Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Can it be that it has been two whole years since I contributed a Theopolis Post! I had been pursuing the topic of integration: “Seeking Integration in a Fragmented World.” I had defined “integration,” simply, as creative putting together. I had posed that seeking it calls for a fundamentally integrative…
What is known as the miracle of the “Feeding of the Five Thousand” occurs in Mark’s Gospel in chapter 6. As with other gospel writers, Mark has a few different points to make as he moves through this story (included in all four gospel accounts) and its surrounding material. Three…
To begin with the source of this narrative: Since no human being was present to observe these events, we must assume that this narrative was revealed directly by God to a human author. There are three ways this might have happened. First, we might read, "God said to Abraham (or…
The serious Bible student cannot help but be struck by the deviousness of Jacob in Genesis 27. If one already expected some underhanded dealings from this twin-born-second whose name means “supplanter” and whose bargaining with his brother for the birthright in Genesis 25 seemed incredibly weighted in his own favor,…
From Barna stats to mainstream headlines, it seems as though the discordant nature of this last year has taken such a toll on churches in the United States that, for many, the injuries have been fatal. It has become a regular occurrence to hear about a congregation that continues to…
In The Bad News Bears (1976), a city councilman hires a washed-up minor league baseball player with a drinking problem to coach a little league team of leftover misfits. Underdog sports movies are usually full of sentimentalism and dramatic victories, but this film is a commentary on the failing dream…
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Given its prominence in the NT, it’s striking that the LXX rarely speaks of “breaking bread.”  One of the few times the phrase occurs is in Jeremiah 16:7, where, strikingly, it is joined to a statement about a “cup of consolation.”  Broken bread and cup is Eucharistic. Jeremiah is warning…
Matthew 26:17-19 is a chiastically ordered pericope, centered on Jesus’ announcement that His “time is at hand” and that He intends to do the Passover. A. Disciples approach: prepare pascha ? B. Jesus commands: Go to city C. My time is at hand; do pascha B’. Disciples did as Jesus…
My co-pastor Toby Sumpter wondered whether Matthew was up to something in describing the first day of the feast as the “first of unleavened” ( te prote ton azumon , 26:17).  It seems so.  The other gospels don’t use the same phrase; Mark says “first day” and Luke uses the…
Through much of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is surrounded by multitudes who marvel at His teaching and works (5:1; 7:28; 9:8; 12:23; 13:2; etc.).  They marvel all the way up to His battles in the temple (21:46; 22:33).  The last time He teaches a multitude is in chapter 23 (v. 1).…
To head off the possibility that the disciples will steal Jesus’ body, the priests and Pharisees ask Pilate for a guard at the tomb (Matthew 27:62-65).  If the disciples are successful, “the last deception will be worse than the first” (v. 64). It’s a familiar phrase: Jesus Himself uses it…
After Jesus’ Passover with His disciples, they leave singing for the Mount of Olives.  Last time they were on the Mount, Jesus predicted the destruction of a temple.  His return to the mountain marks the initial fulfillment of that prophecy: Jesus is the temple, torn down and raised again in…
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