Joel McCarty | As Jesus sits down for His last meal with His disciples, He makes abundantly clear one more time that He is the fulfillment of all things. His body will be broken to make all things whole. His blood will be shed to bring healing to the nations. He is the one who will absorb the full wrath of God in Himself to free all those who trust in Him. And He is the true and better covenant who is worthy of all our trust.

As Jesus sits down for His last meal with His disciples, He makes abundantly clear one more time that He is the fulfillment of all things. His body will be broken to make all things whole. His blood will be shed to bring healing to the nations. He is the one who will absorb the full wrath of God in Himself to free all those who trust in Him. And He is the true and better covenant who is worthy of all our trust.

Joel McCarty | And one of the scribes came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

And one of the scribes came up and asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Joel McCarty | After previously observing the chaos in the temple the day before, Jesus enters back into the temple, but this time with a purpose. To curse and cleanse the temple as it was not bearing the fruit of the nations that it was intended to do. But there is a hope in the midst of this curse. The true temple, Jesus, will eventually bear the fruit Israel failed to by His death and resurrection. And in doing so, He will succeed in bringing people from every nation into His Kingdom.

Joel McCarty | This week, we look at the role of disciple-making in the life of the church, what a disciple actually is, and the purpose of a disciple. To be a disciple of Jesus is much more than simply obeying his teachings as a new sort of moral code. It is experiencing a transformed heart that leads to a life lived solely for the purpose of seeing God’s glory spread to the ends of the earth.

Joel McCarty | Crowds again begin to surround Jesus, and in the midst of this chaos, a prominent religious leader is humbled to the point of falling at the feet of Jesus. His daughter is sick and he needs help. Jesus agrees to see her, but on the way is interrupted by an oppressed woman also in need of healing. Jesus, full of compassion, deals with each need personally and completely, again revealing His authority, even over death.

Crowds again begin to surround Jesus, and in the midst of this chaos, a prominent religious leader is humbled to the point of falling at the feet of Jesus. His daughter is sick and he needs help. Jesus agrees to see her, but on the way is interrupted by an oppressed woman also in need of healing. Jesus, full of compassion, deals with each need personally and completely, again revealing His authority, even over death.

Joel McCarty | The disciples have been taught the way of the Kingdom by the King Himself, Jesus Christ. But now they get to experience the power of this King firsthand. Jesus is King over creation, even when storms threaten to destroy. And He is King over the spiritual forces of darkness as they seek to control and manipulate humanity for their purposes. When the King speaks, all creation obeys.

The disciples have been taught the way of the Kingdom by the King Himself, Jesus Christ. But now they get to experience the power of this King firsthand. Jesus is King over creation, even when storms threaten to destroy. And He is King over the spiritual forces of darkness as they seek to control and manipulate humanity for their purposes. When the King speaks, all creation obeys.