Jews from Asia, who had seen Paul in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy…
Jesus was a child immigrant refugee
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by…
The first apostle was a woman
The twelve were with Jesus, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. Luke 8:1-3 For centuries, popular…
Breaking the weary cycle of violence
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall, how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down! Down to its foundations!” O daughter Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them…
Gaza, Goliath, and an end to hatred
“The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath . . .” 1 Samuel 17:3 Like fans at a lethal sporting event, Israelites…
Another King named Jesus
“We have a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” Hebrews 8:1 What are the limits of patriotism for followers of Jesus? Caesar Augustus (whose given name was Octavian) ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to AD 14. He was such an extraordinary…
Get off your ass and help!
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead” (Luke 10:30). The setting for Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan was Wadi Qelt or the road that runs parallel to it. The wadi is a deep…
Jonah’s bare bottom and God’s love for the enemy
So there is Jonah–and all you can see of him is a bare rear end as three pagan sailors feed him to a big fish! I doubt that the artist at Rome who carved this into a fourth-century Christian sarcophagus thought the image was funny, but it makes me laugh. The fish, though, is a…
Welcome to the Peace Pilgrim blog!
Thank you for stopping by. Take a moment to study the scene above. The background is a mural portraying main street of sixth-century Jerusalem. The foreground is busy with a scrum of modern pilgrims. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to step into that ancient street and learn about Jerusalem of 1500 years ago?…
Holy Lands Peace Pilgrim 