As He was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” –Mk 13:1
This poor disciple takes the prize for the New Testament’s Most Ill-Timed Remark.
Christmas Adam
In my family we traditionally refer to the day before Christmas Eve as Christmas Adam. Similarly, Boxing day is Christmas Cain (or sometimes Christmas Candy Cane) and the day after is Christmas Abel, and so on.
Are Christmas Trees in the Bible?
On a terrifically windy day last August, I watched the trees rock and bounce as if shaken by giant hands.
The Temple (Chapter 32 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Some of His disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. –Luke 21:5
The disciples who made this remark might have been anywhere in the Jerusalem Temple, for it was all beautiful. But my guess is that they stood before the enormous front door, 164 feet high and equally wide, that opened into the sanctuary.
The Jerusalem Wall (Chapter 31 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. –Ps 48:12-13
These verses exhort us to take a good look at the walls of Jerusalem and realize how secure they are.
Salt (Chapter 30 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. –Mt 5:13
While we’re on the topic of rocks, let’s not forget salt. It’s a rock which, strange to say, we eat. Arguably it is the only edible rock.
Sand (Chapter 29 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. -Mt 7:26
Jesus referred to sand only once, in the parable of two men who built houses, one on rock, the other on sand. Although sand is composed largely of rock, in this parable it comes to symbolize the opposite.
The Tomb of Lazarus (Chapter 28 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Jesus, deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” He said. –John 11:38-9
Someone you dearly love has died. You’ve had the funeral, buried your loved one in the cemetery, and finally had a granite tombstone beautifully carved and placed over the grave. Then someone comes and says, “Take away the stone.”
Jericho (Chapter 27 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. -Lk 19:1
Take a hike down the Bright Angel Trail of the south rim of the Grand Canyon and you’ll see, plainly spread out like the layers of a gigantic Dagwood sandwich, epoch after epoch of earth’s geologic history recorded in rock strata. By the time you reach the floor of the canyon, you’re deep into the Pre-Cambrian period over 600 million years ago.
The Transfiguration (Chapter 26 of Jesus: His Story In Stone)
After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain. -Mt 17:1
Among the many benefits of being followers of Christ is that of expanding our vocabularly with glorious words like transfiguration. While most of us know what this means, it’s worth setting down the Oxford definition: “a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state.”