Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I thought it might be good to put this up here, since it is 14 years old, and itself reflects earlier discussion. From this you can see that we at BH have been considering this notion for quite some time. Clearly, the last word has not been said. — James…
Hopefully, my commentary on James will be out later this year. But here are a few chiasms for your consideration. I think the James 5 chiasm orginally came from Doug Jordan. The entire book of James is focused on how the pastors and leaders (“brothers”) of the church use their…
In my first post I noted that the parables of Jesus were not simply illustrative stories. They are really nothing like the kind of simple, homely illustrations that preachers often use to explain difficult concepts to their congregations. Just to be clear: there’s nothing wrong with illustrating one’s sermonic statements.…
Ephesians is often treated as a pure type example of the Pauline method that “the indicative preceds the imperative.” But what Paul does first is pray . Simply reading verse 3 and following involves readers in a prayer of thanksgiving to God–and much more so for those listening to the…
Yesterday, I took part with my oldest son in a church-sponsored city outreach project (not because I’m especially prone to such behavior but because my son has a Boy Scout requirement that this would help him meet). Before we were sent out on our various jobs, the leader gave a…
There is a scene in Prince Caspian , the second in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia that helps explain why it is we have four Gospels, that is four accounts of the Good News of Jesus Christ—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It is the account of Lucy’s longed-for experience…
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Matthew 23: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! This is a surprising way for Jesus to…
Jacob Taubes ( The Political Theology of Paul (Cultural Memory in the Present) ) notes that Paul’s teaching on law is directed not only to Pharisaical and Jewish opponents, but part of a dialog with his whole Mediterranean environment: “the concept of law . . . is a compromise formula…
Why should the blood of all righteous men and prophets be charged to first-century Jerusalem (Matthew 23:35-36)? Jerusalem didn’t even exist when Cain killed Abel, and “this generation” didn’t kill Zechariah. Isn’t it unfair for them to suffer judgment for the sins of their fathers? Doesn’t Ezekiel tell us that…
Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees for building memorials for prophets and adorning the tombs of the righteous (Matthew 23:29). This is mere external honor, since they don’t actually follow the teachings of the prophets. It’s as insufficient as cleansing the outside of the cup. True; but Jesus says something…
Matthew 23:29-36 works out as a fairly neat chiasm: A. Woe to scribes, build tombs of prophets and adorn monuments of righteous, v 29 B. Blood of the prophets, v. 30 C. You are sons of murderous fathers; fill their guilt, vv 31-32 D. Serpents, brood of vipers, v 33…
Craig Carter, one of the leading interpreters of Yoder’s work, says I got Yoder wrong in my post yesterday. He writes on his blog. He says that I “don’t understand what Yoder meant by the Constantinian Shift. Your mistake is actually a common one. This is not for Yoder an…
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