“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32 ESV). In Luke’s gospel, he recorded that Jesus spoke these words in response to the Pharisees and scribes who criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus had just called Levi (also called Matthew) and shared a meal with
“The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him” (Numbers 35:21 ESV). Moses instructed the people of Israel in the wilderness regarding God’s laws for justice, particularly in cases of murder and manslaughter. He commanded that the “avenger of blood” was authorized to carry out justice on behalf of the
“If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan” (Numbers 32:5 ESV). Moses recorded how the tribes of Reuben and Gad spoke to him and the leaders of Israel as they stood on the edge of the Promised
“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1 ESV). In Psalm 63, David wrote to express his deep longing for God while he was in the wilderness of Judah.
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8 ESV). David wrote this psalm to call God’s people to the same steady trust he had learned through seasons of opposition and instability. Having testified that God alone was his rock and salvation,
“Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd” (Numbers 27:16–17 ESV).
“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46 ESV). Luke wrote his Gospel after carefully gathering eyewitness accounts (cf. Luke 1:1-4), and this intimate story likely came from Mary herself, who “treasured up” all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19,
“O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love” (Psalm 59:17 ESV). In Psalm 59, David wrote to God while enemies surrounded his house and sought his life. The psalm opened with desperate cries for deliverance in the night as David
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luke 1:76 ESV). In the Gospel of Luke, he recorded the Spirit-filled prophecy of Zechariah spoken at the naming of his son, John. After nine months of imposed silence, Zechariah spoke with
“…And the people became impatient on the way” (Numbers 21:4 ESV). In the book of Numbers, Moses recorded Israel’s wilderness journey as the Lord led His people toward the Promised Land. After the death of Aaron at Mount Hor, the Israelites set out again, traveling south toward the Red Sea in order to go around