1 Corinthians 1, 2 & 3

During the time Paul was writing this letter there was a bumper crop of false Messiahs. Many of them tricked people into accepting them by the promise of wonders and miracles. In 45 AD a man called Theudas persuaded thousands of people to abandon their homes and follow him to the river Jordan. He promised that at his command the Jordan would divide and he would lead them across.

In 54 AD an Egyptian man arrived in Jerusalem who claimed to be a prophet. He persuaded thousands of people to follow him to the Mount of Olives by promising that at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall down.

The Jews expected big signs. In Jesus they found someone who was meek and lowly, one who avoided the spectacular, one who served and one who ended up on death row and the cross. It seemed an impossible picture of the Chosen One of God.

1 Corinthians

Corinth was an important city in ancient Greece notorious for it's immorality. Greek plays of the day normally depicted Corinthians as drunk and unruly. There was even a Greek word for their behavior- korinthiazomai or "acting like a Corinthian." High above the city stood the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Thousand of priestesses, who acted as sacred prostitutes, came down every night and plied their trade in the streets of Corinth.

At the time Paul writes this letter, the church at Corinth was in serious trouble. Paul had just received disturbing letters from two members. The first was a report from the household of Chloe that detailed the divisions and immorality in the young church. The second was a set of questions raised by a group that included Stephanas, Fortunatus and Archaicus about things like marriage and Christian liberty. Paul attempts to answer both of these letters and to provide additional Christian instruction.

Paul had left the Corinthian church under the leadership of Aquila and Priscilla in the spring of 53 A.D. It seems that the young Corinthian church had failed to protect itself from the decadent culture of the city, and that the immaturity of the Corinthians had given way to sectarian divisions. Members were dragging into court to sue each other rather than settling their disputes within the church.

Romans 14, 15 & 16

Paul asks conflicting groups within the church to be united. It seems that there were differing points of view on things like observing the sabbath. The Jews had a jungle of regulations and prohibitions surrounded the sabbath. Paul didn't want to eliminate the observation of the rituals of the Sabbath, but he felt that the Lord should be worshiped more than the day set aside to worship Him.

In his call for unity, Paul points out that however different the practices, the aim was the same- serving God. He also believed that men shouldn't make practices simply because other people did them. But rather he should do them because he has thought them out and reached the conclusion that at least for him they were the right thing to do.

Romans 11, 12 & 13

The Old Testament prophet Elijah became depressed after coming to the conclusion that he was the only one left who was still loyal to God. God tells him that he was not alone, and that in fact that there were still seven thousand faithful people in Israel who had not bowed to the local pagan god Baal. From this story, in 1 Kings, the Jews began to think of a Jewish 'remnant.'

Various Old Testament prophets began to see that there was never a time when the whole nation of Israel was loyal to God. But there would always be a remnant within the nation that would remain faithful and that would not compromise their faith.

Amos described God sifting men like corn in a sieve until only the good remained. Micah had a vision of God gathering the remnant of Israel. Zephaniah had the same vision. Jeremiah saw the scattered remnant being gathered together. Ezekiel was convinced that a man could not be saved by either a national or an inherited righteousness but only by an individual relationship with God.

Romans 9 & 10

Paul attempts to explain the difference between the Jewish way of thinking and the believes of the new Church in these complicated and difficult chapters. The Jews were God's chosen people. They had had a unique place in God's purposes and yet when God's son had come into the world they rejected Him.

Paul says some hard things to the Jews in these chapters. The whole passage from Romans 9-11 is basically a condemnation of the Jewish attitude towards religion. Jewish religion was based on meticulous observation of the Law. Jews believed that obedience earned men credit with God. The new Church believed that because of the death of Jesus that man no longer was faced with the task of satisfying God's justice; he only had to accept God's love.

One important thing to remember is that not all the Jews rejected Jesus. Some accepted His teaching and believed in Him. All of the first followers of Jesus were Jews.

Romans 6,7 & 8

Paul used language and pictures that most everyone in his day would have understood. Some of his imagery might seem strange to us but it wasn't at the time he was writing.

