Three times Jesus uses this image in the Gospels: “Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39) “They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matthew 15:14) “Woe unto you, ye blind guides.” (Matthew 23:16) […]
— The drug-taking sports star milking a squeaky clean image with the sponsors. — The socialist MP who sends her children to exclusive prep-schools. The world despises a leader who does not practise what they preach. And so does Jesus. In fact Jesus leads the way in the condemnation: “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, […]
In chess terms they call it a “fork”. Your opponent puts you in a position where, whatever you do, you will lose a piece. The Pharisees and Herodians (not a natural alliance) gang up on Jesus “to catch Him in His words.” (Mark 12:13) “They say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, […]
We tend to use this phrase interchangeably with something like “Kids say the darnedest things.” But Jesus was making a deeper point. He wasn’t only referring to children but was encouraging us all to child-like-ness. It is not just infants, but more generally it is the simple trusters in Jesus whose surprising wisdom will shock the […]
Perhaps this question seems to belong to another age, but it’s very worth asking: Where can sinners take shelter from the wrath of God? It might sound old fashioned and out of touch with today’s world. But if so, perhaps it’s we who are out of touch with reality. The word of God rouses us […]
In the Old Testament book of Zechariah there are two commands to rejoice. Once it says: “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. 11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be […]
…So the handsome prince married his beautiful bride and they all lived happily ever after. Do you believe in fairytales? I say “fairytales” – it’s a bit deeper than that. It runs in our cultural bloodstream. It courses through our literature, our music, our films, our deepest values in life. We have this belief that […]
Have you ever discovered a co-worker’s salary? How did it affect you? It can be deeply destabilizing. There are good reasons that offices issue their payslips in sealed envelopes. Knowing the wages of fellow labourers can inspire volatile jealousy and tear a workplace apart. But why should it? Well, human beings are incurable rankers. We […]
A heavy burden weighing you down. Inescapable. And probably self-inflicted. That’s how we think of a millstone around our necks. A job, a relationship, an ongoing commitment – these things can often be called “millstones around our neck.” But when Jesus said it, He wasn’t referring to a wearisome inconvenience. He was speaking of a […]
How do you handle death? Broadly speaking, people either deny it or they befriend it. Denial is the majority option. “Life is for the living” we say and we put death out of our minds. As best we can. But it will come out in other ways. Hebrews 2 says we are “subject to bondage” […]
