1:29 On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 1:30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’ 1:31 I did not recognize him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”
What does this identification of Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God’ mean?…
The question of Jesus’ level of literacy has been explored by Chris Keith and John Nelson, among others.
Without a doubt, Jesus of Nazareth was a man of great intelligence.
Even at the age of twelve, he was debating with the religious leaders in the Temple in Jerusalem, and amazing them with his knowledge and insight (Luke 2:46-47).
However, Keith thinks that
…‘Even this portrayal of Jesus in the temple impressing educated teachers at twelve cannot automatically be taken at face value…It contrasts with the earlier portrayal of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark as someone who is rejected as a synagogue teacher by his fellow villagers in Nazareth because he is in the manual labor class (Mark 6:1-6; also Matt 13:54-58).’
This question is addressed by John Nelson, who begins by noting several factors that might suggest some distance between what Jesus actually said and what is recorded in the Gospels:
First, Jesus spoke Aramaic, but the Gospels were written in Greek. This means that we often depend (at best) upon a translation of Jesus’ original teaching.
…Second, the Gospels were written in an oral culture. This means that many of Jesus’ teachings were likely passed down verbally before they were written down.
The role of the Twelve during the time of Jesus’ ministry was fourfold:
1. Disciples of their Master. Like other Jewish disciples, they live with their master, attend to his interpretation of Scripture, and are expected to commit his teaching to memory. Some, at least, would be expected to pass on the teaching of their rabbi. It was unusual of Jesus to choose his disciples: usually, the disciples would choose their rabbi.
2. Extension of Jesus’ ministry.…
Daniel Doriani points out four ways in which Proverbs paints an accurate and vivid picture of our Saviour.
What follows is a summary of this article.
1. Jesus the good worker
Many Proverbs mock laziness, e.g. Prov 24:30-34; 26:14f; 20:13, and praise hard work, e.g. Prov 10:4–5; 12:9, 11, 14, 27; 16:26; 18:9.
Jesus knew that he must work while he had opportunity, Jn 9:1-5. He worked hard, Jn 5:17, toiling through the night as he prayed , Lk 6:12, teaching his disciples, Jn 13:30–17:26, and suffering for his people, Mt 26:36–75.…
According to Peter G. Bour:
‘Given his environment, it is certainly possible that Jesus had some ability in Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew, and was able to use each in the appropriate setting.’
Pate cites Stanley Porter:
‘Jesus would probably be best described as productively multilingual in Greek and Aramaic, and possibly Hebrew, though only Aramaic would have been his first language, and Greek and Hebrew being second or acquired languages.’
Taking each of these three languages in turn:
1.…
Jesus’ command: “Follow me” might at first sound like: “Come with me.”
Scot McKnight writes:
…‘The most important words Jesus said to his disciples were “Follow me.” To Levi Jesus said, “Follow me” (Mark 2:14). To a less-than-certain-about-following-Jesus-person Jesus said, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead” (Matthew 8:22), and to the crowd and his disciples, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
Mt 26:39 Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Mk 14:36 He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Lk 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me.…
5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.
Is John referring to the Father or to the Son as ‘the true God’?
(a) Some commentators understand John to mean that ‘the true God’ refers to the Father (so Westcott, Dodd, Grayston, Smalley, Stott). …
Summarising chapter 7 – ‘The Cross as Divine Consent’
The relationship between God and his people is not that of a ‘forced marriage’:
‘God has given us free will and we can freely accept or reject his proposal.’
But what if we decline? “Please accept my gracious offer…or else!”
We have seen that God is Christlike – and his nature is therefore cruciform (Cross-shaped) and kenotic (self-giving).
But how can such a God be said to reign?…
