Chewing cud What a joy to watch deer peacefully chewing their cud – not an everyday sight for most people. Watch the video carefully to see her pause from chewing, swallow, then something moves back up her neck, her cheeks bulge, and she resumes chewing! This was especially interesting to observe today, as the Torah reading in synagogues around the world includes the Deuteronomy passage that defines what makes an animal kosher for Jews to eat. One characteristic is having a split hoof, and a second is chewing cud (Deuteronomy 14:6). Consuming commandments A second-century interpretation of Moses’ teaching connects […]
Author Archive: Marcia Johnson
Remembering God’s Wedding at Pentecost
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Christians remember the events recorded in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit filled those gathered at “the house” (aka The Temple). This gift of the Holy Spirit is so important to remember, but there’s even more to celebrate! Many Christians do not realize that Pentecost is one of the three pilgrimage feasts of the LORD, mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:16 as the Feast of Weeks. Fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, Jewish people gathered for this celebration in Jerusalem and God sent his Spirit. Originally a festival for the wheat harvest, at the time of Jesus it also […]
Cloudy with a Good Chance of Son
In last week’s post, we looked at biblical kingship. When did Jesus ascend to his throne? In one sense, Jesus’ death and resurrection are part of his kingly accession. The final stage is his ascension to the right hand of God forty days after his resurrection. Unfortunately, Ascension Day is usually ignored in the US. In some other countries, it is a public holiday! This year it falls on May 18. Celebrate his exaltation and enthronement — it’s a big deal! The apostle Paul reflects on Jesus’ exaltation: Being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to […]
Swear Allegiance to the Anointed King?
Yesterday (May 6) the coronation of the UK’s new king, Charles III, dazzled the world with a millennium of tradition behind its pomp and pageantry. The last coronation was nearly seventy years ago for the new king’s mother, so the rareness of this spectacle increases its significance. The monarchy no longer has political power but symbolically heads both the state and the Church of England. What lessons on biblical kingship can we learn? In ancient Israel, the kings were political and spiritual leaders, not just figureheads. Did God plan for Israel to have kings? When God delivered Israel out of […]
Palm Sunday’s Hidden “Easter Eggs”
No, this isn’t a post about hunting for Easter Eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny. Instead, I’m referring to secrets hidden in various forms of media that reference other media sources as in-jokes or plot connections. An example is an Egyptian engraving of R2-D2 from Star Wars hidden in a scene from one of the Indiana Jones movies. In our culture, these are often just for fun; however, the hints recorded in the Bible are for more serious intent. Hinting the Text If someone quotes a line from a movie, those who know the film well instantly are drawn back […]
Holier than Thou?
Some view the season of Lent as a “holy” time of year, leading up to Holy Week. “Holy” is a word we don’t usually use in everyday life but only in a religious context. Does the word “holy” draw up negative or positive connotations for you? What words do you pair with it? Perhaps you think of the Holy Bible, holy communion, holy matrimony, or maybe even “holy cow!” What is holiness? Because of our cultural changes over time, many do not understand what the biblical meaning of holiness is actually about. A simple definition is someone, somewhere, or something […]
Purim: Battling with a Hidden Helper
Tomorrow evening (March 6) begins Purim (pronounced POOR-im). This annual event celebrates how Jewish people survived the planned annihilation of all Jews in the Persian Empire when Esther was the queen of Persia. It is a huge comfort to know our sovereign God works behind the scenes for us. There are two interesting backstories to this victory. Round #1: Israel vs. the Amalekites Exodus 17 describes the ruthless Amalekites attacking the Israelites who have just fled from Egypt. The Hebrew fighters gain ground when Moses’ hands are up but fail when his arms fall. They beat the wicked warriors after […]
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
The world is in anguish with the recent news of the enormous earthquakes that struck Turkey and killed over 30,000 (to date, but rising each day) in Turkey or Syria and injured and made homeless countless others. Pray for the people affected and those trying to help. Pray that the Lord may be seen at work in the midst of the tragedy. Connecting Earthquakes to the Bible The images and videos of the earthquake damage give us a glimpse, but it can still feel far away and unfamiliar. We have a bit of personal connection through past travels in several […]
What is Jesus’ Gospel Really About?
Christians often employ the word “gospel,” for example, “We need to go share the gospel with them.” Does our understanding of this common term accurately reflect Jesus’ meaning? In the first part of this three-part series, we looked at the meaning of the gospel in the Greco-Roman world. We noted that “gospel” or “good news” (euangelion in Greek) proclamations were declared when a new Caesar was enthroned, to announce his birthday, or to celebrate a Roman army victory. Our focus in the second part was how euangelizo (bringing good news) was used in the Greek Old Testament, zeroing in on […]
The Gospel According to Isaiah
We know there are many references to the gospel in the New Testament, but is this term used in the Old Testament? Mark begins his account about Jesus with, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet…” (Mark 1:1-2a). Is Mark saying Isaiah wrote about the gospel? A Greco-Roman Gospel versus a Hebrew Gospel In my previous post, we examined the meaning of “gospel” in the Greco-Roman world. To review, euangelion, the Greek word translated as “gospel” was a familiar term to those in the Roman Empire. “Gospel” […]