BetterMost Community Blogs > The Twist Family Bible Study
The Twist family studies the Gospel of John
Wayne:
I'll acknowledge that I don't like the phrase attributed to Jesus here:
"Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." :P
I'm all for legitimate public health messages like smoking causes cancer and heart disease, and HIV is transmitted through unprotected sex.
But unless Jesus had some more clear advice, the "stop sinning" thing makes me uncomfortable. It sounds superstitious rather than helpful.
Of course, most of what constituted sin was a matter of following rituals. Maybe through observation they had determined that certain rituals, like washing your hands, reduced the transmission of polio.
If that's what Jesus was talking about, then I like it. :)
Wayne:
Also, Wikipedia points out that all the other 3 gospels say this happened in Galilee instead, in Capernaum. Maybe the story got changed a little with re-telling, and maybe the superstitious "or else something worse will happen" got introduced that way.
Wayne:
The authorities criticize Jesus for healing this man on the Sabbath. He responds that he as the Son is transmitting the work of the Father. Maybe the implication is that it's the Father who is working on the Sabbath. Anyway, he says, the Father works every day.
This gets them all the more ticked off because now he's "making himself equal with the Father" by calling himself the Son.
We get some specifics about the afterlife and how to get there. It's not 100% clear but it's a framework. Jesus says:
"Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
The time has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out. Those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned."
Wayne:
Jesus tells the authorities that John the Baptist has testified concerning Jesus, and that even Moses prophesied concerning Jesus.
"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"
And that's chapter 5. :) What do y'all think?
Wayne:
Chapter 6. Weird. Wikipedia just stops here - no more chapter-by-chapter.
I don't blame them. It starts getting kinda hard. :-\
OK so Jesus feeds 5 thousand in Galilee from 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. We saw this before in Mark.
In some records the disciples wondered whether the people already had this food, and maybe Jesus's miracle was just getting people to share what they already had.
Sort of a Wizard of Oz message: the miracle you sought was already inside you. :)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version