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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 - NO KING BUT CAESAR
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NO KING BUT CAESAR
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
NO KING BUT CAESAR Pilate had thought it was all over; Jesus had been whipped and the idea that he was a king duly mocked, so everything was all set for his release, when those wretched religious leaders brought the gods and their offspring into it! Unsettled by this mention of s…
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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - ABIDE IN LOVE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ABIDE IN LOVE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ABIDE IN LOVE Jesus uses the image of the vine to describe his relationship with his disciples, even when he is physically absent. He is the ‘true’ or ‘real vine’, and we are branches which must remain in the vine to bear fruit, the fruit of love, one of John’s key themes. Jesus …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Four Gospels,… Four portraits Deep in the heart of the Kent countryside, perched on the side of a gentle hill sloping from the Downs to the flat plain of the Kentish Weald, is a large country house. Chartwell, as it is known, was the country home of Sir Winston Churchill from 192…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What are the gospels?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What are the gospels?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What are the Gospels? Genre First, we need to ascertain what kind of creature we are about to encounter. If we were to treat a cartoon featuring Churchill as though it were a photograph, we would soon make mistakes in its interpretation. Similarly, one does not listen to a fairy …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I AM THE VINE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - I AM THE VINE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
I AM THE VINE The various themes introduced in chapter 13 were developed through chapter 14, including the key elements of a farewell speech. Finally, Jesus said, ‘Rise, let us go from here’ (14:31). However, they do not do this until 18:1. Some scholars suggest that chapters 15—…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS WASHES the DISCIPLES FEET
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS WASHES the DISCIPLES FEET
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JESUS WASHES the DISCIPLES FEET The curtain rises on Act Two of John’s drama, yet slowly. Now that the ‘hour’ has finally come, time slows down. Act One and the interlude (chs. 1—12) have taken over two years, with two previous Passovers (2:13; 6:4). Act Two (chs. 13—19) covers j…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST The next scene gives us a glimpse of the ministry of Jesus and his disciples baptizing, in much the same way as John the Baptist and his followers. It was a good job there was ‘much water there’!…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From Jerome to the Book of Kells
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From Jerome to the Book of Kells
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
From Jerome to the Book of Kells The illuminated gospels Jerome’s translation quickly became the ‘Vulgate’, which means ‘Common’ version. The canonical order of Matthew– Mark–Luke–John applied to Ezekiel’s sequence was fairly standard and the four symbols can be found in frescoes…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING IS BURIED After describing Jesus’ three last sayings and the flow of blood and water from his side, suddenly John inserts a narrative comment with two of his key words both used twice, ‘witness’ and ‘truth’ (19:35). John the Baptist was a ‘witness’ to Jesus at the very s…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The DEATH of the KING The Romans would usually leave a crucified body hanging on the cross to be picked clean by animals and birds, as a warning to others, like the old gibbets for hanged highwaymen at cross-roads. According to John, it is the Day of Preparation for the Passover,…
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…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Jerusalem - the lion's lair or robber's den?