Jesus finishes calling them to be right with God, and they respond (in essence), “But what about Pilate! What about the Galileans…” Jesus calls them to focus on their own sin instead of that of everyone else, and they must bear fruit of repentance before it is too late.

Jesus declares that he did not come to bring peace, and in fact he will lead to family conflict (12:49-53). He rebukes them for not knowing how to discern what is going on in front of them (12:54-56), and he tells of coming judgment before God (12:57-59).

Jesus has been showing his disciples how to live in light of Him with money, possessions, and anxiety. Now He turns to show them how they should live in light of the fact of His return.

Jesus instructed them that life is not about possessions and warned of greed. Now he takes another look at this topic by examining the worry and anxiety that often comes from a focus on the creation rather than the creator.

Jesus instructed them that life is not about possessions and warned of greed. Now he takes another look at this topic by examining the worry and anxiety that often comes from a focus on the creation rather than the creator.

Jesus has just finished rebuking the religious leaders. He now turns to his disciples to warn them of three pitfalls to walking with Him: Hypocrisy, fear of the future and people, denying Christ and the Spirit.

Jesus interactions with the religious leaders intensify in this section, and we see that their view of religion is what Jesus condemns. Rather than externals, Jesus is concerned about the heart. Rather than being fastidious about tithing the right amount and having great places of honor, Jesus cares about love, justice, and mercy. Rather than truly honoring God, the religious leaders persecute God’s messengers, specifically Jesus.

Jesus gives an extended discourse, with several small parts, about how we should respond to him. Over and over he challenges us to question if we have just been morally reformed or spiritually regenerated.

Jesus casts out a demon, and people start giving explanations/excuses for how Jesus is doing this (and surely, it couldn’t be divine). Jesus logically then deduces that Divine authority is the only think that makes sense, and follows this with an illustration of His conquering authority.