Beloved Saints, the passage we meditate on today concerns the final exhortations and promises Jesus gave His disciples on the eve of the cross. Within these words lies the most crucial truth we must grasp in our journey of faith. 1. The Prayer Beyond the Cross: Human Weakness and God's Grace (John 13:31–38; Mark 14:27–31; Matthew 26:31–35; Luke 22:31–38) Jesus declared that the hour of the cross was at hand, predicting that the disciples would scatter and that Peter would de

Even our Lord Jesus—who is God—came into the world to die. Physical death is part of God’s principle and order, and so the Son of God moved within that order. Of course, Jesus’ death carried a meaning unlike ordinary death. Jesus actively went into death. That death was a death to save the world, and a death within God’s will and plan. Seen in merely physical terms, that death may appear no different from any other death or even more miserable—but it was instead the path of l

Many times when we regard ourselves as righteous, it springs from a proud heart that exalts our own achievements and boasts in ourselves. This is why the Pharisees, thinking they knew the Law well and kept it well, became proud and considered themselves righteous. But those on whom God pours out His grace are like the tax collector—those who confess they are sinners and come before the Lord with a broken heart. In other words, keeping the Law merely as a law provides no groun

Herod, even after hearing John’s rebuke (Mark 6:18), could not restrain his own desire and lust. He insisted on marrying Herodias, who...