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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…
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Apocalyptic Visions
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Apocalyptic Visions
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Apocalyptic Visions These chapters, which were written in the very different historical circumstances of the persecution of Jews by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167–164 BCE, present a correspondingly different critique of power…
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…
How God Became King - 7b God and Caesar in the Gospels
How God Became King - 7b God and Caesar in the Gospels
by SPCK - N T Wright
God and Caesar in the Gospels But, you say, surely Caesar is only mentioned once in the gospels, and there Jesus says that there’s a clear division between God and Caesar, a split of church and state, so that never the twain shall meet…
Mere Apologetics - 4 The Importance of the Audience
Mere Apologetics - 4 The Importance of the Audience
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
The Importance of the Audience We need to ensure the message of the cross is proclaimed as effectively as possible. This means asking what points of contact there are for the gospel. How can we make sure it scratches where folks itch?…
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 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 - 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 - 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 …
Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
by BRF - Dick France
GOLGOTHA Crucifixion was a particularly cruel form of execution reserved normally for slaves and for political insurgents. The Roman writer Cicero called it ‘the most cruel and revolting punishment’ and the Jew Josephus called it ‘the most pitiable of deaths’. A crucified person …
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Reflections on the Religious World of Paul's Day
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Reflections on the Religious World of Paul's Day
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter Four A COCK FOR ASCLEPIUS: ‘RELIGION’ AND ‘CULTURE’ IN PAUL’S WORLD 3. Reflections on the Religious World of Paul’s Day The main thing to emerge for our purposes from this short survey is that what Cicero and others referred to loosely with the word religio penetrated mor…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Infancy Narrative
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Infancy Narrative
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…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's suffering
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's suffering
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The Teacher’s suffering The Passion, Matthew 26—27 Matthew includes nearly every verse of Mark’s Passion in the same order, except little details about the young man (Mk. 4.51–52), and Simon of Cyrene’s sons (Mk. 15.21b). Only about 26 verses are unique to Matthew (26.1–2, 25, 52…
The Crown of Thorns and the Flogging
The Crown of Thorns and the Flogging
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to r…
All-age story/monologue: Esther
All-age story/monologue: Esther
by Marjorie Dobson
All-age story/monologue: Esther Esther had just had the scariest day of her life. Esther lived a long time ago and she was a queen and she was the king’s favourite. But Esther had a secret that the king didn’t know and that secret could have got her into a lot of trouble. Althoug…
How God Became King - 7b (part 3) God and Caesar in the Gospels
How God Became King - 7b (part 3) God and Caesar in the Gospels
by SPCK - N T Wright
God and Caesar in the Gospels These are vital strands of what John is doing throughout his gospel. When, after the final prayer (chap. 17) and the arrest and the Jewish trial (18.1–27), we find Jesus standing before Pilate (18.28—19.16), we ought to know, because John has set it …
The Women's Bible Commentary - First Movement: Returnees Build the Altar