Carolyn E. Jacobs

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…

Contrary to popular belief, Christ isn’t Jesus’s last name. Christ, christos, is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. So what does messiah mean? Strong’s H4886, masah, means anoint. Closely related to it, Strong’s H4899, masiah, is the anointed one. Well, that’s clear as mud. Buckle up. What does “anointed” mean? To anoint is to consecrate, to set apart for a specific purpose, usually with oil. It has a spiritual significance. Who or what was anointed? The first mention of anointed is found in Genesis where Jacob anointed a memorial stone. The tabernacle and the altar were anointed, set apart for sacred service. But most often, anointed refers to people. Aaron…

I love lists. It’s the geek in me. Back in the day, I ordered The Book of Lists from the Scholastic Book Club. I pored over that silly book. From the windiest cities (my hometown was number one) to the intelligence of dog breeds, it had everything. One of my favorites was the list of most beautiful words. I still remember aurora, golden, and hush being on the list. I just did a quick search – most beautiful words – and came up with a new list. Aurora was still at the top. This one surprised me – incandescent light bulb. Mmkay. How about “chatoyant?” I had to look that one up.…