The Context
The Context
John 3:1-21
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” 3:14-17
The most quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16. It is a beautiful verse of God’s love for the world and his power to save His children when they believe and accept Him by faith. However, have you ever wondered about the context of John 3:16? Read more
Cleaning Up
Cleaning Up
John 2:13-25
And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for his first of 3 Passovers during His three years of public ministry. The Passover was the greatest of the Jewish feasts. It celebrated the deliverance of the Jews as slaves in Egypt and the passing over of the angel of death because of blood on the doorpost of their homes. Every devout Jewish male over 12 years old would journey to Jerusalem every year for the feast.
John's narrative moves from a non-public act (water to wine) to an overt public act in the temple; cleansing the temple of animal merchants and money-changers. Read more
Water to Wine
Nate is exploring the countryside of Bulgaria
Water to Wine
John 2:1-12
“Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the water pots with water.’ So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.’ So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘every man serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
We are about to explore Jesus’ first recorded miracle. There are some very cool insights here. But first, let’s be reminded of the writer’s purpose for writing the book of John. It is both apologetic (to provides “proofs” or evidence) and evangelistic, (to lead the readers to salvation). These purposes are provided in 20:31 which says,
“but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, (apologetics) and that believing you may have life in His name,” (evangelistic).Read more
The Voice
The Voice
John 1:19-51
Let’s go back to the book of John to consider further the life of John the Baptist. John 1.19 "this is the testimony of John..." The writer is saying "listen and learn from the story of John (the baptizer)". John was clear on who he was and what his role and calling were.
When John was asked "who are you?" He knew exactly who he was and his calling. First, John says let me tell you who I am NOT. They asked, are you the Christ? "I am not the Christ". Are you Elijah? "I am not". Are you the prophet? "No". Then who are you and what do you say about yourself? John said, "I AM A VOICE..." Read more
A Ministry
A Ministry
John 1 & Isaiah 40
John the Baptist found his calling to ministry in Isaiah 40. This prompts me to ask, “Lord, what ministry have you called me to?” Maybe I can get some guidance from Isaiah 40.
Here are some passages from Isaiah’s call. This is the prophetical calling to John the Baptist but it can also be a calling to us: Read more
The Calling
The beautiful state of Washington
The Calling
John 1:19-23
“Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself? He said, ‘I am a voice of one crying in the Wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
The text transitions here from the prologue to the narrative. This section begins, “This is the testimony of John.” The other gospels refer to him as John the Baptist to distinguish him from John the apostle. In this case, John the apostle is the author and never refers to himself throughout the book. So, he just calls John the Baptist, John.
John’s ministry in the desert was stirring up interest. The buzz about his preaching and bold claims about the coming Messiah reached the High Priest in Jerusalem. Representatives from the High Priest made the trek out to the desert to find out firsthand what was going on. Read more
The Word Became Flesh
The Cascades in Washington State
The Word Became Flesh
John 1:14
“The Word became flesh…” These four words are worth some good old fashion pondering. It’s actually worth more than pondering. It’s worthy of deep uninterrupted study, consideration and reflection. The precedent to these four carefully crafted words is “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” 1:1.
In a sense, it’s simple. The Word, Jesus, the pre-existent God and Creator, second person of the Trinity became a man in time and space. It’s such a familiar story to us. We celebrate it every December. It’s the beginning of the good news, the gospel. But let’s not allow the familiarity of it hold us back from considering the awesomeness of these four words and the impact of this event in time and space. “The Word became flesh.” Read more
Grace Upon Grace
A friend posted some pictures of the Cascades in my home state of Washington. Majestic! I'm going to post them this week.
Grace Upon Grace
John 1:1-18
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of Men...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
We are going to begin John today. Father, please reveal Jesus to me as I read through John. That I might know Him, follow Him, be enthralled with Him, follow His example and be like Him.Read more
The Closing
The Astros are looking good!
2 Corinthians 13
Paul closes this book with this brief chapter, but he doesn't close it out quietly.
"This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I have previously said when present the second time, and though now I am absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well that if I come again I will not spare anyone," 13:1,2
At first I read this and thought ‘Paul is threatening them.’ But let's be honest, what can he really do besides what he has already done in this letter which is boldly warn them? What can he really do? Read more