Josh Moody

At this most profound turn of events—as Jesus turns his thoughts and attention decisively to the cross—he utters words that must have been deeply surprising at the time, and still a surprise today. “Now is the Son of man glorified” (John 13:31). Really? As he is betrayed, the Son…

Strange thought. Even in the betrayal of Jesus, the Scriptures are being fulfilled. We tend to think that God has a plan for the good things in our lives, but what about the terrible things? Does God still reach to control those events that threaten us, terrify us, or undermine…

Jesus now explains the reason for the foot washing. At the root of it is the importance of them correcting their misunderstanding about his Lordship, his rule, and the nature of the authority that he wields. He is the Lord, and yet his Lordship is not in diametric opposition to…

We come to the last message in the current series in Matthew 13 that we have called “Jesus’ Heavenly Kingdom.” As we’ve seen, the parables tell us of the beginning of the kingdom, the growth of the kingdom, and now the culmination of the kingdom. The stories Jesus tells here are…

The washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus has taken on various kinds of meanings in popular literature and in the common imagination. But what does it mean? What was it originally intended to convey? The first thing to notice is that nowhere does Jesus institute this practice…

John, the author of the Gospel, now takes a step back to reflect theologically on what is happening in the life and ministry of Jesus. It is all fulfilling what Isaiah long ago, under God’s inspiration, predicted. They did not believe in Jesus in fulfillment of what Isaiah had…

Jesus is now greeted not just with pleasure, but with adulation, praise, and indeed worship. The extent of this fulfillment of Old Testament promises is not grasped at the time, but later the disciples realized all that had been spoken of Jesus was being fulfilled in this…

What a sweet and beautiful reunion meal this must have been. Jesus is with his friends, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. And there is Lazarus reclining at the table with them, back from the dead, good as new. Mary then took a pound of pure nard, a very expensive ointment, and anointed…

To dispel again any misunderstanding that John is somehow anti-Semitic (a strange idea given that John himself was a Jew), note that John is as careful to record the Jewish people who believed in Jesus as much as those who did not. Many Jews now “believed in him” (11:45). Would…

The emotion that Jesus feels at death is not yet ended. He is “deeply moved” again. Mourning comes in waves—sometimes wave after wave after wave. Even the strongest Christian can be hit by such “deep emotions,” for even Jesus experienced them. Take comfort, you who mourn: Jesus…

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In our series in Matthew chapter 13 under the title “Jesus’ Heavenly Kingdom,” we are discovering the surprising nature of Jesus’ kingdom versus our common expectations. This Sunday we come to the parables about the growth of the kingdom. We will be looking especially at the…

No doubt, one of the hardest things to believe and accept is that we rise again from the dead. After all, who has been through death and come back again to tell us? As the atheist Bertrand Russell famously said when he was asked what he believed would happen to him after he died:…

Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, close to him by personal connection, is sick (11:1). But, says Jesus, this sickness is not a disaster but a disseminator, not a defeat but an ascent, not a disgrace but a revealer of glory: “It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be…

John loves to throw in the evocative detail: “It was winter” (10:22). Yes, in so many ways. The winter of discontent, as Shakespeare called it; here we might call it the winter of disbelief. The Jewish leaders gather around Jesus and ask him to tell them plainly whether he is…

Jesus is not just a shepherd, not merely a ruler. Nor is he only a good shepherd, a particularly good ruler. No, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. How do we know that Jesus is who he claims to be? How do we know that he fulfills the Messianic promise of David, that there would be a…

Tragedy and glory, sadness and empathy, passion and compassion—all bleed together into this closing section of this most extraordinary story of the man being born blind healed by Jesus. The disciples had asked whether the blind man or his parents had sinned (9:2). Jesus replied…

John Newton’s most famous hymn, Amazing Grace, takes as its inspiration one line from this story: “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (9:25). Or as Newton put it: Amazing Grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am…

As we now launch into this chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, we come to what I suppose is one of the most famous of all of Jesus’ parables: the Parable of the Sower. It is so familiar to many, that the basic meaning and point of it can be missed—ironically enough, I expect, as I…

The story begins with a terribly serious situation into which Jesus intervenes, and ends with an almost humorous disbelief on the part of those who had known the blind beggar before he was healed. Even in the most serious of ministry work there is humanity, and humanity, while…