Questions tagged [gospel-of-john]
An account of the public ministry of Jesus according to his disciple/apostle John
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How is Jesus not lying in John 7?
In John 7, Jesus tells his brothers that he is not going up to the festival. Then he goes up in secret. This sounds to me like a lie.
John 7:6-10 (NIV)
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not ...
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Has any prominent theologian ever explained why Jesus let a thief be in charge of the money?
From John 12:4-6 we learn that Judas was a thief, but also that he was in charge of the money bag.
I've always thought of this as Jesus way of allowing Judas to master it rather than be mastered by ...
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Who wrote the Book of Revelation?
More specifically: What authorities claim that the Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John? What authorities claim otherwise?
This C.SE answer apparently references Pliny and Tacitus in ...
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Why did Jesus protest before performing his first miracle?
In John 2:1-12 we read of Christ's first miracle, turning water into wine. Before he performs his miracle, though, he says to his mother:
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour ...
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According to those holding that Lazarus was literally raised from the dead, why did Matthew, Mark, and Luke not mention it?
John 11 tells the remarkable story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead:
43 When [Jesus] had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came ...
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Can a Christian choose to walk away from his or her salvation? [closed]
There is a plethora of verses that say that people can not cause a saved Christian to lose his salvation, such as
John 10:29 (NLT)
29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more ...
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What is the role of Mohammed in the Bible?
John 14:16 and 14:26, which refer to a Paraclete ("comforter"), have been read by Muslims as a prediction that Muhammad will succeed Jesus.
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you ...
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What did Jesus mean when he said ‘Go and sin no more’ if sinlessness is impossible?
I came across these two instances in the New Testament when Jesus told someone to "sin no more."
John 13:15 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as ...
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Why did the apostle John call himself, "the disciple whom Jesus loved"? [closed]
John refers to himself, on at least four occasions, as "the disciple whom Jesus loved"? (John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7 & 21:20).
Why is this? It seems a bit arrogant, especially as Jesus loved the ...
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What is the significance of Jesus seeing Nathanael under the fig tree?
In John 1:46-50, Nathanael is introduced to Jesus for the first time.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus ...
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Why did Jesus use the expression, "very truly I tell you"?
I used to think nothing of it until someone said, "it makes you wonder what he was saying the rest of the time".
Now I don't believe for one moment Jesus was a liar, but why did He use that strange ...
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What support is there for the Jehovah’s Witness translation of John 1:1?
Rather than the more traditional “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” Jehovah’s Witnesses use the New World Translation, which gives John 1:1 as “In the ...
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Dialog between Jesus and Peter in John 21: what's going on?
In John 21: 15-17 there's a post-Resurrection dialog between Peter and Jesus. Here's the KJV translation of this dialog.
So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of
Jonas, ...
user116
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Why did Jesus say, "Do not touch me"? [closed]
John 20:17:
Jesus said, "Do not touch me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"...
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What is the origin of the idea that Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn't mention Lazarus in order to protect him?
As discussed in another question, on why Matthew, Mark, and Luke didn't mention the raising of Lazarus, this miracle is only related in John 11 – the Synoptics, though they presumably knew about it, ...
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If we are saved by grace, then why does Jesus say we must be baptized in both spirit and water?
Ephesians 2:4-9 says:
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace ...
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What was the specific trap being set for Jesus by the Pharisees in John 8?
In the story of the woman caught in adultery, John indicates that the question of the Pharisees was a "trap".
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people
gathered ...
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What is the significance of water from Jesus' side? [closed]
John 19:34 "one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear,
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water."
I know this is supposed to be something great as in the next verse the apostle tries to ...
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Was "No prophet ever came out of Galilee" sarcastic?
Were the Pharisees being sarcastic in John 7:52, when they claimed that "no prophet ever came out of Galilee"? It is written that Jonah came from Gath-hepher, in Galilee (2 Kings 14:25).
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How do Protestants respond to the JW interpretation of John 14:28?
According to What Does the Bible Really Teach?, a Watchtower publication, pp.41–42:
The only-begotton Son never even considered trying to be equal to his Father. The Bible clearly teaches that the ...
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How do Trinitarians explain verses where Jesus claims to have a God?
According to orthodox trinitarian doctrine, the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus is co-eqaul, eternally begotten, not made.
With that in mind, how could Jesus have a ...
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What's the significance of hyssop in John 19:29? [closed]
There is just one verse in the New Testament that refers to hyssop and is not referring to the Old Testament:
John 19:29 (NLT)
A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, ...
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How do Jehovah's Witnesses explain Thomas's exclamation, "My Lord and my God"?
In John 20, Jesus is resurrected and is showing Thomas the wounds in his hands, to prove that he is risen. In John 20:28–29, we see Thomas's response:
28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ...
