Jesus frequently pointed to God’s place as our Father to emphasize the idea that God cares for us—but that imagery meant something different to his first-century hearers than it does to our so-called “progressive” 21st-century culture. In today’s American culture, the father is important, yes, but often optional in terms of societal necessity. Today a…

Jesus’ exhortation to “ask, seek, knock” in prayer seems a carte blanche promise that God will give anything you or I ask for in prayer. The normal Christian life, on the other hand, seems to discredit this promise on a daily basis. So what gives? Was Jesus lying, or mistaken, or exaggerating for effect? Are…

OK, brace yourself Bible Study Nerd, because this commentary section is going to be longer than normal. You’ve been warned. “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs…” What the heck does that mean? Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:6 are difficult to follow given the context of the verses before…

It would’ve been hard to be a Pharisee sitting in the audience of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Again and again Christ seemed to deliberately antagonize any religious leaders listening to his teaching—singling them out, calling them unflattering names, and mocking them with increasingly absurd insults. Matthew 7:3-5 records another example of this kind of…

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