Bill's Bible Blog

C7 Interlude – What’s in a Name part 2b, Paraclete

It is the Last Supper and the disciples were under a lot of stress. They were worried about the Jewish leaders’ plot to arrest and kill Jesus, and that they might be arrested and killed too. They were under a lot of stress because Jesus had been hinting more and more strongly that He was going to be leaving them, and they didn’t really understand. The Messiah was supposed to establish an eternal, worldwide government, wasn’t He?

They could also tell that Jesus was very troubled by what was about to happen to Him, even if they weren’t exactly sure what that was going to be. Jesus knew about His upcoming betrayal, His arrest, abandonment, mistreatment, rejection and ultimate crucifixion–and His general angst infected them too.

What a burden such foreknowledge must have been for Jesus as a man! How difficult it must have been to focus on accomplishing His final tasks with His disciples.

In the middle of this almost overwhelming tension, Jesus, being sensitive to what His disciples were experiencing, speaks words of comfort.

I like the amplified versions of the Bible that try to help us understand the meanings from the original language. Some other translations of the Greek could be:

“Do not let your hearts be agitated, disturbed, shaken up…”

The Greek word for ‘believe’ is another one that can benefit from being amplified. It can be interpreted in English in three ways. The other two ways would be,

“You trust in God, trust also in Me…”

“You have faith in God, have faith also in Me…”

Now Jesus has their attention. Here is the caring Teacher they have so faithfully followed for so long! Like drowning men clinging to a piece of driftwood, I imagine these men hanging on Jesus’ every word.

Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, how could we possibly know the way?” John 14:5

Jesus deals with this question and gives them a lot of quality teaching, most of which probably didn’t penetrate the disciples’ understanding at the time, but that was okay, because God had a plan for that. Then comes:

Helper” translated here is the first use of the Greek word “Parackletos,” Anglicized as ‘Paraclete.’ We see several things right here:

The Paraclete will come from Father God,

The Paraclete is referred to as ‘another’ one,

The Paraclete will always be with them,

They know who He is because He already lives with them,

The Paraclete is called “The Spirit of Truth,” and

The Paraclete will live INSIDE of them.

There is a lot more that Jesus teaches about the Paraclete / Spirit, but I’ll save following that strand through the next chapters for another time.

Here’s a look at the more common translations for “Parakletos.”

ADVOCATE: ‘Paraclete’ was mainly used in Greek to refer to a legal advocate who accompanied a person to court to argue their case on their behalf. The Roman word for that person is where we get the English word ‘advocate’ from.

The actual Greek is a combination of ‘para-‘, alongside, like PARAlell lines run alongside each other and ‘kaleo’ which means to call. So technically, it means someone who is called, asked or invited to come stand alongside you. An Advocate certainly fits that description and matches the context of John 14, and is also used that way in John’s first epistle to refer to one of Jesus’ roles in heaven, but there is much, much more.

COMFORTER: The translators of the Old Testament Hebrew into the Greek Septuigent used parakaleo (the verb form) in Job to mean ‘to comfort, ‘ as when his friends came to be with him and console Job in his misery. Hence some translate Paraclete in John as ‘Comforter.’

Parakletos is also often translated “Counselor,’ which can be used as a synonym for an attorney–just another variation of a legal advocate, but can also be more general like a “life coach,” someone who advises you in every aspect of life and personalizes the advice for you.

Following the logic chain back, God’s Spirit is “God WITHIN us.”

Jesus was the ‘other’ Paraclete, so He had to have been “God WITH them,” in other words, the Hebrew ‘Immanuel.’ It was not a name as we think of them. It was a description of who He was…and I’m okay with that answer.

Waiting for decades for an answer was a principle of faith that I learned a long time ago. That is, when I see things happen in the world that I don’t understand, especially to me and to those I love, when I read something in the Bible that doesn’t make sense to me, instead of letting my questions stew in my mind causing doubt and disbelief to creep in and shake up my faith, I go back to my decision to trust God. I put my questions on the ‘back burner,’ and then move on.

Sometimes God will answer those questions to my satisfaction later. There are still many He hasn’t. That is why Jesus spoke those words of faith, “Trust Me…” to His shaken disciples, and that is when those words mean the most to me.

I have to be honest, I’ve been in and out of the faith, up and down in my fervor, and frankly, just all over the place in my life. But every time when I reach a point of realization that, “THIS is NOT how I want to live my life!”, I’ve felt the call of God to return to Him and I felt like He welcomed me with open arms and a heart full of love.

I think I know how the core disciples felt when Jesus asked them, “Will you leave Me too?” Peter answered for them all:

Only God/Jesus Christ has given me an abundant life now–a life that is fullfilling and worth living–and a promised eternal life of joy with Him after this one.

Where are you right now as a Christian? More on the trusting side or more on the troubled side? You CAN choose to trust…

May 24, 2025

advocate, bible, christianity, comforter, counselor, faith, god, holy-spirit, Immanuel, jesus, Paraclete
C6. What’s in a Name part 2a – Paraclete

John introduced a new Greek name into the Biblical lexicon in chapter 14 of his gospel, finalized about 95 A.D., ‘Paraclete.’ The word has been translated many ways in different English versions of the Bible.
Since “Paracletos’ is translated so many ways, let me set the scene in the upper room where John writes it (or its Aramaic equivalent) was used by Jesus to maybe help us understand what it meant in context.

The tension began at the Festival in Jerusalem the previous winter. John 10:24. (‘The Jews” is John’s shorthand for the Jewish leaders.)

Jesus answered them…

But Jesus eluded their grasp and crossed over the Jordan River and was staying there. John 10:39-40

After a couple of days, Jesus went to Bethany, over the objections of His disciples. “Rabbi, don’t you remember when we were just there that the Jews were trying to stone you?”

When they got to Bethany, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:45-53 Many of the Jews believed in Jesus because of this miracle, but some went back to Jerusalem and reported it to the Pharisees. The Jewish rulers were very, very worried that so many of the Jews would believe in Jesus, they would cause a riotous situation where the Romans would take over the government and the nation. Their leader’s suggestion was…

John 11:7-8 After a couple of days, Jesus announced they were going to Judea again. It was time for the Spring Passover Feast and Jesus said, as recorded in the other gospels, He “earnestly wanted to eat this Passover dinner with them.”

His disciples were alarmed and reminded Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were trying to stone you when we were just there, and You want to go there again?”

John 11:16 When it was clear Jesus was going to go back across the Jordan, Thomas said to his fellow disciples…

Then Jesus, despite the trepidations of His disciples, made a flashy entrance to Jerusalem to adoring crowds who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus from those who had been there. John 12:13

The Jewish leaders realized they couldn’t arrest Jesus in public without causing the very riot they were seeking to avoid, so they were trying to find a time and place where they could catch Jesus in private.

John 12:27 Now Jesus’ thoughts turn toward what’s going to happen to Him soon…

Arrangements are made for the Passover supper in a rented upper room, but even there, at what should be a time of celebrating God’s deliverance of the nation of Israel from slavery to the Egyptians, there is tension.

John 13:21 Jesus said, “My soul is deeply troubled, one of you will betray Me!”

The disciples were at a loss as to which one of them He was speaking about. “Is it I? Is it I, Lord,” They were all asking.

Do you get the picture of what is going on this eve before the arrest, trials and crucifixion of Jesus? There is a lot of tension here: Jesus is struggling with His upcoming suffering and crucifixion, and even if His disciples don’t understand why He’s so troubled, they’re like children who become upset when their parents are upset, so they’re troubled too.

The disciples are also stressing about what the Jewish leaders are plotting and afraid they will be caught up in it. They could always leave Jesus, their Master these past 3 1/3 years, but to their credit, they were determined to be with Him to the end. It is in the middle of these tensions that Jesus introduces the Paraclete to them.

May 20, 2025

bible, christianity, jesus, John’s Gospel, Paraclete

C5. Interlude – Immanuel, What’s in a Name?, part 1

When I was in the seventh grade, we had a unit in social studies on the historical development and meaning of names. For our homework, we were supposed to ask our parents what our family name meant. Since my parents were divorced, I wasn’t able to ask my father and knew better than to ask my mother, so I just made something up.However, for some reason, this kindled in me an interest in understanding names.

A year or so later in church, the pastor was talking about Jesus being born and mentioned that the name He was given was the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament in old Hebrew, meaning “God’s Salvation.”

It became kind of a game over the years for me to match up other names in the New Testament with those in the Old Testament.

Going back to what I learned about how people in the Old World got their names, I saw how Jesus was called by many names in the gospels.

For example, when He was back home in Nazareth and the surrounding area of Galilee, He was called, “Jesus, Son of Joseph,” or in Aramaic Hebrew, “Bar-Joseph,” to distinguish Him from others in the area who had been named after the O.T. hero, Joshua.

When Jesus took his ministry south to Judea and Jerusalem, He was called, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Once again, to clearly distinguish Him from other popular figures named ‘Jesus.’

Jesus was also referred to by various titles. By those who were believers of His teachings, since He was a traveling teacher of the Bible, He was called, “Rabbi Jesus.”

Those who had committed to following Him as disciples called Him ‘Master.’ One time Jesus asked them…

“And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asked them, but…

Simon Peter answered…

Simon, named after one of the original sons of Jacob, ‘Simeon,’ got a new name that day. Jesus said…

There are a lot of things going on with names here!

First we see the title that Jesus most often called Himself, which in the Aramaic Hebrew of His time was probably, ‘Bar-Nash,’ a way of saying, ‘I’m just another guy,’ and emphasizing His humanity.

However, it might also be a reference to Daniel’s vision in Chapter 7, “Bar-Enash,” which could just mean a human being, except Daniel goes on to describe this human figure receiving all dominion and power from God, associated with the Messiah, so this could also be a subtle way for Jesus to declare He is the Messiah.

In whichever case, Peter’s declaration of faith names Jesus as both the promised Messiah and the actual Son of God. (More on that in a later blog.) AND Jesus affirms Peter’s declaration as being correct.

The narrative is written from a time in the future, so it gives away that Simon afterward was also known by a second Greek name from the word for a rock, ‘petros.’ Since Jesus spoke and taught in Aramaic, it is thought that He actually used the same Aramaic word that the fortress at Petra was named with, but was later renamed ‘Petra’ by the Romans when they conquered it. So, Peter became known in history by the Greek form.

Now that Jesus has been resurrected, ascended to heaven and given all “power and authority,” His full name with titles is, ‘The Lord Jesus Christ.’

Among all of these names for Jesus, one is missing. Nowhere outside of the prophesy of Isaiah 7:14 do I see Him actually called ‘Emmanuel,’ This bothered me and I kept the question as to ‘why not?’ in the back burner of my mind for many decades.

I finally found an answer that has satisfied me.

May 18, 2025

bible, christianity, Emmanuel, god, Immanuel, jesus

C4. The Promised Messiah and Son, part 2

(A little Christmas in May.)

The second prophecy of the Messiah as a son was made by Isaiah sometime between 735 – 734 B.C.

This prophecy by Isaiah was used in Matthew’s gospel to refer to the birth of Jesus.

“This all then took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled:

“‘Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son…

The virgin birth is one of the key beliefs for Christiandom. Believing the gospel’s claim that Jesus was born from a girl who had never had sexual relations, and thus was conceived in a miraculous way by God, means that:

Jesus is Divine, having been begotten directly by God.

The prophetic Scriptures are Divinely inspired.

God has the power to work miracles outside the laws of nature.

AND that Jesus was sinless, thus His sacrifice had the power to redeem us from sin.

Many critics of Christianity point to the Hebrew word translated ‘virgin” used in Isaiah 7:14, ‘almah,’ as really meaning just a ‘maiden,’ or any young woman such as these might be in the illustration depicting the five wise virgins from Jesus’ parable.

Their criticism is there is no implication for the young woman being a virgin. To support this assertion, they look at unmarried young women in our society, many of whom are most definitely NOT virgins, and conclude, ‘What is unusual about a healthy young woman suddenly turning up pregnant?’

Through the 50’s in the United States, girls and women dressed and acted demurely, and it was assumed, correctly so, that teenaged women from religious families WERE virgins at their weddings.

Then came the sexual revolution of the 60’s when young people were encouraged to experiment with sex and this became less and less true in our society.

The error in interpretation of this ancient word is assuming their culture was not significantly different than ours. That could not be further from the truth!

The Middle Eastern culture during the 8th century B.C. when Isaiah lived, as well as before and still, very strictly protects their girls from premature sexual experiences. This was especially true of Israel which was a Theocratic society (ruled by God) where one of the covenantal 10 Comandments specifically forbade ANY kind of extramarital sex.

“Almah’ is only used 5 times in the Old Testament. Another word is used for a virgin daughter everywhere else, with the difference that ‘almah’ implies a young woman who has matured to the point of being ready for marriage. Otherwise she would not be capable of bearing a child.

If these points are not convincing enough, the Greek word used for ‘virgin’ in Matthew, ‘parthenos,’ means a virgin, and only a virgin, in the Greek language.

We believe in the virgin birth and honor Mary above all other women for agreeing to become pregnant by the Holy Spirit, for enduring the censure of appearing to have cheated on her betrothed, for trusting God to work everything out for good, according to His plan and purpose, and for bearing the Savior of the world.

May 17, 2025

bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, mary, mother-of-jesus, prophecy

C3. The Promised Messiah, also a Son, part 1

Throughout Old Testament prophecies are promises of God’s ‘Annointed One,’ the Messiah. He would be fully annointed with God’s Holy Spirit, would be a direct representative of God ruling over the world, and would, basically, correct everything that is wrong with the world. In only a few places is the Messiah also referred to as a ‘Son.’

Psalm 2 (excerpts)
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against His Annointed…

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then He will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in His fury…

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten You.

