remain/dwell

In the first chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), Jesus’ cousin John bears witness to Jesus as the one sent by God. In the Gospel According to John 1:32 (NABRE), John describes how he was able to identify Jesus because he saw the Holy Spirit remain on him. On the basis of this image, Jesus is often portrayed in art with a dove sitting on him. What bearing does this passage have on your image of Jesus?

The language chosen here strongly suggests permanence in this arrangement. The Greek word translated as remain can also mean “abide,” or dwell. The action described is not one of landing and then taking off again but one of residence. To further emphasize this point, the Evangelist uses the imperfect tense of the verb, which suggests continuous or ongoing action rather than a one-time, completed action. The strong suggestion of the text is that this dove does not go anywhere after it’s landed.

Consider how your view of Jesus and his ministry might be changed by seeing this dove permanently remaining with Jesus.

you also may like our study of the book of Revelation
The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Faithful Witness, a 23-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines ways in which our traditional Christian view of heaven is built on Hebrew apocalyptic visions recorded in the Old Testament. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary and takes a close look at the role of the prophets in present-day Christianity. Illustrations by Tami Palladino depict the often-misunderstood images in the book of Revelation. Click here to view a sample of the first lesson.

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