I was driving down the road the other day. Snowflakes were fluttering in the breeze and the Thanksgiving holiday was only days away. One of my favorite Christmas songs was playing, Michael W. Smith’s Reve du Noel. For some reason, this song always makes me feel like Christmas. It starts out as a chorale in a manner reminiscent of the Carol of the Bells, followed by a piano interlude of Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s [...]
I love the words of the angels to the disciples after Jesus ascended into heaven. After instructing them to remain together in Jerusalem and wait for the promised Holy Spirit, Jesus simply arose from the earth and disappeared into a cloud. From out of nowhere, two angels suddenly stood beside the disciples, saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, [...]
On the night of the Passover Feast, the night He was betrayed, Jesus knew exactly what was coming. Knowing He had but a few short hours, He chose to humble Himself and take on the role of a Servant. He laid aside His outer garments and attended to the needs of His disciples by washing their dirty feet (John 13:1-15). In one of the most beautiful Old Testament passages (Isa. 52:13-53:12), the prophet Isaiah writes [...]
There’s a difference between knowing… and knowing. The disciples knew that Jesus was going to be raised up on the third day. He had told them so. He had explained it in so many words. But they just didn’t get it. Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. [...]
It began with the scourging. The Romans were experts at devising torture. A scourge was not just a whip; it was designed to dig into and tear up the flesh. The scourging Jesus received was so severe that He was unable to carry His own cross to His execution (Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26). And crucifixion was more than just a public execution. It wasn’t relatively quick like a hanging or beheading or lethal injection. Crucifixion [...]
A photograph of the Shroud of Turin showing both the negative (left) and positive (right) views. Originally published in the French language in 1950, A Doctor at Calvary provides an in-depth description of the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ from the perspective of medical research. Author Pierre Barbet, M.D. (1884-1961) was a French physician and chief surgeon at Saint Joseph’s hospital in Paris. Because of his expertise in anatomy and surgery, including [...]
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus knew He had but a few hours before He would be handed over to the authorities. So, He gathered His beloved disciples around Him and shared with them those things which pressed most urgently on His heart. He began by washing their feet. We know that washing of the feet was a common practice. After all, the people wore sandals, if any shoes at all. And although major [...]
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus knew full well what He was about to suffer. As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to [...]
Sometimes people wonder, “Is Jesus really the only way? Is there truly no path to salvation through any other? Why Jesus?” After the miraculous events surrounding the birth of Jesus, His childhood years were spent in relative anonymity. We get a glimpse of Jesus at twelve years of age when He went with His family to attend the Passover Feast in Jerusalem. Traveling with a large caravan as they journeyed home, Jesus’ parents did not [...]
