Short Definition of the Kingdom of God
Where “On Earth as it is in Heaven” happens. I just wrote this in a BIble Study workbook to answer the question “What is the Kingdom of God?”
Not for the Sake of Making them Mad
[box type=”shadow”] Jesus did a lot of stuff to deliberately make the people around Him mad, but He wasn’t just a nuisance for nuisance’s sake. [/box] I’m reading the Chronological Bible Reading plan and right now Jesus is just going around ticking a lot of people off! He was talking to a Samaritan woman, which…
Jesus Completely Heals the Completely Helpless
Matthew 12:22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. It is really significant that this man is blind AND mute. Many people thought in that day (and today too) that a person could only be healed if they…
Jesus "Made Himself" a Son of God
John 19:1-11 “Where are you from?” Pilate asks. If he can’t figure out this king business, maybe he can find out where Jesus came from. The people have said that Jesus 4160 the Son of God. 4160. poieo, poy-eh-o; apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; to make or do (in a very wide…
You’ve Been to Sinai, Welcome to Pentecost
I’ve been reading David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary and listening to Dwight A. Pryor on the subject of Acts 2 and Pentecost. WOW. Texts: Acts 2, John 14, Exodus 20-32 The parallels between what the Jews celebrated and taught from the traditions about Pentecost and what happened on Pentecost 50 days after the Last…
If You Haven't Gotten It Yet, It's All About God's Glory!
– John 11. 41 – ‚ÄúFather, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.‚Äù Previously some of the leaders had said that Jesus had a demon, and others asked,…
The Earth and Its Events are Full of God's Glory
John 11.4 ‚ÄúThis illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.‚Äù As always, Jesus sees more to the situation than anyone else. He sees that Lazarus died for the glory of God, just like the storm came up in…
Random Notes on John 9
<<<2009.03.10>>>some random notes:Midrash Rabbah on Song of Songs 1:41 (another later rabbinic work) states that when a pregnant woman worships in a heathen temple the fetus also commits idolatry. This is only one example of how, in rabbinic Jewish thought, an unborn child was capable of sinning. (http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=1318) Genesis Rabbah 63:6 says that Esau committed…
Seeking Our Own Glory
John 7:18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. I remember when I learned that no one in a desperate situation can be trusted. That was also when I…
Thoughts on being an Heir
I read this before I went to bed last night and was wondering about the whole heir thing. It is easy to think that the heir doesn’t get his inheritance until the estate owner dies. But there is more to it that that! How many people do you see in the news that are the…