Articles

More than one hundred years ago, just before the outbreak of World War I, Congress passed a resolution to honor mothers on the second Sunday in May. For the last century, we have celebrated Mother’s Day as a day of reverence for the unique and sacred institution of motherhood.

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As Jesus traveled to Jerusalem for the last time before His crucifixion, many thought He would be crowned as a king and immediately begin ruling over Israel (Luke 19:11). Jesus addressed this assumption with a parable, which is recorded in Luke 19:12–27. In Jesus’ story, a nobleman leaves his servants at home as he travels to receive a kingdom, giving each of them money to invest in his absence. His servants and citizens respond to these circumstances in different ways—some in rebellion, some in disobedience, and some in faithfulness.

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You can probably think of someone who seems like just the sort of person God would use—someone, say, with fantastic gifts and an attractive personality. Perhaps you’ve wished you were like that person or that you had this gift or that quality so you could be more useful for Christ. Yet while it’s good to want to grow, we must remember: we often don’t measure usefulness the way God does.

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It’s hard to fathom Jesus Christ’s final, agonizing hours upon a Roman cross. The floggings, the torture, and the humiliation He had endured were reserved for the worst of criminals. It is no wonder, then, that with His last breath, Jesus cried out in a loud voice “Tetélestai!”—“It is finished” (John 19:30).

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The historicity of Jesus’ death by crucifixion is widely accepted. Jesus’ resurrection, on the other hand, is still met with doubt. Everyone dies, after all, but very few people in history, even as the Bible records it, have experienced someone coming back from the dead. So from the beginning, the resurrection, and particularly its implications, has proven a stumbling block for many.

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The central message of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of Jesus Christ. Chapter after chapter declares that Jesus surpasses all that came before Him and all that exists in creation. This glorious truth leads the writer to conclude that the new covenant Jesus inaugurated is superior to the old covenant with its laws, regulations, priests, and sacrifices—including in the way it deals with a guilty conscience.

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In Philippians 3:20, Paul lays down a principle that has been a great hope for each ensuing generation of believers: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter puts this concept another way in his first letter, calling the Christians to whom he writes “sojourners and exiles” in their own country (1 Peter 2:11).

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Many of us have our favorite “heroes” in the Scriptures—great figures of the faith like Moses, Joshua, or Ruth, or perhaps more obscure ones like Mary, Martha, or Silas. But when we think of biblical heroes, Ananias—a seemingly random man who played a key role in Saul’s conversion and discipleship—may not immediately spring to mind. He’s not one of the “big ones,” and he only appears in a few short verses in Acts 9 and once again in Acts 22:12.

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The Easter season is a celebration of the Gospel. As we remember Jesus’ passion, death on the cross, and triumphant resurrection from the grave, we aren’t just marking an anniversary. We are remembering that, in the words of Paul, “when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us” (Titus 3:4–5). Holy Week is a time to recall God’s magnificent work of salvation.

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The phrase “persecuted church” tends to carry our minds to other parts of the world, where Christians suffer severely for their faith in Christ. But the New Testament makes it startlingly clear that persecution isn’t limited to a select group of believers. Paul summed up the plain truth in 2 Timothy 3:12 when he wrote, “All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (emphasis added).

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