John 19:26, ‘Then Jesus, seeing…the Disciple whom He loved…’ The author of John’s Gospel never gives us his name (it is tradition that assigns it to the Apostle John), rather he refers to himself as ‘the Beloved Disciple,’ or ‘the Disciple whom Jesus loved.’ Similarly, he is never described to us as standing at the …
Isaiah 49:3-4, ‘And He said to me, “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” But I said, “I have labored in vain and have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…”’ Here we see a glimpse into the human soul of Jesus as He hangs on the cross….This is the moment …
Colossians 1:17, ‘And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.’ Two brief points: First >> Jesus Christ (precisely as the crucified and risen one), is *before* all things in at least 2 ways: 1) The slain and risen Son precedes all other realities in worth—He is beyond all things in …
This year’s Holy Week Trilogy is a series of three visions of the crucifixion, each primarily illumined by one of three different ‘light sources,’: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday. Each day’s particular illumination draws out certain aspects of the same, infinitely meaning-filled event—the Crucifixion of the Risen Lord. The first picture receives its …
Isaiah 6:2, ‘Each [Seraph] had six wings; with two *he covered his face*…’ Isaiah 53:3, ‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men *hide heir faces*…’ In the depths of His agonies, Jesus Christ became as one from whom men hid their …
Job 11:7-9, ‘Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is *higher* than heaven—what can you do? *Deeper* than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is *longer* than the earth and *broader* than the sea.’ Ephesians 3:18-19, ‘[I pray] that you, being rooted and …
Hebrews 3:7-8, ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion…’ Why does the author of Hebrews cite Ps.95 (and so allude to Exodus 17) in this context? How does this situation apply to his readers? It would seem that the parallel to the ‘voice’ of Ps.95 / Ex.17 …
John 1:23, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said.’ John the Baptist’s citation of Isaiah 40 is significant since, in the context of Isaiah, the one whose way is prepared is YHWH Himself. John implies, then, that he is …
1 John 5:14-15, ‘And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have (or ‘are having’) the requests that we have asked of Him.’ The Passage …
Exodus 33:20, ‘…you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’ Isaiah 50:6, ‘I hide not my face from disgrace and spitting.’ No human being can see the face of God and live. This is the reason that YHWH hides Moses in the cleft of the rock on Sinai when He …
Isaiah 57:15, ‘For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’’ …
Numbers 16:45, ‘Get away *from the midst* of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.’ Numbers 16:47-48, ‘So Aaron…ran *into the midst* of the assembly…he put on the incense [onto his censer] and made atonement for the people.’ And he stood between the dead and the living…’ In Hebrew, the same word …
Colossians 1:15, ‘…πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως…’ (the Firstborn of all Creation). I won’t get into this one too much now for the sake of time….suffice it to say that, though the Son of God is eternal and uncreated, the incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, is not eternal since His humanity is created. So, according to His humanity, …
Numbers 6:24-26, YHWH bless you and keep you; YHWH make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; YHWH lift up His face upon you and give you peace. In this blessing, for God’s face to shine upon His people is presented as the supreme blessing they can receive. However, in Ex. …
Matthew 1:25+21, ‘And he called his name Jesus…for He will save His people from their sins.’ Matthew 2:2, ‘Where is he who has been born King of the Jews?” Matthew 27:37, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ The Magi’s question is never answered in the immediate context. Yes, they find Jesus and worship …
Leviticus 17:11, ‘For the soul of the flesh is in its blood, and I, I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement concerning your souls, for its blood, by the soul [LXX: ‘in place of the soul’], will make atonement.’ By weaving the intangible soul-life of flesh into inseparable union with …
John 8:28, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I Am, and that I do nothing from myself, but [that I] speak just as the Father has taught me.’ The revelation that Jesus is I Am comes precisely in that He does nothing on His own authority, but …
Psalm 119:130, ‘The unfolding of your word gives light, it imparts understanding to the simple.’ Psalm 119:135, ‘Make your face shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes.’ The unfolding of YHWH’s word gives light; the opening up of His words imparts a radiance perceptible to mind and heart, a light that imparts understanding …
Ezekiel 16:6,8, “When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’”…When I passed by you again…I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into covenant with you, declares YHWH …
Ezekiel 3:12, ‘Blessed be the glory of YHWH from His place!’ These are the words declared by the four Cherubim who stand by the glittering wheels of the divine throne. Now, what does it mean to declare the glory of YHWH blessed from its place? The ‘from’ is expressed by the Greek εκ, and …
