The New Testament uses two different Greek words translated “crown.” The jeweled royal head-covering of a king or queen was called a diadema. That’s why a classic hymn says of Jesus, “Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all.” David wore an impressive kingly crown covered with precious stones that weighed about […]
Most of us exaggerate now and then, using expressions that would be outrageous if taken literally. “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” “I have told you a million times not to do that.” Hyperbole isn’t meant to falsify or misrepresent the facts, but to intensify them. We exaggerate our points in order to […]
It would seem natural if the Gospel of John ended with chapter 20. Couldn’t John simply have concluded his book by observing that the miraculous signs Jesus performed “are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John […]
Have you ever been the last to hear some big news? Maybe you took a vacation, and upon returning to work you learned that major changes had taken place while you were gone. When Jesus starting walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they thought he didn’t know what was going on. They […]
My wife and I traveled to Israel 18 years ago, and during our return visit last year we noticed that much about the Holy Land remains constant (and confusing)—a mix of the sacred and the strange. In Jerusalem pilgrims rub elbows with pickpockets. Merchants hawk T-shirts outside the entrance to the Wailing Wall. A peaceful […]
