We’re taking a deeper dive into Jesus’s name for this week – The Word. The image above is a poor illustration of Revelation 1 and 19. The AI bot was shaking its head, saying, “I don’t think you want a sword sticking out of his mouth. That’s just weird.” No argument there. I tried to find a picture of a stained glass window I saw once that depicted Jesus on a horse with a sword sticking out of his mouth. My search didn’t turn up what I wanted. Just as well. It was weird.  The facts remain: John saw Jesus with a sword sticking out of his mouth. We will,…

This week’s name, The Word, is so much more than a name. It’s the very essence of Jesus. John tells us about this Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. -John 1:1-3 The Word was God. How can God Incarnate be The Word? Ya got me. I mean, I love words, but the dictionary isn’t God. So what does this mean? Let’s get rid of the pronouns in John 1:1-3.…

Imagine you’re caught fangirling. You know – you see someone you really respect or admire, but you don’t know them, so you can’t go up and start a conversation. But you can’t stop looking, either. And then the person turns and looks at you. You imagine they’re thinking, “Are you some sort of creeper?” No? Me, neither, of course. But maybe that’s how John the Baptist’s disciples felt in the first chapter of John. Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” And the two disciples heard him speak, and they…

This week’s name of Jesus is a bargain blowout sale – buy 1, get 2 free. Rabbi, Rabbouni, and Teacher. I stumbled into the significance of the term Rabbi the way you might lean against a bookcase and trigger a secret door. The bookcase pivots, and you find yourself falling into a room you never knew existed – a room filled with all kinds of secret treasure. When I was writing biblical fiction, I did a google search for the term “lord” in Aramaic. Want to take a guess?   It’s Rab.   That rang a bell. A quick Blue Letter Bible search turned up Rab-saris, Rabshakeh, and Rab-mag; chief official,…

For all of Peter’s fumbles, you gotta love his boldness, his willingness to be the first to acknowledge Jesus for who he is. Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” – Matthew 8:13-16 The three synoptic gospels have this account, and all three tell Peter’s response. Who are some of the other notables to acknowledge Jesus as the one they were looking for? John the Baptist…