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What is the biblical basis for identifying the Lazarus Jesus raised from the dead and the Lazarus in the story of the rich man and Lazarus? [closed]
I’m doing a talk in a few weeks on the story of ‘the Rich Man and Lazarus’ (Luke 16:19-31), and I find that it fits quite nicely with the account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11. ...
user41640
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How do Trinitarians explain John 17:3?
Unitarians use John 17:3 to affirm their faith that the Father alone is the only true God. They would say that this is the strongest evidence that there is only one person who is true God. Thus, the ...
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Reason for drawing water at unusual time
John 4:5-8
New Living Translation (NLT)
5: Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6: Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the ...
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What did Pilate mean by asking "What is truth?" [closed]
When Jesus is brought before Pilate, he asks him if he is a king. When Jesus admits that he is Pilate says
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the ...
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Jesus said no one had gone into heaven except the Son of Man, but what about Elijah?
I've found two verses which seem to be contradictory, so I'm hoping someone can explain how they can be reconciled.
No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of ...
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What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
At John 20:24-27 (NRSVCE) we see:
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said ...
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Does John 6:44 imply that there is no free will when it comes to salvation? [closed]
I was struck by reading this verse in John the other night:
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him
I've heard the term 'predestination', however it is unclear to me how free ...
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Was 'Jesus and the woman taken in adultery' in St. John a later addition, and does this invalidate infallibility?
In John 7:53-8:11 we have the account of 'Jesus and the woman taken in adultery'
53 Then they all went home, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple ...
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Was the near-stoning of the adulterous woman something to be considered common practice, or was it strictly to trick Jesus?
I have heard the argument that, in the time of Jesus, stoning and other forms of severe punishment according to the law had basically ceased, and therefore was only seen here to try to trick Jesus ...
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Why was Peter Fishing Naked (John 21:7)?
John 21: 7
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the
Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his
fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,)...
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What did Jesus mean when He said we must "eat His flesh and drink His blood"? [closed]
In John 6, Jesus states that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have no life in us:
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink ...
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Why did the soldiers go backward and fall down when Jesus said "I am he" in John 18:6? [closed]
I really don't get it. Why did the soldiers trying to arrest Jesus go backward and fall to the ground in John 18:6? Was it because they realized that he was the I AM? If so, then why did they arrest ...
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Why did the people believe that no one would know where the Christ came from?
In John 7:25-27, Jesus is speaking to a crowd of people. They seem pretty impressed with Him and begin to wonder if He could be the Messiah. However, one of their objections is that they know where ...
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How do Modalists interpret John 14:28?
How do Modalists interpret John 14:28?
You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father ...
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How is the belief that Christians are both adopted and begotten sons of God reconciled?
If one is begotten, then one cannot be adopted by those same parents. The idea of being begotten means that you are the biological progeny of your parents. In other words, the woman whom you call “...
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Did Thomas actually touch Jesus's side?
John 20:24-29
24Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, ...
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Jesus called God his own Father, and this is supposed to mean that Jesus is equal with God. Why?
John 5:18 reads as follows:
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself ...
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What did Jesus write on the ground?
John 8:6-8 NIV
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as
though he heard them not.
7 So when ...
user1054
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What does it mean that John's Gospel does not have an account of the institution of the Eucharist?
I'm preparing a class on the institution of the Eucharist and my text says
"The Gospel of John includes no mention of the institution of the Eucharist"
it goes on to give the account, for reasons ...
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What happened to Jesus' physical body after his death and resurrection?
As the title asks, what do modern Christian religions believe happened to Jesus' physical body after the resurrection?
From John 20:11 - 14:
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, ...
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What does it mean to pray in Jesus' Name? [closed]
A few times in the book of John, Jesus instructs us to pray "in His Name". What does this mean? How do we know if we are praying in His name? How would we not be praying in His name?
I don't ...
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Was the temple built in 46 years or was it 46 years old during Jesus' time?
I stumbled on this verse again and would like some clarification:
Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? John 2:20 (KJV)
Was ...
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What is the scope of John 3:16? [closed]
I have never heard of any verse more quoted and memorized than this one. Many people know it without knowing a single other thing about Christianity.* If there was one verse we don't need to quote in ...
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When did Jesus send the Holy Spirit? [closed]
I've always assumed that the Holy Spirit did not make his presence known amongst men until Pentecost. Famously, in Acts 2, the Spirit descends upon the first believers, gives them power of speech, ...
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How did the Born Again teaching be associated with one first believing in Jesus Christ?
Many Protestant Christians believe that you become born again as soon as you believe on Jesus Christ. Many believe that this teaching is clear in the opening verses of John chapter 3. How did this ...
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How do Jehovah's Witnesses explain John 8:58-59 in a way that accords with their doctrine?
The Jehovah's witness' version of the bible the NWT translates these verses as:
58 Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to you, before Abraham came into existence, I have been.” 59 So they picked ...
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How do people who reject transubstantiation interpret these verses? [duplicate]
Luke 22:19 (The Message)
Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.”
It has been argued that even the grammar must ...
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