Baptism in Paul's day was a little different from what it commonly is today.

Baptism in the early church was by total immersion and that practice lends itself to symbolism to which sprinkling does not. When a person descended into the water and the water closed over his head, it was like being buried. When he emerged from the water, it was like rising from the grave. Baptism was symbolically dying and rising again. The person died to the old life of sin and rose to new life of God's grace.

Baptism was an intimate confession of faith that would dramatically change the persons life. This decision would affect their family relationships and that often meant literally beginning life all over again.

Romans 4 & 5

Paul says that the way to God is not through membership in any nation, and not through any rule which requires a mark upon the body. (ie circumcision) But by the faith which takes God at His word and makes everything dependent, not on man's achievement, but solely upon God's grace.

The basic thought of the Jews was that a man had to earn God's favour. The new Christian church believed solely on God's grace. God's grace is the love that God freely gives to us. We don't do anything to earn it.

Romans 1, 2 & 3

Jews and Gentiles didn't like each other. Jews regarded themselves as God's chosen people. Strict Jews believed that God had no use for Gentiles.

The Gentiles also had it in for the Jews. They generally regarded Jews as barbarous and superstitious. They made fun of their avoidance of pork. They regarded the observation of the Sabbath as pure laziness. They were infuriated that the Jews seemed to receive extra privileges from the Roman government. They didn't have to testify in a Roman court on the Sabbath, were allowed to have their own courts and live according to their own laws, and were not required to serve in the Roman army (probably because Jewish soldiers would not serve on the Sabbath and that would have made it impossible for them to have carried out military duties).

At a time when Jews believed that God would judge the Gentiles with one measure and the Jews with another, Paul is attempting to create unity within the church.

Romans

Paul wrote this letter to a vibrant church in the city of Rome sometime around 57 A.D. Paul's letters to young churches normally addressed a particular issue or occasion. But Romans is different. It offers a more general view of Paul's theology and provides a systematic outline of the essentials of the Christian faith.

Paul had for many years dreamed of preaching in Rome. This letter served as a kind of introduction to prepare the church for his anticipated visit. It gave them instruction in the faith and an overall 'syllabus' of Paul's teaching. We also know that this church included both Jews and Gentiles and that Paul wrote to give them instruction and encouragement that would help them live in harmony.

As was the custom of the time, Paul dictated this letter to a secretary named Tertius. He probably didn't sit at a desk polishing his carefully crafted words. Rather Paul would have poured out his heart in a torrent of words with Tertius racing to record them.

Acts 27 & 28

Paul begins his last journey headed for Rome on a corn ship. Navigational practices at the time considered it questionable to begin sailing after September and nearly impossible by November. The ships sets sail sometime in the first half of October (and we know this because of the reference to the Jewish Day of Atonement). The ship would have had a hard time navigating in dark and cloudy weather.

Paul, who may have been the most experienced traveller on board the ship, suggested that they winter at a small town called Fair Havens. But the contractor who may have been anxious to reach a port where he could sell his goods doesn't care for that idea. The centurion, who had the last say, probably wasn't anxious to spend the winter in a dinky little town with nothing to do. So they venture forward.

They encounter storms. And corn ships by their design were difficult to maneuver in storms. So Paul and the crew run a ground.

Acts 25 & 26

Paul uses every legitimate ploy in his defense. To the Jews he spoke Hebrew (or Aramaic), to the Romans he spoke Greek. He claimed his Jewish background where appropriate and used his Roman citizenship when it was advantageous. A fact that frequently frustrated his adversaries.

What did it mean to be a Roman citizen?

Rome was the reigning power of the day. Being a citizen of the Roman empire carried certain rights, responsibilities, and status. A citizen paid Roman property taxes, and had the right to vote in Rome. In return a Roman citizen was guaranteed a fair trial and was protected against some forms of harsh punishment. For instance a Roman citizen could not be executed without a trial and couldn't be crucified except by order of the emperor. A citizen could even appeal to Caesar in order to be tried in Rome.

Acts 23 & 24

Things were getting tough for Paul. His case is brought before two notorious men.

