Gospel of Mark | Craig T. Owens

December 2025
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Jesus Is Mighty God

December 8, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Have you ever heard the phrase “in name only”? For instance, someone might say, “He’s the boss around here in name only, but the one who really calls the shots is someone else.” We might give the title “boss” to someone just for convenience because “The guy who thinks he’s in charge” is probably too awkward to keep saying! We know the true boss by what he or she says or does, and how people respond to him or her.

I think this is true when someone says, “God,” you might wonder just what they mean by that. Sennacherib’s field commander appeared to be confused by this, as he uses both “God” and “god” interchangeably in 2 Kings 18:19-22, 32-35. But the foretelling of the Advent of the Christ makes it perfectly clear to Whom the prophets were pointing (Isaiah 9:6-7).

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Let’s consider the title Mighty God. The word God is the Hebrew word el. It is translated many ways, but let’s find out which definition is correct in this foretelling of Jesus.

A god-like person
A mighty hero
An angel
A manmade god
The One True God

We can eliminate “a god-like person” from Exodus 15:11.
We can eliminate “a mighty hero” from Psalm 82:1.
We can eliminate “an angel” from Psalm 29:1 and Isaiah 6:1-3.
We can eliminate “a manmade god” from Isaiah 14:12-15.

So it must mean He is The One True God! One of Isaiah’s favorite phrases is “the Lord Almighty” which he uses 61 times (e.g. Isaiah 47:4)!

Isaiah 40 is one of the most descriptive chapters of the Lord Almighty. In here we see that…

He forgives sin (vv. 1-2)
He is beyond description (v. 12)—holding the world’s 326 quintillion gallons of water in the hollow of His hand, fitting the 10 septillion stars of the cosmos across the breadth of His hand, and carrying the weight of the Earth (1.3 octillion pounds) easily in His basket!
He is distinguished from manmade gods (vv. 18-20, 25)
His strength is absolutely unrivaled (vv. 26, 28)

How do we know these descriptive words in Isaiah point to Jesus? Look at these First Testament Scriptures compared to Christ’s First Advent:

Isaiah 40:3-5 foretells the messenger who would herald Christ’s arrival. Zechariah is inspired by the Holy Spirit to make this connection to his son John (Luke 1:76-77), and then John lives this out (Mark 1:1-3).
Remember that 40:1-2 says that The One True God forgives sins, which is what John the Baptizer sees in Jesus (John 1:29).
In 41:10, 13-14 we read of God shining His light into darkness to set people free, which is another thing that Zechariah connects to Jesus (Luke 1:67-75).

Jesus wasn’t God in name only, but His words and action—and the response of those who saw and heard Him—affirmed that He is the Mighty God that was foretold (John 8:48-59; Mark 14:60-64).

Notice also how the early New Testament saints proclaimed Christ’s unique deity, stating clearly that He is the fulfillment of all of the prophetic words that point to Him as The One True God (Acts 4:8-10, 12, 18; 5:27-32).

Peter and John said, “We are witnesses of this.” We too are witnesses of this if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We get to proclaim His Lordship by our verbal testimony and our lifestyle. As C.S. Lewis said, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great man or a moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool…or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”

In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul points out that Jesus has the name above every name and that every knee must bow to Him and every tongue confess that He is Mighty God! Today, let us bow our knee to Him and lift our voices proclaiming that He is Lord and God until our One True God takes us home or returns at His Second Advent.

If you’ve missed any of the other message in our Advent series called Jesus Is…, you can find them all here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 2 Kings, Advent, astronomy, Book of Acts, C.S. Lewis, Calvary Assembly of God, Exodus, First Advent, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Philippians, Psalm, quote, Second Advent, sermon, video. 1 Comment »

Jesus Is Wonderful Counselor

December 1, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Jesus made His first appearance as a fully human Man in a stable in Bethlehem. But His Advent—or appearing—had been anticipated for a long time before that.

In fact, one of the darkest chapters in human history takes place shortly after human history began. Mankind sinned and was separated from God because of that sin. The initial separation foretold an eternal separation (Genesis 3:22), but God shines His light of hope in this darkest hour, foretelling the Advent of our rescue (3:15).

