Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NASB Bear – Can you really bear the burden of another? Ah, you’ll probably answer, “Yes, of course.” But what if the burden is something uncomfortable? What if it’s not the usual financial, medical, social kind of needs that we so often…
I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. John 17:15 NASB From the evil one – The footnote in the NASB indicates that this verse might also be read, “ . . . to keep them out of the power of evil.” The…
“If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NASB The Word – What a complicated text! The NASB’s heading for this part of John’s gospel is “The Deity of Jesus Christ,” but this is an editorial theological addition. The text itself does not make…
The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. Genesis 2:22 NASB Fashioned – The Bible is a giant connect-the-dots puzzle. Understanding a passage as a stand-alone text often does not capture the depth of the words or the context. We are…
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, Hebrews 1:1 NASB In many ways – The opening statement of the author of Hebrews contains a hidden and very important axiom. God spoke to us “in many ways.” The Greek word is polutropos. The word…
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NASB World – “God is the God of the entire cosmos; God has to do with every creature, and every creature has to do with God, whether they…
The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will extol Him. Exodus 15:2 NASB Praise – If we read the praises of the Lord in the Psalms, we are likely to find the verb zamar. In…
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – Yesterday we considered some of the behavioral implications of the translation of teleios as “perfect.” Today we need to look at the deeper theological implications. It all begins with Parmenides. Parmenides, a 5th Century BCE Greek philosopher and…
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 NASB Perfect – If I tell you that Yeshua drew this statement from Leviticus 19:2, you would discover rather quickly that the verse in the Tanakh does not require us to be perfect. It says, “You shall be holy, for I…