First there's Ananias who has a reputation for being a glutton, thief and a robber. When he sees that Paul has some attitude he orders that he be struck, which was a violation of the Mosaic Law. (basically anyone who hit an Israelite-strikes the glory of God). Paul strikes back verbally by calling him a white washed wall. It was an ancient custom to white wash tombs so that Israelites wouldn't accidental touch a dead body making themselves ceremonially unclean. Paul obviously knew that Ananias was the high priest. But he retorts with essentially "I never knew a man could act like you and still be a high priest of Israel."

Paul was next brought before the Roman governor Felix. Felix started life as a slave. His brother, Pallas was a favorite of Nero. Pallas had used his influence to have Felix freed and then appointed governor. In fact he was the first slave in history to become a governor of a Roman province. Felix had been married three times. His third and current wife was Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa the First. Felix was completely unscrupulous and capable of hiring thugs to murder his closest supports.

Acts 21 & 22

The temple consisted of three separate courts.

• The innermost court was the Court of Israel where Jewish men could offer their sacrifices. Only consecrated priest actually entered the temple building itself, and only the high priest could enter the inner sanctuary of the Most Holy Place- and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
• The second court was the Court of the Women where Jewish families could gather for prayer and worship.
• The outer court was the Court of the Gentiles, open to anyone who wanted to worship God. If any Gentile went beyond the barrier into the second court, he or she would be put to death. The Roman authorities, out of respect for the Jewish religion, authorized the death sentence for this trespass even for their own Roman citizens.

Acts 19 & 20

Early Christians gathered together for a meal as part of their worship. It was sometimes the only good meal a poor slave would receive all week. These feast happened at night after the day's work was done so that everyone could be a part of the gathering. There they ate together and cared for one another. Immediately after they the meal they celebrated the Lord's Supper. Just as Christ had done with His Disciples.


This explains a lot about the case of Eutychus. Known forever through history as the guy who fell asleep and fell out of a window in front of Paul. He had probably put in a hard day of physical labor, and then ate a good meal. The room most likely would have been hot and dark. So Eutychus sits by the window to maybe catch a cool breeze. And it all makes him a little sleepy. He's leaning against the window. There isn't any glass in the window and soon he drops right out of the window. It creates quite a commotion, until Paul tells the crowd that he's ok.


All of us who have sat through dry long winded sermons can relate. But Paul probably wasn't delivering a lecture. The style of the day would have been more of discussion format. So Eutychus probably wasn't just bored.


This little snippet gives us a glimpse of what an early Christian service would have been like and more importantly what it might have felt like. Simply put it probably felt a lot like 'family.'

Acts 17 & 18

Young rabbis were expected to have a trade and support themselves. Paul was a tent maker. He was from a region that was known for having herds of goats whose fleece was especially useful in making tents and curtains. So it's possible that he might have been involved in that trade as well. The Greek word for tent maker also describes leather workers. What is clear is that he was a skilled craftsmen.

Paul was also a Roman citizen and that gave him some special rights. For instance it was against the law to whip a Roman citizen or deny him due process.

In 49 A.D. the Roman emperor Claudius expelled all the Jews from Rome due to riots that were ignited by a group of zealous Jews. These insurrectionist were advocating revolution against Rome and were opposing the installation of a new king. Paul's accusers were trying to paint him in the same light saying he was a revolutionary who was plotting to overthrow the government.

Acts 14, 15 & 16

Paul and Barnabas faced new challenges as they begin to preach in the outskirts of the Roman empire. Many of these people would have been heathens with no Jewish background for Paul to reference. So he begins with nature and the God who created the world.

There was an ancient legend in Lystra that once Zeus and Hermes had come to earth disguised as mortals seeking lodging. After being turned away from a thousand homes, they found refuge in the humble cottage of an elderly couple. In appreciation for the couple's hospitality, the gods transformed the cottage into a beautiful temple with a golden roof and marble columns. All of the houses of the people who had turned them away were destroyed.

When Paul healed the crippled man the people of Lystra thought he was a god and were determined to not make the same mistake again. They thought that Barnabas was Zeus. And since Paul did most of the talking they thought he was Hermes the messenger of the gods.

