Matthew 24:2 “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Observation: Four verses earlier Jesus had mourned over Jerusalem’s coming destruction, saying He had longed to protect her “as a hen gathers her chicks...

John 12:19 “…See, this is getting us nowhere.” Observation: Jesus had entered Jerusalem to the adulation of great crowds made all the larger by those clambering to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. In growing alarm the watching Pharisees said, “See,...

 Luke 19:4 “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him…” Observation: Zacchaeus was in a Jericho crowd as Jesus approached. Being too short to see Him, Zacchaeus climbed a tree for a clear view of the Master. Application: The point of the story is not...

Matthew 20:6b “He asked them, “Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?” Observation: Jesus’ question comes early in the parable of workers in the vineyard. The landowner had hired workmen early in the day for a fair wage. Then, apparently needing...

Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Observation: Jesus had in the previous chapter stirred an expectation that the end of the age would come suddenly. In Noah’s day the routines of life were...

Genesis 3:24 “After He drove the man out…” Observation: Adam had sinned. The uncreated God had created the most idyllic place on the planet to express the fullness of His love for this created being. God’s great passion had been for relationship with Adam, yet by his...

Job 42:10a “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again…” Observation: Job had finally come to the end of himself. Admitting that he had spoken “of things (he) did not understand, things too wonderful for (him) to know,” (v. 3) he...

Luke 22:61: “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” Observation: Jesus had been arrested by a combination of Roman soldiers and Jewish Sanhedrin. From the place of arrest, He was taken to Caiaphas’ home, the ruling high priest, where the Jewish phase of His...

Genesis 3:24 “After He drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” Observation: Everyone in the story sinned: Adam, Eve and the serpent. Each came under...

Genesis 3:6 “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Observation: Genesis 3 is the awful story of man’s fall, a tale of blame, of unresisted yielding to rebellion, and of subsequent shame and punishment. The chapter begins with an abrupt...