Sign of the Temple
From Cana Jesus, Mary, James and other brother's of Jesus as well as the disciples all traveled to Capernum (16 miles) for a few days before continuing on to Jerusalem (85) miles for the Passover. There has been much debate over verse 12 since Catholics adhere to the eternal virginity of Mary. What did John "really mean" by Jesus's "brothers"? Epiphanius (an early church father) argued they were children of Joseph by a previous marriage; Jerome argued they were cousins; Heldivian argued the obvious, that they were the children of Mary and Joseph born after Jesus. Sometimes a brother is just a brother.
The Authorship of John's Gospel
It's nearly summer, and readers of this site know that means its time for a series on a book of the Bible. This summer we'll be working our way through the Gospel of John, of which our previous post "A Geek Like Me" may be considered as an introduction. In all my years of teaching the Bible I've never taught through this book, so I am approaching it with careful observation. As always, I appreciate reader feedback through our Facebook Group. Please let me know if you disagree with my conclusions or reasoning or have any knowledge that should be added.
The Lord's Prayer and the Four Wills
There are so many sermon's and articles that could be written concerning the content of this prayer, and will be I'm sure. I'm adding this to the pile. There are at least three, possibly four distinct entities mentioned in this prayer that are common themes not only throughout Matthew's gospel but the entire Bible. Notice the progression, from heaven through earth to hell in the development of the "wills". First, there is the will of the father, in asking for daily bread our will is exposed, in forgiving others the will of our new nature comes to the fore...
The Kingdom of God, Part Two
“The kingdom of heaven is like..." Jesus begins many parables in this fashion, signaling us to pay attention and learn about our homeland. In these parables we can expect to learn at least one truth regarding either the realm inside of which God's authority is recognized, the people who enter that realm, and/or the effect that authority has upon the people and the realm. There are many "Kingdom Parables" in the New Testament, the majority of which are repeated between Matthew, Mark and Luke. Let us look at one in particular that happens to appear only in Matthew 13.24-30.
John - Water into Wine
This is the fifth day of 20 that John tells us about the life of Jesus and is a continuation of John's initial theme of "The Peaceful First Coming of the Messiah". In verse 43 of the first chapter we learn of Jesus' desire to set out for Galilee. No explanation is given as to why Jesus wanted to head there, but we can surmise it was on the way to Cana, where we find Jesus three days later at the start of chapter two. Jesus' mother and the disciples were all invited to the wedding where the action starts in 2.3.
Abram and Sarai
A few months ago we ended a series examining many of the names of God and how those names reveal something important about his character. Yesterday we talked about how important the names of people can be, so much so that in a few instances God specifically told parents what to name their children (there are far more instances of this than we examined). Today we'll look at two examples where God changes people's names, specifically Abraham and Sarah. In each case God changes only one letter of their name. It makes one wonder, why bother? What difference does it make?
The Importance of Children
I've been traveling a lot for work lately, which explains why we missed a few posts a couple weeks ago. While on the trip I went for breakfast one morning at IHOP. When the host directed me to the my table I asked her, can I have a table that's not right next to the giant family? She was about to seat me behind a noisy group consisting of four adults, two toddlers, and two infants. As I sat at a table half way across the room I thought to myself, I don't really like kids.
Stop Your Striving
The best athletes know a very deep truth. They practice regularly, of course, but sometimes they practice the plays in slow motion. Martial artists are famous for the slow, precise repetition of the mechanics. It develops muscle memory. Football players watch reels of their plays, examining the details in slow motion. Sometimes it is only in the frame-by-frame that one can detect the cause of a successful or derailed play. The truth these athletes know is that, sometimes, slowing down or being still is the key to success. Should we wonder, then, why God tells us to be still?
John - Calling Disciplles
Yesterday we left off on day three from the perspective of John the Baptist. In verse 43 we come to day four and we leave the Baptizer behind. Jesus has three disciples already, Andrew, Peter and another. On this day Jesus calls a few more. Phillip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter, and Jesus called him with two simple words: "Follow me." From Phillip Jesus gained Nathaniel, and how he convinces Nathanael (also probably known as Bartholomew) to come along is with an argument that aligns with the author's purpose. He testifies that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah.
Lamech
It is a question meant to strike fear in the heart of the person asked, and to convince witnesses that a conspiracy is afoot: "What did he know and when did he know it?" It was born during the Watergate investigation and has been a favorite weapon of politicians and journalists alike. Early in the pages of the Bible, the careful reader may have noticed one instance where this question might be asked and it concerns one of the Bible's most well-known characters, Noah. The famous ark-builder isn't the subject of this investigation, however, it's his father Lamech.
The Original Rolling Stone
"For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did."
Grades of Thrones
Comedian Dennis Miller once said, "It's silly to hate anyone based on their religion or the color of their skin when, if you took the time to really get to know them, you could find so many better reasons to hate them." The point is, people are complicated. Nowhere in Scripture is this more evident than in the relationship between Kings David and Solomon with Elohim. They are considered Israel's greatest kings, but were they really? How do they measure up against God's guide for kings? That guide is given to everyone in Deuteronomy, so we can judge for ourselves.