Brian Johnson
I have my Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science, working full time as a software engineer. On top of that, I have a Certificate in Biblical History and Geography from Jerusalem University College and have taken a handful of seminary classes.
Growing up in a Christian home, I was familiar with the Bible but it felt like a tale from some strange place far away. Fresh out of college in 2003 I took a study tour to Turkey to learn about where the Bible happened there. That trip changed my life, bringing the world of the Bible to life. It was no longer about someone somewhere else far away. While I had believed it before, I better appreciated that these were stories about real people from real places.
In 2005 I went to Israel for the first time. A desire blossomed in me to visit as many places connected to the Bible as I can. My resulting journeys have taken me to Jordan, Greece, Egypt, Malta, and Italy, further deepening my connection to those ancient people and places.
When I’m not traveling, I’m continuing to study the world of the Bible, learning about history, archaeology, geography, Jewish roots, culture, language, and more. I love to share what I’ve learned in order to deepen others’ faith. My studies have given me the chance to preach from time to time and teach classes at my church. Through this site, you can read about my travels and what I’m pondering.
Sara Johnson
Details coming soon!
Matt Johnson
Brother to Brian, I’ve tended to follow in his footsteps in career, interests, and oftentimes travels as well. I, too, work with computers as a software developer and love learning about the context of the Biblical text.
I grew up going to church, knowing the basics of the Bible and faith. In high school, I started to become aware that this Book wasn’t as simple as the Sunday school lessons I had grown up with made it out to be: Jesus was a real Jewish Rabbi, living in ancient Israel. The more I learned about the context of the Text, and how God revealed himself throughout Scripture in unique ways, the more my faith, understanding, and trust in this Messiah has grown.
With my family, I’ve traveled to Israel, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Italy, and Egypt to see and learn more about the Bible’s context. While I haven’t studied formally in as much depth as they have, I still love to learn what I can and pass it on to others. Typically, though, my gifting and passion tends to be more of a supporting role.
Keeping one foot in the Biblical world and another in the world of technology, I’m blessed to work more behind-the-scenes, making sure content gets presented well. I also use my creativity to ensure that content is engaging and thought-provoking, in addition to the occasional post of some of my own thoughts. I hope and pray as you explore this site that God richly blesses you through the content and resources that are provided here.
Marcia Johnson
I am mother to Brian and Matt and travel buddy with them at times. Retired from a career as an RN Diabetes Educator, I taught countless people about the context of their condition and how to successfully make lifestyle changes. I have used a similar skill set teaching the Bible to groups at churches over the past decades with aim to learn it in context and make successful life changes to become more like Jesus.
Since retirement, I am blessed to have more time to study and write Bible studies. My hobby is to study areas that relate to Biblical context, including culture, history, geography, Biblical languages, Biblical archaeology, Hebraic roots of Christianity, and more, to be better equipped to teach others.
My passion to engage the Bible within its context exploded after I began to study the Text where it happened. My first study tour was in 2003 with Ray Vander Laan to Turkey, where most of the New Testament was written to or from. Since then I have been on multiple study tours with a variety of top scholars to Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Italy and a fun tourist-trip to Egypt. I participated in a two-week archaeological dig in Israel and have done some graduate-level study at Jerusalem University College through short term programs.
I am excited to partner with my sons in this project and pray that many will come to a greater understanding and relationship with the King of the Universe.