Category: Bible Q&A

When will all things be accomplished?

Sixth in a series of short answers to questions about the New Testament.

Consider Matt. 5:18 – For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.

When will “all things” be accomplished — and what are “all things?”

The context of this passage tells us that Jesus is speaking of all things pertaining to the law, which is meant to show us God’s perfect standards, our inability to meet them, and the necessity of throwing ourselves at the mercy of the God who is able to forgive our sins and restore us to a right relationship with Him. Sin requires the penalty of death, which Jesus bore in our place. As the apostle Paul writes, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13).

The Apologetics Study Bible puts it well:  “Jesus fulfilled the law both by His obedience to it and by His sacrificial death, through which He satisfied the law’s demands for those who trust Him.”

Did Jesus heal every disease?

Fifth in a series of short answers to questions about the New Testament

Consider Matt. 4:23-24: Jesus was going all over Galilee … and healing every disease … So they brought Him all those who were afflicted … And He healed them.

Did Jesus really go all over Galilee and heal every disease? Jesus probably didn’t cover every square inch of the region but no doubt cut a wide path through it. As His fame spread, people flocked to Him so that even if Jesus didn’t personally visit every village in Galilee, people from every village probably visited Him.  Insofar as His healing powers are concerned, the words “every disease” may be translated “every kind of disease.”

Finally, was every person in Galilee afflicted with a disease brought to Jesus at that time? Probably not, since Jesus continued to encounter the infirm and healed them. No doubt Matthew is using hyperbole to illustrate the large number of sick brought to Jesus and the wide variety of illnesses He cured. Jesus will fully and finally eradicate every illness — and every other effect of the Fall — in the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21:3-4).

What did Satan show Jesus on the mountain?

Fourth in a series of short answers to questions about the New Testament.

Consider Matt. 4:8-9 – Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”

Did Satan really show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world from a mountaintop?

While Satan is the “god of this age” and holds the title deed to earth, no mountain, no matter how towering, gives a vantage point for the whole world. Adam Clark comments: “If the words, all the kingdoms of the world, be taken in a literal sense, then this must have been a visionary representation, as the highest mountain on the face of the globe could not suffice to make evident even one hemisphere of the earth, and the other must of necessity be in darkness. But if we take the world to mean only the land of Judea, and some of the surrounding nations, as it appears sometimes to signify, then the mountain described by the Abbe Mariti (Travels through Cyprus, etc.) could have afforded the prospect in question. Speaking of it, he says, ‘Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect imaginable. This part of the mountain overlooks the mountains of Arabia, the country of Gilead, the country of the Amorites, the plains of Moab, the plains of Jericho, the river Jordan, and the whole extent of the Dead Sea…'”

Was all Jerusalem disturbed at Jesus’ birth?

Third in a series of short answers to questions about the New Testament

Consider Matt. 2:3-4: When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So he assembled all the chief priests and  scribes of the people and asked them where the  Messiah would be born.

Was everyone in Jerusalem “deeply disturbed” at the news of Jesus’ birth? Matthew uses hyperbole here, as he and other New Testament writers frequently do. His words, however, indicate the impact of Messiah’s coming on the Roman and Jewish leaders, who feared He would upset the status quo. Matthew Henry comments: “[I]t seems, all Jerusalem, except the few there that waited for the consolation of Israel, were troubled with Herod, and were apprehensive of I know not what ill consequences of the birth of this new king, that it would involve them in war, or restrain their lusts; they, for their parts, desired no king but Herod; no, not the Messiah himself.”

Who are Jesus’ people?

Second in a series of short answers to questions about the New Testament

Consider Matt. 1:21: She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

Who are Jesus’ people? These words from an angel, announcing Mary’s conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, must have brought to Joseph’s mind the promises of God to provide salvation through the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-37). “His people” in this context must mean Jews, of course, but it certainly can’t mean all Jews since not all Jews have trusted in Jesus as Messiah. Nor does it deny salvation to Gentiles, who receive eternal life just as the Jews — by God’s grace through faith (Gal. 3:6-9; see also John 5:24; Rom. 4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9).