Jesus says that everyone will hate you because of Him. And that’s why Jesus says that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. This isn’t about believing some intellectual truth. The call of Jesus goes much deeper than that. What do you need to be doing today so that you will be able to stand firm tomorrow?

When Jesus says, “the gospel must first be preached to all nations,” He is speaking in the context of witnessing for Jesus before governors and kings. He is speaking about witnessing for Jesus in the midst of trouble, suffering, and persecution.

Many people are afraid and have questions about how the world will end. Jesus warned that there would be many deceptions regarding the end of the world. If you want to know the truth about what will actually happen, then the best thing to do is find out what Jesus actually said on this subject.

The disciples, as is natural to us human beings, we’re very interested in “when.” But Jesus rarely focused on the “when” of things. He was ultimately much more interested in the “who.” That’s why Jesus touches on the ‘when’ in this prophecy but focuses on the trouble and suffering that his followers will go through. And you’ll see that the climax of this prophecy is the ultimate “Who” – Jesus Christ coming in the clouds. Think about yourself. Are you usually thinking more about the ‘when’ than about people? Have you become so busy with timeframes and deadlines that you’ve forgotten what Jesus asks you to do?

Interestingly, Jesus wasn’t impressed by the things that impress us. The disciples focused on the earthly and the material. But Jesus, who could see all time in a single glance, focused on eternal realities. What one thing can you do that will help you focus less on materialism and more on the things of God?

A poor widow gave two pieces of money called mites as an offering to God. It was not very much money, but it was all the money she had – and yet she offered them to God. If you want to understand the meaning of this parable, watch this video clip.

The only way to protect yourself against false religious leaders is for your first allegiance to be to Jesus Christ and to His Word. If that is where you stand then you won’t be misled, and you won’t be disappointed when the hypocrisy of these people is exposed.

Jesus was trying to lead the people to understand who He was. One of the most common questions in the Gospels is, “Who is this man?” Our salvation depends on our answer to this question. How would you answer it? Jesus isn’t looking for an intellectual answer but He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him.

One of the religious teachers has just asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the law. Jesus has answered that it is to love God and that the second commandment is to love our neighbour. Jesus emphasises that this is the central and guiding principle regarding how we should live our lives.

The Jewish people in Jesus’ time loved to debate an infinite number of questions endlessly. They particularly loved to talk about the law and all the various commandments. One of these teachers of the law was impressed with Jesus’ answers, and so he asked Jesus a question that he had been wondering about. Of all the commandments, which is the most important?