Fear hangs heavy in the air. The authorities have brutally executed the disciples’ leader. Clearly the authorities intend to squelch this burgeoning threat. How far will they go with this crusade?...

Zechariah had predicted a day when the inhabitants of Jerusalem would look on the one they had pierced and mourn for him (12:10). Their sensibilities would stir them from their spiritual...

My family recently moved to a community situated on a lake in the Adirondacks of New York. Rustic cabins that overlook the water and the surrounding mountains dot the lake. Recently...

Some movies end with a door left open to a sequel. The writers wrap up most of the plotlines but leave one conspicuously open. This will become the launch point for...

In six short verses the psalmist offers a succession of a dozen entreaties to praise the Lord. These staccato phrases express the where, why, how, and who of praise—with emphasis on...

Christ is risen, he is risen indeed!” This shout of exultation often marks the arrival of Easter, but I have never resonated with it. When I studied today’s passage, I understood...

We first meet Nicodemus in chapter 3 of John’s Gospel. He seeks Jesus under the cover of night in order to learn from him, which—on the surface—seems an admirable deed. A...

At the conclusion of the Farewell Discourse (John 14–17), Jesus goes with his disciples to a garden in the Kidron Valley. There, on the east side of Jerusalem, Judas betrays him...

The one command Jesus issues to his disciples alone stands at the conclusion of today’s reading. “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,” he tells them, “if you...

Jesus has just finished washing the disciples’ feet when he jolts them with the news: “One of you will betray me.” The disciples look at one another. Who could Jesus be...