The Family Room (The Quest)
Join co-hosts Mari Cleveland from St. Jude the Apostle and John Gordon and Craig Wesemeyer from St. Peter Chanel as they speak with authors, theologians, and local priests and lay leaders to provide your family encouragement, resources, and hope. Enjoy heartfelt stories and engaging conversations with Catholics who are excited to share their life experiences and acquired wisdom to help your family continue to live out your faith with joy.
Jun 25, 2025
Jesus and the Jubilee
Dr. John Bergsma, theology professor, VP at St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, author
Jubilee means “joy” – a lasting joy. A Year of Jubilee is a year set aside to re-establish a right relationship with God and neighbor, focusing on forgiveness, healing and restoration. John Bergsma was raised a staunch Calvinist who’d never heard of a Jubilee Year.
As a young father, he studied to become a pastor to support his growing family. After preaching for four years, John began to see cracks in the pillars of Protestantism and ended up stalling his ordination by going to graduate school at Notre Dame. It was in 1999 that he heard the excitement around the Jubilee Year of 2000 and was persuaded to write his dissertation on the Jubilee. That process propelled him into Catholicism, which he entered in 2001.
Today, the Jubilee is celebrated every 25 years, and Dr. Bergsma has written a book called Jesus and the Jubilee: The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor in honor of this Jubilee year. In it, Dr. Bergsma shows how the Israelites’ release from slavery in Egypt became the first Jubilee, and Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jubilee. These points showcase the Catholic Church as the perpetual Jubilee, offering redemption, release from spiritual bondage, return to our true home, and rest in God’s fullness.
Biography: Dr. John Bergsma is a Full Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio, and Vice President for Biblical Theology and Mission Effectiveness at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He specializes in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He graduated from Notre Dame with high honors in 2004. Married to Dawn, they have eight children and three grandchildren and live in Steubenville.
Resources:
Jubilee means “joy” – a lasting joy. A Year of Jubilee is a year set aside to re-establish a right relationship with God and neighbor, focusing on forgiveness, healing and restoration. John Bergsma was raised a staunch Calvinist who’d never heard of a Jubilee Year.
As a young father, he studied to become a pastor to support his growing family. After preaching for four years, John began to see cracks in the pillars of Protestantism and ended up stalling his ordination by going to graduate school at Notre Dame. It was in 1999 that he heard the excitement around the Jubilee Year of 2000 and was persuaded to write his dissertation on the Jubilee. That process propelled him into Catholicism, which he entered in 2001.
Today, the Jubilee is celebrated every 25 years, and Dr. Bergsma has written a book called Jesus and the Jubilee: The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor in honor of this Jubilee year. In it, Dr. Bergsma shows how the Israelites’ release from slavery in Egypt became the first Jubilee, and Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jubilee. These points showcase the Catholic Church as the perpetual Jubilee, offering redemption, release from spiritual bondage, return to our true home, and rest in God’s fullness.
Biography: Dr. John Bergsma is a Full Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, in Steubenville, Ohio, and Vice President for Biblical Theology and Mission Effectiveness at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. He specializes in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls. He graduated from Notre Dame with high honors in 2004. Married to Dawn, they have eight children and three grandchildren and live in Steubenville.
Resources:
