Evers Bible Class - A Gentle Ramble through the Bible

                            The Resurrection This final class in the "My Time Has Come" series is all about differences. The four gospels writers tell four different stories of the resurrection each including different characters and events. We look at each one in turn, noticing Mark’s abrupt ending, Matthew’s guards, Luke’s walk to Emmaus, and Peter’s raw responses. We look at “The Great Commission” in Matthew, the “Ascension” in Luke, and read two different versions of how the disciples receive the Holy Spirit in power. And these aren’t the only differences--Jesus’ resurrected body is definitely different. We cover      Matthew 28:2-20    Mark 16:5-8    Luke 24:4-53    John 20:2-10, 18-31; 21 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

                           In the Tomb Jesus is crucified the day after Passover. It’s a Friday, and since the Passover Festival lasts a whole week, the next day is a High Sabbath. It is imperative to the religious leaders that the bodies of the men crucified not be left over the Sabbath.  They ask and receive special permission to have their legs broken to hasten their death so the bodies can be removed before sundown. But when the soldiers get to Jesus they don’t break his legs because he’s already dead. This makes a lightning connection in John’s mind with the Passover lamb whose bones must not be broken. Jesus is quickly entombed and as far as we know, nothing else happens until he is resurrected on Sunday morning. So why do people think Jesus went to Hell in the meantime? We cover      Matthew 27:56-66; 28:1    Mark 15:42-47; 16:1-4    Luke 23:50-56; 24:1-3    Joh...

                          The Crucifixion Jesus is too weak to drag the crossbar of his cross to the hill of execution so a passing traveler is dragooned into carrying it for him. He is stripped naked, and his wrists and feet are nailed to the cross. As the soldiers argue about who gets which bit of his clothing, other people jeer and mock Jesus. “If you are the Messiah, save yourself!” As Jesus dies, he mumbles the first line of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It sounds like God has withdrawn himself from Jesus in his hour of greatest need, but using our backpack tools we discover this is not the case at all! We cover      Matthew 27:32-56    Mark 15:21-41    Luke 23:26-49    John 19:16-30    Psalm 22 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibl...

                         On Trial Before Herod and Pilate It is the early hours just after dawn. The religious leaders have condemned Jesus to death for blasphemy, but for a public crucifixion they need Roman authority. They bind Jesus and take him to Pilate, the governor of Judea.  Pilate can’t find any reason to crucify Jesus, but upon discovering he’s from Galilee Pilate sends him to Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, who is in Jerusalem for the Passover. Herod can’t get a thing out of Jesus either. Meanwhile the religious leaders are whipping the crowd into a frenzied, bloodthirsty mob. When the religious leaders tell Pilate, “He has declared himself King, and if you do not sentence him you are no friend of Caesar’s!” Pilate is backed into a corner. He must quell this riot. He must be seen to support Caesar. So he acquiesces and condemns Jesus to death by crucifixion. We cover      Matthew 27:1-31...

                        On Trial Before The Religious Leaders After they finish the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, just across from the Temple gates. There, Jesus tells the disciples to be alert for trouble is coming, but they cannot keep their eyes open. Jesus prays in agony, wrestling with his feelings about his torture and crucifixion. This is not where he wants to go. Meanwhile, Judas Iscariot has alerted the religious leaders where Jesus can be found, and they send a contingent of soldiers to arrest him. Jesus stops the ensuing violence and is taken to his trial at the hands of the religious elite. It is here, finally, that he tells them openly that he is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God. Peter, in fear for his own life, denies ever even knowing Jesus. When the rooster crows he is overcome with remorse, remembering that Jesus had told ...

                       The Last Supper (Part 3) At the conclusion of the Last Supper, Jesus explains that the disciples can’t do this by themselves. They are like branches on a vine. They have to stay connected to the vine in order to bear fruit. Jesus reviews the really important stuff: I am in the Father. You are in me. We have to all stay together. You can do this even though I am about to go where you cannot see me anymore. Love each other just like I have loved you. If you do this, the world will hate you and persecute you. But don’t worry, I’m sending you a helper, an advocate--the Spirit of Truth (the Holy Spirit) to guide and teach you. And always, always, know you can ask me for anything you need as you go along and I will give it to you, for the Father has given me everything and I freely give it to you. Be at peace in this. And then he prays a blessing over his beloved friends.   We cover  John 15, 16, 17...

