BRF - Richard A. Burridge
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The WEDDING at CANA
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The WEDDING at CANA
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The WEDDING at CANA ‘There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee’. For a little town nestling in the hill-country above the Sea of Galilee a few miles from Nazareth, Cana has become remarkably well known down through the ages and across the world by being mentioned at the start of the…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Word became Flesh
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Word became Flesh
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Word became Flesh Like an overture, the Prologue introduces the gospel’s major themes. First, John arranged his composition against a cosmic backdrop of the realm of divine light above and our dark world below…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Acceptance or Rejection
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Acceptance or Rejection
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Acceptance or Rejection? The overture is now in full swing, moving from its magnificent opening about the Word with God in the beginning to what happens when the Word enters into the world. This introduces many of the gospel’s key themes…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Light in the Darkness
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Light in the Darkness
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Light in the Darkness Greek philosophy and many eastern religions had an essential ‘dualism’, a separation between the material world and the spiritual realm. God exists in brilliant light in the world above, while we live in the darkness of created matter…
John The People's Commentary - In the beginning
John The People's Commentary - In the beginning
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The opening of John’s gospel is one of the most magnificent pieces of religious literature ever written. Not surprisingly, it has inspired vast amounts of analysis and interpretation. And yet, we are not even sure quite what it is: is it an introduction, a hymn or a poem? Argumen…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - TELL US PLAINLY
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - TELL US PLAINLY
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
TELL US PLAINLY The words of the good shepherd once more cause a ‘division’ among “the Jews” (10:19). Again we have the word for schism, which happened first to the people and then the leaders (7:43; 9:16). And so this division sums up so many attitudes throughout the first half …
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - I AM THE RESURRECTION & THE LIFE
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - I AM THE RESURRECTION & THE LIFE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I AM THE RESURRECTION & THE LIFE Martha expresses her belief in the conventional view, that her brother ‘will rise again in the resurrection on the last day’ (11:24). According to this, everything to do with eschatology—judgment, death, life—all are in the future at the End of ti…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - LAZARUS, COME OUT!
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - LAZARUS, COME OUT!
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
LAZARUS, COME OUT! When Jesus saw them weeping, his only response was to weep, as anyone who cared about Lazarus and his family might (11:33). Yet the words used to describe his emotions are much more than that. The first, en-brimo, is used in Greek of horses, ‘snorting in the no…
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Parting of the Ways John 6: 56-71 JOHN This chapter’s setting has moved from up in the mountains for the feeding, across the storm-tossed lake to a crowd in Capernaum. The last part of this discourse at least has been Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum (6:59). The …
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 - 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 - I Am the Bread of Life
John The People's Commentary - I Am the Bread of Life
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I Am the Bread of Life After the miraculous feeding and Jesus walking on the water and the discussion about bread, attention is now focused on Jesus by his direct claim, ‘I am the bread of life’ (6:35). Since the gospels are a form of ancient biography, the focus will be constant…
John The People's Commentary - More Questions and Answers
John The People's Commentary - More Questions and Answers
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
More Questions and Answers We have seen how John likes to move from signs into a dialogue between Jesus and others which ends with a discourse. So here, we start with three questions from the crowd, each answered by Jesus, which pick up the signs and begin to explore the themes t…
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 bible commentary - NICODEMUS by NIGHT
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NICODEMUS by NIGHT
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
NICODEMUS by NIGHT In the last chapter, Jesus did not ‘trust’ himself to people who ‘trusted’ in him because of his signs (2:23–24). Over the coming chapters, many people come to Jesus because of his signs—the Samaritan woman (4:29), the official whose son is healed (4:47), the p…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The Task of the Spirit