Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Recap of lesson 5 (Water to Wine) Time  out for a wedding: Shows us how Jesus related to others, valued them, connected with them Timing  ("My time has not yet come."): Jesus was acutely aware that the clock was ticking. He dared not squander the Father's time. He fell into neither (opposite) error, moving along too slowly or rushing a...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Jesus' core group of disciples, his apostles, has grown. In chapter 2 he takes them to a wedding in Cana, in Galilee. This was also the home of Nathanael, about whom we read in 1:46-51; see also 21:2. Wedding parties in the Bible normally lasted 1-2 weeks (Genesis 29:27; Judges 14:12), so this was no half-day affair! See a...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Last time we looked at the first two days; today we will read about the third and fourth days. A lot is compressed into one chapter. Since the fourth day spans verses 43-51, it is not clear how 2:1 takes place "on the third day." Unless, that is, "the next day" (vv.29,35,43) all refers to the same day, in which case 1:19-51 covers two...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. 19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him,...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Comment : A prologue is important -- like the introduction of a book. It's a good habit not to skip over these, as they usually set forth the agenda of the writer, and make it easier to understand the work. John 1:1-8 is the key to appreciating the entire Gospel of John. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The Gospel of John: Introduction John's is the most universal focus of the four gospels. Mark—the Roman world. Jesus is not the emperor. Matt—Jews, though ends with command to launch Gentile mission. Jesus is Messiah. Luke—the entire Gentile world. Jesus as ideal human, bringing the message from Galilee to Jerusalem. (And in Acts, from...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Last time we considered purity and transformation in Christian theology. In Christian history, especially among Catholics and Protestants, the power of the Cross has been celebrated far more than the power of the resurrection (Phil 3:10-11). Most self-proclaimed Christian groups simply do not grasp this important truth. Hi...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction After our introductory lessons on purity and cleansing, we examined 24 case studies of cleansing, freedom, and new beginnings (for lepers, demoniacs, and the deceased). In these final two lessons, let's pull together what we have learned, and take an honest (though brief) look at Christian History. Then (in the final talk)...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scriptural study: Luke 24:1-6; 1 Cor 15:20-23; Phil 3:20-21 Although details about the crucifixion and burial of Christ are found in the NT, nothing is related concerning his resurrection. When we read of the empty tomb (Luke 24; John 20; Matt 28; Mark 16) he has already been raised. What had happened? Was this the same as happened in...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introductory The miracle will take place at Troas (Acts 20:6), near ancient Troy (of Trojan War fame). Luke the doctor was present; the account is part of the "We" material in Acts. That's significant for his medical testimony in v.10. Some dispute his death, but the language will not allow that. Luke says "he was taken up dead" (Acts...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introductory Today’s reanimation is well-known and touching. Tabitha will be raised from the dead -- the eighth reanimation in the Bible. Scriptural study: Acts 9:36-42  Tabitha (or Dorcas , meaning gazelle), seems to have been an energetic and serving Christian sister (9:36). Like Peter, she had both a Semitic and a Greek name. Keep i...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introductory For most people, this is far and away the best known reanimation in scripture. In the 7th reanimation podcast, Jesus raises a friend. I recorded an earlier podcast on Lazarus (NT Character Podcast 20). You might want to listen before or after today’s podcast. Hear also Christ Through the Ages, podcast 10 . As a result, in...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Review: There are three reanimations in the OT. And in the NT, not counting the mass event of Matt 27, this is the second reanimation (after the miracle in Nain). This takes place during the days leading up to the “Limited Commission” (Luke 9; Matt 10; Mark 3), when Jesus is training his disciples and building up their fai...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Today we return to a rather conventional reanimation. The event takes place not in Sidon or Zarephath (modern Lebanon), not in the Holy City of Jerusalem, but in the central Israelite town of Nain—mentioned only here in the Bible (Luke 7:11). Today Nain is an Arab village in Lower Galilee. (And a town in Jamaica, Australia...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction This is the fourth reanimation in the Bible. Actually, no single person is raised from the dead. Rather, it’s a mass  reanimation. There are two discussion into which we will not enter today: There is some disagreement among conservative Christians about whether we are required to interpret the phenomenon as an historical...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction The first two reanimations we covered were both of boys with older parents. Today's spans a mere two verses! No sense of disappointment, at least none that we read about. The burial could have been of an old man, full of years. Or maybe that of a youth. The passage just doesn’t say. Elisha, who brought about the second rea...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction CLEAN 21, The Wealthy Shunammites’ Son = also  OT character study 64 . Yesterday we saw how the prophet Elijah saved the life of the son of the Widow of Zarephath. Today we will look at a similar account—and it’s easy to confuse the two!—involving Elijah’s successor, Elisha. This woman is probably younger than the widow of...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Reanimation = back from the dead. Why this is important will be explained more fully in the 10th reanimation podcast. How does this tie in with the theme of purity? Keep in mind that in Jewish thought, death is associated with uncleanness. Some positive feedback: "I'm enjoying CLEAN in '17. Very needed lessons. I've often...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Context (A) Luke 11:14-23 Jesus, exorcism, and Beelzebul Scriptural study: Luke 11:24-26 This is a picture of an exorcism, though not explicitly so stated. When we become followers of Christ we remove some behaviors and replace them with others. We subtract , but we also add . If we're only characterized by what we don't do, or by what...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Divination and magic were highly popular and very real in the 1st century Mediterranean world. Also, many were enslaved by their fear of the future. Contemporary writers mention a strong and abiding sense of fate. The spiritual world is real! Scriptural study: The Slave Girl of Acts 16.16-19 We meet our character (v.16), u...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scriptural study: Mark 1:21-28 Jesus and his first followers enter Capernaum, Jesus’ adopted hometown (v.21). Notice the word “immediately," showing us the broad impact of Christ, and in a staccato manner relating his baptism, temptation, preaching ministry, calling of the first disciples, exorcism, healings, and cleansing of a leper....

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Yesterday: mother/daughter; today: father/son. New life -- not just for the boy, but for the dad Children have the power to hurt us -- just as spouses do. In today's passage, the pain that is breaking the parent's heart is unwitting (beyond the control of the child). Context: While Jesus and the Three were up on the Mount...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Some of those possessed were helpless children, as in this and the next podcast (and possibly the slave girls of Acts 16:16). Today we will zero in on a Canaanite mother & child. Keep in mind the biblical background: in the OT, the Canaanites were the immoral—even criminal—occupants of the Promised Land. Some died in the C...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Scriptural study: Mark 5:1-18 This man's life is totally out of control He's highly self-destructive. What self-destructive behaviors characterized us before we were Christians? Are there any such behaviors, still in our lives, that need to be brought into subjection to Christ? Easy to spiritualize the story, and probably that's approp...

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Introduction Demons are never explicitly identified in the OT. In the NT, possession appears only in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. (The word "demon" is used in John, but only by the opponents of Christ, who call him a demon.) For greater depth, visit Thoughts on Demon Possession & Exorcism (requires login). For constructive thoughts about e...