How Much is There Left to Say?
With thousands of Christian blogs, thousands of sermons, classes, and lectures being presented every single week, small group studies, personal studies…is there anything left to say? Blogging ideas used to jump into my head all of the time and it seems like lately they are fewer and further in between. I am sure that has […]
Gospel of John 20 – The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the […]
The Crucifixion of Christ
We don’t like to leave Christ on the cross for very long. Our theology often gets in a rush to the resurrection. But the resurrection lacks its own possibility if you exclude the crucifixion of Christ. Anyone who has watched the movie The Passion of the Christ was moved by the brutality of what Jesus […]
Fear, Control, and the Crucifixion of Jesus
While studying John 19 last night we talked about the role of fear in the crucifixion of Jesus. In John 18:33 we infer the charge against Jesus was insurrection as a competing king, “King of the Jews.” But in 19:7 the Jewish leaders mention Jesus’ claim to be the “Son of God” and we learn […]
Gospel of John 14:5-14 – Way, Truth, Life and Exclusivity of Jesus Christ
In John 13-14 Jesus is revealing things to his disciples about what is going to happen and where he is going to have to go. These are important considerations if you are a follower, a disciple because where the master goes so go the disciples. In John 14:4 Jesus tells them, “You know the way […]
Gospel of John 14:1-4 – Trusting God in Difficult Times
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back […]
Jesus and the Irony of Insurrection
In studying John 18 for men’s class tonight. I was struck by the irony of insurrection. In John 18:3 we learn that a group of soldiers along with officials from the chief priests and Pharisees are the arresting party in the garden. It is hard to say if the first group are Jewish soldiers or […]
Gospel of John 17:3 – Jesus Christ in the Third Person
I found these words from N.T. Wright fascinating even though I am not sure I agree. He is talking about the start of Jesus’ lengthy prayer in John 17 where Jesus refers to himself in the third person as “Jesus the Messiah”: “Nor, we may suppose, is John remembering it all without having prayed through […]
Gospel of John 16:1 – Jesus is Concerned About our Faithfulness
“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.” John 16:1 In reading this verse this morning I am struck by Jesus’ concern for his disciples, not that they would would live to see another day but that they would remain faithful after he had returned to God. This is emphasized […]
The Old and New Testaments Have the Same Message
Fortunately over the last 30 years there have been significant voices trying to break the Christian misconception that the Old testament was a book of commandment keeping with little to do with love and grace and the New Testament was more about love and grace and less about commandment keeping. What had been overlooked in […]