“And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?’” (Mark 12:35 ESV).
In Mark’s Gospel, the apostle recorded how Jesus taught publicly in the temple courts during the final week before His crucifixion. Addressing the crowd and confronting the religious leaders, Jesus raised a question about the scribes’ understanding of the Messiah. The scribes correctly taught that the Christ would be the “son of David,” a descendant of Israel’s great king. Yet their understanding stopped there. By raising this question and then quoting Psalm 110:1 in the following verses, Jesus revealed that the Messiah was not only David’s son but also David’s Lord. David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, called the coming Messiah “my Lord,” showing that the Christ would possess authority greater than David’s. Through this teaching, Jesus exposed the scribes’ limited view of the Messiah and pointed toward His own true identity. He was both the promised descendant of David and the sovereign Lord whom David himself acknowledged. Mark recorded this moment to show that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament promises in a way far greater than many expected—the Messiah was not merely a royal heir but the divine Lord.
Jesus’ question still confronts us today. Like the scribes, we can sometimes hold a limited view of who Jesus is. We might acknowledge Him as a great teacher, a moral example, or even the promised Messiah, yet fail to fully recognize His lordship over every part of our lives. Scripture reveals that Jesus is not only the heir of David’s throne but also the Lord who reigns over all. When we see Him rightly, we are called to respond in faith, allegiance, and joyful submission. We trust Him as Savior, but we also surrender to Him as King. We allow His Word to shape our beliefs, our priorities, and our daily decisions. As we read this passage, we are invited to examine our hearts and enlarge our understanding of Christ according to Scripture.
The question Jesus raised in the temple reminds us that the gospel is not about a philosophy but a Person. Jesus continually brought His hearers to a place of decision asking, “Who do you say I am?” (Mark 8:29). This is still the most important question today—”Who is Jesus to you?”
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for revealing the true identity of Your Son through Your Word. Help us to see Jesus rightly and fully. Guard us from holding a small or incomplete view of Christ. Teach us to trust Him completely, worship Him sincerely, and submit to His kingship in every area of our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31 ESV).
A Jewish scribe came to Jesus asking which commandment He thought to be the most important. Jesus answered that that the most important was to love God and to love one another. His answer summarizes the Ten Commandments. For if we love God, we will keep the first five commandments and if we love our neighbor, we will keep the last five.
However the problem we have is that our sin nature prevents us from loving God and neighbor with all our being. We are conflicted and selfish at heart. We are sinners. Yet, to those who receive Jesus, the love of God is poured out. Jesus gives us His love for God and others. When we abide in Christ, we have the kind of unconditional love that follows God’s commands, not as rule-keepers, but from a new and changed heart.
Love is the most important commandment. For as the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You that You have shown Your love for us by giving us Your only begotten Son, Jesus. Your love has saved us and changed us, so that we are able to love You and others as You have loved us. Help us to demonstrate that love today in all our relationships. In Jesus’ name, amen.
‘Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?”‘ (Mark 12:24 ESV).
Jesus gave a devastating critique of the Sadducees’ theology, saying that they were ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God. The Sadducees were a sect of Judaism that affirmed only the books of Moses and denied the resurrection of the dead. Jesus declared them wrong on both. And since they didn’t recognize the authority of all the Scriptures, he quoted from the book of Exodus, which they did affirm, how God identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 3:9). Reminding them of this, Jesus said, “For God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong” (Mark 12:27).
There are many today who claim to be teachers and theologians that Jesus would rebuke because they dismiss the Bible’s authority and deny the power of God.
Do you know the Scriptures and the power of God?
PRAYER: Dear Father, we read and study Your Word that we might not only know it, but that we might be obedient to it and empowered by it according to Your Spirit. For Your words are life to us. Now strengthen us this day to do Your will according to Your power. In Jesus’ name, amen.
“O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple” (Psalm 48:9 NLT).
Meditation in the Bible is not an emptying of the mind as the Eastern religions teach. Rather, it is a focusing of the mind on God and His Word. Here, the Psalmist focused the thoughts of his mind on God’s character, specifically, His “unfailing love,” which is God’s “chesed” love, His covenantal love.
We are called to meditate on God’s character and God’s Word. Yet, we are so busy and our world is so loud and chaotic. And meditation requires quiet and focused reflection. Meditating is like chewing every bite of a meal well, so that its flavor is savored and its nutrients fully digested. Meditation is feasting on God’s word. As Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
Are you meditating on God’s love today?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we give thanks for Your unfailing love, which sent Jesus to die for our sins that we might live eternally as Your children. Such love is difficult to fathom. It is higher, deeper, longer, and wider than any we can see in this world. We see glimpses of it in our family relationships, but Your love is the source even of it. We love You Lord because You first loved us. Help us grow in Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Biblical meditation is not an emptying of the mind as the Eastern religions teach. Rather, it is a focusing of the mind on God and His Word. Here, the Psalmist focused the thoughts of his mind on God’s character, namely, His “unfailing love.”
We are called to meditate on God’s character and God’s Word. Yet, we are so busy and our world is so loud and chaotic. And meditation requires quiet and focused reflection. Meditating is like chewing every bite of a meal, so that its flavor is savored and its nutrients fully digested.
The Hebrew word translated, “unfailing love,” is “chesed.” It describes the unconditional and covenantal love of God. Meditating on God’s unconditional love, we compare it to our own and grow in both understanding and desire.
