By Ben Haupt At the beginning of his Gospel, the Apostle John inscribes one of his main themes: “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:16–17). This pericope introduces the reader to the large confrontation between Jesus and ..
By Michael J. Redeker Ascension Day is fast upon us. In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus assures his disciples that, even though he is leaving them, he will not leave them as orphans. He will send them the helper in the person of the Holy Spirit. The helper will comfort, lead, and guide them in truth. The ..
By Wally Becker After celebrating the resurrection of our Lord these past five weeks, the reading from Revelation helps us focus on our own resurrection at the last day. The picture is of the bride, the wife of the Lamb. For a good explanation of the imagery and symbols see the volume on Revelation by ..
By James W. Voelz Introduction Perhaps the most critical issue for the early church was the matter of Jews and non-Jews/Gentiles. First and foremost: Did non-Jews have full access to the salvation of God in Jesus Christ? Second and more practically important: If non-Jews are full heirs of the promise to Abraham in Christ, how ..
Textual Considerations John 14:1–14 serves as the gospel for the previous Sunday, the fifth Sunday of Easter. While John 14:15–21 is the gospel for the sixth Sunday of Easter, the words of Jesus have their setting in the pre-Passion days of our Lord. This study follows the text of NTG and treats the verb τηρήσετε ..
By Quentin F. Wesselschmidt Preliminary considerations: In his recent book, The Lost History of Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 2008), Philip Jenkins writes: In the late ninth century, an elderly Egyptian monk shocked his Muslim listeners when he explicitly denied that Christianity could be supported purely on the grounds of reason, and agreed that ideas like ..
By Thomas E. Manteufel, In this Easter season we hear the apostle Peter exhorting the Christians to live righteously, turning from evil and doing good, seeking peace and pursuing it (1 Pe 3:8-12). In doing this he wants us to look at: Jesus Christ, the Guide to Right Living I. The followers of Christ are ..