Canon & Reading Order

† Canon Texts receive commentary in a few places

When a passage sits uneasily against the character of Jesus — commands to stone children, cities ordered into total destruction, divine approval for cruelty — we do not pretend the tension isn't there. We mark it with a †. The mark is not a verdict. It is an honest acknowledgment that something deserves a closer look, and an invitation to bring it to Him directly.

Scripture passed through human hands over many centuries. Laws, customs, and the weight of culture inevitably shaped what was written and how. Israel's long story is itself the demonstration that God works patiently through human limitation — meeting people where they are, not abandoning them when they fall short. The † honors that complexity without pretending it away.

Jesus himself drew on difficult passages when speaking to those who knew them — not to endorse everything in them, but because He is capable of redeeming anything. In John 3:14–15 He took the bronze serpent of Numbers and made it a signpost pointing straight to himself. That is the pattern: He meets us in the text and leads us through it, not around it.

If a book carries even one † passage, the mark appears beside its title here. Pray before you read. Let the Spirit be your guide through everything — including our commentary.