Are the Red Letters Any More Important Than the Black Letters?
If scripture is inspired and from God are the words of Jesus any more or less important than all the rest of the Old and New Testament? And for a related brain teaser – who is speaking in John 3:16? Does John the apostle begin to narrate his own commentary about the events or is […]
Giving Death a Makeover
There is little wonder that a dead and dying world wants to give death a makeover. Why turn and have life when you can just give things new names? Instead of pro-death they call abortion “pro-choice” Instead of adultery they call it “open marriage” Instead of calling sexual activity with underage children rape the school […]
A Twist on the Divine Name
“Moses said to God, ‘Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ This is what you are to say to the […]
John’s Chronology of The Woman Caught in Adultery – John 7:53-8:11
Many contend that the story of the woman caught in adultery found in John 7:53-8:11 was not written by John. Several of the earliest manuscripts do not contain it. It does not seem to fit well in the narrative of John 7-8. It is abrupt, out of place, and is sandwiched between two important symbols […]
Jesus Fulfills the Feast of Tabernacles – John 7
When the woman at the well ran to town to tell about the man who told her “everything [she] ever did,” she brought back a crowd of people Jesus referred to as a field ripe for harvest (John 4:35-39). The harvest was an important component of ancient life. The need for harvest was the reason […]
Was Jesus Being Unreasonable? – John 6
“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real […]
No Longer Ordinary – John 5
In John 5 we have the story of Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath. Like we saw in John 4, Jesus does not always do things that fall in line with our expectations. Before we get to that let’s have a look at the conversation with the lame man. It starts with a condition, […]
The Woman at the Well – John 4
There are many points we could make about the story of the woman at the well in John 4: The history of why Samaritans were disrespected and loathed by the Jews The fact that this woman is a social outcast The misunderstanding that this woman has in trying to get past the physical water and […]
Jesus and Nicodemus – John 3
“Rabbi, We know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” From the title of this post you probably already know who said this. It was not one of Jesus’ disciples (at least not yet!-19:39? ). It […]
Spiritual Murder (John 10:10)
In Jesus’ lesson to the Pharisees in John 10 Jesus compares himself to a shepherd and to a gate. Notice what he tells the Pharisees in 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” (TNIV). In the context […]