In the midst of this excitement some Jews arrived. We don't know the exact reason they were in Lystra. But one theory is that they may have been corn merchants. Lystra was known for it's ability to grow corn and it is possible that these Jews may have been in the region to buy corn for the cities of Iconium and Antioch. They were not happy to discover Paul and Barnabas were still preaching and so they created an unruly mob that stones Paul.

Acts 11, 12 & 13

A whole family of Herod's wreck havoc in the New Testament.

• Herod the Great reined from 41 B.C. to 1 B.C. This Herod received the wise men from the east and massacred the male babies. He married ten times.
• Herod Philip the First. First husband of Herodias, the woman responsible for the death of John the Baptist. He was the father of Salome. (Matthew 14:3)
• Herod Antipas. Ruler of Galilee and Peraea. Second husband of Herodias. He signed off on the beheading of John the Baptist. This is the Herod whom Pilate sent Jesus for trial. (Luke 23: 7)
• Archelaus. Ruler of Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea. Bad ruler who was hated by the people. (Matthew 2:22)
• Herod Philip the Second. Founder of Caesarea Philippi. (Luke 3:1)
• Herod Agrippa. (Acts 12)

The Jewish historian Josephus describes how Herod (Agrippa) made a grand entrance at what we might call a peace accord wearing a fancy silver robe. As the sun glinted on the silver the people cried out that 'a god had come upon them.' And that instead of rebuking the crowd, Herod revealed in their adoration. The ultimate in blasphemy. Suddenly a "terrible illness" fell upon him from which he never recovered.

Acts 8, 9 & 10

Cornelius was a Roman centurion stationed at Caesarea. Today his rank might be equal to a sergeant-major. He is described as a "God-fearer or God worshipper." This is what they called Gentiles who were tired of all the gods and were frustrated with their ancestral faiths. They attached themselves to the Jewish religion. They weren't circumcised or didn't keep the Law. But they attended the synagogue and they believed in one God and in the ethics of the Jewish religion. Cornelius was a man who was seeking God, and he found Him.

But before Cornelius could be welcomed into the early church, some thinking had to change. Because strict Jews believed that God had no use for the Gentiles.

At the same time Peter is hanging out with a tanner named Simon. Since a tanner worked with the dead bodies of animals he was permanently unclean according to Jewish Law. Not exactly good company for a devout Jew. But this tanner was a part of the new Jewish sect following Christ. At lunch Peter heads up to the roof to pray. The houses had flat roofs, and since the houses were small and probably crowded it was common to use the roof for privacy. There Peter has this strange vision of lunch handed down to him on a sheet. Jews had strict food laws and could only eat animals which chewed cud or whose hoofs were cloven. But the sheet had both unclean and clean food.

Peter had to learn some new rules. And to see Gentiles in a new way. And it starts with Cornelius.

Acts 5, 6 & 7

The early church faced many challenges. Early on tensions begin to develop between Hebrews and Hellenist.

The Hellenist were Jews who grew up outside the land of Israel. They spoke Greek, were raised in Greek culture, and used the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament.

The Hebrews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Aramaic and used the Hebrew Old Testament.

It seems that tensions developed over the care of widows. Widows were a disadvantaged segment of ancient society, mostly poor and easily oppressed. The leaders of the synagogue went house to house to collect money and goods for them and other needy people every Friday. The proceeds were distributed later in the day. Those who were temporarily in need received enough to enable them to carry on; and those who were permanently unable to support themselves received enough for fourteen meals, enough for two meals a day for a week.

The apostles appointed seven Greek men, and we know they were Greek by their names, to oversee the local food distribution program.

Acts 3 & 4

The first Christians were generous people. They responded to needs within their new community and were 'one in heart and mind.' They seemed to have an intense sense of responsibility for one another, and a real desire to share what they had. The brotherhood was strong.

The Scriptures don't say anything about an equal distribution of goods, nor does it eliminate property ownership. In that day, as in ours, there were both rich and poor Christians. The bible does encourage compassion and generosity. And it doesn't condemn wealth, but the love of wealth.

