What is essential to an understanding of the Gospel, the good news about Jesus? What I remember as a kid was hearing that John 3:16 was it. That’s the Gospel in one verse. That’s all you need to know. Therefore John 3:16 is the most important verse in the Bible. So put it on bannersContinue reading “John 3:16 is not enough? – John 3:1-21, Part 1”
Tag Archives: Discipleship
Bannerman…an homage or a satire? – John 3:1-21, Preview
This week as I have been studying the next section of the Gospel of John, it reminded me of a song by Steve Taylor, a Christian rock musician. The song, “Bannerman,” came out in 1993 during my sophomore year of college. You can watch a video of the song here. In the song, Taylor writesContinue reading “Bannerman…an homage or a satire? – John 3:1-21, Preview”
Are we allowing anything to block our worship of God – John 2:12-25, Part 5
John tells us his disciples would remember this day. Look at verse 22. The disciples remember Jesus’ cryptic statement after Jesus rose again on the third day, and they finally understand what he meant. The temple was his body. He died and rose again! The disciples remembered what he said, and they believed that ScriptureContinue reading “Are we allowing anything to block our worship of God – John 2:12-25, Part 5”
How Jesus got himself into a pickle…and how he got himself out of it – John 2:12-25, Part 3
Jesus is in a very bad situation. Frankly, it’s a situation he got himself into. You could say it is his fault. Jesus at fault? Did he do something wrong? Isn’t Jesus supposed to be perfect? What’s going on? As we’ve been studying this week on the blog, in John 2:12-25, we read the storyContinue reading “How Jesus got himself into a pickle…and how he got himself out of it – John 2:12-25, Part 3”
Two very different viewpoints on Jesus’ cleansing of the temple – John 2:12-25, Part 3
When Jesus’ disciples thought about Jesus’ wild actions of cleansing the temple, believe or not, it makes them think about a poem, a song, Psalm 69. Only Psalm 22 is quoted more frequently in by the New Testament writers. That means the earliest Christians saw in Psalm 69 numerous connections to the Messiah. If youContinue reading “Two very different viewpoints on Jesus’ cleansing of the temple – John 2:12-25, Part 3”
Why Jesus starts a stampede in church – John 2:12-25, Part 2
Imagine a scene with me as you read this post. Jesus is in Jerusalem with his disciples for the Jewish Passover Feast. The city is packed with other pilgrims, and many of them head to the temple for worship. Jesus and his disciples join the crowd. They enter the temple complex, as everyone does, firstContinue reading “Why Jesus starts a stampede in church – John 2:12-25, Part 2”
What Jesus saw at the temple that filled him with emotion – John 2:12-25, Part 1
As we begin our study of Jesus’ surprising behavior in John 2:12-25, it reminded of this video of a protestor who ran onto the field during a Rams/49ers football game. When he first jumped onto the field, carrying a smoke canister which let out pink smoke, referees blew the whistle to stop play, but theContinue reading “What Jesus saw at the temple that filled him with emotion – John 2:12-25, Part 1”
That time Jesus borrowed a move from Ezekiel’s playbook – John 2:12-25, Preview
Do you remember our blog series through the book of Ezekiel? That series began in 2021, and continued through the first half of 2022. I know. Seems so long ago, right? But try to remember with me, as there was something about Ezekiel that relates to the next episode in the life of Jesus, whichContinue reading “That time Jesus borrowed a move from Ezekiel’s playbook – John 2:12-25, Preview”
How to see God’s glory every day – John 2:1-11, Part 5
In the previous post, we read in John 2:11 that Jesus, by accomplishing the miraculous sign of transforming water into wine, showed his disciples his glory. Glory? What does that mean? Only God has that kind of glory. I highly doubt the glory the disciples saw was a shining light, a halo, a glow orContinue reading “How to see God’s glory every day – John 2:1-11, Part 5”
Three things Jesus’ disciples saw when they observed him – John 2:1-11, Part 4
What do you see when you see Jesus? When you read the stories about his life, or maybe watch a dramatic presentation of the Gospels, what do you notice about Jesus? Perhaps the best place to get information about Jesus is from the people who were eyewitnesses of his life. His disciples walked with JesusContinue reading “Three things Jesus’ disciples saw when they observed him – John 2:1-11, Part 4”
Engaging Scripture 