Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
The Protestant Bible contains 66 books, while the Catholic Bible adds seven more. I’ve read them all, seeing value in each one. But I like some more than others. Here are my top ten books of the Bible: 1. Luke was a doctor and the only non-Jewish author in the New Testament. He writes as […]
Simon Peter Last week we talked about Simon Peter, a guy with two names. Another man with two names is John Mark. Unlike Abraham and Sarah who received new identities from God and Peter who got his second name from Jesus, the origin of John Mar’s two names seems to lack divine origin. Perhaps his […]
One of Jesus’ disciples was Simon, who Jesus renamed Peter. According to the Amplified Bible, Peter means “stone” or “a large piece of rock.” Sometimes the Bible refers to him as Simon (47 times) and other times Simon Peter (33 times) but mostly just Peter (139 times). Peter was the first leader of Jesus’ followers, […]
One of the 10 commandments is “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Other translations of the Bible state this passage as “do not give false testimony” or more simply, ”do not tell lies about others.” We typically think of this as a command to not perjure ourselves, that is to not give false or misleading […]
In the accounts of Jesus’ life, there’s a curious exchange he has with the religious leaders. Although he has many such interactions, this is perhaps the most perplexing. He tells them healthy people don’t need a doctor. True. Then he makes a parallel assertion that his purpose isn’t to help good people (the “righteous”) but […]
In Matthew’s biography of Jesus, he repeats one phrase three times: “When Jesus had finished saying these things…” From this we can list three responses to Jesus. This phrase signals a transition in the story. Jesus spoke to the people and afterward the people respond: Today people’s reactions to Jesus occur in the same three […]
In the Old Testament of the Bible we read the command to “fear God.” In the New Testament we read “God is Love.” How can we fear someone who is loving? Is it even possible to do? Is there a difference between fearing God in the Old Testament and a God of love in the […]
The Bible says we are to fear God. But what does that really mean? I don’t think it implies God is malevolent or waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us, which would be legitimate reasons to fear him. Instead, God is benevolent and wants good things for us; there is no […]
In the Bible there’s the story of Jacob, who rolls away the stone from the well to water Rachel’s sheep. They get married. Then there’s Moses. He rescues some shepherd girls when they are being harassed and provides water for their flocks. He marries one of them. It’s just not a guy thing, either. Rebekah […]
In a love story, culturally distant and a bit strange to us, Jacob is enamored by the fetching Rachel. In an act of service, to garner her attention, he rolls away a stone from the mouth of a well to provide life-sustaining water for her sheep. It works and she becomes his bride. In another […]