Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Summary In what follows, I will consider the “year-stamps” employed in Scripture, i.e., statements of the form, “Such-and-such an event took place in the Xth year of Y.” In the process, I will suggest some ways in which the Biblical narrative might relate to events in the extra-Biblical world, though…
In the first essay on the parable of the Prodigal Son, I suggested that the problems commentators and others encounter in interpreting Jesus three-part parable are not accidental. These are not just problems in our ignorance of cultural background. They are intentional features of the stories —stories designed to poke…
The story of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most well-known story in the Bible. As others have observed, it may also be one of the most misunderstood. In two short essays, I will point out features of this story that are commonly neglected, aspects of Jesus’ parable that might…
The parable of Lazarus and the nameless rich man is not an independent story. It is part of a long context that begins in Luke 15:1, where Jesus is eating with tax collectors and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees grumble. In response to their hardheartedness, Jesus tells a three-part…
The Bible is written so that even when a reader cannot pick up on what might be deeper or more detailed aspects of a text, there is virtually always a message to be heard. In the ancient world, where the “reader” of Scripture would likely be a church official facing…
The distinction between garden (or vineyard) and field begins in Genesis 2. This relates to the ordering of the formless world. Plants of the field are contrasted with the garden planted by God in Genesis 2:5&8. Later on, under the Old Covenant the Israelites will be required to keep their…
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Austin Farrer said, “The datings of all these books are like a line of tipsy revellers walking home arm in arm . . . The whole series can lurch five years this way or that without colliding with a solid obstacle.”
The people of Nazareth find Jesus too familiar to take seriously. How can this son-of-a-carpenter make these kinds of demands on us? It’s a perennial temptation. The more familiar Jesus becomes, the more we’re apt to blunt the force of His radical demands: The Jesus I know wouldn’t ask me…
Jesus’ parables seem to apply neatly to His own ministry. They also seem to apply neatly to the history of Israel. Which is it? No need to choose, of course. It’s fundamental to Matthew’s gospel story that Jesus is the true Israel, reliving Israel’s history. We should expect the shape…
Matthew 13:44: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. In the two brief parables in our sermon text, Jesus emphasizes the surpassing value of the kingdom. It is of such value that we must give up everything – abandon all other plans and aspirations and…
When He visited His hometown, Jesus didn’t do many acts of power. Matthew tells us He didn’t do much “because of their unbelief.” We Reformed Christians have a hard time taking this seriously. Matthew doesn’t sound truly Reformed. Isn’t God’s grace irresistible? Isn’t God sovereign? Does He have to wait…
When Jesus visit Nazareth, the people ask “where did this man get this wisdom, and these powers?” and “where did this man get all these things?” Though not as overt, this is the same question raised earlier by the Pharisees, who charged that Jesus cast out demons through Satan’s power.…
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