Dr Paul Allen

To some, the concepts of love and law contradict one another. While love conjures images of warmth and family, law conjures images of coldness and isolation. In our contemporary culture, loving others and believing in objective moral standards are often seen as mutually exclusive commitments. But love and law are not opposed to one another. In fact, according to the Bible , love and law fit together by faith. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘ You shall not commit adultery , You shall not murder , You shall not steal , You shall not covet ,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day...

English: Raising of Lazarus by Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany , the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold he whom You love is sick.”   —John 11:1–3 The household of Mary and Martha is one in which Jesus and His disciples had been given hospitality whenever they had been in the area of Judea . Apparently, Lazarus was a wealthy man, and he used his wealth to support the ministry of Christ . The fact that Mary and Martha sent for Jesus as soon as Lazarus became ill is evidence of their faith in His power. No doubt they thought, If Jesus is willing to heal total strangers, certainly He will jump at the opportunity to heal one who has been a friend. But such was not the case. But when Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for...

Jesus casting out the money changers from the Temple by Giotto, 14th century (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The sun rises just before 6:30 A.M. in Bethany , the small village on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives , just a mile and a half east of Jerusalem. It is Monday morning, March 30, A.D. 33. Jesus of Nazareth is staying in the humble home of his friends Martha (whose anxiety-driven hospitality had received his gentle rebuke), Mary (who chose the good portion), and Lazarus (whose body would still be in the grave apart from the wonder-working of the Christ). Just the day before — the first day of the last week of his life — Jesus had made his Triumphal Entry into the Holy City , riding on a donkey over a royal “red carpet” of palm branches and cloaks, hailed by his disciples and the Galilean pilgrims as the messianic king. But Monday would be different than Sunday. Jesus knew the heart of man (John 2:24–25). He knew the acclaim of the disciples and the crowd was built o...

Matthew 26:6–13 “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (v. 13). Each night during the last week of His life Jesus is staying in Bethany , a village about an hour’s walk from Jerusalem (Matt. 21:17), probably because the Holy City, filled to the brim with Passover pilgrims, has few vacancies.  According to John 12:1–8, the event described in today’s passage takes place in the home of Lazarus, Mary , and Martha, friends of our Lord in Bethany. Mary is the woman who anoints Christ. Since Matthew 26:6 tells us the residence belongs to Simon the leper (most likely a former leper), a number of commentators have surmised that Simon is the father of the three siblings who also live there. Luke records a different, comparable anointing in Galilee (7:36–50). Mary’s ointment (oil) is worth three hundred denarii (John 12:5), a year’s wage for mos...

English: Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 21:14–17 “Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” (v. 16). During the last week of His life, Matthew 21:17 tells us, Jesus is spending His nights in Bethany , a village on the Mount of Olives less than an hour’s walk from Jerusalem . Our Lord is likely a guest at the home of His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, for John’s gospel puts Christ there just before He enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (11:1, 17–19; 12:1–8, 12–19). Retiring each evening to Bethany would provide Jesus fellowship during this crucial time. Such respite is needed due to His conflicts with the Jewish authorities. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple does not sit well with the Sanhedrin, the religious governing body of the Jews made up of the chief priests and other leaders. In fact, these officials want to destroy Him (Mark 11:15–19). Their hostility is clear when they come to...