Water into Wine

Dr. John L. Ronning joins Water into Wine for a conversation on the Jewish Targums and their importance for understanding John’s Gospel. We discuss what the Targums are, how they functioned in synagogue life, and why Ronning believes they provide the strongest background for John’s presentation of Jesus as the Logos, the Word. Along the way, we explore Memra, Shekinah, divine descent language, Sin...

In this episode of Water into Wine, I’m joined by Ryan Lambert of Bridge Builders Forum to discuss Paul, Jewish-Christian relations, and the major shifts in Pauline scholarship over the past several decades. We talk about the traditional reading of Paul, the New Perspective on Paul, Paul within Judaism, Paul’s identity as a Pharisee, and why both Jews and Christians have so often misunderstood Pau...

How does the Bible interpret itself? In this episode of Water into Wine, I sit down with Dr. Matthew Halsted to explore how Scripture is read within its original context—looking at how the New Testament uses the Old Testament, and how Second Temple literature like the Dead Sea Scrolls and 1 Enoch help us better understand that world. We discuss:What hermeneutics really is (and why you can’t avoid...

In this episode of Water Into Wine, Alec Dunlop sits down with Bible teacher Rico Cortes to explore the meaning and purpose of the sacrificial system in the book of Leviticus. Many believers struggle when they reach Leviticus while reading the Bible. Why were sacrifices required? What were the offerings meant to accomplish? And how did the temple service function within the life of ancient Israel?...

Did Genesis copy the Epic of Gilgamesh? In this episode of Water into Wine, I’m joined again by Dr. Mark Chavalas, scholar of Mesopotamian history and ancient Near Eastern literature, to explore the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Atrahasis flood tradition, and how these Mesopotamian accounts compare with the biblical flood narrative in Genesis. We discuss:• What the Epic of Gilgamesh actually is• When the...

Dr. Doug Hamp joins Water into Wine to discuss his upcoming book, The Relational Universe, which will be released in September. In this conversation, Doug explores the idea that reality is not fundamentally made of “stuff,” but of relationship. Drawing from architecture, quantum physics, cosmology, and Scripture, he introduces three structural requirements that hold any system together: alignment,...

Jesus and the Torah: Eye for an Eye… or Turn the Other Cheek? In this episode of Water into Wine, I’m joined by Dr. Dru Johnson to discuss how Yeshua/Jesus understood Torah—not as a flat list of rules, but as divine instruction meant to shape wisdom, character, and justice. We explore why modern Christians often misread “biblical law,” how Torah functioned in its ancient context, and how Yeshua’s...

Today I’m joined by Steve Moutria (TorahFamily.org) for a wide-ranging conversation on End Times—with a strong focus on reading prophecy through Torah patterns, Yeshua’s warnings in Matthew 24 / Mark 13 / Luke 21, and the need to stay humble as we keep studying. We talk about what Steve considers the key “watch list” signs—Jerusalem being surrounded and the abomination of desolation—and his workin...

In this Water into Wine conversation, Alec sits down with Dr. John Schwandt (biblical languages scholar and founding president of Redemption Seminary) to explore the Wedding at Cana (John 2)—especially the puzzling line where Jesus says: “What is this to me and to you, woman? My hour has not yet come.”Dr. Schwandt walks through how this Greek idiom gets translated very differently across English v...

What if the story of the Bible is really the story of sacred space? From Eden to the Tabernacle, from the Temple to the Body of Messiah—Rico Cortes unpacks how the Creator has always desired to dwell among His people. In this conversation, Rico traces the Temple pattern through Scripture, showing how it reveals God’s order, holiness, and covenant relationship. He discusses the centrality of Leviti...

In this Water into Wine episode, Alec sits down with Dr. Sandra Glahn, professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary and author of Nobody’s Mother, to explore women, Scripture, and cultural context. Dr. Glahn shares her personal journey through infertility, identity, and calling and how her study of 1 Timothy, Ephesus, and the cult of Artemis reshaped her understanding of what...

What did the apostle Paul really believe about Jesus? In this episode of Water into Wine, Alec Dunlop talks with Dr. David Capes, Director of the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX and author of The Divine Christ: Paul, the Lord Jesus, and the Scriptures of Israel. Together they explore how Paul—rooted in Jewish monotheism and the Scriptures of Israel—came to see Yeshua sharing in the divin...

In this conversation, Alec welcomes Dr. Mark Chavalas, who shares how his journey into ancient history and languages led him to study Mesopotamia and its connection to the Bible. He explains how learning Akkadian and working with cuneiform texts shaped his understanding of Genesis. Dr. Chavalas discusses the difference between material and immaterial creation in Mesopotamian and biblical accounts,...

In this conversation with Dr. Douglas Hamp, we dig deep into the original languages of Scripture and uncover how Hebrew opens up a fresh understanding of God’s Word. Dr. Hamp explains why studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shaped his approach to the Bible, how concepts like “free will” are woven into the very fabric of creation, and why obedience is at the heart of faith. We discuss:Ho...

Join us for an exclusive interview with Andrew Gabriel Roth, translator of the Aramaic Apostolic Writings and leading voice on the Peshitta Bible. In this conversation, Roth dives into the Aramaic New Testament, exploring how the language of Yeshua (Jesus) reveals fresh insights into the Gospels and Epistles. We discuss manuscript variants between the Aramaic and Greek New Testament, the reliabili...