The Fourth Gospel attributed to John the son of Zebedee.
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Why does everyone in John misunderstand Jesus?
Jesus seems to be misunderstood pretty consistently throughout the Gospel According to John:
John 2:19-20
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
...
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154 views
Reconciling the accounts of the calling of Simon Peter
How do you reconcile the two accounts of Jesus calling Peter? (Matt 4:18-19 and John 1:35-42)
In the Matthew passage, Peter and Andrew are together fishing. In the John passage, Andrew was with John ...
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43 views
Is there an interpretation of the blood and water that poured from Jesus' side (John 19:34) that involves, in part, some physiological component?
In reading What significance does John perceive in the piercing of Christ's side and the flow of blood and water?, I wondered if there is anything unusual about both blood and water flowing from the ...
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523 views
Was the Beloved Disciple the author of the Fourth Gospel?
One very common interpretation of the Gospel of John is that the Beloved Disciple was the author of the book. (Presumably, he was interested in obscuring his identity for some reason.) But other ...
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35 views
How many days elapsed between Jesus's baptism and his return to Galilee?
Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that a period of at least forty days separated Jesus's baptism from his return to Galilee. Mark (1:9-15) writes,
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee ...
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67 views
Why does John note the name of the servant whose ear was cut off?
Unlike the synoptics, John notes the name of the man whose ear was cut off during Jesus' arrest.
John 18:10 - Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, ...
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How does John use the Feast of Dedication in John 10?
In John 10:22, John mentions that it was winter and the Feast of Dedication had come. Earlier in the Festival Cycle, John transparently uses the various feasts to give a better understanding of Jesus ...
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41 views
Were the disciples that certain?
John 17:8b:
They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
I'm guessing that this is a translation issue, but I'm curious to hear expert opinion. Here Jesus ...
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59 views
To whom should we attribute John 3:16?
Who is speaking in John 3:16? Jesus or John? John 3 begins with Jesus speaking in the first person but in v. 13 there's a shift to the third person which continues until a change of scene at 3:22.
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Why does John interweave the stories of Jesus' questioning and Peter's denial?
In John 18, the author weaves together an account of Peter's denial and a questioning of Jesus before Annas. It's very well done and seems rather more complex from a literary standpoint. But what does ...
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In John 14:2, what is Jesus' Father's house?
In John 14:2, Jesus tells his disciples:
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. (NIV)
What is Jesus referring ...
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Is there a scriptural warrant for the literal-historical approach?
Jesus appears to establish the Christological approach used by the apostles:
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.
...
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Does John 21:20-24 indicate that the original author of the Fourth Gospel was dead?
Early tradition says that the author lived on for some time after the composition, while many post-eighteenth century critical scholars seem to take for granted that the author (if it even is the ...
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99 views
Is the water jar in John 4:28 a symbol?
At the end of Jesus' conversation with the woman by the well, John records
28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to
the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all ...
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39 views
What is the difference between ζωὴ and ψυχὴ?
The word "life" appears in most translations of John 12:25 three times. For example, in the ESV:
Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal ...
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246 views
Why did Jesus tell Mary not to hold onto Him?
John 20:17a:
Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father."
Why did Jesus tell Mary not to "hold on to" Him? Presumably it was not a problem with touching, since ...
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260 views
“That they may be one, even as we are one” in John 17:11
In John 17:11, Jesus prays that his disciples "may be one":
11And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you ...
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35 views
In John 18, who was high priest at the time of Jesus' arrest?
First the text in John 18 (NIV) seems to make clear that Caiaphas was high priest:
18:13 They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that ...
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37 views
How should the phrase ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον περὶ in John 16:8 be translated?
The 1984 NIV of John 16:7b-11 reads (emphasis mine):
Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of ...
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25 views
Is John 21 a later addition to the Fourth Gospel?
Many readers have noted that John 20:30-31 makes for a fitting ending to the Gospel.
Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But ...
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*Two* miraculous catches of fish in John 21 and significance?
In John 21, Jesus tells the disciples to throw their nets on the "right side of the boat" (verse 6) which enables the second miraculous catch of fish in Jesus' ministry, the catching of 153 fish.
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47 views
Did Pilate know three languages?
John 19:20-22:
This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was
crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, [and]
Greek, [and] Latin. Then said the chief ...
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69 views
How many resurrection hours does Jesus refer to in John 5:25-29?
In John 5:25-29 we read:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has ...
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In John 12:23 why has the hour come for the Son of Man to be glorified?
In John 12:20-22 some Greeks come up to Philip and ask him if they can see Jesus. The disciples pass along this request to Jesus in v22 and all the sudden in v23 he replies that the hour has come for ...
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49 views
Why in John's account does Jesus reply to Pilate's inquiry with a question?
The initial exchange between Pilate and Jesus in Mark 15:2 is quite terse:
And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Matthew 27:11 and Luke ...
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49 views
What does it mean to convict the world concerning righteousness?
In John 16:8-11, we read (emphasis mine):
When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in ...
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Who does Jesus refer to by the phrase “another who testifies about me” in John 5:32?
There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony that he testifies about me is true.
ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ μαρτυρῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ἀληθής ἐστιν ἡ μαρτυρία ἣν μαρτυρεῖ ...
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405 views
Is Jesus equal to or less than the Father [closed]
Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.
Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again
unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto
the Father: ...
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144 views
“First day of the week” or “one of the Sabbaths”? [closed]
In the following interesting article (which, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, is nevertheless an interesting viewpoint, in the sense of iron sharpening iron), the author hypothesises that ...