Today as believers, we are able to meditate on God’s love with greater illumination and understanding. For we have God’s greatest expression of chesed love in the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (Jn.3:16). The Greek word translated, “so loved,” is “agape.” It describes God’s kind of love, the kind of love that gives sacrificially. If the Old Testament word, chesed, expresses the promise of God’s covenantal love, then the New Testament’s agape expresses its fulfillment in Christ.
Let us meditate on this great love today. As the apostle John wrote, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us!” (1 John. 3:1).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we give thanks for Your unfailing love, which sent Jesus to die for our sins that we might live eternally as Your children. Such love is difficult to fathom. It is higher, deeper, longer, and wider than any we can see in this world. We see glimpses of it in our family relationships, but Your love is the source even of it. We love You Lord because You first loved us. Help us grow in Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Again we return to one of the favorite themes of the Psalmist, namely, the “lovingkindness” of God. This attribute in the Hebrew is called “chesed.” It describes the unconditional and covenantal love of God. The Psalmist wrote that they had “thought on” this Divine attribute in the temple. In other words, they had “meditated on” God’s lovingkindness, literally, likening or comparing it to what they knew, in order to understand it and appreciate it better.
Today as believers, we are God’s holy temple. When we gather as the church, we encourage one another to “think on” God’s lovingkindness just as the saints of old, yet with greater illumination and understanding. For we have God’s greatest expression of “chesed” love in the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (Jn.3:16). The Greek word translated, “so loved,” is “agape.” It describes God’s kind of love, the kind of love that gives sacrificially. If the Old Testament word, “chesed,” expresses the promise of God’s covenantal love, then the New Testament’s “agape” expresses its fulfillment in Christ.
Let us meditate on this great love today. As the apostle John wrote, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us!” (1 Jn. 3:1).
PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, O how great is your lovingkindness! We love You because You have first loved us. Your love expressed itself most fully in that You gave us Jesus. We lovingly offer our whole heart and lives back to You in praise. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Biblical meditation is not an emptying of the mind as the Eastern religions teach. Rather, it is a focusing of the mind on God and His Word. Here, the Psalmist focused the thoughts of his mind on God’s character, namely, His “unfailing love.”
We are called to meditate on God’s character and God’s Word. Yet, we are so busy and our world is so loud and chaotic. And meditation requires quiet and focused reflection. Meditating is like chewing every bite of a meal well, so that its flavor is savored and its nutrients fully digested. Meditation is feasting on God’s word. As Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we give thanks for Your unfailing love, which sent Jesus to die for our sins that we might live eternally as Your children. Such love is difficult to fathom. It is higher, deeper, longer, and wider than any we can see in this world. We see glimpses of it in our family relationships, but Your love is the source even of it. We love You Lord because You first loved us. Help us grow in Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Meditation is not an emptying of the mind as the Eastern religions teach. Rather, it is a focusing of the mind on God and His word. Here, the Psalmist focused the thoughts of his mind on God’s character, namely, His “unfailing love.”
We are called to meditate on God’s character and God’s word. Yet, we are so busy and our world is so loud and chaotic. And meditation requires quiet and focused reflection. Meditating is like chewing every bite of a meal well, so that its flavor is savored and its nutrients fully digested. Meditation is feasting on God’s word. As Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
How long can we chew on God’s “unfailing love?” I imagine it will sustain us for time eternal.
Again we return to one of the favorite themes of the Psalmist, namely, the “lovingkindness” of God. This attribute in the Hebrew is called “chesed.” It describes the unconditional and covenantal love of God. The Psalmist wrote that they had “thought on” this Divine attribute in the temple. In other words, they had “meditated on” God’s lovingkindness, literally, “likening or comparing” it to what they knew, in order to understand it and appreciate it better.
Today as believers, we are God’s holy temple. When we gather as the church, we encourage one another to “think on” God’s lovingkindness just as the saints of old, yet with greater illumination and understanding. For we have God’s greatest expression of chesed love in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us meditate on this great love today. As the apostle John wrote, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us!” (1 John 3:1 NIV).
The test for adultery found in Numbers 5 is a troubling passage to modern ears. But before considering its spiritual meaning, we must first remember that the Mosaic law was given to expose our sinfulness and to point towards our need for a Savior to rescue us from the curse of sin. Second, we must remember that marriage is a picture of the covenant relationship that God desires with His people, so adultery also points to how we have broken that covenant with God. In Deut. 27, Moses instructed the people that as they entered the Promised Land, they were to stand and repeat aloud the curses that would fall on them if they broke the laws of the covenant with God. In similar manner, the wife suspected of adultery was to repeat the curses prescribed in Numbers 5 before the Lord. If she was indeed guilty of adultery, then she would be accursed. But if she was innocent, she would be free. Unlike the other laws that required human involvement in carrying out penalties (i.e. “stoning), this law required divine action.
Similarly, our sinfulness today is as adultery against God. We have all gone “astray.” We have all “broken faith” with God. If we were to take this adultery test, every one of us would stand accursed. However, those who have trusted Christ, will not face condemnation, for He has already drank from this bitter, accursed cup. He drained it to the bottom, swallowing the dregs of our sin whole, becoming accursed for us. Christ took the adultery test in our place, so that we might be set free.