William Powell Tuck, a native of Virginia, has served as a pastor in Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Louisiana, and as a seminary professor,adjunct college professor, and intentional interim pastor. He is the author of more than 30 books including The Difficult Sayings of Jesus and Star Thrower: A Pastor’s Handbook. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Richmond. In 1997 he received the Pastor of the Year award from the Academy of Parish Clergy, and in 2016 received the Wayne Oates Award from the Oates Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife, Emily Campbell, are the parents of two children and five grandchildren and live in Midlothian, Virginia.
What was your inspiration for Markers Along the Way?
In one of my congregations, there was a discussion about the miracles of Jesus, and I thought it would be helpful for them to study some of the miracles under the Gospel of John’s view of the “Signs” of Jesus. This would enable us not only to explore Jesus’ miraculous ministry but provide an avenue into the deeper significance of Jesus’ redemptive grace and his summons to us for faithfulness in our commitment to him.
For our readers, you split the book into ten different signs of Jesus. How did you choose the signs and why did you structure the book this way?
New Testament scholars usually designate seven miracles of Jesus as “signs.” But I believe there are several other “events” that are clearly signs as well. The “new birth” discussion, the Bread of life event, and Jesus’ reference to himself as “the resurrection and life,” I believe are signs as well. I laid out the book to lead the readers to sense the depth behind each sign, moving them to the last chapter on the “supreme sign” of the resurrection of Jesus and its meaning for us.