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John The People's Commentary - A Samaritan Woman at a Well
John The People's Commentary - A Samaritan Woman at a Well
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
A Samaritan Woman at a Well This gospel‘s geographical setting moves between north and south, from Jesus calling disciples in Galilee (1:43) and the wedding in Cana (2:1) to the temple in Jerusalem (2:13) and Nicodemus’ night visit (3:1)…
John The People's Commentary - Bearing Witness
John The People's Commentary - Bearing Witness
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Bearing Witness So far Jesus has made some claims through his signs, which have then been challenged by “the Jews”. He has repeated the claims directly through this discourse, arguing that he shares in God’s activity of giving life and judgment both in the present now and in the …
John The People's Commentary - Belief, Blindness and Fear
John The People's Commentary - Belief, Blindness and Fear
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Belief, Blindness and Fear We have suggested that John’s gospel is a two-act drama, with this section as an interlude (see on 1:19 and 11:1 above). The central actor, Jesus, is working very hard! He was not merely on stage for most of Act One, but at the centre of the action…
John The People's Commentary - Bread from Heaven
John The People's Commentary - Bread from Heaven
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Bread from Heaven Jesus and the crowd have been debating the meaning of the feeding and the last section concentrated on the issue of Jesus’ identity. Suddenly it is no longer a matter of whether he is ‘the prophet like Moses’ who can feed people in the mountains as Moses did. Hi…
John The People's Commentary - Come & See
John The People's Commentary - Come & See
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Come & See Once again, this scene begins with John the Baptist declaring that Jesus is the Lamb of God (1:36). Two of John’s disciples hear what he says, and, realizing that he is pointing away from himself to Jesus, leave John to find out about Jesus…
John The People's Commentary - Destroy This Temple
John The People's Commentary - Destroy This Temple
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Destroy This Temple It is not only in his placing of the temple incident at the start of Jesus’ ministry that John differs from the other gospels. He also has this story concerning a saying of Jesus about the destruction of the temple…
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood The debate between Jesus and the crowd since the miraculous feeding and walking on water has been exploring the text, ‘he gave them bread from heaven to eat’ (6:31). Like a rabbi preaching on the text, Jesus has taken each word or phrase in turn. F…
John The People's Commentary - Feeding the Five Thousand
John The People's Commentary - Feeding the Five Thousand
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Feeding the Five Thousand Jesus’ miraculous feeding of a vast crowd is such a well-known story. This is the only miracle narrated in all four gospels—indeed, it is the only incident from Jesus’ ministry before his last week which they all include. The Synoptic gospels each descri…
John The People's Commentary - Healing an Official's Son
John The People's Commentary - Healing an Official's Son
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Healing an Official's Son After all the excitement in Samaria, Jesus finally returns to Galilee (4:43). Although the Galileans welcomed him, it was only because they had seen what he had done at the festival in Jerusalem (4:45)…
John The People's Commentary - Healing Brings Opposition
John The People's Commentary - Healing Brings Opposition
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Healing Brings Opposition The blind man’s healing is only the start of this story. More important is what happens next, and everyone’s reactions. After the bystanders’ initial questioning, ‘they lead him to the Pharisees’ (9:13) as Jesus himself will be led to the authorities lat…
John The People's Commentary - House Cleaning
John The People's Commentary - House Cleaning
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
House Cleaning Many signs in this gospel are followed by a debate to explain the sign’s purpose—as the story of the feeding of the five thousand leads into the discourse about Jesus as the Bread of Life (see on chapter 6 below). However, the first of Jesus’ signs, the changing of…
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life