John

Who was really on trial in the crucifixion of Jesus? John 12:31 says that “Now is the judgment of this world…” or “Now is the critical moment of this world, now the ruler of this world will be exposed.” The Cross of Jesus is not only the clearest revelation about …

Having re-read John chapters 13-17 several times this week, there is little doubt in my mind that, next to the Cross, this is the pinnacle revelation of God in the entire Bible. These chapters describe the words and actions of Jesus in the Upper Room the night before he died. …

The Gospel of John has more to say about the judgment than any other book in the Bible. In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus makes a bold declaration, “This is how the judgment works: light has come into the world, but people prefer the darkness…” How does this fit our …

John the Baptist introduces Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). What does this mean? We have become so conditioned to understand this in a legal sense, where Jesus came to make a payment to the Father to legally set us right …

More than any other book in the Bible, the Gospel of John highlights Jesus as none other than God in human form. John points to Jesus as the Creator, the “Logos”, the “I AM” of the Old Testament, and repeatedly quotes Jesus as saying “if you have seen me, you …

Judas betrayed Jesus for the same primary reason that Peter betrayed Jesus. It’s true that Judas was a thief, but his actions were not mainly driven by greed. Judas desperately wanted Jesus to conform to his idea of a militant nationalistic kingdom of force and power, rather than a Kingdom …

The story of Peter is an important “case study” of God’s persistent love to heal and transform an individual. Of all the disciples, Peter was the most vocal in his desire that Jesus become a “prize fighter” Messiah. When Jesus warned of his coming suffering and crucifixion, it was Peter …

From Gethsemane to the Cross, Jesus was tempted to use his power to silence his doubters and to reveal who he was. He had to restrain Peter from using force and reminded him that he could call “more than twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53). In this context, Jesus’s words to Pilate are significant, …

The Gospel of John has an intentional focus on “the hour” of Jesus. Before his first miracle, Jesus said that “My hour has not yet come” (2:4). During his early life and ministry, we are twice told that “his hour had not yet come” (7:30 and 8:20). Toward the end …

The Gospels are considered by many to have been written long after the fact. Bart Ehrman compares their reliability to “the telephone game” – a game which is designed to produce distortion in the original message as it is whispered from one person to another. Many recent publications, however have …