Posts from March 2023

“What is truth?” This is the sinister question Pontius Pilate asks Jesus in John 18. In just the last few hours, Jesus has been arrested, interrogated by his Israel’s priests, and delivered to Pilate (the Roman governor of Jerusalem) to be crucified. Pilate cares little what is actually true about Jesus, about the priests, about anything. The amount of power and authority he has allows him to condemn or pardon regardless of what’s true. In order to crucify Jesus, he…

To begin John 13, Jesus uses one last dinner before his death as an opportunity to wash his disciples’ feet. After doing so, he asks them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” What a haunting question. We confess we don’t really know what Jesus has just done to us. We’ll spend our whole lives trying to understand what Jesus has done to us with just the simple act of washing a few feet. Jesus knows his hour…

You’re on vacation. The welcome sign as you drive into town reads, “Save us.” The hotel clerk, the restaurant server, the greeter and employee at every place you visit greets you with “Save us.” It’s not the most pleasant-sounding vacation, is it? In John 12, this is how the Jerusalem crowd greets Jesus – “Hosanna!” which means, “Save us.” Hosanna here is shout of praise, said with excitement and anticipation. Many of our own hymns express the same thing. Save us!…

At the beginning of John 12 there is a brief but incredible story with a rich cast of characters. First is Lazarus, recently raised by Jesus from the dead and his resurrection is the catalyst for this whole episode. Here he is at the dinner table once again. The Gospels tell a handful of stories about Jesus bringing the dead back to life, but this is the only one for which we get some followup. What is it like for…