We notice, as we continue reading, that Thomas wasn’t with the other eleven (cp. Mark 16:14; Luke 24:9, 23), when Jesus appeared to his disciples on the day of his resurrection (John 20:24). In other words, Judas had not yet hung himself (cp. Matthew 27:5), and he was with the other ten Apostles on the first day of the week, when Jesus appeared to them. We don’t know for certain why Thomas wasn’t there with the eleven, but we can surmise. John’s Gospel record is the only narrative that mentions Thomas other than numbering him as one of the Twelve (cp. Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). Just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, John tells us that, Jesus was warned not to enter Judea, because the Jewish authorities sought his life (John 11:7-8), but Thomas, called Didymus, said: “Let us go, that we may die with him!” (John 11:16). He is mentioned once more after finishing their last meal with Jesus, and Thomas said: “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Read the rest of this entry »
John began his closing argument about unbelief with a summation of the attitude of those to whom Jesus had preached. Although his arguments are composed around seven miracles,[1] he tells us of others, saying “Though he had done so many miracles in their presence…” thus, implying there was a collection of miraculous signs, he could have mentioned but didn’t, that was known by many. Yet, although Jesus had done what only one sent by God could do, they didn’t believe (John 12:37). So, John ended his record of the people as he had begun: he came to his own, but his own believed him not (John 1:12). Read the rest of this entry »
It was winter in Jerusalem in 30 AD, and Jesus arrived to celebrate the Feast of Dedication. Today, it is called Hanukkah. John’s record picks up events that are about fifteen months later than Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles of 29 AD (chapter 7 through John 10:21). The account begins with Jesus in the Temple (John 10:22-23). Read the rest of this entry »
Jesus declared he was the Light of the world, and as long as folks followed him they would not walk in darkness, for they would experience the light of life (John 8:12). What Jesus meant was, he was the Life to which the world is drawn (John 1:4), but darkness (i.e. unbelief) isn’t able to comprehend Light/Life, although it shines forth and the darkness is attracted to it (John 1:5). In John 8:13 the darkness, vis-à-vis the Pharisees, spoke out, saying Jesus’ testimony was false or at least couldn’t be verified, because he testified of himself. That is, he was one witness, and only one witness isn’t a valid witness to truth, according to the Law (Deuteronomy 19:15). Read the rest of this entry »
The Gospel of John focuses on seven signs or miracles[1] that would prove Jesus is the Messiah, whom he claimed to be. As the writer of John builds upon each sign, he describes how they were received by those who witnessed them. Some believed, but others either misunderstood and didn’t believe or disregarded the sign and rejected him on the ground of the Mosaic Law, or more accurately how they interpreted that law. The first sign occurred in Cana, where Jesus changed water into wine, and there followed belief and unbelief. Next there was the healing of the nobleman’s son over some distance, followed by the healing of the man who was paralyzed for 38 years. The fourth sign was the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 in Bethsaida, and now we come to the fifth sign, which is the healing of the man born blind in chapter nine, but John begins this record in chapter seven with a discussion about whether or not Jesus should go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10). Read the rest of this entry »
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After what appears to be several of Jesus’ teaching sessions, held in the synagogue at Capernaum, during the second Passover of his public ministry (spring of 29 AD), many of Jesus’ disciples struggled with his words, because they hadn’t a spiritual context in which to put them (John 6:60). These seemed to be leading members of Galilean social life, many of them zealots, and they prided themselves in their ability to understand scripture (cp. John 9:40-41). The problem was, they weren’t very good at that in which they thought they excelled (cp. Matthew 13:15; John 3:3-4). When one believes he understands, but doesn’t, it is difficult to get that one to admit his error, and these folks weren’t any different, so they murmured over Jesus’ words that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, if they could hope to live eternally (John 6:53-54). Read the rest of this entry »
Once more the people murmured against Jesus, saying among themselves: “how can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). Obviously, Jesus wasn’t speaking literally, when he said: “the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Why didn’t these folks see that? Perhaps they did, but couldn’t think of a spiritual context in which to put his words. Read the rest of this entry »
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The beginning of Jesus’ public ministry was now behind him, fulfilled in the healing of the nobleman’s son. In other words, Jesus had preached the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in both Galilee and Judea for about a year, but he was rejected as the Jews’ Messiah, and his Gospel wasn’t believed. He had, however, successfully gathered to himself a band of loyal disciples who received him as their Messiah, and for the next two and a half years Jesus would train them for the task of preaching the Gospel to the world. It would be through them, a small company of disciples that Jesus would build his Kingdom, which would never come to an end. This text in John introduces the next phase of Jesus ministry, by placing him in Jerusalem once more, and it was about the time of Tabernacles 28 AD (John 5:1), [1] which commemorated the Jews’ wandering in the wilderness, before entering the Promised Land. Read the rest of this entry »
As we continue in our study of the third chapter of John’s Gospel, we need to ask ourselves whether or not verse-13 and following are Jesus’ words or the Gospel narrator’s words. Red letter Bibles make John 3:13-21 Jesus’ words. However, Jesus claimed it wasn’t possible for Nicodemus or the Jewish authorities, whom Nicodemus claimed to represent, to understand the heavenly things or the “secret things that belong to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 29:29). If this is so, why would Jesus then go on in John 3:13-21 to explain to Nicodemus the heavenly things he couldn’t understand? If this argument is logical and true, then what is claimed to be Jesus’ words would more properly belong to John’s later commentary, which explains to John’s readers what Jesus meant by heavenly things, or those secret things that weren’t available for man’s consideration at the time of Nicodemus’ discussion with the Lord. Read the rest of this entry »
