Incarnation

The Bible states that the Incarnation (John 1:14) is when God’s Son, Jesus, came down to earth and became a human being. The “Word” mentioned here refers to Jesus Himself. John 1:1 says, “the Word was God,” which means Jesus is God. God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son, […]

Moab and Ammon

Moab and Ammon are the names of two ancient Middle Eastern peoples. In the Old Testament, these names also referred to the regions they inhabited, east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. When Abraham moved to the land of Canaan, he brought his nephew Lot with him. Later, Lot separated from Abraham and […]

Edom

Edom was an ancient kingdom and people located south of the Dead Sea in Transjordan. Its borders were the Levant to the south, Moab to the northeast, the Arabah Valley to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the southeast. It is now part of modern-day Israel and Jordan. This late Bronze Age and early […]

Barnabas

Barnabas, also known as the “Son of Encouragement” or “Son of Consolation,” was an early Jewish Christian in the New Testament who was also called an apostle. He and the Apostle Paul undertook a series of missionary journeys, which led to the widespread dissemination of Christianity. Barnabas’s original name was Joseph. He belonged to the […]

Israel (Original name: Jacob)

Israel was the grandson of Abraham and the son of Isaac, whose original name was Jacob. He had a twin brother, Esau. His father, Isaac, favored Esau, while his mother favored Jacob. Jacob’s life was full of legends: he traded a bowl of red lentil stew for his brother Esau’s birthright; with his mother’s help, […]

The Hem of the Garment and the Woman with the Flow of Blood

In Matthew 9:20-22, “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the hem of his garment. She said to herself, ‘If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.’ Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed […]

Bethsaida

Bethsaida is a Jewish town located on the northeastern corner of the Sea of Galilee where Jesus once ministered. It sits about 3 kilometers east of where the Jordan River enters the lake. The name “Bethsaida” means “house of the fisherman” or “house of the hunter,” a fitting name given the area’s rich abundance of […]

Eternal Death

We often use the term “breathed one’s last” to describe a person’s death. When a person first dies, their body may still be warm and appear normal, but it lacks one thing: breath. [Genesis 2:7] Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of […]

Chorazin

Chorazin was a Jewish town where Jesus once preached. It is mentioned only twice in the entire Bible, once in Luke and once in Matthew, and both times in a message of condemnation. Chorazin is located about 3 kilometers north of Capernaum and 5 kilometers west of the Jordan River. The city was built on […]

The Temple Tax in Jesus’ Time

In Matthew 17:24-27 (New Chinese Version), “When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’ ‘Yes, he does,’ he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. ‘What do you think, Simon?’ he asked. ‘From whom […]