Podcast Audio

Bible study often concentrates on the meaning of a word or a small passage of Scripture. We check the meaning of the word in a Bible dictionary. We examine the grammar, the immediate context, and the historical context; and—using our analogy of the carpet—we get caught up in the examination of the number of knots per square inch, the fabric, the dyes, and the backing. All of these details are important. The details have a role, which is to point us toward the big picture, and in John that big picture is a divinely inspired revelation of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

E. Edward Zinke, a former associate director for the Biblical Research Institute at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, is involved with many church activities and boards, including serving as vice chair of the Ellen G. White Estate Board and as a senior adviser for Adventist Review Ministries. He holds three honorary doctorate degrees from Seventh-day Adventist universities. He lives in Maryland.

Thomas Shepherd, PhD, DrPH, is senior research professor of New Testament at the Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, where he has taught since 2008. He and his wife, Sherry Shepherd, MD, have served as missionaries in Malawi, Africa, and Brazil. They have two grown children and six grandchildren.

Get this lesson as PDF here or as web pages in 40 different languages on Advent Tech