by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. As mentioned last week, a major contextual theme of John 10 is about the concept of God as a shepherd to his flock, his people Israel. As this metaphor is expressed so beautifully in Psalm 23, most people probably believe that this is all there is to it. God takes…
The I AM – The Door of Salvation
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. We continue with the next εγώ εἰμι (“I AM”) declaration that has a metaphor as its nominative predicate. Previously, the Lord Jesus had already said that he was the true bread of life that came down from heaven (John 6:35, 48, and 51) and the light of the world (John…
The “I AM” Before Abraham Was – Part 2
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Let us review the Greek verse of John 8:58: εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί. As stated last week, this can formally or quite literally be translated as: Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham came into being, I…
The “I AM” Before Abraham Was – Part 1
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. We continue with the last absolute (i.e., not metaphorical) εγώ εἰμι (“I AM”) declaration in Chapter 8 of the Gospel of John. Our Lord Jesus and the disbelieving Ἰουδαῖοι (Jewish authorities opposed to him; coming from the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, the ruling elite, etc.) continue with their running argument amidst…
The “I AM” Lifted Up
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. We are still in the midst of the tense dialogue between our Lord Jesus and the Ἰουδαῖοι (Jewish authorities opposed to him) and all the people there at the Temple grounds in the vicinity of the treasury as the Gospel of John chapter 8 narrates. The Lord had already told…
The “I AM” and Sin and Death
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Before we continue with the next “I AM” in John 8:24, I would like to point out that there is a missing statement after I wrote “…Greek word order is meant to emphasize certain words, here it seems the Apostle John has deliberately set up the last word of the…
I AM the One Witnessing About Myself
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. After analyzing the “I AM” emphatic declaration of our Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John regarding himself as the source of true light for the entire world and its related verses in both the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT), we will again take a look at another…
The Hebrew Acrostic of Psalm 119 and Ecclesiastes
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. Last week I mentioned in my reflection about the great acrostic Psalm 119:105 which has the author declaring that the Word of the LORD is a lamp to his feet and a light to his path and pointed out the clear resonance of this Psalm’s use of light with our…
Surviving Omicron in God’s Light
by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. How things can change. Early December, it certainly looked like the infection numbers were going south in a big way. And then all of a sudden we’re in the midst of an Omicron tsunami. The outlook back in early December was hopeful. Our extended family became brave enough to try…
WHERE IS HE, KING OF THE JEWS? WE HAVE COME TO WORSHIP HIM – Part 1
My Tuesday Reflection04 January 2022Texts: Matthew 2, Daniel 1-5, Micah 5, John 1, Isaiah 53 Introduction to Part 1. Pastor John MacARTHUR recently commented in one of his Christmas sermons: ”Familiar scene of Christmas is depicted so commonly by artists who design Christmas cards, and most people get their understanding of Christmas from Christmas cards and not…