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Seven hundred years before Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, the setting is still dark and getting darker. Sin is running rampant, God’s people are groping in darkness, and enemies are pressing in from every side.

Out of the darkness, God speaks (Isaiah 8:5-10), giving us a glimpse of the Messiah’s glory. Notice the hope-filled words Immanuel (v. 8) and God with us (v. 10). This darkness is the inevitable result of not gazing on God’s glory (vv. 21-22), and yet there appears another glorious promise in a single word: Nevertheless (9:1-7).

We get a glimpse of Immanuel’s glory in the titles that will describe our Messiah. Let’s look first at Wonderful Counselor.

Wonder can have two definitions:

Something so extraordinary that it is hard for our finite human minds to comprehend—Exodus 15:11; Isaiah 25:1 NLT.
God’s awesome deeds: His works that leave us in absolute awe of His greatness—Jeremiah 32:17 AMPC.

Counselor is someone who gives counsel; not just any counsel, but perfect counsel because He is omniscient (knows it all) and omnipotent (can do it all)—Isaiah 14:26-27; Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 32:8.

Job got a glimpse of this Awesome Counselor too in Job 42:1-6.

Our First Testament friends only got a glimpse of the Messiah’s glory, but we have the glory revealed to us—Hebrews 1:1-3a; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:5, 14, 18.

We have His wonderful counsel revealed to us too—Luke 5:20-26; John 7:37-46.

And we look forward to seeing His glory undimmed at His Second Advent—John 1:47-51; Mark 14:61-62.

As we live now between the Advents, we have the joyful privilege and responsibility to proclaim this glory to those still living in darkness—Matthew 28:18; Acts 4:30.

See how the saints proclaimed Christ’s glory, relying on His wonderful counsel in Acts 4:13, 20, 31; 5:12; 6:8, 10; 8:6-8. This is how we are to live too (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).

As you live between the Advents, I pray that the glory of our Wonderful Counselor will become more real to you and that it will shine out of every word you speak and everything you do!

Check out the other posts in this series Jesus Is… here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Advent, Book of Acts, Calvary Assembly of God, Emmanuel, Exodus, First Advent, Genesis, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Immanuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, prophecy, Psalm 139, Second Advent, sermon, video. 1 Comment »

Avoiding Foolish Controversies

November 3, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Jude calls Christians to contend for the faith without contention and without compromise. Instead, we are to loving serve Jesus by engaging with others mercifully, peacefully, and lovingly. This means we have to contend without quarreling.

But that’s easier said than done because people love to pick fights, and we hate to lose an argument.

Look at the ministry of Jesus. His adversaries couldn’t get around the perfect logic that He used based on Scripture, so they came up with all sorts of controversies in the hope of tripping Him up and silencing Him. They posed seemingly unanswerable dilemmas like: In heaven, which one of the seven brothers will be married to the woman they all married on earth? Should we pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay the temple tax? What’s the greatest commandment of all? They tried to get Him to take the bait about religious traditions, laws concerning the Sabbath, and the punishment for a woman caught in adultery.

Jesus never got fluster or frustrated—He never took the bait to quarrel with them, but He simply stood unwaveringly and lovingly on God’s Word. But once again, that’s easier said than done!

King Solomon pointed out the difficulty of this in Proverbs 26:4-5. Do we answer a fool or not? Yes, but we answer wisely not foolishly.

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

I believe Jude would agree with Solomon, Jesus, Paul, and Peter, but then he uses three examples that could spark a controversy:

the fate of fallen angels (Jude 6)
Michael and the devil arguing over the body of Moses (v. 9)
Enoch prophesying (v. 14)

But notice that how Jude uses these examples by not addressing any more than what we already know from Scripture. In this way, Jude keeps this from becoming a foolish, quarrelsome controversy (v. 10).

