At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he came across a leper who said, “If you are willing, you can make me clean!” (Mark 1:40). The next verse gives an interesting insight into Jesus’ personality.

One of the major cultural issues we have in Western culture is seeing things as individuals. So often a biblical passage addressing a group is interpreted as applying to me as an individual, and we lose the corporate sense of the teaching. But the same can happen in reverse.

One of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to harmonize is the story of Jairus’ daughter. Did Jairus say that his daugther was dead, or at the point of death? Did people come from his house or not, telling him that she had died? The story is told in all three of the Synoptics, and it is a sufficiently unique event that the three Gospels must be telling the same story.

Do you read your translation out loud? Even in first year Greek class, I think this is a valuable exercise and will change the way you translate.

If you have seen the new movie, “The Chosen,” you will perhaps have a fresh look look at the character of the “Samaritan woman.” Some people think she was a prostitute, but is there any evidence that this is so?