Biblical Studies

God’s love and judgement in John 3

by

The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 4 in Year B is John 3.14–22, the monologue ending of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, which includes perhaps the best-known verse in the New Testament at John 3.16. It is intimidating to talk about such a well-known passage—can we say anything new?—but also to deal with such a large … Continue Reading

The cleansing of the temple in John 2 video

by

The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 3 in Year B is John 2.13–22, the Fourth Gospel’s account of Jesus ‘cleansing’ the temple and driving out the traders and money-changers. After quite a bit of immersion in passages from Mark’s gospel, it is an interesting contrast to be back in John. No driving narrative here, but … Continue Reading

How do we interpret the Bible well?

by

Last Sunday I preached at Christchurch, Turnham Green in Chiswick, London, on How to Interpret the Bible—except that I didn’t! Instead, I recorded a video for them which they played in their live-streamed service. The shape of my talk followed the Grove booklet that I wrote a few years ago. I begin with a prior … Continue Reading

The cleansing of the temple in John 2

by

The gospel lectionary reading for Lent 3 in Year B is John 2.13–22, the Fourth Gospel’s account of Jesus ‘cleansing’ the temple and driving out the traders and money-changers. After quite a bit of immersion in passages from Mark’s gospel, it is an interesting contrast to be back in John. No driving narrative here, but … Continue Reading

What is happening in current study of the Gospels and Acts?

by

The introductory textbooks Exploring the New Testament are a fantastic one-stop guide to engaging with the gospels and Acts (volume 1) and the letters and Revelation (volume 2). Published by SPCK, volume 1 has just been issued in a third, substantially revised, edition. (The third edition of volume 2, to which I have contributed, will be … Continue Reading