Notice the consistent instruction of the Bible on how to handle critics:

Michael the archangel: The Lord rebuke you! (also 2 Peter 2:11)
Jesus: Away from Me! (Matthew 4:10) and Get behind Me! (Mark 8:33)
James: Submit to God and then resist the devil (James 4:7)
Peter: speak gently, respectfully, and with a clear conscience (1 Peter 3:15-16)
Paul: warn people without becoming quarrelsome (2 Timothy 2:14, 16, 23-25)

In Luke 13:1-5, Jesus addresses two events that could have become quite controversial, but Jesus defused the controversy by simply saying, “No matter what, everyone needs to have their sins forgiven by God.” Paul continued this singleminded focus on Jesus. I love how the Amplified Bible captures his words in 1 Corinthians 2:2. And then Paul encourages his friend Timothy to operate the same way (1 Timothy 1:15-17).

Don’t let foolish controversies sidetrack you from the faith entrusted to us, but take everything back to Jesus as He is revealed in the Scripture.

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series called Earnestly Contending, you can find them all here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, 2 Peter, 2 Timothy, angels, apologetic, argue, Book of James, Calvary Assembly of God, controversy, devil, Enoch, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Jude, Moses, proverbs, sermon, video. 1 Comment »

No Contention, No Compromise

October 20, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

As we continue our look at the Book of Jude, let me remind you that Jude calls Christians to contend for the faith with a servant’s attitude and with an all-in attitude that will not give in even when the going gets tough.

What exactly are we contending for? Jude calls it “…the faith once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3).

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

It might be helpful to look at this phrase in the AMPC: “…to contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints—the faith which is that sum of Christian belief which was delivered verbally to the holy people of God.”

During the Reformation there was a phrase that became prominent: “Sola Scriptura” which means the Bible is our authoritative guide for everything in our lives. Jesus addressed the religious leaders who added to the Scripture (Mark 7:8-9, 13), and here Jude is now addressing those who took away from Scripture (Jude 4).

We have to be so careful here. Contending doesn’t meet fighting for our traditions, nor does it mean compromising with the whims of culture. Jesus told us to preach the Gospel, not to argue nor give in to avoid problems. Jude says this Gospel message have been entrusted to us.

Ronald Reagan was talking about the freedoms in the United States of America, but his warning sounds like it originated with Jude: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”

We don’t want to spend our sunset years telling our children and grandchildren how it used to be when we contended for the faith that was entrusted to us, but we want to tell them how we are still winsomely and consistently contending for this faith still to this day!

So how do we contend for this faith the right way?

(1) Study God’s Word and then study it some more. I like what Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan, “Why, this man is a living Bible! Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.” May that be said of us!

James encourages Christians to receive God’s Word in their hearts. The Amplified Bible says it this way: “the Word which [is] implanted and rooted in your hearts.” But I really love the KJV rendering that calls it “the engrafted word.” We study God’s Word to us so that it can become a living, breathing part of who we are—the very fabric of our thoughts and attitudes.

(2) Wrestle with the whole counsel of Scripture. This is hard work, but it is the most rewarding work of all! Don’t stick with only passages of the Bible that are enjoyable to read, but consider the whole counsel of God’s Word. Ask yourself things like: What did it mean then? What does it mean now? What does it mean for me? Where can I cross-reference this with another place in Scripture?

(3) Make your “No” merciful, peaceful, and loving. This is how Jude calls us to live in v. 2, and the apostle Peter said something very similar in 1 Peter 4:1-5.

(4) Make your “Yes” compelling and attractive. Remember that we want to be known more for what we’re for, not for what we’re against. Again, Peter sounds this same note in 1 Peter 3:13-16.

As saints entrusted with the faith, we have to learn to contend for this faith without becoming contentious and without compromising the truth.

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in this series Earnestly Contend, you can find them all here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Peter, Book of James, Calvary Assembly of God, Charles Spurgeon, Christianity, compromise, culture, Gospel of Mark, John Bunyan, Jude, quotes, Ronald Reagan, saints, sermon, Sola Scriptura, tradition, video. 1 Comment »

Training For The Fight

October 13, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Last week I challenged all of us to ask the Holy Spirit to check our attitude to ensure we indeed have the attitude of a secure servant. This is especially true when we remember that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle and that Jude writes this letter to us to encourage us to “contend for the faith.”

When Jesus told His parable about the sower, here’s what He said about the seed that fell on the hard path (Mark 4:15 AMPC). Jesus said the forces of evil want to try to bring down the Kingdom of God (Matthew 11:12).

