I’ve gotten a bit behind on copying and pasting John’s tweets here to the blog.  If you want to read all the tweets, please visit John’s Twitter page.

John’s tweets for today:

• Jesus is teaching near the temple in Jerusalem. Religious leaders have led a woman to him, saying she was caught in adultery.
• They want to stone her & want Jesus to agree b/c Moses law prescribes it. Jesus isn’t answering, but writing in the dirt w/ his finger.
• The religious leaders keep after him, calling to stone her. Jesus stands up and says “The sinless one go first. Throw the stone.”
• He started writing in the dirt again. One by one, they all walked away, leaving the woman standing alone.
• Jesus looks up & sees her alone. “Does anyone condemn you? Neither do I. Go, but from now on don’t sin.”

Other than trying to understand the book of Revelation, the most wondered about question has to be “What did Jesus write in the dirt?”  This story is only in the book of John.  I wonder why he didn’t tell us what Jesus wrote?  It sure does make me curious.

Bible reference: John 8:1-11

John’s tweets for today.

If you’re not already following John on Twitter, click here to follow.

1.  We’re in a house in Tyre. Jesus didn’t think he’d be found, but he was wrong. A Greek woman came right in & is kneeling at Jesus’ feet.

2.  The woman is begging Jesus to help her disturbed daughter. He said “Stand in line. Children get fed first, then dogs if there’s any left.”

3.  The woman still didn’t leave, but told Jesus “Even dogs get to eat scraps dropped under the table.”

4.  Jesus is impressed by her faith. He told her to go home, that the demon had left her daughter.

I don’t understand this story.  What Jesus first says to the woman doesn’t  meet up with my view of Jesus.  Which, of course means my view is incomplete.

It seems like he’s being mean to her.  Or toying with her.  Neither of which is anything I’d ever picture Jesus doing.  In the end, he does heal the woman’s daughter and he’s impressed by her faith.

What do you think of this story?

Bible reference: Matthew 15:21-28, Mark 7:24-30

photo credit: AmazonCARES

It would be so easy to read through this story and pass it off as spiritual – meaning didn’t really happen, doesn’t happen, story-in-a-book.  Jesus is walking through a crowd and knows someone touches him.  He knows healing power has gone out from him.  Then he raises a dead girl back to life.

Easy to read past it and not catch the human part of the story.  The parts that show us it’s all real.  But slow down and take it all in for a minute.  These other-worldly events really did happen.

A crowd pressed in on Jesus as he was walking.  Not unusual at all.  It is unusual that he stopped and refused to go further until he found out who touched him.  I think his disciples thought he was a bit crazy for this, until a woman confesses that she was the one who touched his robe.

Don’t miss the scene at Jairus’ house.  His daughter is dead.  The people at the house are weeping.  Jairus’ wife is overcome with grief.  The girl’s body lay on the bed.  A very human scene.  All too real.  But Jesus touching the girl and telling her to get up is just as real.  The girl’s response of rising up from the dead, getting up from the bed is just as human.

A human response to a divine touch.  Real, tangible, true.

Bible reference: Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56

photo credit: josef.stuefer