John 15 (ESV) 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and . . . . Continue Reading »
Commenting on John 1:12-13, Calvin says “Some think that an indirect reference is here made to the preposterous confidence of the Jews, and I willingly adopt that opinion. They had continually in their mouth the nobleness of their lineage, as if, because they were descended from a holy stock, . . . . Continue Reading »
John 20:28: Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God. Let us pray. Father, You raised Your Son Jesus from the dead to bring a new day. Strengthen our faith by Your Spirit, so that we may believe the things written and so participate more and more in the power of His indestructible life . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus tells Nathanael that he will see angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. The Son of Man is Jacob’s ladder to heaven, but when? and how? As noted in the previous post, John speaks writes of the exaltation of the Son of Man on the cross. When the Son of Man is lifted up in . . . . Continue Reading »
What makes John link the Passover prohibition of breaking bones (Exodus 12:46) with the Zechariah 12 prophecy that “they shall look on the one whom they pierced” in John 19:36-37? One of the links is Passover itself. “Not a bone shall be broken” is clearly a Passover text, . . . . Continue Reading »
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up,” Jesus told Nicodemus. It’s a chiasm: A. Lifted up B. Serpent C. Wilderness B’. Son of Man A’. lifted up. Two interesting questions emerge here: Birst, by whom is the Son of . . . . Continue Reading »
Alison Trites ( The New Testament Concept of Witness ) finds parallels between the use of witness in the fourth gospel and that found in Isaiah 40-55: “There the controversy between Yahweh and the false gods turns out to be a lawsuit between God and the world. God is represented by Israel and . . . . Continue Reading »
John’s gospel begins with a “book of signs,” the word semeion used sixteen times in the first 12 chapters and only once after (20:30). The last use of the noun in the book of signs occurs in 12:37, which speaks of the “signs” that Jesus performs to unbelieving Jews. . . . . Continue Reading »
A number of students writing on John 13 have noticed the oddity that Jesus washes the disciples feet - an act of hospitality in preparation for a meal - but then they never eat. It’s a feast interrupted. I suspect that has something to do with the interaction between John and Revelation. For . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus comes to Jerusalem riding over palm branches. He is the promised king, and marches over the treetops into Jerusalem, up to the temple. When the disciples hear the sound of the Wind-filled Jesus in the tops of the trees, they will know that Yahweh has gone before them (cf. 2 Samuel . . . . Continue Reading »
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