Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Who is the Greatest?
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Who is the Greatest?
by BRF - Dick France
Who is the Greatest? Lines of authority In a newly formed group of colleagues with an important task, it is natural to want to clarify the lines of authority. So far, of course, Jesus has been the focal authority of the group, but if they are going to lose him it will surely be v…
Mark The People's Commentary - Insider and outsiders
Mark The People's Commentary - Insider and outsiders
by BRF - Dick France
Insiders and outsiders Here is the other end of the ‘sandwich’ which began in verses 20–21; the family have arrived. At the same time, a further layer is added to the sandwich, in that the inner circle of the disciples, whose call was narrated just before the family were introduc…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Sanctify Them in the Truth
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Sanctify Them in the Truth
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Sanctify Them in the Truth In his prayer, Jesus has described how he manifested the name of God to his disciples and has prayed for their protection in the world which he is leaving as ‘I am coming to you’ (17:13). Before he leaves, however, he speaks this prayer still in the wor…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ABIDE IN LOVE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ABIDE IN LOVE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ABIDE IN LOVE Jesus uses the image of the vine to describe his relationship with his disciples, even when he is physically absent. He is the ‘true’ or ‘real vine’, and we are branches which must remain in the vine to bear fruit, the fruit of love, one of John’s key themes. Jesus …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - From GARDEN to COURTYARD
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - From GARDEN to COURTYARD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
From GARDEN to COURTYARD When Jesus warned the disciples after washing their feet that they could not follow where he was going, Peter offered to lay down his life for Jesus (13:37). Despite Jesus’ warning that he was more likely to deny him and everything in the Farewell Discour…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - We Want To See Jesus
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - We Want To See Jesus
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
We want to see Jesus John’s account of Jesus welcomed into Jerusalem by the crowd showed how he rejected violent revolution for just one nation, responding with a humility which caused ‘all the world’ to go after him. Both universalism and humble suffering are developed further i…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - LOVE ONE ANOTHER
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - LOVE ONE ANOTHER
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
LOVE ONE ANOTHER When Judas has ‘gone out’ to begin the events leading to Jesus’ arrest and death, Jesus starts talking to his disciples. This introduces several themes which will recur through the Farewell Discourse of chapters 14—17…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - BETRAYED in a GARDEN
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - BETRAYED in a GARDEN
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
BETRAYED in a GARDEN Jesus has finally finished ‘speaking these words’ of the Farewell Discourses and his Prayer, and so now he takes his disciples out across the Kidron valley to a garden (18:1). We notice immediately that John’s account of the passion is both similar to the oth…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God as Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - God as Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
God as a Faithful Husband, Israel as Faithless Wife (Hosea 1-3) In Hosea 1:2, YHWH commands Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a promiscuous wife and bear children of promiscuity, for the land fornicates away from YHWH” (my trans.). Hosea then marries Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, a…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book II
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book II
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book II (Psalms 42-72) Book II of the Psalter, like Book I, contains many lament psalms. But unlike Book I, not all of the psalms are attributed to David. The Korahites, who were, according to the book of Chronicles, temple singers during the reigns of David and Solomon, mix thei…
The Post Evangelical - 4 Longing to grow
The Post Evangelical - 4 Longing to grow
by SPCK - Dave Tomlinson
4 Longing to grow I want to tell you a couple of stories. The first is about Barbara who was a ‘mish-kid’ (child of missionaries). Although she had always been included in the church family with her folks, she had been taught from quite an early age that she would need to come to…
The Post Evangelical - 5 Woolly liberals?
The Post Evangelical - 5 Woolly liberals?
by SPCK - Dave Tomlinson
5 Woolly liberals? And so to the crunch question: isn’t post-evangelical just another way of saying ‘woolly liberal’? It never ceases to amaze me how paranoid evangelicals are about liberalism. Any deviation from the ‘straight and narrow’ and, ‘Whoa! I think you need to be carefu…
The Post Evangelical - 3 World's apart
The Post Evangelical - 3 World's apart
by SPCK - Dave Tomlinson
3 Worlds Apart As I have already stated, the post-evangelical impetus quite often draws its initial strength from the sense of irritation many people feel with evangelical ‘culture’. I would now like to illustrate this with some concrete examples. If it were simply a case of diff…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book IV (Psalm 90-106) Book IV opens with “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God.” It is the only psalm in the Hebrew Psalter ascribed to Moses. Its words are a plea to God for mercy: “Turn [shub], O YHWH! How long? Change your mind [nakham] concerning your servants” (90:13, my trans…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Four Gospels,… Four portraits Deep in the heart of the Kent countryside, perched on the side of a gentle hill sloping from the Downs to the flat plain of the Kentish Weald, is a large country house. Chartwell, as it is known, was the country home of Sir Winston Churchill from 192…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What are the gospels?