                      The Last Supper (Part 2) We are in the middle of the Last Supper. Jesus talks about leaving the disciples, and he says they cannot come where he is going. Peter wants to know why he can’t go too! After all, he’d die for Jesus. But Jesus tells him, “You’ll disown me three times this very night.” Even though they cannot come with him, Jesus tells the disciples they know the path. The words Jesus uses to explain all this are based on the "patronage model" of relationship that was prevalent throughout the Roman Empire. We use this lens to unpack some of Jesus’ words. Then he says, “Don’t worry. I will come back, and in the meantime, my Father will send another Paracleton to you--the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit--to be with you forever. This Paracleton will teach you all things, and will remind you of all I have said.”  We cover    Matthew 26:33-35    Mark 14:29-31    Luke 22:3...

                     The Last Supper (Part 1) On the day the Passover lambs are slaughtered, Jesus and the disciples gather in an upper room where they can share the Passover meal. The disciples are still arguing over who’s the greatest so Jesus takes on the role of the humble foot-washing servant to show them how they must be from now on. He gives them a new commandment: Love one another like this! It is while they are eating this meal that Jesus passes around some unleavened bread and calls it his body, broken for them. And he has them all drink from a cup of wine calling it his blood, being poured out for many. Judas is unable to bear it any longer. He leaves to betray Jesus.  We cover    Matthew 26:1-29    Mark 14:1-25    Luke 22:1-23    John 11:55-57; 12:1-11; 13:1-30 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube....

                    Prepare & Keep Your Eyes Peeled Jesus has been crossing verbal swords with Pharisees, Herodians, and legal experts. Now the Sadducees pile on with a trick question about the resurrection. Jesus sends them packing with their tail between their legs. Jesus says, “Don’t be like those guys. Look at that widow who put in the last two coins she had to live on. Her gift is worth more than all the gifts of the rich men.” Then Jesus sits his disciples down and tells them straight up how bad the situation is. They can expect to be beaten and killed. Jerusalem will be destroyed. Then the Day will come when the “Son of Man” comes in power. It’s a lot to take in. Jesus tells them he doesn’t know when it will happen--they simply need to be prepared and keep their eyes peeled. We cover    Matthew 22:23-46; 23:1-12; 24:1-35; 25:1-13    Mark 12:18-44; 13:1-37    Luke 20:27-47; 21:1-38 A free  Stu...

                   The Time Has Come When Passover pilgrims from as far away as Greece ask to meet Jesus, Jesus suddenly realizes his hour has come, and he experiences trepidation. It is a shock that the time has finally arrived. He talks about being a grain of wheat, dying so that it might bear fruit. He talks about two sons, noting that doing what the Father asks is more important than just saying you’ll do it. He talks about holding your life and your money loosely--giving what belongs to God to God. And he talks about wicked, greedy vinedressers who rent a property and then kill the owner’s son when he comes to collect the fruit. Jesus knows what is about to happen to him. And this week we get a glimpse into how he is facing it. We cover    Matthew 17:24-27; 21:23-46; 22:15-22    Mark 11:27-33; 12:1-17    Luke 20:1-26    John 2:18-25; 12:20-50 A free  Study Guide  is available. A...

                  Hosanna! The pressure is mounting. The people are insisting that Jesus become the Messiah King they expect. Jesus does everything he can to dissuade them from this disastrous course of action. He sets up an almost ridiculous way of riding into Jerusalem to try to make his point. Jesus is, of course, the Messiah--even the stones under his feet know that. But Jesus knows the people have misunderstood and he weeps over their missed opportunity for peace. We’ve got another intercalation today! Our backpack tools yield surprising fruit once again.  We cover    Matthew 21:1-22; 23:37-39    Mark 11:1-25    Luke 13:31-35; 19:28-48    John 2:13-17; 12:12-19 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

                 Separating the Sheep from the Goats The people think Jesus’ time has come. They are trailing along after Jesus, waiting breathlessly for the Day of the Lord--the great and terrible day when God comes to avenge Israel and deliver her from her enemies. We hear the story of this Day of the Lord as told through the voices of the Hebrew prophets. Jesus knows the time has not yet come for these things to happen. He tries to prepare the people (and his disciples) to be faithful servants and workers even if the time grows long. To illustrate he tells what happens when the Day finally comes and the just are rewarded and the unjust are condemned to eternal, fiery torment with the devil and his angels. What do we do with that? How does that fit with Jesus’ other teachings?  We cover    Matthew 25:14-46    Luke 19:11-27 Plus lots of prophecies from the Hebrew Bible:    Isaiah 2:3-4; 4:2-4; 11 (excerpts)...

