Walking through Capernaum (“his own town”—Matthew 9:1), Jesus came across Mathew sitting at a tax collector’s booth. Christ plucked the man out of obscurity with these two words, “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9). Here’s what we know about that man: The name Matthew means “gift of Jehovah,” or “gift of God.” Matthew was also called “Levi”…

When Jesus healed the centurion’s servant, he did more than a miracle. He demonstrated for everyone something that the centurion had already recognized: Authority. More specifically, Jesus demonstrated that he possessed the absolute authority of God incarnate, the authority that only a Creator has over his creation. Theologian Lawrence Richards explains this concept of God’s…

Jesus was in Capernaum when the centurion approached to request a miracle for his ailing servant (Matthew 8:5-13). Here’s what we know about that ancient village: Capernaum was the primary headquarters for Jesus’ ministry in Israel. After his baptism, Jesus moved to this village and likely lived with Simon Peter’s family while teaching, healing, and…

In the days when Jesus walked the earth, the Roman army ruled the land where he walked. Rome’s fighting forces were generally organized into legions, or the equivalent of about 6,000 soldiers. Within each legion, the troops were again organized into 60 groups (“cohorts”) of 100 soldiers each, and each cohort was commanded by a…

Mike Nappa
about

Mike Nappa

Mike Nappa is an entertainment journalist at FamilyFans.com, a bestselling author—and a notorious Bible Study Nerd.

He's a former youth pastor who shepherded kids on staff at Chuck Swindoll's church in Southern California—and he's a bestselling and award-winning author with more than a million copies of his books sold worldwide. Plus, he holds a degree in Christian Education with an emphasis in Bible Theology. So, you know, he’s got that going for him.

Mike is also a pop culture dork who watches too much TV, reads too many comic books, utters too many bad words, laughs at all the wrong jokes, and often gets in trouble because he says whatever he happens to be thinking at the moment—like quoting an R-rated movie in the middle of a sermon. Yeah, he’s a mess (just like you!), but he kind of likes it that way.

Most of all, Mike Nappa loves Jesus, and he figures that covers over a multitude of sins.

Learn more at nappaland.com/mikenappa.

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