Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
This essay is adapted from my articles in Theopolis’s In Medias Res as a series of Holy Week meditations. Like many celebrities such as Kanye or Beyoncé or Adele, Josquin des Prez (d. 1521) was often known only by his first name, in his own time as now. “Josquin” is…
Sight is a major theme in the scriptures. The church has long identified sight’s relationship to the future fulfillment of the eschaton. As Paul says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face” (1 Cor 13.12). Sight is associated with…
What is the chief end of man? —yes, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. But how ought man–and all creation–so glorify him? I propose a Theopolitan addition to the catechism, question and answer number 1.5, begun in the last question and answered as follows: Earth’s inhabitants were created to…
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. Genesis 49:21 Frederick Buechner once said, “We move into the extraordinary by way of the ordinary.” In poetry, this happens by way of a compressed code of analogs; often, two or more very ordinary things begin to reveal something that…
The evangelical milieu of America has often lost a vision of the fruit of repentance. We tend to simplify repentance by asking for forgiveness. After all, Jesus tells Peter to forgive 70 times 7. This verse must be paired with Paul’s scoffing at the question: why not sin more so…
I. The hemorrhaging woman. En route to Jairus’ house, Jesus is touched by a woman with a hemorrhage of blood (Matt 9:18–26; Mk 5:21–34; Lk 8:40–48). The story is one that many of us know very well. She has been yoked to her illness for twelve years, all of her…
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Thomas defines sacraments in terms of their power to effect sanctification. Not all sacred signs are sacraments, but only those which are efficacious; they are signs of holy things that make men holy (ST 60, 2). Thomas also denies that sacraments were necessary in Eden, since there was no need…
Much of this comes from a lecture by Jeff Meyers at a Biblical Horizons conference several summers ago. INTRODUCTION Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3). As He had warned His disciples, He went away from them (John 14:28; 16:7). He promised that…
Matthew 1:23: They shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us. As we saw in the sermon this morning, the prophecy that Matthew cites is a prophecy assuring Judah of her victory over Israel and Aram. Immanuel is also a sign of the Lord’s judgment. When God…
For many of you, this will be your last Sunday in Moscow for a while. You have spent the past year studying the Bible, or learning music, or reading great books, or honing your rhetorical skills, or writing a thesis. And as you did that, you may have spent the…
Warren Carter (JBL 119/3) examines the intertextual relations between Matthew 1:22-23 and Isaiah 7:14, which Matthew cites (he also discusses Matthew’s citation of Isaiah 8:23-9:1 in 4:15-16). He argues first that Matthew intends to evoke the entire situation of Isaiah 7-9. Matthew does not name the prophet, since his audience…
Gordon CI Wong (VT 51.4) examines the call to “believe” in Isaiah 7 (specifically v. 9b). He asks, What does faith mean in Isaiah 7? He rejects interpretations that suggest Ahaz is supposed to respond passively to the threat from Israel and Aram by renouncing military defenses. On the contrary,…
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