john

bible February 15, 2017

When did Abraham see Jesus’ day? John 8:56-57

And why did the Jews think Jesus was saying that he had seen Abraham when Jesus just spoke of Abraham seeing his day (and therefore him)?

John 8:56-57 (ESV)

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

What is the logical progression here? Is there a translation issue?

I’m looking for how the Jews leaped to questioning that Jesus had seen Abraham rather than questioning how Abraham had seen this day. If you can show how they would be fine with the latter, you still need to solve why they think Jesus is claiming to have seen Abraham (and not the other way around). Or said differently, how did Abraham seeing Jesus’s day also mean or necessitate that Jesus had seen Abraham?

The main question remains how and/or when did Abraham see Jesus’ day, but I want to make sure your answer then informs our understanding of the Jew’s response.

bible February 3, 2017

What is the meaning of "water and blood" in 1 John 5:6?

In 1 John 5:6 John uses water and blood as symbolic short hand, clearly expecting his audience to know the meaning of these two liquids.

6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not
come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who
testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that
testify: 8 the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are
in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is
greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about
his Son.

At its most basic 1 John 5:6 operates as a counter claim to those who hold that Jesus Christ came in water but not in blood. John holds that Jesus Christ came by both water and blood. A counter group appears to believe He came only in water. The structure of this verse as an implicit rebuttal begs the question of what does it refute. What is the meaning of water and blood?

bible February 3, 2017

In John 1:35, who were the two disciples of John the Baptist?

The Greek text of John 1:35 according to the Textus Receptus states,

ΛΕʹ Τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν εἱστήκει ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο TR, 1550

which is translated as,

35 On the day after, John, and two of his disciples, had been standing again,

Are these two disciples of John the Baptist ever identified?

bible January 27, 2017

When is the "last day" that is referred to in the book of John?

When is the “last day” that is referred to in the book of John?
The Rapture? The Second Coming? A series of “last days’?

John 6:39
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day

John 6:40
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

John 6:44
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day

John 6:54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

bible December 17, 2016

What meaning does the preposition πρὸς really convey in John 1:1?

John 1:1 reads as follows:

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

I’m wondering about the “πρὸς τὸν Θεόν”, translated as “with god.”

But, I’m more asking about the connotative meaning of the word, or the spectrum of meaning it has, other than “with”. What is the author trying to say about the relation between the λόγος and the Θεὸς?