Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | November 12, 2018
John 6:30: ““What sign, then, are you going to do so we may see and believe you?” they asked. “What are you going to perform? (CSB’17) This is part of a scene where: 1) Jesus had earlier fed, via miracle, a hungry crowd who followed Him (Check John 5 to see Jesus didn’t offer food […]
PHall | September 29, 2018
John 11:33 [HCSB] “When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, He was angry in His spirit and deeply moved.” Do you see the phrase, “angry in His spirit”? Many translations read, “deeply moved in spirit” instead. The Greek is made up of two words: “to engage in” and […]
PHall | September 29, 2018
These are 3 main focus points of early Christians that shaped their survival: 1. Discipleship – Being like our Rabbi in knowledge and lifestyle is more some desire. “To whom else can we go?” (John 6:68-69) Discipleship is following His way through the Holy Spirit. 2. Commitment – “By this people will know you are […]
PHall | September 3, 2018
The resurrection scene of Lazarus (John 11) is set up to foreshadow Jesus’ emergence from death. However there are important differences, one which took me decades to notice. The similarities: [ ] Both were buried in tombs. [ ] Both tombs were sealed with stones. [ ] Both scenes had women mourning. [ ] Both […]
PHall | August 8, 2018
Jesus was a radical; but not in the way some radicals want. Jesus has been called a liberal; but again not liberal in their liberal ways. Want an example? Jesus valued women, their intellect, and their place in the kingdom as equal (i.e. worth) to men. He believed in educating them spiritually when culture looked […]
PHall | July 3, 2018
John 7:24: “Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment” (CSB). Ironically, I wonder if people today are not judging righteously what Jesus meant here? I wonder if people – you and me – too often interpret actions of others outwardly; meaning we have a surface, outward, understanding of both their […]
PHall | May 31, 2018
Jesus was narrow-minded. If that doesn’t sound like the Jesus you have heard about, keep reading. Jesus was narrow-minded about the Law. He believed it could be understood (and misunderstood – Matthew 22:29), that truth was accessible, and should be applied (Luke 10:26-27). Post-modernists don’t only exist in secular circles. Jesus was narrow-minded against raising […]
PHall | May 21, 2018
In John 9 Jesus anoints a blind man’s eyes with mud, then tells him to go to the pool of Siloam to wash. Which of the following is true: 1. The man was healed immediately without washing because he believed. 2. The disciples argued that if the man went and washed that would be a […]
PHall | May 21, 2018
Lessons from Jesus attending the wedding in Cana: 1) Take time out of your schedule to spend with people because work is not more important; 2) You never know when an opportunity to glorify God will occur so be ready to take advantage of it; 3) While not technically a prayer, for us today don’t […]
PHall | May 21, 2018
When Jesus healed someone, including from death itself (Luke 7:11-15), He almost always touched the person (John 9:6) or at least spoke (John 5:8). Early writings by Christians (Tertullian, Ambrose, etc.) rightfully made comparisons between these physical healings and our spiritual healing received in baptism. One of the common references was to the blind man […]