50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - In the beginning
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - In the beginning
by BRF - Rona Orme
Whether the first chapter of Genesis is presented as giving a literal account of God creating the earth or as an early explanation of how things began, most children are fascinated by this story. Many children will have heard the Jewish and Christian creation story in RE, alongsi…
Mark The People's bible commentary - Getting Rid of the Son
Mark The People's bible commentary - Getting Rid of the Son
by BRF - Dick France
GETTING RID of the SON In the last study we heard Jesus’ claim, by implication, to divine authority for what he was doing. Now the same claim is made, this time in the form of a fictional story with a transparent meaning. His opponents know exactly what he means (v. 12), but they…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING is CRUCIFIED Through these seven balanced trial scenes, Pilate moved from mocking Jesus to a grudging respect for his kingship while “the Jews” rejected the rule of God, preferring Caesar. Now Pilate ‘hands him over to them’, using the word for ‘betray’, after the action…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
REBUKES & DENIALS The scene has moved from the garden to the house of Annas, the old high priest. We have seen that John is building the tension by oscillating between events out in the courtyard and the preliminary hearing taking place in the house.
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST Jesus was taken into the house of Annas, but before we could learn what happened, we were taken out into the courtyard to see how Peter was admitted and his first quiet denial of Jesus. We know from Jesus’ warning to Peter that two more denials are to…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NO KING BUT CAESAR
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NO KING BUT CAESAR
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
NO KING BUT CAESAR Pilate had thought it was all over; Jesus had been whipped and the idea that he was a king duly mocked, so everything was all set for his release, when those wretched religious leaders brought the gods and their offspring into it! Unsettled by this mention of s…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
HAIL, KING of the JEWS We have had three trial scenes so far: outside “the Jews” have demanded the death penalty, inside Pilate discussed kingship with Jesus, and then came outside again to declare his innocence in an attempt to release him. The rejection of this offer sends Pila…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The TEACHER is TAUGHT HEAVENLY THINGS
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The TEACHER is TAUGHT HEAVENLY THINGS
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The TEACHER is TAUGHT HEAVENLY THINGS After Jesus’ comparison of the Spirit with the wind, poor old Nicodemus has to ask for yet further explanation (3:9). As ‘a teacher of Israel’ (3:10), he should have known the old prophecies about God giving his people ‘a new heart and a new …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The King's Last Words
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The King's Last Words
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
THE KING’S LAST WORDS The soldiers have finished crucifying Jesus and shared out his clothes; there is nothing left now, but to wait for death to come. John’s focus moves to the foot of the cross, where there are four women: the mother of Jesus; his mother’s sister; Mary wife of …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - THOMAS: from DISBELIEF to FAITH
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - THOMAS: from DISBELIEF to FAITH
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
THOMAS: from DISBELIEF to FAITH Thomas is immortalized as ‘Doubting Thomas’, an unfortunate nickname which does not do him justice either in this story or earlier in John. He is first mentioned when Jesus is returning to Judaea to raise Lazarus—and Thomas says ‘let’s go and die w…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - LIFTING UP the SON of MAN
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - LIFTING UP the SON of MAN
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
LIFTING UP the SON of MAN The coming of the Greeks to see Jesus meant that the ‘hour for the Son of Man to be glorified’ had finally arrived. Jesus is clear that the way to glory lies only through his self-sacrificial death. No one can face imminent death without some pause. Jesu…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I HAVE SEEN THE LORD
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I HAVE SEEN THE LORD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I HAVE SEEN THE LORD After Peter and other disciple have gone home, Mary stays outside the tomb, frozen in her grief (20:11). She has been through the desolation of watching Jesus die on the cross; at least she was there, unlike Peter (19:25). But now she suffers a second grief w…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - SENT OUT in the SPIRIT
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - SENT OUT in the SPIRIT
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
SENT OUT in the SPIRIT Mary saw some angel-messengers at the tomb, but through meeting the risen Jesus she became a ‘messenger’ herself. The same happens now to the disciples in a climactic scene which draws threads together from throughout the gospel. In the Farewell Discourses,…
Meeting God in MARK - A lifelong passion - 4
Meeting God in MARK - A lifelong passion - 4
by SPCK - Rowan Williams
A lifelong passion About one-third of St Mark’s Gospel is taken up with the events of the last week of Jesus’ life, the story of Jesus’ betrayal, suffering and death, his ‘Passion’. It’s a very striking proportion, which has led some scholars to describe St Mark as a Passion narr…
Meeting God in MARK - Telling Secrets -3
Meeting God in MARK - Telling Secrets -3
by SPCK - Rowan Williams
Telling secrets We have begun to think in general terms about what kind of book St Mark’s Gospel is, and we have tried to identify the double demand that it makes of its readers: the demand to entertain the relationship into which the writer seeks to draw us, and so to enter into…
Meeting God in MARK - The beginning of the Gospel -2
Meeting God in MARK - The beginning of the Gospel -2
by SPCK - Rowan Williams
The beginning of the Gospel The Gospel according to St Mark can seem like something of a Cinderella among the Gospels. For many hundreds of years it was used in public worship far less than any other of the Gospels. It never attracted the great – indeed the encyclopaedic – commen…
The Meal Jesus Gave Us - Table manners and table matters - 15