Nicodemus came to Jesus saying, “We know you are a teacher from God, because no one could do these miracles, if that weren’t true” (John 3:2), but who is the we that Nicodemus tells us he represents? We are informed in John 3:1 that Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews. That is, he was a member of the Sanhedrin court in Jerusalem. He was saying that **we** know—that is, the rulers of the people had been discussing what Jesus had been doing, and they had concluded that Jesus was sent by God! Nevertheless, they held back their endorsement of him as their Messiah and sought a sign (John 2:18). Jesus had already done many miracles (signs), which they accepted as the work of God, so what other sign could they possibly want? It seems that they wanted Jesus to perform a miracle at their command, perhaps even stating what miracle to perform (cp. Matthew 4:3, 6, 8-9). Nevertheless, Jesus wouldn’t deal in their petty desires, which did nothing but keep them in authority, even over the Messiah. Read the rest of this entry »
John mentions in John 2:18 that another group, the Jewish authorities, were also watching what Jesus said and did. We must not think that Jesus’ actions here in the Temple in John 2:13-16 were unconnected with the implied 40 days of John’s purification jars (John 2:6), spelled out in more detail in Luke 4:14 to 7:1. On the contrary, the Temple was the gathering place of those who rejected Christ in Galilee, many of whom were important visitors from Jerusalem (Luke 5:17; 6:17). Rather, it would have been surprising, had the Temple practices been pure and without a need for cleansing. In fact, a point might be made from the Gospel narrator’s wording in John 2:13. There, he describes the time as that of the Jews’ Passover, rather than the Lord’s Passover (Exodus 12:11, 27; Leviticus 23:5). In fact, he uses the same phrase in John 11:55, and similar ones elsewhere (John 5:1; 6:4; and 7:2). No other writer in the Bible describes the annual holy days in this manner, so it is likely that the writer intends for us to understand that something is awry with the manner in which these holy days were kept, and this would also include the Temple practices. Read the rest of this entry »
Matthew and Mark begin recording Jesus’ public ministry immediately following the imprisonment of John the Baptizer, saying: “when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee” (Matthew 4:12); “after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14). Luke spends some time to record some of what occurred during Jesus 40 days in the wilderness of people (Luke 4:14 to Luke 7:1). The Gospel of John begins his record of Jesus’ public ministry by recording events that occurred before John’s imprisonment (cp John 3:24). Currently, our study takes place six months after Luke ends his record of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness of people (Luke 4:14 to Luke 7:1). Luke records events that occurred during the fall festivals of 27 AD, but John, aside from the wedding at Cana, begins in Jerusalem during Jesus’ first Passover season of his ministry in the spring of 28 AD (John 2:13). Read the rest of this entry »
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In the context of Jesus and his disciples being in Jerusalem, the phrase “when he came into the house” could only mean: when he came into the Temple (the House of God). Therefore, when Jesus came to his disciples (Mark 9:14), after coming down from the mount (Luke 9:37) he was in Jerusalem, but outside the Temple. It was inside the Temple complex or in the House that Jesus’ disciples asked him why they couldn’t cast the evil spirit out of the young boy (Mark 9:28). After all, hadn’t Jesus given them the power to cast out evil spirits (cp. Mark 6:7)? Matthew tells us that Jesus had given them authority over evil spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases (Matthew 10:1). Moreover, Luke records that their authority was over **all** demons and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1). Therefore, the disciples’ question was a legitimate one. If Jesus had given them authority over **all** demons, why were they unable to cast out **this** demon from the young boy (Mark 9:28)? Read the rest of this entry »
It seems immediately following the event of Mark 9:14-29, Jesus and his disciples left for Galilee (Mark 9:30). If this is true, then Jesus’ descending the mount (cp. Luke 9:37) wasn’t the same descent that immediately followed Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mark 9:9). Luke’s descent and the event that followed in Mark 9:14-29 occurred about a day afterward or the next day after the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., after the whole eight-day festival). Had Luke 9:37 been the same descent as Mark 9:9, it would have been the daylight portion of the Last Great Day of the Feast, and Jesus would have met with the Jewish rulers in the Temple and questioned about the woman caught in adultery (cp. John 7:37; 8:1-3). Later, on the Last Great Day, Jesus healed a man born blind (John 8:59; John 9:1-7). Yet, immediately following the event of Mark 9:14-29, Jesus and his disciples left for Galilee. Therefore, the two descents (Mark 9:9 & Luke 9:37) occurred on different days. Read the rest of this entry »
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Mark tells us that on the same day Jesus told his disciples he wanted to go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35). In other words, the trip across the Sea of Galilee was made on the same day he had spoken so many parables to the multitude, but I think Mark alludes particularly to the same day on which the Parable of the Mustard Seed was given. Moreover, Mark tells us that there were several other smaller vessels that followed after Jesus (Mark 4:36), which are useless details if, as some critics conclude, that what we read in Mark 4:35-41 is more like a myth or should be taken spiritually, rather than seeing it as an actual historical event. So, we are told that they sent the multitude away, and without stopping for provisions, the disciples and Jesus sailed away just as they were, apparently unprepared for what was to follow (Mark 4:36). Read the rest of this entry »
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