(All the Scriptures I use in this post may be viewed here.)

Are we willing to engage in this intense battle? Will we strive with the forces of darkness for the sake of seeing lost people saved? God told Isaiah that it was so easy to give in—to throw our hands up (Isaiah 64:5-7). Paul extolled a Christian brother named Epaphras for his willingness to wrestle in prayer for the saints (Colossians 4:12).

Indeed wrestling for the saints is what Jude had in mind.

I like the phrase “contend for the faith” in the Message paraphrase: “Fight with everything you have in you.”

The Greek word Jude uses here is the only time it’s used in the New Testament. It means:

To enter a contest—1 Corinthians 9:24-26
Contend with adversaries—Colossians 4:12; Ephesians 6:12
Struggle through difficulties—Colossians 1:28-29
Endeavor with strenuous zeal to obtain victory—1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 4:7

The root word is agonizimai which sounds a lot like our English word “agonize.” This is an all-in mentality. Sitting on the sidelines, casually interacting, dabbling in it every once in a while won’t lead to victory.

The stakes are too high, our enemy is cunning and desperate, so nothing less than agonizing training that will not quit no-matter-what will do!

What exactly are we training to do?

Too many view salvation as just saved from Hell. That’s part of it, but not all of it. We’re also saved to display the glory of God. The first part is accepting Jesus as Savior; the second part is accepting Jesus as Lord. The salvation we share is not either-or, but it is both-and: Jesus is both our Savior and Lord.

We need to strive to obtain the fullness of Christ’s nature in us. People should be able to see and feel a difference in our lives without us even opening our mouths. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach always; if necessary, use words.” To that end, he offered this prayer—

“Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace, that

where there is hatred, I may bring love;

where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

where there is error, I may bring truth;

where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

where there is despair, I may bring hope;

where there are shadows, I may bring light;

where there is sadness, I may bring joy.”

Will you be all-in?

Will you wrestle in prayer?

Will you let go of earthly things so you can cling to Jesus?

Will you display His light through your life?

Will you be ready to use words, if necessary?

Let’s make sure we are ready to contend for the faith the right way!

P.S. Speaking of prayer, my new book Amen Indeed is a prayer guide for pastors. Please consider giving a copy of this book to your pastor!

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Earnestly Contend, you can find them all here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Calvary Assembly of God, Colossians, Epaphras, Ephesians, Francis of Assisi, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Jude, quote, sermon, spiritual warfare, video. 2 Comments »

The Servant Stands Strong

October 6, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

The second-to-last book of the New Testament is a short letter to the Church in which Jude felt urged by the Holy Spirit to challenge Christians to “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Does contend mean Christians are supposed to be combative about sharing their faith? We can learn a lot from the way Jude opens this letter.

First, let’s look at who wrote this book.

The names of the brothers of Jesus are listed twice (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55), and Jude is either the youngest or second youngest of these male siblings. He was a part of the family delegation that went to bring Jesus home because they thought He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21, 31). Later on, Jude would also mockingly taunt Jesus (John 7:5).

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

James is the oldest brother after Jesus. When Paul writes that Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7), it’s possible that it means Jesus appeared to all of his brothers, because Paul also mentions that the brothers of Jesus had become evangelists (9:5). It’s not surprising that Jude calls himself a brother of James, but it is quite shocking that he calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ.

In fact, he calls Jesus:

our only Sovereign and Lord (v. 4)
the One who gives us eternal life (v. 21)
the only One who is our entrance into Heaven (vv. 24- 25)

We need to adopt this servant’s mindset as we interact with others.

Second, let’s notice who Jude’s audience is.

Jude writes to people who are called, sanctified, preserved (NKJV).

called = invited to the banquet
sanctified = hagiazo = holy ones or saints
preserved / kept = carefully attended to

Finally, let’s consider how Jude expects saints to be living each day.

Jude says in verse 2 that we are to live…

mercifully = not wanting people to get the punishment they deserve
peacefully = having our soul so secure that we fear nothing from God
lovingly = agape love like Jesus (John 3:16, 13:1) and like us (13:35, 15:9)

And all of these things are to be in abundance—ever multiplying!

