Category Archives: bible

Teachings of Jesus — John 15:18-27

Posted on September 14, 2019 by ehurst

Do not expect a place at the table. Following Jesus means rejecting this world, and the world will most certainly return the favor. We should love each other the way Christ loves us, and we should bear the hatred of … Continue reading →

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Divine Discrimination

Posted on September 10, 2019 by ehurst

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-29) is used by a lot of people who have no idea what it’s really about. The fundamental question asked by the lawyer is how to identify who is and isn’t your “neighbor.” … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 15:9-17

Posted on September 7, 2019 by ehurst

We could easily weary ourselves spewing forth poetic blather about this one overused word in English — “love” — and never quite get to the point Jesus is making here. It gets worse if we can’t be bothered with putting … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 15:1-8

Posted on August 31, 2019 by ehurst

We don’t know where the Upper Room was, only that it was already established as a place Jesus and His disciples could use. The events that night established the Upper Room as their new headquarters, which had previously been in … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 14:25-31

Posted on August 24, 2019 by ehurst

Jesus continues talking about returning to His Father’s Heavenly court to take up His co-regency. He explains how it will work for them. Jesus speaks to their hearts. The heart is capable of storing things away in memory for when … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 14:18-24

Posted on August 17, 2019 by ehurst

Jesus is still talking along the lines of returning home to His Father’s heavenly court to take up His co-regency. The disciples are still expecting a restoration of the literal Davidic Kingdom of Israel. Their blindness here is almost painful. … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 14:12-17

Posted on August 10, 2019 by ehurst

In the Ancient Near East, every great ruler operated on the basis of a covenant. It was typical for such a ruler to pass this covenant to his heir, with a period of co-regency for the sake of smooth transition. … Continue reading →

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The Parable of Parables

Posted on August 7, 2019 by ehurst

The Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-18) can also be called the Parable on Parables. A parable is quintessential Hebrew communication. We can talk about the mundane facts of our human existence all day long, and Hebrew can do that. … Continue reading →

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Otherworldliness

Posted on August 6, 2019 by ehurst

Ref: Jesus Stills the Storm (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25) The most common boat on Galilee was designed for a crew of two or three, and when loaded with a good catch, sat pretty low in the water. With … Continue reading →

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Teachings of Jesus — John 14:1-11

Posted on August 3, 2019 by ehurst

Jesus begins a series of heart lessons. As previously noted in this series, He is saying things He knows their hearts will recognize and will absorb, and store in their souls for use later. The only drama here is the … Continue reading →

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