What could our Christian community at Asbury (or in your community) learn from these early Christians?

Acts 1 & 2

The Festival of Pentecost, or the Festival of Weeks, was one of the three Jewish festivals that every male Jew living within twenty miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to celebrate at the Temple. It was named because it fell 50 days after the Passover. The festival normally happened in June when travel conditions made it possible for more people to participate, so crowds in Jerusalem would have had an international flavor.

Pentecost also celebrated the firstfruits of the harvest, and Jews brought the firstfruit of their harvest in thanksgiving. In addition it celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai. Just as God appeared to Moses in a burning bush, God now appeared to the faithful through fire that looked like tongues descending on the Disciples.

After Jesus died the Disciples were bewildered, broken men with broken dreams and shattered lives. The resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit changed them from cowards to heroes.

The Book of Acts

The Book of Acts was written by Luke to a man named Theophilus sometime between 60-64 AD. Some theologians consider it the most important book in the bible because it gives key information about the early church.

The book begins in Jerusalem with the disciples huddled in a room on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came upon them and empowered them with great authority in what we celebrate as Pentecost or the birthday of the Church. The rest of the book describes the ripple effects of that event and describes how Christianity began in Jerusalem and swept across the Roman empire.

John 20 & 21

John is the only Gospel writer who records the account of Jesus restoring Peter to ministry after Peter denied Christ three times.

Luke tells us that when Peter recognized what he had done he 'wept bitterly.'

Imagine how Peter must have felt in encountering the risen Jesus. His great joy in seeing the risen Lord had to have been a bit tempered by the embarrassment and shame of deserting Jesus when he needed him the most.

Three times Jesus asked Peter if Peter loved him. When Peter acknowledged that he loved Christ, Christ gave him the task of feeding His lambs and taking care of His sheep. With this exchange, the Lord restored Peter to a position of leadership in the ongoing ministry of the gospel.

John 18 & 19

Only John tells us that Jesus was first brought before Annas. Annas was the Jewish High Priest from 6 to 15 AD. Four of his sons also held this office. His son-in-law Caiaphas was now in office. The family was immensely rich and they bribed themselves into office with Annas the power behind it all.

The family made their money be selling sacrifices inside the Court of the Gentiles in the temple. Every animal offered in the temple had to be without blemish. There were inspectors to make sure each animal met the necessary quality. If an animal was bought outside the Temple it was certain that a flaw would be found. The worshipper was directed to buy at the Temple booths where the animals had already been examined and where there was no risk of rejection. Sounds helpful right? But outside the temple a pair of doves would cost about 4 p; inside the Temple at the booths ran by Annas it would cost as much as 75 p. The whole business was set up to exploit the worshippers. The Jews hated Annas for this reason.

Jesus had attacked this business, thrown over the tables, chased out the livestock and called them a den of thieves. Jesus had hit Annas where it would hurt the most-his pocket.

So now Annas wanted to be the first to gloat over the capture of this disturbing Galilaean.

One more tid bit from today's reading. When Jesus and His disciples left the upper room after celebrating the Last Super they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. Bible scholars tell us that path would have taken them down a steep valley and across the channel of the Kedron brook. At this time all the Passover lambs were being killed in the Temple, and the blood of the lambs was poured on the altar as an offering to God. Some estimates say that as many as 250,000 lambs may have been slaughtered. That's a lot of blood. From the altar there was a channel down to the Kedron brook, though that channel the blood of the Passover lambs drained away. So as Jesus walked over the brook it would be red with the blood of the lambs. And as He did so wouldn't the thought of His own sacrifice be vivid in His mind.

John 15, 16 & 17

The book of John is thought to have been written about 70 years after the death of Christ. By this time the early church was living under the constant threat of persecution. Basically Christianity was illegal. So it was helpful to remind folks that Jesus said it would be like this. "That the world would hate you because of me." When John wrote, this hatred had long since begun.

The Roman government hated Christians because it regarded them as disloyal citizens. They refused to worship Caesar. They persecuted Christians because they insisted they had no king but Christ.

