Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
1
Jesus had replaced money as Zacchaeus’s savior, and so money went back to being merely that, just money. It was now a tool for doing good, for serving people. Now that his identity and security were rooted in Christ, he had more money than he needed. The grace of God had transformed his attitude toward his wealth.
Timothy Keller • Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
There is an important underlying theme here which runs through the entire ministry of Jesus. Some Jews assumed, perhaps on the basis of a facile reading of Deuteronomy and certain psalms, that wealth was a sign of YHWH’s favour. It signalled, apparently, that one was already in receipt of covenant blessings. This explains the disciples’ great surpr
... See moreN. T. Wright • Jesus Victory of God V2: Christian Origins And The Question Of God
He highlights the fact that the younger brother has been with “prostitutes,” while he has been living a chaste life at home. “I would never do anything as bad as that!” he is saying in his heart. Because he does not see himself as being part of a common community of sinners, he is trapped by his own bitterness. It is impossible to forgive someone i
... See moreTimothy Keller • The Prodigal God
Starting with the sinfulness of humans and the wrath of God against sin, he moves on to tell of God’s grace in salvation, which comes to us through God-given faith and not our works.
Zondervan • NIV, Women's Devotional Bible
The Call of Matthew* 9 As Jesus passed on from there,+ he saw a man named Matthew* sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10While he was at table in his house,* many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.+ 11The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does
... See moreHarper Bibles • The New American Bible: The Leading Catholic Resource for Understanding Holy Scripture
10And so have I seen the wicked brought to the grave, and from a holy place they went forth, while those who did right were forgotten in the town. This, too, is mere breath.
Robert Alter • The Hebrew Bible
It is not a matter (as has often been imagined, and now quite often refuted) of Jesus offending some petty scruples here or there, or of an abstract challenge offered by one timeless religious system to another. Jesus is claiming to be ushering in Israel’s long-awaited new world; and he is doing it, apparently, in all the wrong ways.