                There's Enough Mercy For Everyone Jesus is trying so hard to teach his disciples to be as humble as servants. He tells a parable about a landowner who hires day laborers throughout the day and gives a full day’s wage to everyone. The ones who worked only one hour get the same as the ones who worked all day! He tells his disciples, “Don’t resent the blessings of others. Just do your job.” Then he heals a blind man or two--or rather, their own faith heals them. And we wind up this class series with the story of Zaccheus--one of the most amusing stories in the New Testament. We cover    Matthew 20:1-16, 9:27-31; 20:29-34    Mark 10:46-52    Luke 18:35-43; 19:1-10 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

               Lazarus Is Raised From The Dead Jesus raises one of his best friends from the dead and thoroughly awes the crowds, which in turn sets off alarm bells for all the powers that be. Fearing that Rome is about to step in and crush the Jewish nation, the religious leaders call an emergency meeting. Caiaphus, the High Priest, declares that Jesus must die so the entire nation does not perish. There’s just one problem--they have to catch him alone, away from the crowds who increasingly believe he is the Messiah. Jesus calls his disciples aside to give them the bad news (again) that he will die soon. They, like the people, still have trouble believing it. The mother of two of the disciples even asks Jesus to be sure to give her sons places of honor as soon as he gets to be King. We cover    Matthew 20:17-28    Mark 10:32-45    Luke 18:31-34    John 11:1-54 A free  Study Guide  is available. A...

              Justified & Elect Jesus teaches a lot about the difference between being self-righteous and actually doing righteousness. “Righteous” in Greek is synonymous with “justice,” so it makes sense that Jesus uses a parable about a poor widow in court. He warns the disciples not to be proud. He reminds them they are just doing their job. They must not be like the self-righteous Pharisee who prays out loud that he is so thankful he’s not like the sinners in the room!  In fact, Jesus says it is people like the widow who are “elect” and people like tax-collectors who humble themselves to pray for God’s mercy who are “justified.” This is the first time we encounter these terms, so we begin to unpack some of the baggage many Christians carry over this. We cover    Matthew 19:13-30    Mark 10:13-31    Luke 17:5-37; 18:1-30 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the clas...

             Rich & Poor, Harsh & Forgiving Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a poor man and what happens to them after death. It’s an old familiar story drawn from the culture of the Ancient Near East, but Jesus gives it a new punchline. Then he talks about how serious it is when we lay traps for other people and for ourselves. This is apparently a VERY big deal to God, with roots all the way back in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus ties it all to the importance of forgiving each other. We talk some more about life after death vs. life now. There’s a lot of meat in here. We cover    Matthew (5:17-20 reprise); 18:6-9, 21-35    Mark 9:42-50    Luke 16:16-31, 17:1-4 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

            A Prodigal Son & A Dishonest Manager Each and every one of us is known by God. We are seen and we are cherished. When the scribes and Pharisees deride Jesus for hanging out with unworthy people, Jesus tells them three parables demonstrating the prodigal love of God (“prodigal” means wasteful, reckless extravagance)! The most famous of these is the story of the prodigal son. As with most parables, there’s more to it than you might remember from childhood stories. Jesus follows this with a really crazy parable directed at the disciples, where he tells them to be more like a dishonest manager. Say, what?!? We cover    Matthew 18:10-14; (6:19-24 reprise)    Luke 15; 16:1-15 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video   version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

           Tell Us Plainly Jesus is very careful never to call himself Christos, the Messiah. In public, he always refers to himself as the “Son of Man.” The Jews understand this is a Messianic title, but the Romans do not, so the religious leaders keep pressing Jesus to be plain--to call himself “Messiah.” What he says in reply nearly gets him stoned. Again. Jesus is the guest of honor at a hoity-toity Sabbath meal with high-ranking lawyers and Pharisees. I bet you can guess that Jesus says some pretty uncomfortable things to them, and he does it with parables. Jesus is down to his last few months. He’s got to get his points across in a way these folks will remember. We cover    Matthew 22:1-14    Luke 14    John 1:9-18; 10:22-42 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

