Commuter Bible

Contrary to Victorian era illustrations and Michelangelo’s chubby cherubs in the Sistine Chapel, angels are always described as glorious and fear-inducing. Whenever someone sees a vision of an angel in Scripture, the person who sees them is awestruck and weakened by fear. In most instances, the angel has to tell the person not to fear and supernaturally help them to recuperate. Such is the case with Daniel, who receives an interpretation of his vision from an angel. There’s far too much to talk about concerning the historical fulfillment of Daniel’s vision, but the prophesy moves from near future to the end of days when it is mentioned that the king will do whatever he wants.

We are now in the second half of Daniel which focuses on the dreams and visions that Daniel himself received. These visions include imagery of beasts, animals, and horns, representing kingdoms and the kings who come from them. Some of what Daniel sees is explained within the text itself while some remains the topic of debate and speculation to this day. Some, however, has clearly been fulfilled, like the goat which tramples the ram. The goat is the Greek Empire and it’s conspicuous horn is Alexander the Great, who trampled the Medo-Persia empire and then suddenly died at the peak of his power. Anitochus emerges from one of the four new kingdoms, a ruler who persecutes the Jews, stops regular sacrifices, and defiles the temple.

There are a few different ways to look at the structure of the book of Daniel, and one of them is to note that the first six chapters are comprised of narratives the contain prophecy, while the last six chapters are prophecies that contain history. The next three chapters each happen in successive time periods under successive kings whom Daniel served under, however, later chapters do not maintain chronological order. Each account shows God’s supreme authority over all kings and kingdoms. Those who attempt to thwart the Lord’s plans and the Lord’s ways are all shown to be weak and easily dismissed.

The book of Daniel is an extraordinary account of a young Judean exile who receives interpretation and prophecy from the Lord while serving foreign kings. Of particular significance in today’s passage is the statue that Nebuchadnezzar sees in a dream. The statue’s head of gold represented Babylon; its silver chest and arms: the Medo-Persian empire; the bronze stomach and thighs: the Greek empire; the legs of iron: the kingdom of Rome; and the mixed clay and iron feet: a continuation of Rome in later times. Finally, the rock represents the kingdom of God in Christ, as it easily destroys the manmade statue, enduring forever and spreading throughout the earth.

The disciple Jesus loves, better known as John, continues to give us his account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. As in the rest of his gospel, John points out the ways in which the death of Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures that preceded him. While all of the gospel account include the resurrection of Jesus, each one gives unique perspective and accounts of what happened afterward. After Jesus reveals himself to Mary Magdelene, we read three accounts of Jesus appearing to the disciples as a group. John writes all of this so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

As Jesus walks to the Mount of Olives after partaking of the Passover with His disciples, he continues to divulge the relationship between the persons of the Trinity. The Spirit comes from the Father and submits to the Son. The Son commands the Spirit but submits to the Father. And the Father has authority over the Son and the Spirit while still honoring both as equals in divinity. Jesus prays for His present disciples as well as those who will believe in the future, asking that they might know the Father’s love and that they might be protected. Finally, Jesus is captured and sent to trial before the Jews and before Pilate.

Here in John’s gospel, we get a lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the Last Supper. As Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples, he knows that the hour of His crucifixion is drawing near. As both Lord and servant, Jesus leads by example and washes the disciples feet and commands them to love one another. It’s revealed that Judas will betray Jesus, and he departs from the other disciples to execute his plan. Jesus reveals the nature of the relationships within the triune Godhead, describing how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit relate to one another. Finally, Jesus tells his disciples that they should expect to be persecuted by the world.

Our reading today opens with Jesus speaking to the Pharisees who had accompanied the man healed of blindness in our last episode. He tells them that he is the Good Shepherd, and that those who belong to Him know His voice. Later, Jesus raises his friend, Lazarus, from the dead. This is Jesus’s seventh messianic sign given before his crucifixion, pointing forward to his own resurrection and his power over death. As many in people in Bethany had witnessed the corpse of Lazarus, the miracle caused quite a stir amongst the people, causing the Jews to hate Jesus even more. The resolve to kill both Jesus and Lazarus, in order to snuff out growing witness of Jesus’ power.

During the Festival of Shelters, Jesus goes to Judea to preach and teach even though some of the Jews were trying to kill him. They were angry with him for healing a lame man on the Sabbath, but Jesus defends his position soundly in the face of opposition. The crowd is divided about whether or not he is the Messiah. As he continues teaching, he claims to be equal to God the Father, saying, “Before Abraham was, I AM” referring to God who identifies himself as the great “I AM.” They consider this to be blasphemous, and pick up stones to kill him, but he escapes. Later, Jesus heals on the Sabbath again, only this time, he opens the eyes of the blind.

Note: The earliest manuscripts do not contain the account of the forgiven adulteress.

In today’s episode, Jesus passes through Samaria, a town that most Jews considered to be so loathsome that even setting foot inside the city limits would have been frowned upon. Jesus not only does this, but he breaks custom by asking a Samaritan woman for a drink of water, promising her that a water that gives eternal life has come. Along with his disciples, he stays for two days before continuing onward to Galilee. Later, in Jerusalem, Jesus refers to God as his Father, which ruffles a few feathers. Finally, Jesus feeds five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish, but tells them that the true food is His own flesh and blood.