Zech 14:9-21 This next part of Zechariah 14 has a jarring note for those of us who have grown up with ideas of tolerance and freedom of religion on the one hand and Christian love and forgiveness on the other.…

Zech 14:1-8 Few passages baffled commentators quite as much as Zechariah 14 but, as I explained in my previous post, our best approach is to remember that prophecy is not primarily prediction but a form of preaching which may have…

Zech 14:1-21 When reading Zechariah 14, Luther famously wrote, ‘Here, in this chapter, I give up. For I am not sure what the prophet is talking about.’[1] Most of us, I suspect, would agree! In fact, commentators differ over how…

Zech 13:7-9 The pastor of a large and successful church was invited by a smallish congregation to preach. Wanting to emulate the incredible growth of the invited preacher’s church, his listeners kept asking him for the secret of revival. The…

Zech 13:2-6 I remember reading the testimony of a Jewish man who, on reading the New Testament, came to believe that Jesus was indeed God’s Messiah. Yet for a long time, he struggled with conflicting loyalties. He had relatives who…

Zech 12:10-14; 13:1 The church I grew up in emphasised right doctrine and serious study of God’s Word but was suspicious of emotions. Solid instruction in the Bible is essential, but as my church tried to ensure correct teaching, even…

Zech 12:1-9 The old Sunday school song, ‘My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing that He cannot do’ is a triumphant little tune and when things are going well, it is easy to confess to…

Zech 11:12-13; Matt 27:3-10 Matthew’s Gospel relates how Zechariah’s prophecy was fulfilled in Judas’ betrayal of Jesus when the former was paid thirty shekels of silver (Matt 26;14-15; 27:3-10). However, the episode is confusing for several reasons. Matthew identifies the…

Zech 11:4-17 Few stories from the Bible are as much loved as the parable of the prodigal son. We tend to focus on the father running to embrace his long-lost son at the end, but the beginning is thought-provoking, too.…

Zech 10:1-12; 11:1-3 The newly arrived pastor of a church I was involved in was enthusiastically talking about plans for various ministries, but it soon became apparent that this was only for show. He created his own inner circle, some…