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Mark The People's Commentary - More trouble on the Sabbath
Mark The People's Commentary - More trouble on the Sabbath
by BRF - Dick France
More trouble on the Sabbath The encounter in the cornfields may have been just a chance meeting which gave rise to an argument. But this time there is certainly nothing accidental about the confrontation in the synagogue. It almost looks as though the man has been ‘planted’ to pr…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and the Poor
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and the Poor
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
11 Jesus and the Poor It’s striking, isn’t it, that God often comes to us in times of deprivation and loss, at times when we’re most down and depressed, at our weakest and most vulnerable, and perhaps feeling least religious? It’s true, of course, that we feel God’s presence at t…
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Corpus Christi: Sanctifying matter A lot of people are familiar with the name of the French Jesuit scientist-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), but few know in any detail what he had to say. Teilhard, as he is often known, was born in the Auvergne region of France and…
52 Reflections on Faith - John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus
52 Reflections on Faith - John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus The bones of John the Baptist have been discovered in Bulgaria, or so some newspapers have implied. A number of remains, including a knuckle bone, have been found in a sarcophagus in the grounds of a monastery on an island called Sveti Ivan, of…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The Task of the Spirit
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The Task of the Spirit
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Task of the Spirit In this final farewell discourse, Jesus has described the two sides, those who are abiding in love with him and his Father and those who are opposed to them all. Although he is going away, this will enable the Holy Spirit to be ‘called alongside’, as the Pa…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
HAIL, KING of the JEWS We have had three trial scenes so far: outside “the Jews” have demanded the death penalty, inside Pilate discussed kingship with Jesus, and then came outside again to declare his innocence in an attempt to release him. The rejection of this offer sends Pila…
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…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - No Place for Divorce
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - No Place for Divorce
by BRF - Dick France
No Place for Divorce Divorce—now and then In a society in which divorce has become normal and accepted, Jesus’ robust condemnation of it comes as a shock. But the same was true in his own day. While Jewish authorities debated the grounds for divorce, no-one questioned that divorc…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Whose is the Kingdom of God?
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Whose is the Kingdom of God?
by BRF - Dick France
Whose is the Kingdom of God? The ‘kingdom of God’ is mentioned twice in these verses, and three times more in verses 23–25. The phrase, as we have seen, means ‘God’s rule’, and what the disciples are being forced to face in this series of incidents are some of the radically diffe…
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…
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Another Gentile Healed
Mark The Peoples' Bible Commentary - Another Gentile Healed
by BRF - Dick France
Another Gentile Healed The previous story focused on the question of Jesus’ mission to Gentiles as well as Jews. Now we see him continuing in Gentile territory: Sidon, like Tyre, was Phoenician, and Decapolis was the Greek-dominated area to the east of the lake of Galilee (see on…
Mark The People's Commentary - Panic on the Lake
Mark The People's Commentary - Panic on the Lake
by BRF - Dick France
Panic on the Lake What Jesus did next If our speculations about the insurrectionary atmosphere in the wilderness were right, the disciples, fresh from the amazing experience of the loaves and fish, may well have shared the crowd’s hopes and enthusiasm, and wanted Jesus to declare…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I HAVE GIVEN YOU AN EXAMPLE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I HAVE GIVEN YOU an EXAMPLE Jesus has washed the disciples’ feet and returned to the table (13:12). From our experience of church services and the other gospels we expect the institution of the holy communion next—but it is completely missing. Instead, Jesus begins to explain thi…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Do you love me more than this?