Chapter nine of the gospel of John describes how Jesus healed the eyes of a man who had been blind from his birth. There are a number of details in this account which are easier to understand if we see how Jesus took this occasion to set the stage for a trap for the Pharisees. … Continue reading Jesus the stage manager
sabbath
The Mennonite view of the Sabbath
They keep and sanctify the Sabbath which is not the literal, but the spiritual Sabbath, which never ends with true Christians, not by wearing fine clothes, not by carousing, vanity and idleness, as the reckless world do, but by the true fear of God, by a clear conscience and unblamable life, in love to God … Continue reading The Mennonite view of the Sabbath
Jesus as agent provocateur
Doesn’t it appear that Jesus deliberately did things that he knew would provoke the Pharisees to reveal their lack of compassion? Jesus healed many people of their blindness; in some cases he touched their eyes, in other cases there was no physical contact, he simply declared them healed and they were. Why then did he … Continue reading Jesus as agent provocateur
Time shall be no more
Can you imagine an existence without time? I have tried, but I can't. Does it mean that everything happens all at once, a state of super excitation with no ability to separate one event from another? Or does it mean a state of suspended animation where nothing happens at all? Neither of those states sounds … Continue reading Time shall be no more
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild
GENTLE Jesus, meek and mild, Look upon a little child, Pity my simplicity, Suffer me to come to Thee: Fain I would to Thee be brought, Dearest God, forbid it not: Give me, dearest God, a place, In the kingdom of thy grace. -Charles Wesley The words of the song give us an appealing description … Continue reading Gentle Jesus, meek and mild
The sabbath restored in Christ
When the Lord God had made all things he rested on the seventh day, and since man was made in the image of God and was adorned with the image of God, man was right and good, and without any sin. If man had remained in this state, he would have rested with God. But … Continue reading The sabbath restored in Christ
What about Sunday, then?
If we cannot claim the sabbath commandment as our reason, then why do we do go to church on Sunday? The Bible doesn’t tell us when to eat, when to go to bed or when to get up. Yet we know that we need to do all those things for the health of our physical … Continue reading What about Sunday, then?
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy … Continue reading Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
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