Jesus the True and Better Priest

Jesus the True and Better Priest

All along we’ve been observing the way that religion alone cannot cover over the stain that sin produces. Which has led many to draw the conclusion that Jesus came, in some way, to eradicate religion.  “I have a relationship,” we insist.  “Not a religion.” The problem...
The Contagious Gospel: Jesus as a Friend to Sinners

The Contagious Gospel: Jesus as a Friend to Sinners

To finally put the last piece on this week’s series of posts, we need to go back to Luke 5.  It’s right after Jesus heals the paralyzed man who’d been lowered through the window.  And, as we saw, Jesus calls Levi away from his life as a tax collector to be a disciple...
From Leper to Love

From Leper to Love

His whole life had been defined by distance.  He was an “outsider,” they told him; a Samaritan.  To this day he still couldn’t remember all the reasons why he and the Jews would never really get along.   “Unclean,” they said, not because of anything he’d done, but...