Gospel of John 12 – Jesus Anointed at Bethany

One thing I never realized about this story was that Bethany literally means, “House of the poor”. That possibly makes the events of this story so much more meaningful. If Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are not very well to do, this magnifies the sacrifice of an already costly gift. This makes even more sense of [...]

Raw Emotion – The Raising of Lazarus from the Dead

There is little more mystifying and moving to me as the tears Jesus shed with Mary just before he raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11. Wouldn’t you think Jesus would have had more of a chuckle rather than tears? The kind of wink, wink…you are crying now but wait and see what I [...]

The Shortcut of Changing the Labels – Christian vs. Christ-follower

In John 10 Jesus has some tough words for the Pharisees in response to their poor reception of the man he healed from blindness in John 9. I wrote up quite a lengthy post detailing what was going on in John 10, Jesus as the good shepherd and the gate and all the rest…context, historical [...]

John 9 – Mud in the Eyes Christians

After reading and re-reading the story of the man born blind in John 9 today I am struck by the power and authority of Jesus combined with the blind man’s willing obedience. Our faith is a partnership of unequals. We can’t even take credit for listening and doing because without his command we wouldn’t have [...]

What is Christianity – A Great Resource Free to Download

Here is a link to Steve Williams book What is Christianity. Steve used to preach at University City Church of Christ in Gainesville, FL and teaches at Amridge University (formerly Southern Christian). It is currently out of print but has been provided to download/print. It is an excellent resources that highlights our core beliefs in [...]

On This Rock I Will Build My Church – Matthew 16:18

There has been a lot of ink spilled over the issue of which “rock” Jesus is talking about in Matthew 16:18. Why not spill some more? First let’s have a look at the text. [To the left a picture of the Gates of the underworld in Caesarea Philippi.]
“13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea [...]

Gospel of John 8:12-59 – Jesus Gets Testy

John 8:12-59 contains some of the best known lines in John but they aren’t said to a loving, accepting mob of fervent believers. They are spoken to a mostly obnoxious and rebellious group in Jerusalem. In 8:12 Jesus says he is the light of the world. One of the great “I am” statements and one [...]

Gospel of John 8 – Jesus Light of the World

As was already mentioned the Feast of Tabernacles had several ceremonies that keyed in on themes of Jewish history. The water ceremony remembered the wilderness wanderings where God dwelled with his people and provided them water to drink. Jesus worked off this theme in calling himself the source of living water (John 7:37). The second [...]

Gospel of John 7 – Jesus Fulfills the Feast of Tabernacles

[Repost from Nov 11, 2007]
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 [...]

100% Effective Evangelism

Reading John 7 today I kept noticing the theme of Jesus bringing a dividing line to the people he was with. They either believed in him or they didn’t. They either put their faith in him or they wanted him dead! It wasn’t really that extreme but often in John it feels that way. What [...]