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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The Samaritan woman was the essence of an outsider. She was a woman in a patriarchal society, an unmarried woman who had several previous husbands, and a Samaritan surrounded by Israelites. However, she did seem to have some influence in her town of Sychar, and had an air of self-worth. Jesus played to her strengths and used her weaknesses to get past her self-defenses.
One of the major themes in the Bible is God’s desire for outsiders to become insiders. One case of this is his desire for those outside of his kingdom to become kingdom citizens. Another case is for those who don’t believe in Jesus to become believers in him.
A case that in talked about over and over in the Bible is for those who outside or on the edges of society to become full members of the community or, at the minimum, to get relief from their situation. God promises to bring healing either through his own actions or through the actions of his followers. Some types of outsiders who need help are widows, orphans, immigrants, the poor, and those with physical or mental medical issues.
