"they heard that he was alive". Some of their associates told them, but they could not believe what they heard. Later two others who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus repeated the news but the disciples did not believe. When Thomas was told that Jesus had appeared, he thought the disciples were all hallucinated! ... Read more
"Praise the Lord, O my soul". This phrase found at the end of several psalms comes like the crash of symbols on the final beat of a great anthem. The Psalmist has been picking his way through a harvest-field of blessings. Now he calls on everyone to praise the Lord - the angels, mighty ones ... Read more
"What things". Jesus asked this of the two He joined on the Emmaus Road when they asked Him if He knew what had been happening in Jerusalem over the last few days. He knew the answer, of course, but He let them tell him the details. Jesus still asks His disciples 'What things?' What things ... Read more
"that you may heal him of his leprosy". Naaman and his entourage arrived at the King of Israel with the request for healing on the strength of a servant girl's word taken captive from Israel some years earlier. The king was completely at a loss what to do. He had the prophet Elisha in his ... Read more
"He is going ahead of you". If the empty tomb bewildered the visiting disciples, the message of the angel resurrected them. Mark the steps in the revelation that He gave: Don't be affrighted - Jesus who was crucified is risen. He is no longer to be found in a tomb. You may see the place ... Read more
"the lion and the adder: the young lion and the dragon". This personification of our enemy can represent three kinds of trouble. The lion coming at us with a bound: we can see him coming. And we can see many of our troubles coming. The adder or cobra comes on us silently and unexpectedly until ... Read more
"Put this fellow in the prison". Micaiah the prophet was not the last man to be interned at the whim of a ruling despot. He did not prophesy favourably according to the king's desire and lost his freedom as a result. But putting Micaiah in prison did not silence the voice of truth, or King ... Read more
"What I have written I have written". Pilate meant that the wording of the superscription above the cross of Jesus was not going to be changed. How little did he realise the import of his words! The enemies of the cross, urged on by the devil himself, would have had these words removed. They would ... Read more
"Better … a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city". Lose your temper and we fear you cannot be trusted with anything. The most wonderful and at the same time the most fearful thing you have is yourself. This is why we need to place our emotions into the hand of ... Read more
"Peter followed him afar off". No one was willing to identify with Jesus at this time. The crowds had turned tail and those that did not openly oppose Him became mute or stayed away. His disciples forsook Him and fled and though John obtained admission to the courtroom, he contributed nothing to Jesus' defence and ... Read more