One In Jesus

(John 7:53-8:2 ESV) ⁵³ [They went each to his own house, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  ² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

There is no indication what Jesus taught. The point is simply that Jesus was about his business teaching. Continue reading →

The (true) story of the woman taken in adultery is in the KJV without footnote or warning. But nearly all translations published in the last 100 years place these verses in brackets or even in a footnote. Why?

Well, its Greek is definitely unlike that of John. John has a very definite style, and the style of the story is more like the Synoptic Gospels, especially Luke.

Moreover, ancient manuscripts place the story in three different places in John or in Luke — or omit it altogether. The ancient, Christian copyists evidently could not decide which Gospel the story goes with! Continue reading →

We skipped the woman taken in adultery, but that (true) story will be next up.

The rest of chapter 8 is a continuation of Jesus’ discourse and debate at the Feast of Booths.

* How do you suppose the crowd reacted to Jesus’ dialogue with the Pharisees?

* Why would the Pharisees refuse to believe? Was it really because Jesus was from Galilee? Continue reading →

(John 8:31-32 ESV)  ³¹ So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

What does Jesus mean by “the truth will set you free”? Let’s start with “truth.” Throughout the New Testament, and especially in John, “truth” refers to the truth about Jesus, especially the truth that he is the Messiah and God in the flesh. The “truth” is the gospel. Continue reading →

We skip the next few verses for a moment. The story of the woman taken in adultery is almost certainly not part of John’s original manuscript. It’s written in a different style (very much like Luke, the experts say), and is out of context here.

This raises all sorts of interesting and important questions, but also interrupts the account of Jesus and the Feast of Booths. And I just don’t want to interrupt the narrative. We’ll come back to the verses we skip.

(John 8:12-13 ESV)  ¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  ¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”

Somehow, the authorities seem to have found Jesus, so that the conversation now shifts from Jesus shouting to the crowd to a dialogue between Jesus and that Pharisees. Continue reading →

I’m sure I’ve read John many, many times before, but for some reason, chapter 7 and 8 never clicked for me. I’d never really read them.

But I just love these chapters. I wrote all the posts on both chapters in one sitting. I just couldn’t stop reading, studying, and writing the thoughts that were pouring into my head.

* Why do you suppose Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe in him? The text doesn’t say, but we do know from Acts and history that they later became believers and leaders in the church. But why did it take them longer to believe than so many others? (And what does that say about prevenient grace, if it took his brothers so long?)

* In the earlier posts, I conclude that Jesus was initially reluctant to attend the Feast of Booths for fear of being arrested before his time had come. Does that conclusion make Jesus too human? Would we prefer a Savior who never hesitated to face death?

* Why on earth did Jesus take this opportunity to remind everyone that he’d healed on the Sabbath? Clearly he was risking his life! What goal did he have that was worth the risk?

* What do you think of Jesus’ higher-law argument, that it’s okay to heal on the Sabbath because it’s also okay to circumcise on the Sabbath? Doesn’t that argument risk destroying the Sabbath? Don’t we need bright-lines, clear rules, so that we don’t accidentally break them?

* Am I right to suggest that John deliberately writes this (true) story to emphasize the humorous elements? Is the Bible funny?

* Why didn’t Jesus explain that he was born in Bethlehem? His apparent birth in Galilee was a barrier to faith.

* What does this story tell us about the personality of Jesus? What character traits did he demonstrate in this chapter?

(John 7:37-39 ESV)  ³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”  ³⁹ Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

In shouting to the crowd, Jesus was likely responding to a ceremony conducted at the feast — Continue reading →

(John 7:31-32 ESV)  ³¹ Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”  ³² The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.

As you read the rest of the chapter, try not to be too sanctimonious. I know it’s hard, because church people are highly trained to be sanctimonious. I mean, we can laugh at the preacher’s jokes, but we must … not … laugh … at … the … holy … word … of … God. Continue reading →

Jesus’ discouragement only begins in chapter 6. It quickly gets worse.

(John 7:1-8 ESV) After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.  ² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand.  ³ So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.  ⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”  ⁵ For not even his brothers believed in him.  ⁶ Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.  ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.  ⁸ You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”

Jesus couldn’t go to Judea without being killed. Even his physical brothers lacked faith in him. Jesus declared that the world “hates me.” Indeed, Jesus knew it wasn’t yet time for his crucifixion and yet couldn’t do his work as God’s Messiah without risking arrest and death too soon. Continue reading →