Luke 5:29-30 Levi the tax collector is better known to us as Matthew. There were many kinds of tax at the time. There was a poll tax, which men aged 14 to 65 and women aged twelve to 65 had to pay. There was also a ground tax: one-tenth of al...
Luke 5:18-19 You can imagine the scene. Jesus had become an incredibly popular preacher and healer, and huge crowds were eager to meet him. At the same time, he was arousing the interest of the religious leaders who were anxious about his gro...
Luke 5:10-11 So far as we know, this is the first time that Jesus had ever met Simon. We have learnt that Jesus had borrowed his boat to use as a convenient pulpit, and then gave Simon orders to fish in a new area, which resulted in an enormous...
Luke 5:8-9 If you have ever talked to fishermen, you will know that they have a great sensitivity for their work. It is dangerous and demanding, and they are eager to be successful. They are often very good at anticipating where the fish are an...
Luke 5:4-6 People have fished in the Sea of Galilee for thousands of years. There are 27 types of fish found in the fresh water lake, the most famous being the Tilapia Galiliea. When it is mature, the fish can be up to 40cm long and 1.5kg in we...
Luke 4:42 Jesus’ public ministry had only just begun, but he was already in great demand. People found his teaching compelling because he spoke with such authority. He was quite different from their Jewish leaders. And his healing ministry was ...
Luke 4:18-19 These are the words that Jesus read in his home synagogue in Nazareth. They came from the prophecy of Isaiah and Jesus read them from a scroll during the sabbath service. So far so good. But he didn’t stop there. Having handed ba...
Luke 4:13 When we talk about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness, it might sound as if those were the only times when he was tempted. However, Luke makes it clear that this was not the case. The devil was always looking for his “next opportu...
Luke 4:6-8 All three of the temptations which Jesus received from the devil involved short cuts. Jesus didn’t deny that the devil had real power, or that the world was in his hands. But Jesus knew he had come to defeat the power of evil - and...
Luke 4:3-4 The devil will always try to exploit our weakest places. Jesus hadn’t eaten for forty days. He would have been hungry in a way that I have never experienced. Every sinew in his body was surely longing for some food, so the thought ...
Luke 4:1-2 I think some people imagine that if you follow Jesus, all your problems miraculously disappear. With him on your side, you will be sure to have a life overflowing with peace, joy, love and smiling people. But the truth is different...
Luke 3:23-24 It is so interesting that Jesus began his ministry when he was about 30 years of age. Only Dr Luke supplies us with this information, and it is fascinating to reflect on why it took him so long to begin his public ministry. Like ...
Luke 3:19-20 John the Baptist had a ministry of confrontation. He called the crowd a brood of snakes and delivered an uncompromising message. He believed that his ministry was to call the nation to repentance – and that included the king. Any...
Luke 3:7-8 John the Baptist was clearly a really interesting character. Matthew tells us that he wore clothes woven from coarse camel hair and existed on a diet of locusts and wild honey (see Matthew 3:4). There was nothing conventional about...
Psalm 137:3-4 This is an agonising psalm. The people are in exile far from their homes. Sitting by the rivers of Babylon, they were about 1,000 miles from their beloved Jerusalem. In their misery, they couldn’t bring themselves to make music, s...
