Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Faith”
1 Thess 1:2-3 Paul did not necessarily pray long prayers for the church in Thessalonica but “mentioned” the church before God. The important thing is not the length of the prayer but the content and the heart behind it. Here we see Paul’s famous “faith, hope and love” for the first time (1 Corinthians 13:13). The Thessalonians had “previously” come …
Acts 3:1 Today’s division between Judaism and Christianity did not exist in the same way this early in history. The first Christians were Jews and continued with their Jewish culture and religiosity as long as it did not clash with the new covenant (Gal 2:11-14). For example, the first Christians often gathered in the temple (Acts 2:46). Normally, many Jews …
1 Cor 12:1 There are three topics that Paul believes it is important for us Christians not to be ignorant of: 1) the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1), 2) God’s plan for Israel (Romans 11:25), and 3) the return of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13). It is important to remind yourself of these three topics from time to time, otherwise they …
Mark 8:23 This is the second time that Mark describes how Jesus healed the sick by spitting (Mark 7:33). In biblical times, spittle was considered to have a healing effect. Mark 8:25 This is the only time when Jesus gradually heals someone. This does not mean that Jesus could not heal him instantly, Jesus has shown many times before that …
Mark 7:24 Tyre was an important port city in Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon). We have seen earlier in Mark that Jesus has tried to withdraw from the crowds in order to rest and teach the disciples a little more undisturbed (Mark 6:32-34). Having failed to escape in the past, Jesus now goes away from Jewish areas and stays among the Gentiles …
Mark 5:23 The contrast between the unbelief of the Gerasenes and the faith of Jairus is like night and day. When the Gerasenes see Jesus’ miracle, they ask him to leave. When Jairus sees Jesus, he asks him to come. A miracle performed among people who don’t want to believe often leads to greater unbelief. Jesus often healed the sick …
Mark 3:4 Jesus asks an ironic question. Jesus heals the sick on the Sabbath. The Pharisees plan to murder Jesus on the Sabbath. The Pharisees believed that Jesus could perform miracles, but they still didn’t want to believe in him. The question was not whether it was wrong for Jesus to heal the man, but whether he was allowed to …
Mark 2:2 Jesus had returned from his preaching tour in Galilee. After all the miracles Jesus had done, people were naturally very curious about him and wanted him to perform more miracles. But for Jesus it was important not only to do miracles but also to teach the people. Mark 2:5 The Torah says that if a person has sinned, …