41
Bob's answer about the intended meaning of 'not yet going' is on the right track but it leaves out a couple of important details.
There are more than one set of Greek manuscripts and there are actually quite a number of one and two character type differences between them. Usually, these involve punctuation or spelling differences and have no affect on the ...
38
Commentators give a number of explanations for the silence of the Synoptists on the raising of Lazarus:
To protect Lazarus from persecution
Differing source material
Distinct criteria for what to include
The Synoptics narrate other miracles, and saw no need to include this one as well
The geographical and narrative focus of the Synoptics differs from that ...
29
It was likely a common expression in that day to emphasize the importance of what would be spoken immediately after that.
And, to tell you the truth, we have a similar phrase in English. We don't mean that we weren't telling the truth before and are only now beginning to do so.
So, can I be honest with you? I wasn't being dishonest with you before, but ...
27
This is a little easier to understand using the KJV translation.
Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time
is not yet full come.
He didn't say he wasn't going. He said He wasn't going yet.
Also, for comparison, Young's Literal Transation:
Ye -- go ye up to this feast; I do not yet go up to this feast,
because my time ...
24
The theological problem is to explain why Jesus apparently trusted Judas, when he ought to have known better. There are a lot of possible answers! Some have tried to find symbolic or exemplary meaning in his actions - a lesson for the future Church. Others have centered the discussion around the character of Jesus, perhaps reaching similar conclusions for ...
23
The internal evidence of the authorship is found in four passages in the Book of Revelation. It is in these four passages that the author refers to himself as "John".
Rev 1:1 This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Rev 1:...
22
The ESV renders the verse in question:
That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
It seems to contain the implication that he was wearing some kind of inner garment while working, and ...
22
From a Christian perspective, there is no role for Mohammed in the Bible. "The comforter" is believed to be the Holy Spirit.
From Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
and he shall give you another Comforter. This is no inconsiderable
proof of a trinity of persons in the Godhead; here is the Father
prayed unto, the Son in human nature praying, and ...
21
At this time in history Israel was under the rule of the Romans. The Jewish law required that a woman caught in adultery was to be stoned to death.
Leviticus 20:10 NIV
“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of
his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to
death.
But under Roman law a person could ...
answered Oct 14 '11 at 15:16
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21
This isn't a question that can be resolved indisputably here, as there are different views amont Christians about this. These views are generally in a range of:
Pelagianism - the idea that a man's salvation is an act of his free will only.
Synergysm - the idea that a man needs grace, but has to freely cooperate with it.
Irresistible grace - that grace saves ...
19
This can be answered by answering a more general question: what does "in someone's (anyone's) name" mean? It means to act by proxy, on the authority of something or someone greater than yourself. It's a concept that our culture has kind of lost, though it still exists as a storytelling trope. When a medieval herald reads a proclamation "in the name of the ...
18
The quick answer is "No." However, there has been a lot of speculation on this.
We do know that the accusers of the woman left without stoning her after Jesus said, "He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her," but apparently none of them left before He did this. We also know that the older ones were the first to leave.
So, what ...
18
Safe answer: John 20 is the only passage of scripture that discusses this event, so the short answer is - we can't say for sure. In general, we need to be cautious about "reasoning from an absence of scripture."
My guess: Thomas made a statement to the effect of "I refuse to believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and the only thing that could change my ...
18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. (John 1:1, NIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV)
The Greek word for 'Word' in John 1:1 is Logos(λόγος) and 'Scripture' in 2 Timothy 3:16 is Graphey(γραφή). Though 'Word' ...
16
The reason Jesus said this has been the subject of debate. One common belief is that He didn't want her to tarry there, that it was more of a "now is not the time" statemen. Example:
Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
Touch me not - Μη μου ἁπτου, Cling not to me. Ἁπτομαι has this sense
in Job 31:7, where the Septuagint use it for the Hebrew דבק ...
15
I would not be so sure to exclude any reference to Muhammad from the Bible. In fact there is a fairly mainstream historical view of Revelation that directly includes him as the leader of a Saracen invasion that invaded Christianity like a 'locust plague' in the seventh century. A review of the symbol and the history arguably describes the prophecy in an ...
15
When you look at Jesus' command in light of the whole law, and other instances where He said similar things (such as "be ye as perfect as your father in heaven"), you realize that while this is a command, it's really just a repetition of all the previous commands given by God over thousands of years. Jesus' command is just a reaffirmation of what God has ...
15
St. Thomas Aquinas addresses the question of "Whether Christ's body ought to have risen with its scars?" in Summa Theologica III q. 54 a. 4. He gives five reasons (c.):
It was fitting for Christ's soul at His Resurrection to resume the body with its scars.
for Christ's own glory. For Bede says on Lk. 24:40 that He kept His scars not from inability ...
14
It is obvious from the text of John 3:22 that Jesus was not the one actually performing the dipping, but his apostles.
The idea here is that the apostles were baptizing on his behalf. Because they were baptizing in his name, it was, in essence, Jesus baptizing.
We, today, have the power to do the same thing:
Matthew 28:19 (NIV)
Therefore go and make ...
14
Mark 15:7-15
7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that pit was out of envy that the chief ...
14
The word describing the garment Peter put on is ἐπενδύτης, which is a hapax legomenon in the New Testament and rarely used in ancient Greek literature. Etymologically the word derives from a verb that means "to put on over". It is a garment (perhaps specific to the profession of fishing) worn over something else. So it might be better to think of Peter ...
14
It wasn't just convenient: according to John (verse 4) Jesus "had to" (dei') pass through Samaria. It was not geographically necessary, as He could have (like most Jews did unless they were in a hurry) gone around Samaria. When John uses dei' he is referring to God's will. Jesus passed through Samaria with the intention of speaking with this woman.
Jesus ...
14
Good question, it is written
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being
in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with
God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)
Herein it says Jesus is equal with God (the Father), thus ...
14
Many commentators have enjoyed pointing out the Pharisees' mistake, which is just one of several errors they make in this chapter.
A "pure" sarcasm would mean that the Pharisees considered Galilee to be the place where prophets came from - a bit like associating Washington, DC with politicians. But the context is their rejection of Jesus (known to them as a ...
13
It's rather ironic — the thrust of your question is "Why did God wait so long?" Andrew Lloyd Webber asks the exact opposite question — "Why come so early?" As Judas sings in the finale:
Every time I look at you
I don't understand
Why you let the things you did
Get so out of hand
You'd have managed better
If you'd had it planned
Now why'd you ...
13
Side note: The issue isn't really about the doctrine of sola scriptura, but rather about literalism. "Sola scriptura" is a term used by Protestants to mean that we believe scripture is the only ultimate authority, as opposed to Catholic doctrines that the teachings of the Church fathers have equivalent or comparable authority to scripture. But nothing in ...
12
John's Gospel does not contain many of the things recorded in the Synoptics, including the Sermon on the Mount, the Transfiguration, the virgin birth, the Great Commission, and the Ascension. In fact, the only miracle outside of the Resurrection that appears in both the Synoptic gospels and John's gospel is the feeding of the 5,000.
This doesn't mean that ...
12
When the angel came to Zechariah to announce the birth of John, he said that the child would be "filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (Lk 1:15)" Also, Jesus said of John that "all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. (Mt 11:13)" It seems most reasonable to view him as a prophet like those of the OT, that he was commissioned ...
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