I imagine Peter pausing after writing this sentence, perhaps straightening up from bending over the parchment on which he wrote 1 Peter, and taking a moment to remember that wonderful and yet melancholy day when his Lord rose into the air and drifted ever upward away from him and his fellow apostles until “a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).… Read More 1 Peter: The Right Hand of God
That’s what Christianity is about (Mk. 9:34-35; Matt. 20:25-28). Serving, not being served. Being last, not first. Being a slave, not a master.… Read More A Parable About Humility
Christ is speaking in first person through Zechariah’s prophecy. That is made clear when He cited Himself as the one “whom they have pierced,” a foretelling of the crucifixion. Thus, “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication” could be a prophecy that Christ would pour out the Holy Spirit. Speaking of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear” (Acts 2:33). Thus, this prophecy could have its fulfillment in the beginning of the church on Pentecost, with “the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem” referring to the Jews in Jerusalem who obeyed the gospel that day (Acts 2:38-41), and as a secondary application to the church as a whole, the spiritual house of David and the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22-23).… Read More Zechariah: “They Will Look On Me Whom They Have Pierced”
Zechariah’s statement, “…the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them” (12:8c), is likely a figurative prophetic reference to Jesus. Christ was a descendant of David’s house (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Ps. 132:11; Is. 11:1; Jer. 23:5; cf. Matt. 1:1; Lk. 1:32, 69; John 7:42; Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; Rev. 22:16). John depicted Jesus as “the Word” who “was God” and “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14; cf. Phil. 2:5-7; 2 Cor. 4:4b). … Read More Zechariah: “The House of David Shall Be Like God”
This crown, made of silver and gold molded together by the prophet, might have been double-tiered. According to commentator Homer Hailey, this would signify that the one wearing the crown held two offices, that of high priest AND king. No high priest had been king before in Israel. Zechariah’s crowning of the high priest Joshua was thus a symbolic prophecy. This is made even clearer by what the Lord directed Zechariah to say to Joshua (whose name in Hebrew – yhosua – means “Jehovah saves” and is transliterated in Greek to iesous…Jesus).… Read More Zechariah: Joshua’s Crown and the Messiah
Pre-Denominational Christianity 
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