After all of this, we are now in a place to consider how to live contending for the faith (v. 3).

We are servants of Jesus, called to His banquet, set apart and preserved for His glory; we are intimately aware of His mercy, peace, and love, which we want others to know for themselves.

Before we learn how to contend, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to check our attitude to ensure we indeed have the attitude of a secure servant.

Follow along with all of the sermons in this series called Earnestly Contend.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, attitude, Calvary Assembly of God, Gospel of John, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Jude, sermon, servanthood, video. 3 Comments »

Inspiration, Illumination, And Boldness

June 10, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

David declared that the Holy Spirit inspired the words he penned. “The Spirit of the Lord spoke in and by me, and His word was upon my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).

Both Jesus and Peter affirm this in the New Testament as well when they make mention that David’s words were given to him by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:43; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16, 4:25).

It’s not just the words of David, but all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)! This is why we would be wise to pray before reading our Bibles to ask the One Who inspired the Scripture to illuminate our minds to understand it and guide us into its daily application (John 14:26, 16:13).

Jesus desired that we go even farther than this. His directive to His followers was for them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This initial baptism took place on the first Pentecost celebration after Jesus had ascended to Heaven. Luke records it this way—

And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression in each tongue in appropriate words. (Acts 2:4 AMPC)

And in the subsequent verses Luke makes it clear that these were intelligible languages and intelligent words that served as a testimony to the worldwide visitors that were in Jerusalem—

And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them—the apostles—speaking in his own particular dialect. And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, “Are not all these who are talking Galileans? Then how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own (particular) dialect to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and the transient residents from Rome, both Jews and the proselytes to Judaism from other religions, Cretans and Arabians too—we all hear them speaking in our own native tongues and telling of the mighty works of God!” (vv. 6-11 AMPC)

In his sermon that followed this event, Peter states that the baptism in the Holy Spirit—with the physical evidence of speaking in tongues—is an evidence of Christ’s resurrection. “Being therefore lifted high by and to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promised blessing which is the Holy Spirit, He has made this outpouring which you yourselves both see and hear” (v. 33).

Later on, when the Christians were facing the threat of persecution from the Jewish leadership, they prayed. In their prayer, they noted again the Spirit-inspired words that David penned and the desire of Jesus for them to be His missionaries (see Acts 4:24-30).

God answers their prayer powerfully! “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with freedom and boldness and courage” (v. 31).

The Holy Spirit gave us the Scripture, and He illuminates the Scripture to us.

The Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation, and He empowers us to share this Good News with others.

The Holy Spirit gives us words to speak, and He gives us the boldness and courage to speak them.

He speaks, He illuminates, He empowers, He emboldens! If your theology limits the work of the Holy Spirit to some obscure corner of your world, you are robbing yourself of the power to live a God-glorifying, Jesus-promoting life.

You may be interested in some additional posts and sermons where I discuss more about the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit empowers Christians—

You may also be interested in an extensive series of messages I have shared called We Are: Pentecostal.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

The Father’s Business

June 9, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

The Holy Spirit’s involvement in our lives isn’t reserved for just the “big” things, but He wants us to be aware of and tuned in to His voice and His thoughts all the time. There shouldn’t be a secular-sacred divide in our activities, but we should make every place holy ground and every moment a divine opportunity for God to be glorified. Or said another way, we shouldn’t have times of work and times of worship, but our worship should be seen in every single thing we do.

I think everyone of us has experienced at one time or another a poor employer or manager. Maybe it’s an employer that demands results but doesn’t give you the training or the tools to do the job. Or maybe you have the training and tools but you don’t know exactly how much you are able to use these things without crossing a line.

Maybe you have known a boss that is barely present, but when they do stop by the worksite, they aren’t happy with the work that has been done. On the opposite side, maybe it’s a boss who does everything and then gets mad that you aren’t keeping up or working as hard as them. It’s drudgery working for someone like this!

But, somewhat surprisingly, Jesus used more work examples to talk about the Kingdom of God than He did worship examples. He talked about farmers, bakers, builders, employers, managers, and employees way more than about worshiping, singing, or preaching.

