Dr. John C. Reddy

Home  “ A s soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.”  When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard. ”   [1 Kings 21:15-16]  "...there is no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness"  T he scene is in Jezreel, where Ahab and Jezebel had a palace. Adjoining the palace was a vineyard owned by Naboth. Ahab desired to annex the vineyard so he could plant a vegetable garden there.  Naboth refused to sell or exchange his land, since the law of Israel decreed that property should remain in the family to which it was originally assigned. When Jezebel found her husband vexed and sullen and learned of Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard, she assured Ahab that the vineyard would soon be his. The treacherous Jezebel thus frame...

Home  “ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”  When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,  and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.  “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”  Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. ”    [John 19:7-11]  A Crown for the King!  I t was most unjust for Pilate to scourge an innocent Person. Perhaps he hoped that this punishment would satisfy the Jews and that they would not demand the death of Jesus. Scourging was a Roman form of punishment. The prisoner was beaten with a whip or a rod. The whip had pieces of metal or bone in it, and these cut deep gashes in the flesh. The soldiers mocked Jesus’ claim to be King. A crown for ...

Home  “ Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.    “ You have said so ,” Jesus replied.  The chief priests accused him of many things.  So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”  But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.  A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.  The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. ”    [Mark  15:2-8]  "Crucify Him!"  T he chief priests poured out a torrent of charges against Jesus. Pilate couldn’t get over His poise in the face of such overwhelming accusations. He asked Him why He didn’t defend Himself, but Jesus refused to answer His critics. It was the custom for the Roman Governor to release one Jewish prisoner at this feast time—sort ...

Home  “   On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire.  That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire.  Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.  At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.  When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD’s order and did not set out.  Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.”    [Numbers 9:15-20]  The LORD used the cloud to tell the Israelites when to move  W hen Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, t...

Home  “   Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?  From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.  Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”    [John 6:53-54,60-61,66-69]  "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life..."   J esus’ words in this passage about eating flesh and drinking blood can be understood in the metaphorical sens...

Home  “   N ow behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’  ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”  Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”   [Matthew 19:16-22]  The Rich Young Ruler   T his incident provides a study in contrasts...

Home  “ The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,  but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”   “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”   [Genesis 3:2-5]  Satan-The Father of Lies   T he serpent that appeared to Eve is later revealed to be none other than Satan himself.  “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him” [Rev. 12:9]. Those who seek to “demythologize” the Bible believe that this account of the fall is allegorical and not literal. They cite the talking serpent as proof. Can the story of the serpent’s deceiving Eve be accepted as factual? The ...

Home  “ As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”  Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:  “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”   [Genesis 9:7-11]  God's covenant   N oah responded to God’s saving grace by building an altar. Those of us who have been saved from the wrath to come should likewise bring to God our heartfelt worship. It is an acceptable and pleasing today as it was in Noah’s day. The Lord made a covenant that He would never again curse the ground or destroy every living thing, as He had done; also, He would pr...

Home  “ They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;  they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ”   [Numbers 21: 4-7]  The serpent of brass was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ   O nce again the people complained about their living conditions, with the result that God sent fiery serpents among them. Many of the people died, and many more were dying. In answer to the intercession of Moses, God commanded that a bronze serpent be lifted on a pole a...

Home  “ So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’  His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’  He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’  His lord said to him, ‘ Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things . Enter into the joy of your lord.’  “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’”...