Through the Bible with Chad

      Ok this is a loaded Chapter so lets see how we can break it down.     This chapter starts off with Peter and John going into the temple at the 9th hour, I am not convinced there is any significance to the 9th hour, tho it is mentioned elsewhere in the bible such as " And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani" However, it's not really mentioned in any significant way, so don't run off thinking 3pm should be significant. It's just a normal afternoon for these boys and they are headed to the temple for a prayer meeting.      They enter into the temple through these gates called Beautiful. If you poke around the internet you can find all kinds of interesting things about this gate.      The gate is fun to get lost on, but lets look at it's significance in the story. As we move on we encounter a begga r who had been crippled from birth, So this guy had a good spot at the temple...

      Acts 2 starts out on the day of Pentecost, which we discussed yesterday.  On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem when they heard the sound of a mighty wind and saw what appeared to be tongues of fire that descended upon each of them. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, so that people from different nations could understand them.      The event attracted a large crowd, and people were amazed to hear the disciples speaking in their own languages. Some of the people in the crowd thought that the disciples were drunk, but Peter got up and spoke to the crowd, explaining that what was happening was actually the fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel, which said that in the last days, God would pour out his Spirit on all people. Joel 2:28-32 MSG The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red 28-32 “And that’s just the beginning: After that— “I will pour out my Spirit ...

      If you have a printed version of The Message translation, the beginning of the book of Acts will have this introduction written by Eugene.  Acts Because the story of Jesus is so impressive—God among us! God speaking a language we can understand! God acting in ways that heal and help and save us!—there is a danger that we will be impressed, but only be impressed. As the spectacular dimensions of this story slowly (or suddenly) dawn upon us, we could easily become enthusiastic spectators, and then let it go at that—become admirers of Jesus, generous with our oohs and aahs, and in our better moments inspired to imitate him. It is Luke's task to prevent that, to prevent us from becoming mere spectators of Jesus, fans of the Message. Of the original quartet of writers on Jesus, Luke alone continues to tell the story as the apostles and disciples live it into the next generation. The remarkable thing is that it continues to be essentially the same story. Luke co...

  “After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God’s angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn’t move.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭MSG‬‬      The women, who were followers of Jesus, would have gone to visit the tomb because they wanted to properly bury Jesus' body and mourn his death. They may have also wanted to pay their respects and say goodbye to Jesus. Additionally, according to the Gospels, they were also curious to see if Jesus' body was still in the tomb and if the tomb was still sealed, as some of them were present at the time of Jesus' burial and were aware of the Roman seal on the tomb.  ...

  Thirty Silver Coins     So our story continues today with the first light of dawn. Everyone involved had been up all night, they had arrested Jesus last night and put him on trial with the Jewish council, and now they are going to take him to Pilate to get permission to have Jesus put to death. (during this time Israel was under roman occupation and not recognized as a sovereign nation.)      Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea during the time of Jesus' trial and crucifixion. He was responsible for maintaining order in the region and enforcing Roman law. The Bible describes him as being reluctant to sentence Jesus to death, but ultimately giving in to the demands of the Jewish leaders. Pilate was from Samaria, a region in modern-day Israel. He was a Roman appointed governor. He was in charge of maintaining law and order, and had the authority to pass judgment in legal matters. The Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pilate because they could not ...

Buckle up for this one Click! ->  Join our bible study  Anointed for Burial      Matthew 26 starts out with Jesus telling his disciples again that his time to be betrayed has come, the story contrast to a scene where the high priests and religious leaders are meeting to plot Jesus's murder.  Meanwhile as Jesus is eating dinner a woman walks in and begins to pour some expensive oil on his head, Now we have not come across any oil anointing yet in our old testament readings - so lets dive into it's meaning for a moment.       Anointing is the act of applying oil to a person or object, typically as a sign of consecration, dedication, or blessing. The word "anoint" comes from the Old English word "anointen," which means "to smear or rub with oil."       The first mention of anointing with oil is found in  Genesis 35:13-15 The Message 13 And then God was gone, ascended from the place where he had spoken with him. 1...