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
    be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
    and rejoice with trembling.
Do homage to the Son, lest he be angry
    and you perish along the way,
    for his wrath will soon be kindled.

This Psalm was written in 1044 BC and God’s Annointed is here first identified as also being God’s Begotten Son. Parts of this Psalm are quoted and applied to Jesus in the New Testament writings. For example, in this prayer recorded in Acts 4:24-28:

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your plan had predestined to take place.”

“Christ Carrying the Cross” painting by Hieronymus Bosch, circa 1515-1516, featuring faces from different ethnic groups of his time representing the nations raging at Jesus during His crucifixion.

Essentially these early Christians are saying this prophecy was fulfilled about 1,075 years later in Jesus as God’s Annointed One (the Christ).

A NOTE ABOUT INTERPRETING PROPHECY

Our head pastor @jdgreear.com, points out that prophecies often have an immediate application, as well as a future application. The nonbelieving Jews do not accept the Christian interpretation of Psalm 2. They say the ‘annointed’ referenced in it is King David and that God calls him a ‘son’ as a term of endearment. This would be the immediate application.

One of the things Jesus taught His disciples was how their Scriptures (our Old Testament) prophesied about Him. We see many of those examples recorded in the gospels, but we also see many more referenced in later writings, such as another one in from Psalm 2 in Acts 13. These are the future applications to Jesus Christ.

Those Jews who DO see Psalm 2 as a Messianic prophecy focus on His establishment as the ruler of the world. We as Christians believe this is still a future event to come at Jesus’ second coming and at the end of the age as recorded in Revelation 21, when creation is made new and God’s Holy City comes down from heaven to earth with God/Jesus ruling the world.

Amen, Lord Jesus, come quickly.

May 16, 2025

bible, christianity, faith, god, jesus, prophesy, the-messiah

C2. Isaac the Son promised by God

Genesis chapter 15. After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him again: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

Then Abram believed in the Lord and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Genesis chapter 17. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

Abram fell facedown in worship, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram (High Father), but your name will now be Abraham (Father of a Multitude), for I have made you a father of many nations.

“I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendents after you.”

God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai (Barren One), her name will be Sarah (Princess). I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

Abraham laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” Then God said, “Yes, your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac (Laughter). I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.”

Genesis chapter 18. Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. And when he looked up, he saw three men standing there, and when he saw them, he bowed low to the ground in worship…

After a meal, they asked him “Where is your wife, Sarah?”

“There, in the tent,” Abraham said.

Then one of the men said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Genesis chapter 21. Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah, as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

May 14, 2025

Abraham, bible, faith, genesis, god, Isaac, sarah

C1. Isaac – a Foretaste of Jesus Christ, introduction

Biblical scholars throughout church history have written about how many of the prominent figures and events in the Old Testament ‘prefigure’ Jesus Christ. That is, there are similarities in certain things they did or happened to them. This is technically called ‘typology.’

We are going through the book of Exodus @SummitChurch.com and this weekend one of our teaching pastors, @BryanLorrits.com, spoke about this concept and compared the idea to when his mother baked a cake when he was growing up. (One of his nods to Mothers Day.)

Pastor Bryan said his mom loved to bake cakes. When little Bryan in another part of the house realized she was baking one, he would make his way to the kitchen. After she had finished mixing the ingredients, filled the cake pans and put them into the oven, all he had to do was be hanging around the kitchen. He didn’t have to ask her, not even silently beg with his brown, puppy dog eyes, she would just hand over the mixing spoon and let him lick the little bit of batter still clinging to it.

As he explained, part of the same goodness that was in the cake was on the spoon, but only enough for one person to partake of it. When the whole cake was finished, the whole family could partake of it and enjoy its goodness.

So, the similarities in O.T. figures and events to Jesus is like the taste that was enjoyed in a small way and in a limited scope, but Jesus is like the cake, the whole thing that can be enjoyed by all humankind.

In addition to Moses mentioned by Pastor Lorrits, and Isaac in my story, some of the other Old Testament people who foreshadowed the work and person of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) were Noah and the flood, Joseph saving his family from famine, David the King, Solomon his son of peace, and the prophets such as Jonah in the belly of a whale, Daniel in exile, and basically all of the other major prophets.

In this next series, I’m going to look at ways Isaac was like Jesus Christ. Those ways will be, but are not limited to:

1. They were both sons promised by God.

2. God ordered that they be sacrificed.

3. They carried the instruments of their sacrifice on their backs.

4. A substitute lamb (young sheep) was provided.

5. Both fathers received their sons back to them.

May 13, 2025

bible, christianity, faith, god, Isaac, jesus, types-of-christ