The Resurrection of Jesus

After Jesus was crucified and the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Jesus’ body. The ancient Jewish custom for burial was to anoint the body of the deceased with spices and wrap it in a linen cloth with spices (Mark 14:8; John 19:40). […]

Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal

“When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessings on Mount Gerizim and the curses on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29) “All Israel, both native-born and foreigners, with their elders, officials and judges, stood on both sides of the ark of the covenant […]

The Death of Jesus

“At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah.’ […]

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman governor of the province of Judea, serving from 26 to 36 AD. He was the highest-ranking representative of the Roman emperor in Judea. Pilate had military authority, commanding a force of 3,000 Roman soldiers. He was typically stationed in Caesarea but would move to Jerusalem during the Passover festival […]

The Scarlet Cord in the Window 

According to the Book of Joshua (Joshua 2:1-7), when the Israelites were camped at Shittim, across the Jordan River from Jericho, Joshua sent two spies to scout Jericho’s military strength. The spies came to the house of Rahab, a prostitute who lived on the city wall. When the city guards came to search for the […]

Jericho

Ancient Canaan wasn’t a unified country but was made up of many autonomous city-states. Each city-state, which included a fortified city and the surrounding farmland and villages, had its own independent leader and army and was sometimes a vassal state of the Egyptian pharaohs. Jericho was a heavily fortified city that controlled the vital route […]

Annas and Caiaphas

Annas (Hebrew: חנן), son of Seth, was born in 23/22 BC and died around 40 AD. In 6 AD, the Roman legate Quirinius appointed Annas as the first High Priest of the newly established Roman province of Judea, just after the Roman emperor had deposed the ruler Herod Archelaus and directly incorporated Judea as a […]

Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations

Gethsemane (Hebrew: גת שמנים, meaning “oil press”) is an orchard in Jerusalem, located in the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Mount of Olives. It is now within the modern city of Jerusalem. Tradition holds that this was a place where Jesus Christ often prayed and meditated, which is why Judas knew where to […]

耶和华军队的元帅

【书五13-14】约书亚靠近耶利哥的时候，举目观看，不料，有一个人手里有拔出来的刀，对面站立。约书亚到祂那里，问祂说：『祢是帮助我们呢？是帮助我们敌人呢？ 』祂回答说：『不是的，我来是要作耶和华军队的元帅。 』约书亚就俯伏在地下拜，说：『我主有什么话吩咐仆人。 』耶和华军队的元帅对约书亚说：『把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站的地方是圣的。 』约书亚就照着行了。 约书亚是以色列卓越的将领。正月初十日，以色列人过了约但河，在吉甲安营，给所有的男丁行了割礼；十四日晚上，在耶利哥的平原守了逾越节（书五：2-12）。欢庆的节日过后，早晨起来，约书亚靠近城门紧闭的耶利哥城，去观察那里的地理形势，筹画怎样进攻。他不知沉思了多久，抬起头来的时候，“不料，有一个人，手里有拔出来的刀，对面站立。”在这样的情况下，忽然出现了这么一个人，自然谁都会很为紧张。但约书亚并没有卤莽的动手；他推想，这人非敌即友，而且希望他可以作朋友，所以走上前去问说：“你是帮助我们呢？是帮助我们敌人呢？” 回答说：“不是的，我来，是要作耶和华军队的元帅。”约书亚就俯伏在地下拜说：“我主有什么话吩咐仆人？”耶和华军队的元帅对约书亚说：“把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站的地方是圣的。”约书亚就照着行了。（书五：13-15） 这里记载的语句，和摩西在何烈山荆棘火的经验相同，而神的要求也是一样：“把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站之地是圣地。”（出三：5）“圣地”不是个特定的地理名词，而是神所在的地方。蒙召作神的工作，是圣的工作，必须有神的同在；有神同在所到就是圣地，神总是先让蒙召的人认识祂同在的圣洁，然后才差遣我们（赛六1-8；结一27-28；路一28；太十七1-5）。 根据圣经和合本、圣经综合解读编辑整理

Crossing the Jordan River

The story of Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea on dry ground has long been ridiculed by skeptical scholars and experts. With the construction of the Suez Canal, the entire Red Sea and its marshlands have been completely altered, making it difficult to visualize the scene of the crossing from Exodus Chapter 14. […]