Slanderous things were also believed about Christians. They were said to be cannibals because in one of their religious ceremonies they ate the body and drank the blood of Christ. They were said to be immoral because they greeted each other with a kiss of peace which might mean their feasts were an orgy of sexual indulgences. They broke up families because when one member became a Christian the family might become divided. All of which we living in 2011 understand not to be true, but which the common uneducated Roman citizen fully believed.

In fact by the time John was written some Christians had already abandoned their beliefs. Even among the heroes of the early church, there were those whose faith was not great enough to resist persecution and whose endurance was not strong enough to stay the course.

John 12, 13 & 14

From the New Illustrated Bible Commentary.

"It was after the raising of Lazarus from the dead that the chief priests, Pharisees, and other religious leaders finally determined to put Jesus to death. Until now the conflict between the them and the upstart Rabbi was one of words. But the raising of Lazarus was an incredible miracle that was witnessed by many.

Indeed Lazarus became something of a curiosity drawing lots of onlookers who wanted to see for themselves this man whom Jesus brought back to life. And it was this kind of publicity that the leaders especially feared.

The religious leaders began to consider how they might bring Jesus before the Romans, and have him put away on a charge of rebellion. And even though Lazarus had just been brought back from the dead, they plotted to do away with him as well because he was the living evidence of Jesus' power.

The plan succeeded brilliantly except for one detail that Caiaphas and his fellow leaders either overlooked or refused to believe: in arranging His death, they handed Him the opportunity to prove once and for all that He had spoken the truth when He said, "I am the resurrection and the life."

John 10 & 11

One of the most vivid images of Jesus is that of the good shepherd.

Shepherds were very common in ancient Israel. It was a hard life. The sheep had to be constantly watched. There was always the threat of wild animals.


Many Biblical heroes were shepherds including Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and King David. And the angels first revealed Jesus birth to shepherds in the field.


There are all sorts of parallels between the shepherd and Christ. A good shepherd was constantly vigilant, fearless, courageous, and patient with the flock. It is thought that in ancient Palestine the shepherd would have walked ahead of the sheep to make sure that the path was safe. And sometimes the sheep had to be encouraged to follow.


The sheep knew and responded to the voice of their shepherd. And Jesus says this His sheep also know His voice and will follow Him.

John 8 & 9

Jesus spit on the ground, mixed the spit with dirt and then rubbed it in a man's eyes. The use of spit may seem strange, repulsive and unhygienic, but in the ancient world it was quite common. Spit from a distinguished person was believed to possess curative qualities.

A famous Roman writer of the day named Pliny wrote an encyclopedia of scientific information that included a whole chapter on the use of spit. He claimed that it offered protection from the poison of serpents, cured epilepsy, cancer and "crick in the neck." He also claimed that you could cure eye problems by anointing the eyes every morning with fasting spit.

The fact is that Jesus took the methods and customs of His time and used them. Bible scholars think that Jesus probably didn't believe in medicinal spit but that He was doing what a doctor of the time probably would have done and so was working through the expectations of the blind man.

After anointing the man's eyes with spit, Jesus sends him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. The Pool of Siloam was one of the landmarks of Jerusalem, and was one of the great engineering feats of the ancient world. King Hezekiah of Judah built an underground water tunnel in 701 BC that protected the cities water supply during attack. It was called Siloam, which meant sent, because the water in it had been sent through the conduit into the city.

John 6 & 7

When Jesus called himself the "bread of life," he was using a rich symbol of Jewish life.

Bread was an important part of Israel's worship. During the celebration of Pentecost, two loaves of leavened bread were offered as sacrifices. In the tabernacle, and later in the temple, the Levites placed twelve loaves of unleavened break, or bread without yeast, before the Lord each week to symbolize God's presence with the twelve tribes.

Animal sacrifice was also common in the ancient world. During a sacrifice a token part of the animal was burned on the altar, although the whole animal was offered to the god. Part of the flesh was given to the priest to use as they wished, and part went to the worshipper to make a feast for himself. At that feast the god himself was thought to be a guest. Once the flesh had been offered to the god, it was believed that he had entered into it; therefore when the worshipper ate it he was literally eating the god. When people finished such a feast they believed themselves to be literally god-filled.

