The gospel of Mark opens with several truth claims: Jesus is identified as Israel’s promised One, the Messiah. The man Jesus is not just a man but the Son of God, who, as sons do, carries on the work of the Father. The very name Jesus carries the gospel message “Yahweh saves”, and Mark’s gospel account will go […]
John the Baptist came to preach good news. It began and ended with a call to repentance which leads to forgiveness. He warned the Jews of his day to beware a smug contentment with law keeping or ancestry as their hope for acceptance by God. By resting in such false assurance they would be among the ones […]
The ministry of John the Baptist was short but eventful. He came to herald the coming of the Messiah, God’s greatest saving act. He came, preaching in the desert, in the desert of Israel’s existence as it labored under the rule of wealthy and powerful Rome, and under the empty faith of its spiritual leaders. He preached in […]
Adam and Eve’s sin was to place themselves in place of God by ignoring His commands. But God cannot comingle with sin. As sinful beings they could not be in the presence of God, in Eden where He resided, to have fellowship with them, where they could fulfill their calling for worship and work in His […]
Adam’s sin brought shame upon himself and his wife. It also brought God’s judgment. Our text today describes two responses that serve to close out this chapter in human history. Adam, now living under the curse of misery in his life, also believes in God’s promise of a redeemer, and names his wife Eve accordingly. By her childbearing, future […]
In this text we hear the tragic words of God’s judgment on Adam for his sin. Adam will live under sentence of death. The life that remains to him will be stricken with misery as he strives to till the soil for food. He will struggle in all the endeavors of his life without a sense of […]
Sin produces pain. It destroys joy. It grabs our attention from its proper focus on our Creator. When Adam and Eve sinned, God punished them, announcing the suffering that would follow. In this text, Eve learns that her role as helper to her husband and as child bearer will be afflicted with pain. Eve’s pain would not just be physical […]
When Adam and Eve committed the first sin known to the human race, the outlook for them or any descendants was hopeless. They had chosen to believe Satan ‘s lie that they would not die if they sinned. When God confronted them, they already bore the guilt and shame and fear that sin brings. Was there a future […]