BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ACCUSED before PILATE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ACCUSED before PILATE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ACCUSED before PILATE It is ‘now early in the morning’, proi, the end of the last watch from 03.00 to 06.00 a.m. which has been spent at Caiaphas’ house. We are not told what happened there. At daybreak Jesus is taken from Caiaphas’ house to the Roman headquarters. After the osci…
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 - 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 - 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…
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 - 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 - GOD SO LOVED the WORLD
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - GOD SO LOVED the WORLD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
GOD SO LOVED the WORLD THINGS As we saw before, this passage can be read either as the end of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, or as a separate comment by the evangelist. Who says it, is less important than what it says, for it is one of this gospel’s supreme passages, full of…
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 - 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 - 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,…
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 - WHAT SORT of KING?
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - WHAT SORT of KING?
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
WHAT SORT of KING Although Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet hinted at a burial, rather than anointing the head as for a king, the next scene looks like a coronation. Once again, John tells it differently from the other gospels with a particular focus on what it means to call Jesus ki…
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 - The King's Last Words