Do you have eternal life? Not sure? You can know…now. In John 3:14-15, we read the first time in the Gospel of John that Jesus gives us a hint of how he will die. Jesus refers to a situation from Israel’s history in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 21, verses 8-9. The peopleContinue reading “How to experience eternal life now…before you die – John 3:1-21, Part 4”
Tag Archives: Gospel of John
How you can see and enter God’s Kingdom – John 3:1-21, Part 3
I first saw the Epcot globe in the summer of 1984 when my family visited on a vacation. It was still a new feature in a new theme park at Disney World in Florida, having opened in 1982. That huge globe, pictured above, was for me, an impressionable ten-year old, an amazing sight to see.Continue reading “How you can see and enter God’s Kingdom – John 3:1-21, Part 3”
Did Jesus really do miracles? – John 3:1-21, Part 2
In the previous post, we met a new character in the Gospel of John. The powerful and respected Nicodemus, who is both a Pharisee and a member of the Jewish Ruling Council. As we continue studying John 3:1-21, we read in verse 2 that Nicodemus visits Jesus at night. We are giving no context toContinue reading “Did Jesus really do miracles? – John 3:1-21, Part 2”
John 3:16 is not enough? – John 3:1-21, Part 1
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”
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”
Engaging Scripture 