By Sam E. Stone In the Old Testament, God’s relation to the Hebrew people was often compared to that of a shepherd and his sheep (Jeremiah 31:10; Ezekiel 34:31). It is not surprising to find that Jesus used the same illustration (Luke 15:3-6). Today’s lesson is taken again from John’s Gospel. The setting is […]
The bread of life–The Uniform Lesson for May 6
By Sam E. Stone An entire year elapsed between the healing of the lame man (John 5) and the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6). This would be two years after the first cleansing of the temple and one year before the crucifixion. John explains that his Gospel contains only a limited number of […]
Samaritan woman finds living water–The Uniform Lesson for April 22
By Sam E. Stone Early in Jesus’ ministry he reached out to those ignored or snubbed by others. The Samaritans were such a group. Considered “half-breeds,” these were the children of Jews who had intermarried with pagans. Many from the Northern Kingdom were exiled years before, but some remained in the land. They married […]
Temple is cleansed–The Uniform Lesson for April 15
By Sam E. Stone John’s Gospel clarifies the length of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Because he mentions the various Passovers celebrated by our Lord, we are able to determine that his entire ministry was a little over three years. Christ did what was expected of all Jewish men—he came to Jerusalem each year in observance […]
Jesus lives!–The Uniform Lesson for April 8, 2012
By Sam E. Stone Good Friday looked anything but “good” to Jesus’ disciples that day. Saturday was no better. Sunday began with with the same feelings of despair, disappointment, and desperation in the hearts of all his followers. As one of them explained later, “We had hoped that he was the one who was going […]