Today we see one final lesson from the young ruler's life: Real change is impossible with man but not with God.

This is our third truth from the story: Real change is impossible with man.

Pause a moment to take this in. The rich young ruler thinks he can produce the goodness needed for entering heaven. Jesus knows that He can’t. What does this man ne...

Here is the second truth we see in this story: Salvation involves a real change in which a person becomes good like God.

One major problem that we face in the church today is that we have separated what God joined together.

Salvation...

The first lesson we learn from the rich young ruler is this: To enter heaven, you must be good like God.

When the rich young ruler asks his question, Jesus takes him up on the goodness thing: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except ...

This man who came to Jesus had a great deal going for him. Here are four things:

He was successful. He is successful financially (Mk. 10:22). He is also successful professionally—he is a ruler, in a position of influence (Lk. 18:18). And he...

You may have been drawn to Jesus, but His disciples got in the way. Something another Christian said or did kept you from getting to Christ and receiving His blessing. Here are three truths to remember when that happens.

1. Jesus removes th...

Jesus’ high view of marriage was very different from the prevailing ideas of the time, where divorce had become common.

Bishop Ryle writes about the “absurd and frivolous causes” for which the Jews allowed divorce, citing rabbinical texts o...

The purpose of the Pharisees’ question is to test Jesus. Their questions always have an angle. They ask Jesus about divorce, but Jesus answers with teaching about marriage.

Later, when the disciples ask about divorce, He answers them in pri...

Many people manage their lives by dividing them into compartments. There’s the work compartment, for business, budgets, and sales reports; the family compartment, for marriage, children, and home; and the spiritual compartment, for God, the church...

Here are two more observations on the strong words of Jesus.

4. Hell is eternal, conscious punishment.

'Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched' (9:48). Jesus speaks not about the worm, but their worm. It is personal. The w...

These are among the strongest words ever spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ. Here are three observations from them.

1. Your influence matters.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones… to sin” (9:42). You are responsible not only for yo...

Jesus is giving an illustration here: a child represents the poorest, weakest, and most vulnerable people. In our society, the poorest, weakest, and most vulnerable are not just the young. In significant measure, they are defined by race, and Jesu...

When Jesus asks the disciples about their argument, they are embarrassed. Trying to impress others with how great we are really is foolish.

The timing of this argument is significant. Jesus has just taken Peter, James, and John up the mount...

Jesus shows us two reasons for taking up our cross and following Him. The first reason is that we see Christ's glory. Here is the second reason:

We share Christ’s work

“Rabbi, it is good that we are here” (9:5).

Peter’s instin...

Jesus has announced His journey to Jerusalem, and suddenly all the talk is about dying and a cross. Peter has already objected (8:32). He likes being a disciple, but he’s not sure that he is up for this!

Likewise, you may be asking, “Why wo...

You go to church, and you think, Should I really commit myself? Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. Perhaps you have been on the fence about following Jesus for a long time. What is at stake in this decision?

1. Your life is at stake.

“Whoe...

Here Jesus speaks clearly about His own suffering and death for the first time. From this point on, everything is about the cross. The death of Jesus is central to the gospel. This is why He came into the world. This is how He saves His people.</p...

In earlier verses, Jesus was speaking privately to all the disciples. In chapter 9 we will see Jesus teaching the inner circle—Peter, James, and John. But here, Jesus is speaking to the crowd: the wider pool of people who might become His follower...

Jesus is referring to the transfiguration. When Peter, James, and John saw the radiance of Jesus’ glory. They saw Him as we will all see Him when He comes in power and glory to gather His people.

"Now I know in part. Then I shall know fully...

You read Peter’s wonderful confession—“You are the Christ”—and you are tempted to say, surely the disciples are seeing clearly. But look what happens next.

Peter feels confident enough to tell Jesus what He should be doing. And Jesus has to...

The disciples are in the boat with Jesus crossing the lake. Nobody had thought about what they were going to do for lunch (8:14).

Jesus uses the boat trip to teach the disciples about the power of evil in the world. He warns them, “Beware o...

We have seen what Jesus does for His people. He overcomes resistance in His people. He cleanses the hearts of His people. Now we will see how Jesus Christ gives sight—the ability to discern spiritual things—to His people.

Here we see a heal...

Look at these devastating words of Jesus. He is saying to the Pharisees, “That’s you! You do religious things, but your heart is far from me. Your life is about yourself and your money. You do not really care about people in desperate need, and yo...

We live in a filthy world and some of us have seen and experienced terrible things. We wonder what it will do to our own souls.

These words of Jesus are full of hope. The things you see or experience may cause great trauma or great struggle...

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were scrupulous about ceremonial washing (7:3-4). They felt that these rituals would preserve purity before God. But Jesus says, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (7:8).

...

The Bible speaks about both forgiveness and cleansing. We need to be forgiven so that we can be at peace with God. We need to be cleansed so that we can live in the presence of God.

Forgiveness belongs to the realm of justification: “There ...

How does Jesus overcome hardened hearts and resistance in His people? Here are three ways.

1. Jesus is patient with you.

“Do you not yet perceive or understand?... And don’t you remember?” (8:17-18).

There was no instant solut...

Some struggles in the Christian life come further down the track. You experience things that you cannot understand, and you find resentment toward Jesus growing. Here are four circumstances that can lead to hidden resentment:

1. When you ar...

A second way our hearts can be hardened is through habitual sin. Herod knew that John was a righteous, holy man. Herod was drawn to the truth (Mark 6:20), but he followed the flesh.

Herod's palace was a den of indulgence. We get the flavour...

Have you ever wondered, “Why don’t I love God more? Why don’t I have greater joy in Christ? Why is my heart so cold in worship?” There are three ways hardness grows in a person’s heart. First, we see that hometown unbelief can harden our hearts.</...