Category Archives: John

Worship and a Well

One of the greatest discussions in the Bible about worship takes place at a well in Samaria between Jesus and a woman from Samaria. The well was associated with the patriarch Jacob (4:6). Their discussion causes the woman to question whether Jesus is greater than Jacob (4:12). This fits right in with one of the features of John’sContinue reading “Worship and a Well”

Come and See

We were on a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Greece. Our youngest daughter was there as part of her university’s international study program. Everyone had been counting their nickels for quite some time (even having a home-made gift exchange the previous Christmas). Janice and I flew to Raleigh where our oldest daughter and her husband live. From there we flewContinue reading “Come and See”

What Makes A Best Man (or Woman)

John 3:22-30 is a passage that is tucked away between Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus and His visit with the women at the well in Samaria. It’s like the U.S. Grant Memorial which sits between the Washington Monument and the U.S Capitol—by  its very location it tends to be overlooked and under-valued. But as we’ll see,Continue reading “What Makes A Best Man (or Woman)”

Water into Wine

Numerous contemporaries of Jesus speak of good wine not possessing intoxicating qualities (Pliny, Plutarch, Horace, etc.). In fact, they describe in detail the measures taken to produce such a drink. There’s no reason then, other than cultural bias or biblical ignorance, for insisting that when the master of the banquet spoke of what Jesus made as “choiceContinue reading “Water into Wine”

Life at the Tomb

If you want to have some fun, ask a husband and wife to tell you about something memorable—their wedding, the birth of a child, a vacation story, etc. Then just back away and enjoy the moment. It doesn’t matter who starts telling the story, they won’t get too far before the other breaks in toContinue reading “Life at the Tomb”

Jesus, John and Mary

“Here is your son” (v. 26), Jesus said to His mother. In contrast to Pilate’s abdication of his responsibility to Jesus and justice (“Here is the man” – v. 5, “Here is your king” – v. 14), Christ took control regarding His mother’s care. It’s an interesting situation we don’t know as much about asContinue reading “Jesus, John and Mary”

This is the Lord We Need!

John has a way of relating staggeringly immense truths in a ridiculously succinct manner. “The word was with God, and The Word was God” (1:1)—the diversity and unity of the Godhead in ten words. “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (1:4)—the spiritual and moral illumination that Jesus’ lifeContinue reading “This is the Lord We Need!”

Taking Jesus at His Word

We’re not sure where the story found in John 7:53-8:11 belongs. This is why in most translations it is set in italics, bracketed, or even put into a footnote. Textual authorities tell us that it’s not in the two earliest manuscripts we have of John which date back to the beginning of the third century.Continue reading “Taking Jesus at His Word”