The next episode of importance for our foray into the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus as a radical reformer of the Law comes in the first ten verses of John 3, where Jesus receives a visit from Nicodemus – a leader of the Pharisees. In this meeting, Jesus attempts to explain that “no one can see […]
Next, John 4 regales us with the story of Jesus and “the woman at the well” – a tale intriguing for a number of reasons, first and foremost of which being its setting: at Jacob’s Well, which happened to have been located in the land of Samaria. And this location is significant for three reasons […]
The beginning verses of John 8 relay our next episode of import; the infamous moment when Jesus firmly (and quite cleverly) rebukes a group of ill-intended Pharisees for wrongfully condemning an accused adulteress.1 In this tale, while Jesus was teaching in the Temple2, several members of “the scribes and the Pharisees” bring a woman before […]
For our next example proving that Jesus ministry was founded upon his desire to replace the cold & inflexible priestly interpretations of the Law with the warm & humble Love that he believed resided at the core thereof, we turn to Matthew 8 and its portrayal of Jesus’ encounter with “the faithful centurion” (via Matthew […]
This story (shared in Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, & Luke 8:26-39)1, set supposedly in “the country of the Gedarenes”2 (Matthew 8:28a), shows Jesus confronting a demon-possessed man (in Matthew‘s case, two possessed men) and then casting said demons into the bodies of a nearby herd of pigs, who then rushed down into the sea and […]
Originally shared via the first twelve verses of Mark 2, this story tells the tale of a most peculiar healing – one in which a paralyzed man could not be brought directly to Jesus (due to the presence of a large crowd of people who were already present – a large crowd who had come […]
We find our next episode of importance – Jesus’ “triumphant entry” into Jerusalem – near the end of the Gospel of Matthew‘s recounting of his ministry (see Matthew 21:1-11 – also Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, & John 12:12-19)1. In this story, Jesus and his disciples – having left Jericho behind2 – were nearing the great […]
At least as far as the Gospels of Matthew & Mark are concerned1, we next arrive at that curious moment when Jesus seemingly curses2 a fig tree. In this tale, Jesus – having spent the night in Bethany – is returning to Jerusalem once more (the morning after his “triumphal entry”) when he spots a […]
One of the more well-known episodes of Jesus’ ministry (and possibly the second-most important symbolic teaching of Jesus’ quite unique gospel in the Bible) is the final meal he shared with his disciples; known by many as “The Last Supper” (see Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-20, & John 13:2-30). Though the four Gospel tellings […]
In our continuing examination of Jesus’ often caustic relationship with the Law (at least as it was being enforced in his day), it is telling to see that his arrest, his trial, and his conviction were all flagrantly illegal. Even more revealing is the intriguing fact that Jesus was fully aware of the same – […]
At his “preliminary hearing” (held that same evening in the home of Caiaphas, the high priest – see Matthew 26:57 & Luke 22:54) Jesus faced Caiaphas and at least a portion of the Sanhedrin1 – the ruling legal council for the Jewish community. It was here that the priests looked for evidence that would allow […]
;
