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Coffee With Jesus: Luke 24

...ething no Jewish person would do to anyone they thought was merely a human prophet. After this they then spent their days in the temple praising God (v.53). I hope this encourages you today to continue worshipping Jesus and praising God daily in your lives, and to keep our eyes open to see Jesus in those unexpected places.  ...

Ancient Amulet Rewrites History Of Christianity In Europe

...hristian, Jewish, and paganism all blended together. The important aspect of this inscription is that there is a noticeable lack of reference to Yahweh, angels, or any local pagan deities, highlighting the exclusive Christian nature of this amulet. This not only underscores the devotion of the wearer but raises a lot of questions about Christianity in what was once the cultural and administrative hub of Roman Germania. As scholars continue to study this artefact, it serves as a tangible testament to the early presence and enduring legacy of Christianity in Europe, rewriting known history, and showing that all of those myths about Jesus’ deity being an inventi...

Biblical Inspiration and the Canon: How We Got the Bible

...ed in the Jewish community. The New Testament canon, however, was formed through a process of discernment over several centuries, as the church recognised which writings were truly inspired and authoritative. The Septuagint and the Deuterocanonical Books The Septuagint (LXX) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, produced in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. It was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews and later by early Christians, including the apostles. The Septuagint included several books not found in the Hebrew Bible, known as the Deuterocanonical books (such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, and 1–2 Maccabees). While these books were accepted in many early C...

Coffee with Jesus: John 1

...e ancient Jewish theology of the “two powers in heaven”: V.18 (CSB)No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side — he has revealed him. It’s interesting that John the Baptist didn’t know about who Jesus truly was, despite being cousins, until he baptised him, as it appears that the Father had spoken to John at some prior point telling him what to look out for: John 1:32–33And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descen...

Coffee With Jesus: Luke 22–23

...nt to the Jewish people as it points back to the very first Passover. Moses commanded the people to cover their doorposts in the lamb’s blood using bunches of hyssop (Exodus 12:22), and now during the final Passover sacrifice, the Lamb of God is offered a drink from a hyssop branch. To continue with the Kingdom theme, from Luke 23, one of the criminals crucified alongside Jesus asks to be remembered when Jesus comes into his kingdom, and what does Jesus say? Today he will be with him. Luke 23:42–43Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” From this it wo...

Lent: Day 9 - Ignatius to the Philadelphians

...reach the Jewish law unto you, listen not to him” he urges, because if they do, Ignatius says, they are no better than “monuments and sepulchres of the dead” since they preach that which has passed away. He goes on to contrast the Old Testament with the New by saying that, “the priests indeed are good, but the High Priest is better” because “He is the door of the Father, by which enter in Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the prophets, and the apostles, and the Church”. Christ is now the way, and only way, to God the Father and as such they old ways of Judaism are no longer in effect. He emphasises this even more by pointing out that, “the Gos...