Jun 22, 2022
2SAMUEL 23:
Yesterday we read David’s long poem of praise
for God giving him victory and deliverance from his
enemies.
PSALM 119a:
This
psalm is famous for being the longest chapter in the Bible, and it
is an acrostic psalm with a difference. In this psalm, every line
of each stanza starts with the same letter of the alphabet, instead
of every line with a different letter. The psalm has 22 stanzas,
one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And this psalm has a
clear theme: God’s Word— or a synonym for it, is mentioned in
almost every verse.
Re-reading JOHN 3:
One
of the features of John's Gospel is that he breaks in with
commentary without warning. Because of the lack of quote marks in
ancient Greek, there were no overt signs marking the end of Jesus'
speech and John's comment, or at the end of this chapter, John the
Baptist's speech and John's comment. I personally don't think that
John 3:16 is Jesus' words about himself, but is the start of John's
explanation of Jesus' enigmatic words: “as Moses lifted up the
bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so [I,] the Son of Man
must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in [Me/him] will
have eternal life.” We have read that story in Numbers 21. Imagine
that all one had to do to be healed of a snake bite was to look at
the bronze snake which Moses had put up on a pole. Do you think any
of the people who were bitten refused to look up at that bronze
snake? (Don’t miss that the shape this cast would have been very
much like the shape of a cross.)
NLT Translation notes:
John
3:11 I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet
you [refuse to//continue to//won’t] believe our
testimony.
13
No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But [I,] the Son of
Man[, have// has] come down from heaven.
14
And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the
wilderness, so [I,] the Son of Man must be lifted up,
15 so that everyone who believes in [Me/him]
will have eternal life.
16
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have
eternal life.
[Exegetes and commentators disagree
on where to stop Jesus’ quote. I believe that verse 16 and
following is John’s narration. John suddenly breaking in with
narration is a frequent feature of his Gospel. There is another
example in this chapter. I think that John the Baptist’s quote ends
at verse 30 not at the end of the chapter. So I differ with NLT’s
quote marks for the last paragraph.]
18
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in [the
Son//him]. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been
judged for not believing in God’s one and only
Son.
29 It is the bridegroom who marries the bride,
and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his
vows. Therefore, I [(like the best man)] am filled with joy at
[Jesus’//his] success.
30
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and
less. [end quote]
[Ancient Greek has no quote marks. I feel John
the Baptist’s quote ends at verse 30, and 31-36 are the writer’s
narration.]
34
For [Jesus, the One//he is] sent by God[, //. He] speaks God’s
words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.
36 [0/And] anyone who believes in God’s Son has
eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience
eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.