          Before Abraham, I AM The religious leaders are pulling out all the stops to trap Jesus, bring him up on charges (probably heresy or inciting violence or both), and then sentence him to death. First they try to get him to choose between compassion or the very clear Law requiring death for adulterers. They catch a woman in the act of adultery, drag her to Jesus and force him to choose. What do you think he chooses? Jesus completely loses patience with them. The whole rest of the chapter is an “in your face” argument in which Jesus tells the religious leaders that they do not even know God! He winds up telling them, “Before Abraham was born, I AM!” Those are definitely fighting words. They pick up stones to kill him immediately. We cover John 8. A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

          Show Yourself To The World Jesus reaches back into the Sermon on the Mount to talk about going in through the narrow door--but is he really talking about the same thing this time? Once again there are people who miss the path. Jesus says some interesting things about what will happen to them. Jesus’ life is in serious danger. He’s got to go to Jerusalem for Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, but he must play it smart. He needs to stick to the big crowds, but his brothers (mocking him) urge him to show himself to the world!  We catch up with him when he finally does surface in Jerusalem. He’s causing all sorts of confusion. Is this the Messiah? It can’t be--he’s just an uneducated country bumpkin from Galilee. We cover    Luke 13:10-30    John 7 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

          Take Courage And Help Each Other Discipleship 102 gets very explicit and more than a little scary at this point. Some of the disciples may be rethinking their positions.  Do they really want to sell all their possessions, be given the responsibility of sharing God’s love to the people, get arrested, get tried, and probably get beaten or killed? Do they really want to be the ones from whom more is expected? Jesus teaches them what to do when they hurt each other. And he tells a parable to help them remember that when bad things happen to someone it’s not because the people involved are worse than anyone else. Good to know. We cover    Matthew (5:21-26 reprise); 10:19-21,26-34; 18:15-20    Luke 12:1-59; 13:1-9 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

          God So Loved The World Discipleship 102 looks a lot like Discipleship 101. Shocking. Jesus clearly teaches the same thing over and over to the disciples. We focus especially on the new material Luke adds here. The sisters Mary and Martha make their first appearance, but the shocker is when one of the most highly placed Pharisees in Jerusalem sneaks out to find Jesus at night. He’s worried that the religious leaders are getting it wrong. He thinks there’s a good chance Jesus is exactly who he says he is. Jesus talks to him of being born a second time, wind that cannot be seen, the judgment and verdict of God, and…snakes? We cover    Matthew (6:22, 25-34 reprise); 10:29; 12:43    Luke 10:29-42; (11:1-13 reprise); 11:24-28, 33-36; 12:22-34 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

          The Greatest Commandment The religious leaders are pulling out all the stops to trap Jesus, bring him up on charges (probably heresy or inciting violence or both), and then sentence him to death. First they try to get him to choose between compassion or the very clear Law requiring death for adulterers. They catch a woman in the act of adultery, drag her to Jesus and force him to choose. What do you think he chooses? Jesus completely loses patience with them. The whole rest of the chapter is an “in your face” argument in which Jesus tells the religious leaders that they do not even know God! He winds up telling them, “Before Abraham was born, I AM!” Those are definitely fighting words. They pick up stones to kill him immediately. We cover    Matthew 8:18-22; 11:20-30; 18:1-5; 22:34-40    Mark 9:33-41; 12:28-34    Luke 9:46-62; 10:1-28 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is ...

         Transfiguration Things start to get real. Jesus gets explicit with the disciples. Who do you think that I am? Really? What if I tell you I am going to be arrested, tried, tortured, killed, and then after three days, rise again? If you want to follow me, you’ll have to take up your cross and give up your life. Uh, nope. The disciples aren’t ready to hear that. Jesus is the Messiah king who’s going to crush Israel’s enemies, right? Is that what “rise again” means? Jesus tries twice to convince the disciples he’s about to die. Doesn’t work. Peter, James, and John see Jesus start to glow. They see Elijah and Moses talk to him. They hear God say, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him!” Still, they do not understand. We cover    Matthew 10:32,37; 16:21-28; 17:1-23    Mark 8:31-38; 9:1-32    Luke 9:22-45 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at...