One of the few glimpses we have of the early life of Jesus shows Him talking about His mission while on earth. Consider the story of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem when He was 12 years old (Luke 2:41-49). The phrase in the NIV where Jesus says that He must be “in My Father’s house” can be translated…

about My Father’s business (NKJV)
dealing with the things of My Father (MSG)
occupied about My Father’s business (AMPC)

(Check out all of the Scriptures in this post by clicking here.)

Jesus was consistent about this idea of working while He was on earth (John 5:17, 36; 9:4; 17:4). For Jesus, His work was a delight because it was directed by the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:21-22; 4:1, 18-19; Acts 10:38).

Remember that I mentioned the unreasonable employer that gives us no training, no tools, no goals for which to aim, but expects us to work for his benefit alone. This was not the case with Jesus! He trained us, provided us with the Holy Spirit to guide us, told us the goal for which we were to aim, and said that both His Father would be glorified and we would be rewarded by our Kingdom work done on earth.

Jesus wants us to work as He did, and He promised that the Holy Spirit would help us in this (John 14:10-12, 24:49; Mark 16:19-20).

We saw that Luke 2:49 in the AMPC has Jesus saying, “occupied about My Father’s business.” In Luke 19:13 Jesus tells us to “occupy till I come” (KJV). This word is also translated into phrases like:

put this money to work (NIV)
do business (NKJV)
invest this (NLT)

Jesus is talking about the “talents” given to His stewards (Luke 19:11-13, 16-23). Every servant received the same thing: one mina. We all have been given one life to live; we all have been given 24 hours in a day; we all have been given opportunities to be occupied about our Father’s business.

The Holy Spirit as our Counselor is there at every moment, every conversation, every decision to help us hear His voice, think His thoughts, and sanctify every experience. Jesus says that He will reward our occupying until He returns. Just doing things like feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, taking care of those in need. This sounds a lot like the work of Jesus in Luke 4:18-19 and Acts 10:38. This Spirit-empowered work earns the commendation from our Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master’s happiness!”

Be baptized in the Holy Spirit and let Him help you be about your Father’s business until Jesus returns.

If you’ve missed any of the messages in our We Are: Pentecostal series, you can check them all out here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Eyewitnesses And Embarrassment

June 3, 2025 — Craig T. Owens

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In his Gospel, John gives eyewitness testimony to the physical death of Jesus. “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe” (John 19:34-35).

John was at Calvary to report this event as an eyewitness, and so were the women who had been so involved with the public ministry of Jesus.

Matthew, however, was not there. He ran away when Jesus was arrested. So in his historical account, he shares the eyewitness testimony of those who were there—

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for His needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. (Matthew 27:54-56)

These details in both Matthew and John’s Gospels are what lends credibility to this whole event. I’m sure it was embarrassing to Matthew for him to admit, “I ran away and hid in fear.” I’m sure it pained him again and again when he heard John, the women, and the Roman centurion recounting their eyewitness testimony.

But this is what makes the reporting of this account real.

If Matthew and John were attempting to perpetuate a hoax on the world—if they were concocting a conspiracy to fool people about the resurrection of Jesus—they certainly would have told their stories the same way. Matthew could have inserted himself as personally there on Calvary. John and Mark could have listed the names of the other disciples as eyewitnesses. The disciples could have given falsified information to Luke for his Gospel. And all of them could have left out the part about the female testimony, since in their day women were deemed unreliable witnesses in the courtroom.

The fact that all four of the Gospels relate their accounts as they do—with the embarrassing details intermingled with the eyewitness accounts—is precisely what gives legitimacy to this historical event.

Details like these are just another factor in a long, long list of evidences that attest to the historicity of all that is recorded in the Bible.

Earlier in his Gospel, Matthew tells about the doubts of John the Baptizer (Matthew 11:2-6). John was imprisoned and sent his friends to ask Jesus, “Are You really the One?” Jesus sends John’s friends back with eyewitness testimony, and with these words: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of Me” (v. 6).

The testimonies of both eyewitnesses and those who were embarrassed that they couldn’t give eyewitness testimony should bolster your faith in all that the Bible says. If you don’t stumble away from these testimonies, you can know the blessing of your faith in Jesus.

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