So John's readers would not have been shocked by the idea of eating Christ's body and drinking His blood. They would have quickly understood the experience of union that communion represents.

John 4 & 5

Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Their quarrel dated to the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BC. The victorious Assyrians deported twenty thousand Israelites and replaced them with settlers from Babylon, Syria and other nations. These foreigners introduced pagan idols and intermarried with the Hebrews creating an ethnically mixed population.

When the Jews of Judah returned from the Babylonian captivity, they meet resistance from the Samaritans as they tried to rebuild the temple, Jerusalem, and the rest of their society. They looked down on their northern cousins because of their mixed marriages and idolatrous practices. Soon permanent walls of bitterness had been erected by both sides. By Jesus' day, the hostilities were so severe that the woman at the well was astonished that Jesus would even speak with her.

Palestine is only 120 miles long from north to south. In Jesus time there were three divisions of territory. In the north lay Galilee, in the south Judaea, and in between Samaria. Many times the Jews would avoid Samaria by crossing the Jordan river and traveling along the eastern side of the river. But Jesus takes the quickest route right through Samaria, and encounters this woman at the well.

John 1, 2 & 3

Jesus first miracle takes place at a wedding in Cana.

Jesus and His Disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana, about 4 1/2 miles northwest of Nazareth. His mother Mary had invited them and some scholars believe that she was in some way related to the family holding the wedding. In ancient times, wedding feast often lasted for a week. To run out of wine at such an important event would have been humiliating for the bride and groom. The family of Jesus was not wealthy, and it's likely that their relatives and acquaintances were not either. This may have been a "low budget" wedding feast.

Mary had waited for thirty years for something big to happen. She gives Jesus a nudge. They are out of wine. And the miracles begin.

Jesus ask that six stone jars be filled with water. Each jar held twenty or thirty gallons. So Jesus makes 120-180 gallons of the finest wine. For Jews wine represented life and abundance. Wine also symbolized the expectation of a good life for the newlyweds.

Jesus used the moment to reveal something of who He was. He astounded the Disciples. The product wasn't just wine, but the best wine. The New Illustrated Bible Commentary says it this way "In the same way, Jesus was the new wine bringing abundant life to Judaism, which, like the wedding, had run out of life and become spiritually empty."

The Book of John

The Gospel of John is different that the three synoptic gospels we've just read. Most of it's material is unique, and persuasively argues that Jesus is the son of God. Every chapter presents evidence - both signs and statements- for Christ divine authority.

Tradition holds that this Gospel was written by the Disciple John in the city of Ephesus around 100 AD. But many modern scholars believe that it was written by an unknown writer who may have been influenced by the Disciple John.

Luke 23 & 24

The Bible is full of stories of ordinary people who by the power of God do extraordinary things. One of these is Simon of Cyrene.

When a criminal was condemned to be crucified, he was taken from the judgement hall and set in the middle of a hollow square of four Roman soldiers. His cross was then laid upon his shoulders and he was marched to the place of crucifixion by the longest route possible. A soldier marched before him with a placard inscribed with his crime as a warning to anyone else who was contemplating such a crime.

During the time of Jesus, Palestine was an occupied country and any citizen at any time could be immediately forced into service by the Roman government. A Roman soldier could enlist your "involuntary" help by tapping you on the shoulder with the flat blade of a Roman spear. When Jesus sank beneath the weight of His Cross, the Roman centurion in charge looked around for someone else to carry it. Enter Simon of Cyrene.

Simon was probably a Jew who had scraped and saved his whole life so that he might be able to eat one Passover in Jerusalem. He had come to participate in a cherished ambition of a lifetime, and he now finds himself schlepping a heavy cross to Calvary. It's not too much of a reach to assume he might not have been very happy.

So what exactly makes Simon so extraordinary? The Bible says that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Obviously the sons were well known people to early Christians. Paul writes in his letter to Rome "Greet Rufus, and his mother. So somehow the humility of carrying the cross for the Christ must have changed Simon in a profound way.