should suffer and serve Jesus, and should not waste time on pointless arguments about irrelevant beliefs that only harm and mislead other believers. Paul tells Timothy to root himself in truth, which pleases God. He names specific men who are spreading untrue messages among the believers; Paul says avoid these men, but rest confidently in God, for He knows who belongs to Him.

Paul shows that even though he is imprisoned, the word of God cannot be suppressed. Paul suffers for Christ because he wants others to believe in Jesus, and for all believers to share in the reward of Christ’s rule when He returns. If believers live for Him and endure suffering, we will reign with Him. If we waste our life and are disloyal, we will still get to be with Him after death, but will lose rewards we could have had.

Paul pushes Timothy to be strong, because Christ gives him favor and has a purpose for his teaching. Timothy is exhorted to pass on Paul’s teaching to faithful men, to suffer like Paul has as a good soldier, a competitive athlete, and a hard-working farmer.

Paul presents two examples to Timothy of faithless and faithful men. Phygelus and Hermogenes, who have betrayed Paul and are following untrue doctrines. These men are not to be imitated. But Onesiphorus is a man worth imitating: he visited Paul in prison and encouraged him, and was not embarrassed to be associated with him. Paul prays that God will show great mercy to Onesiphorus on the Day of Judgment for his service to God.

Paul points to the purpose God gave him, to preach the gospel and serve as an ambassador for God, reconciling sinful men to Him through faith in Jesus. It is a special purpose, one which Timothy was also given, and Paul does not want Timothy to abandon that calling through fear of rejection by the world. Paul has suffered for Christ without shame, for he fully believes Jesus will reward him on the Day of Judgment.

Paul does not want Timothy to shrink back from following in his footsteps, even if it will lead to imprisonment and death, as it will for Paul. Paul reminds Timothy of the character of his grandmother and mother, Lois and Eunice, both of whom are strong believers in Jesus. Paul also reminds Timothy of a special gift God gave him, that he keep the flame alive and use this gift to serve God, because God has not made us to be cowards, but to be strong, loving, and wise.

Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, with many exhortations and warnings. He thanks God for Timothy and expresses how much he misses him. Timothy served with Paul on many missionary journeys and the two had the emotional relationship of a father and son.

John has more to say, but concerning things he doesn’t want to put down on paper. He intends to visit this undisclosed church and bring it back to the full joy God has to offer.