Jesus saved a woman caught in adultery when He challenged anyone without sin to hurl the first stone at her. The Lord proclaimed that anyone who kept His word would never die. He said that He had seen Abraham and told the Jewish people that God, His Father—their God!—sent Him. They wanted to stone Him. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the chief priests and Pharisees feared that everyone would come to believe. The Lord and His Disciples left the area to lay low for a while, leaving people to speculate whether the coming Passover cel

Frustrated with people refusing to believe without seeing a miracle, Jesus declined to go with a royal official to heal his gravely ill son. The official had faith that healing could occur sight unseen, and his son lived. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would become the Mother of Jesus, she went from fear to pondering and finally to faith-filled acceptance. Guards sent to seize Jesus let Him go, because no one had ever spoken like the Lord did. Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, recommended hearing Jesus before

A scribe asked Jesus to name the greatest Commandment. The reply to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength seems to leave no room for love of neighbor. But wait! Peter wanted to know if Jesus expected him to forgive someone as many as seven times, and Jesus said seventy-seven. Love overflows our hearts. Having learned of Mary’s pregnancy, Joseph needed reassurance. An angel provided it. People knew what Mosaic law required and what the prophets had taught, but they needed more. With complete lesson plans, Jesus came as Te

In grade school, “show and tell” lets children learn by listening and seeing. Our Lord advised listening to the Pharisees but not following their show of hypocrisy. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus had no sooner told the Twelve of His looming Crucifixion than the mother of James and John asked Him to promise her sons places of honor alongside Him in the Kingdom. Despite Jesus’ example, even His friends had trouble seeing how humble and lowly service fit together with greatness. In a parable, the father welcomed his prodigal son home in high

Pharisees focused on the letter of the law. Jesus spelled out what it meant. Treating people the way we want to be treated will not always come easily, though. We move away from poverty, isolate the sick, dehumanize the prisons, and fear a stranger standing on the welcome mat. We can ask God for anything, but He knows that many things would leave us wanting. We can knock, even on the trapdoor of sin, but Jesus provided the keys that unlock the door of heaven for us. How often do we long for specific answers to our prayers and seek the Lord only

The Disciples failed to cure a boy, and the desperate father asked Jesus to do it, if He could. Jesus healed the son’s convulsions and helped the father come to believe more fully. The letter of James reminds the faithful that unanswered prayers result from asking with the wrong desires. People noticed that Jesus’ followers didn’t fast the way the Pharisees did. Jesus advised the people to engage in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving at appropriate times and without fanfare. The Lord doesn’t want fasting while ignoring the hungry or coming

Jesus had multiplied meager supplies of bread and fish on two separate occasions to feed thousands. Nevertheless, even His closest Disciples failed to understand what the Lord meant by His warning to guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod—people who rose to the occasion when defending the letter of the law and ignoring its spirit. Things looked a little brighter when Peter called Jesus the Messiah and received the keys to heaven. Although held responsible for our sins, we have hope in God’s mercy made evident through Peter and