The Eternal Life Series offers a look at eternal life based on John 17:3 and related New Testament scriptures.
Most or all of the New Testament was written in Greek, so Bible students often dissect scripture by minutely examining Greek words and philosophies. This is natural for Americans because the American education and culture is based on Greek ways of thought.
However, Jesus probably taught mostly in Hebrew, with some of his teachings in Aramaic. Jesus and his followers were well educated in the Hebrew Old Testament. For the first couple of decades after his death, the followers of Jesus were mostly practicing Jews. It seems likely that a better understanding of the teachings of Jesus can be attained by looking at them through a Jewish cultural viewpoint and a better understanding of Hebrew words.
The impetus for this series were some of the episodes of the Bema Discipleship podcast, along with personal study times with Hebrew experts Elle Grove Fricks and Brad H. Young. Working with them, we developed a dictionary of some Hebrew words that you can find in Reference 7 of the Reference section of this website.
Although each episode in this series can be approached individually, the Eternal Life Series is written for viewers to watch all of the episodes in the order in which they are presented.
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One of the most important female characters of the Bible is Priscilla. She is almost always shown working for the Lord in concert with her husband, Aquila. Among other things, they are known for: escaping from Rome when Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews; employing Paul when arrived in Corinth; accompanying Paul to Ephesus where they became leaders of the church; instructing Apollos; and, returning to Rome where they helped establish churches.
While Paul and other teachers often seemed to make disciples through their theological teaching, Priscilla and Aquila seemed to lean on making disciples through establishing relationships. They seemed to embody the Jewish word “ahava,” a type of love that is durable, long-lasting, and totally committed.
Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The verb tense means for love to be a continuing action of a completed action. This intensity is far beyond a light emotional or mental attachment.
