In the beginning was the Word…. Readers of Scripture over the centuries have been taken by John’s choice of words in these introductory verses of his Gospel. People often refer to these first eighteen verses as the Prologue, the words before the main word. Prologues open up a story, set...

In the beginning…. You gotta love John’s chutzpah. I mean, there’s absolutely no question what line he’s imitating when he starts his Gospel. “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth….” That’s right — Genesis 1:1. It’s as if I were going to...

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” It strikes me...

And calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the...

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was...

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  The moment we enter the second...