My wife and a few former students and friends have been plotting to give me a 90th birthday party. They are hopeful that a large number of former students and close friends will be able to come by for a few minutes to say hello. (What if they gave me a party and no one came? I am not the only one that would be embarrassed.
The mini-committee has a beautiful gold on black poster, but it is too large for the constraints of this blog. Don’t let these women down.
So, here are the details you need to know.
WHAT: 90th Birthday Celebration
PLACE: The Ship – 6604 Harney Road, Tampa, FL
Put the address in Google and you will have a nice pic of the location a little south of Sligh Ave.
TIME: January 3, 2026 – COME & Go – 2 PM to 4 PM
YOUR ATTENDANCE IS YOUR GIFT
A card, including a memory, will be fine.
THIS WILL BE AN ADULTS ONLY CELEBRATION
If you live far away you may leave a comment on the blog.
Shortly After Jan. 1936. (c) Ferrell Jenkins.
YOUR ATTENDANCE IS YOUR GIFT
A card, including a memory, will be fine.
THIS WILL BE AN ADULTS ONLY CELEBRATION
If you live far away you may leave a comment on the blog.
My first visit to Colossae was with two friends and teaching colleagues at Florida College. I was concluding a Bible Land tour in Rome. Melvin Curry and Phil Roberts agreed to meet me in Athens, Greece. I arrived in Athens after they had already turned in for the night, but early the next morning we took a short flight to the island of Samos, and from there we boarded a ferry to Turkey. We visited the area of the Seven churches addressed in the book of Revelation as well as other sites in the general area.
Colossae is not one of the Seven churches mentioned in the Apocalypse but it is a short distance from Laodicea. Our photo was made with a view of the tell or huyuk of ancient Colossae. We went near the site on a dirt road. The road to get to the mound is now paved.
I am in the blue shirt. Melvin Curry is standing behind me, and Phil Roberts snapped the photo.
Because of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church many scholars hoped for an excavation. We all wanted to know more about the city that was home of the church we read about in Colossians. Timothy joins Paul in the address to the saints at Colossae.
The modern city known as Honaz stands in the shadow of Mount Cadmus. In this photo the town is hidden by the mound of Colossae.
Anarchaeological excavation of the site is now in progress under the direction of Dr. Barış Yener of nearby Pamukkale University. Good news.
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If we consider the Gospel of John a sort of “Day Planner” for Jesus, we have nearly complete activity recorded for two weeks of the earthly ministry of Jesus. The first is in John 1:19—2:11 where activity for six of the seven days is recorded. I think the omitted day is the sabbath.
The next nearly complete week is the last week, leading up to the resurrection. John gives more attention to the last week than any other Gospel. Even here we have activities for only six of eight days. This section begins in John 12:1 and continues into John 20. Here is the way I have reconstructed it. Where John does not record the activity I have omitted the scripture reference.
Sunday — The King enters Jerusalem — 12:12-19
Monday — Cleansing the Temple —
Tuesday — Visit of the Greeks — 12:20-36
Tuesday — Jewish rejection — 12:37-50
Wednesday — No events recorded in the Gospels
Thursday Evening — Passover Meal, including Washing Disciples Feet (only in John) — 13:1-38
Thur. Eve — Farewell discourses — 14—16
Thur. Eve — Prayer — 17
Thur. Eve — Annas (only in John) — 18:12-14
Thur. Eve — Caiaphas — 18:24-28
Friday — Pilate — 18:28—19:16
Friday — Crucifixion — 19:16-42
Sabbath —
First Day — Resurrection — 20
It should be noted that the appearance before Annas and Caiaphas were the Jewish (Religious) trials. The appearance before Pilate [and Herod Antipas] were the Roman (Civil) trials.
John does not record the pronouncement of woes on the religious leaders, the institution of the Lord’s Supper, and the account of the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
With this sparse attention given to two weeks, no wonder John says,
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25 ESV)
There is a medieval wood carving of the last week of Jesus in Notre Dame (Paris). In this photo you see the representation of the last supper, the washing of the disciples’ feet, and the agony in Gethsemane. (Sorry, this was made more than a decade ago and I don’t have a hi-res photo.) I do not know if this was destroyed in the fire.
Wood carving of Last Week of Jesus in Notre Dame. I do not know if this was destroyed in the fire. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Corinth is located on the Isthmus that connects the mainland of Greece with the Peloponnese, making it an important center for commerce and travel. Murphy-O’Connor says “Strabo put it very succinctly” with these words: “It is situated on the Isthmus and is master of two harbours, of which the one [Cenchreae] leads straight to Asia, and the other [Lechaeum] to Italy” (Geography 6.8.20; BA 47:3).
Lechaeum was the western port located on the Corinthian Gulf where ships sailed to and from Europe. Cenchrea was the eastern port located on the Saronic Gulf where ships sailed to and from Asia and Egypt.
There are numerous spellings of Cenchrea. In Greek the name is Kenchreai (with a variety of spellings). Cenchrea is mentioned by name only twice in the New Testament. When Paul completed 18 months of work at Corinth, he, along with Priscilla and Aquila “put out to sea for [the Roman province of] Syria” (Acts 18:18). The first stop named is Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila remained, but Paul continued his voyage to Caesarea (Acts 18:21-22). Before leaving Cenchrea Paul (or Aquila) got a hair cut because he had made a vow. The traditional view is that this reference is to Paul, but the Greek text makes it impossible to know for certain.
The second reference to Cenchrea is in Romans 16:1-2, where Paul commends Phoebe, “a servant (diakonon) of the church which is at Cenchrea.” He urges the saints at Rome to receive her and to help her. He says, “for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.” We think Paul wrote Romans from Corinth during his three month stay in Greece on the third journey (Acts 20:2-3), and that Phoebe carried the letter to Rome.
Paul was ready to sail for Syria but because of a plot against him by the Jews he decided to return through Macedonia (Acts 20:3). Cenchrea is not named, but is implied in this text.
Cenchrea continued as a city until the sixth century A.D., but no buildings remain around the harbor today. In addition to the artificial breakwaters which “are now submerged because of subsidence and/or a relative sea level rise of about 2 meters since their construction, the Roman harbor was distinguished by various warehouses and support buildings, monumental statues, and several temples…” (Hohlfelder in ABD). Ruins of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, the Temple of Isis, a Byzantine church, warehouses, and commercial fish tanks have been discovered.
Our photo is made from the south pier looking across the harbor to the north. From here Paul, Aquila, Priscilla, and likely the brethren who took the contribution from Macedonia and Achaia, sailed. Phoebe lived, and the church gathered, somewhere nearby.
A reader of the previous post (Click to read: https://wp.me/p1zOp-5FC ) wonders how we know Jerusalem was not destroyed later than A.D. 70.
It is a good question. The New Testament, including the records of the life and ministry of Christ, is rooted in history. Notice how Luke, a gentile physician, emphasizes the historicity of the work of John the Baptist and the beginning of the baptism and ministry of Jesus.
Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Lk. 3:1-3 ESV)
We don’t know what Josephus looked like, but older English versions of his works sometimes included a line drawing. David Padfield, at Padfield.com, had one of those old drawings enhanced by AI and shared the drawing with me. I suggest you visit Padfield.com for more good material.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, who was contemporaneous with these events, and an eye witness of many of them, tells us much about the movement of the Romans as they came near the city of Jerusalem. Vespasian had been leading the plans to attack Jerusalem. When he learned of the death of Emperor Nero (A.D. 68) he returned to Rome to become emperor. His son Titus became the leader of the effort. Josephus, a native of Yodfat, now in north western Israel, was an eye witness to many of the events of the Roman invasion of the country. Not only did he write the History of the Jews, but also the Wars of the Jews. He provides specific information about the movement of the Romans as they approached the city of Jerusalem. As the army began to be seen in plain view, Josephus records the events.
JOE Wars of the Jews 2:528: He then pitched his camp upon the elevation called Scopus [or watch tower], which was about a mile from the city; yet did not he assault them in three days’ time, out of expectation that those within might perhaps yield a little; and in the meantime he sent out a great many of his soldiers into neighboring villages, to seize their grain; and on the fourth day, which was the thirtieth of the month Hyperbereteus, [Tisri], when he had put his army in array, he brought it into the city. (Wars 2:528) This might be a reference to the temple which was in the city.
Accordingly, this place, on the north quarter of the city, and joining thereto, was a plain, and very properly named Scopus [the prospect]; 68 and was no more than a mile from the city And here it was that Titus ordered a camp to be fortified for two legions that were to be together; but ordered another camp to be fortified, six hundred yards behind them, for the fifth legion; for he thought that, by marching in the night, they might be tired, and might deserve to be covered from the enemy, and with less fear might fortify themselves; (Wars 5:67-68)
The photo below shows a view of the Old City of Jerusalem made from the slope of Mount Scopus. Notice the Dome of the Rock, the gold domed building with the sun shining on it. It is located approximately where Herod’s temple was stood from its completion until the destruction in A.D. 70. If you click on the image it should enlarge to allow you to see everything better.
(c)FerrelllJenkins2013______________
The images below show an example of the coins minted by Vespasian and Titus to commemorate the capture of Judea. The obverse [heads] shows a laureate head of image of Caesar Vespasian. The reverse[tails ] had the wording Judea Capta and shows a mourning Jewess under a palm tree. David Hendin, Guide to Biblical Coins, Fifth Edition, shows a variety of this coin minted by different emperors at various places.
Merrill C. Tenney, New Testament Times, includes a chart of the various Roman and Herodian rulers in connection with the events in Judea. Good Bible dictionaries and Encyclopedias will also provide this type of information.
During A.D. 68 and 69 three men, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, ruled. Vespasian was Emperor of Rome A.D. 69-79. Titus was emperor 79-81. The Arch of Titus on one end of the Roman forum commemorates this event. Carvings on the inside of the arch show the Roman soldiers taking away the ark of the covenant and the table of showbread from the Jerusalem temple.
The Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum commemorates the Roman victory of the Jews in A.D. 70. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.Arch of Titus relief showing Roman soldiers carrying the items taken from the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Jews now celebrate a holiday called Tisha B’Av [The 9th of the Jewish month of Av] (roughly our August). Tjhis day commemorates the destruction of the first temple which was built by Solomon was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and the destruction of the temple built by Herod the Great was destroyed by the Romans on Tisha B’av in A.D. 70.
Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, or as the Jews would say 70 C.E..
After checking my financial account beginning about a week ago, I decided that the new slogan out of Washington must be “Make America Poor again”! I understand that neither of the guys who are doing this have ever been poor, but my situation was different.
I was born in cotton country in north Alabama. Families got by on what they could grow in their gardens and an occasional chicken or squirrel. My grandmother and my mother knew how to make biscuits and cornbread.
I remember my father taking the last Silver Dollar he had saved and buying some food from the Peddler who came down 16th Section Road about once a week.
My Grandfather was a sharecropper. He lived in the big house on the property. The two smaller houses were occupied by the families of two married daughters.. One daughter, my mother, lived in one of the houses with her family. One of her sisters lived in the other house with her family. I think you could say that we sharecropped with a sharecropper!
We lived about two miles from the two country stores and cotton gins that served the community. We had one Aladin lamp and a couple of coal oil lamps. My grandparents had a four-party telephone. There were no secrets on our road.
The closest doctor was 16 miles away in Huntsville, a little town of about 16,00 population at that time.
Eventually the Federal government decided to take advantage of the Tennessee River to help the people. Dams were built on the river to generate power. By the time I was 9 or 10 we had at least one electric bulb hanging in each of the four rooms. The Federal Government helped the citizens ln those days. To get water we had to walk quiet a distance to draw a gallon of water from the deep well and bring it back to the house. There was no running water. Baths were once a week using a pan and wash cloth. Everyone understood what it meant to “go out back.” Corn cobs and last year’s Sears Roebuck catalog came in handy.
Eventually we had one cow to provide milk, and a few chickens for eggs and occasional meat.
I had one aunt who went to Nashville to attend a business school. I was the first of my family to go to college. The little school that I attended at Harvest had eight grades in four rooms.
Even though alcoholism is a serious problem in our time I think most folks are more interested in the price of eggs and bread than in French wine.
Social Security. By the time I was 17 I was investing a small amount with the government in a program called Social Security. When my father died and I cleaned out the chifrobe I found a small piece of paper showing that my father had paid .13 cents of his weekly salary of about $12 into Old Age Benefits. He did better financially as the years passed, but he died of a heart attack after drawing only two checks from Social Security.
I have also invested in insurance from time to time. I trusted the government to take care of my Social Security money and see that it grew enough to help me when I was older and had only income from my savings. In 2021 the government owed me money due to overpayment. I have gone through all kind of hoops with the IRS to get my refund. I am still waiting. When I saw he headline that the department should be cut I wondered if I will ever receive what I am owed.
I have been blessed abundantly to live in this country and I dislike seeing it torn down. I have sought to serve God and to teach others to do so.
I appreciate men and women who seek to serve their country though public service but I don’t think very highly of political men or women who love their party more than their constituents.
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” (Prov. 28:6 ESV)
The man who says or acts as if he needs no one is truly a poor man!
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Prov. 14:34 ESV)
Saul was the first king of Israel. He built his capitol north of Jerusalem in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. The city is referred to in the Bible as Gibeah of Saul (1 Samuel 15:34). It is also called Gibeah of Benjamin (1 Samuel 14:16). Remnants of the small fortress from that time have been uncovered at the site. The flat-top building you see was being constructed by king Hussein of Jordan when Israel captured the area during the Six day war in 1967. Today the entire area around the tel is covered by residences and business buildings.
A Roman period boat was found buried in sand near the shore of the Sea of Galilee north of Tiberias . After a period of restoration the boat was put on exhibit at the Yigal Allon Galilee Boat Museum at Kibbutz Ginosar on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias.
The Roman boat on display in the museum at Kibutz Ginosar. Photo (c) by Ferrell Jenkins.
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