Scripture in Action

During the slaughter of the infants by King Herod about two thousand years ago, Rachel is said to have raised her head and wept. Who is Rachel and why did she weep? And why should we weep with her? 

Herod was a man of great power. Not everyone becomes as powerful as Herod, but many of us would like to have power over other people: to dominate them and to be able to control them. That is the way of the world; not of heaven. 

One of the greatest heroes of the Bible is often relegated to the equivalent of a movie extra, which is a pity because we can learn some tremendous lessons from his life. This is Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. 

Why did Matthew start his gospel with a rather long genealogy instead of getting straight into the action like Mark did, or beginning with a tale of two miracle births like Luke did. Matthew had some important reasons. Here are a few.