         More Chiasms Jesus heals a deaf-mute by spitting. We remember we heard this weird technique just a few verses ago. Then he feeds 4000 people with a few loaves. Wait a minute. Are we having deja vu? Could this be a chiasm? We follow Jesus and the disciples to Caesarea Philippi and knock down a popular but faulty myth. We also examine the “sign of Jonah” from a little different angle. It is in this passage that Jesus first uses the word “ekklesia”--later translated as “church.” We cover    Matthew 12:38-45; 15:29-39; 16:1-20    Mark 7:31-37; 8:1-30    Luke 9:18-21; 11:29-32; 12:1-3 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

        Woe to the Hypocrites! After that eating flesh and drinking blood stuff, Jesus loses a bunch of disciples. Perhaps sensing that his following is shaky, scribes (religious lawyers) and Pharisees from Jerusalem travel to confront Jesus. They criticize him for allowing his disciples to eat without making sure their hands are ceremonially clean. Hah! They get a lot more than they bargained for when Jesus answers. In fact, after excoriating them and calling them a brood of vipers, Jesus and his remaining disciples need to lay low in Gentile country. But his reputation precedes him, and Jesus has a fascinating exchange with a Gentile woman who refuses to be cowed by this Jewish prophet. We cover    Matthew 15:1-28, 23:13-39    Mark 7:1-30    Luke 11:37-54    John 6:60-70 A free  Study Guide  is available. A  video version  of the class is available on YouTube. More info at  EversBibleClass.com .

       Flesh and Blood Jesus’ ministry shifts into a different gear. He continues to heal anyone who asks him, but the miracles he does begin to expand in scope and purpose. Jesus begins coming out as the Messiah. He feeds more than 5000 people from a little kid’s lunch bag. Then he walks on water, scaring his disciples half to death. But even scarier than that, he starts talking about how anyone who follows him must eat his flesh and drink his blood. What do we do with that? We cover    Matthew 14:13-36    Mark 6:30-56    Luke 9:10-17    John 6: 1-59 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

      Sending The Twelve    Jesus’ ministry shifts into a new and more dangerous phase. John the Baptist is beheaded by Herod, and Jesus sends his disciples away for a bit. But he’s not sending them for a well-earned rest. No, he’s sending them to spread the Good News, and he gives them the jurisdiction to heal all sorts of inner and outer illness, including raising folks from the dead!   His instructions are more than a little scary and have implications for us as Jesus-followers. We cover         Matthew 10:1-36, 40-42; 13:53-58; 14:1-12 Mark 6:1-29 Luke 9:1-9 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

      Judgment & Jesus    We switch from the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) to the Gospel of John. John has a completely different viewpoint on Jesus. He is not as concerned with a more-or-less historical account like the others, but is more concerned with presenting Jesus as divine. So it makes sense that he skips a lot of Jesus’ more mundane daily teachings and healings and he adds in several stories that simply aren’t found in the other gospels. We make sure to stay aware of John’s particular lens as we read his account. John’s story of the man born blind leads us to a deep dive into the concept of judgment--what it means in Jesus’ world and what it seems to mean to Jesus. We cover   John 9:1-41, 10:1-21 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

      Healing & Wholeness    I n this class, we find Jesus healing a man (or two?) of a legion of demons, raising a little girl from the dead, and acknowledging to a woman that it is her faith that has healed her--not something Jesus did to her. That’s been a theme with Jesus--asking folks if they want to be healed, giving them agency in their own healing, and always pointing them to God. We also talk about eternal torment in this class. Yikes! We look at all the places in the New Testament where this term is used, and we discover some surprising things. We cover         Matthew 8:28-34, 9:18-26 Mark 5:1-43 Luke 8:26-56 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

      Good & Evil Mixed Together    Jesus tells a whole string of parables to try to get folks to understand that the Kingdom of Heaven is a tiny bit of precious goodness in the middle of a sea of evil. But even though it seems hopelessly tiny, it is more than enough to spread throughout the whole world. Jesus says not to worry about separating the evil from the good. That gets you dangerously close to being judgmental. He says God will take care of evil when the time comes. And in the meantime, we should pay close attention to the weights and measures we use. How we weigh things out for others is exactly how it will be weighed out to us. We cover         Matthew 8:23-27, 10:26, 13:24-52; Mark 4:21-41; Luke 8:16-18, 22-25, 13:18-21 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .

      Parables & Women Disciples    After declaring unequivocally to John the Baptist’s disciples that he is the Messiah, Jesus is pressed hard by the crowds. But he somehow manages to really see each person--to heal them in the ways they need healing, and to speak truth to the religious leaders who still cast aspersions on “sinners.” Jesus teaches the people using parables. His disciples aren’t sure this is the most effective way to teach and they challenge him on it. Jesus has a very interesting answer.   Then we meet the women. Not just any women, but disciples, part of Jesus’ inner circle. Who knew?   We cover         Matthew 11:1-18, 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 7:18-50; 8:1-15 A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube. More info at EversBibleClass.com .