Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
A while back a friend told me that his church had finally introduced weekly communion. He told me that they were having an 8:00 a.m. service on Sundays for anyone who wanted to have communion. At present only about five people were coming to this service, but he was hopeful…
According to James B. Jordan’s outline of Deuteronomy, the first commandment section runs from 6:1 to 11:32, and the second commandment section begins with 12:1. 1 That this division of the text is sound is confirmed by a comparison of 6:1 with 12:1. Deuteronomy 6:1 announces that "this is the…
Calling Jerusalem the "holy city" comes so naturally to Christians that it comes as something of a surprise to realize how infrequently the phrase is used in Scripture. Not only is Jerusalem rarely called holy, but in the Old Testament this classification is found only in texts that refer to…
Nicodemus’s conversation with Jesus in John 3:1-15 is often regarded as an illustration of the tremendous stupidity of the Jews of our Lord’s day. Those who take the passage this way fail to recognize the profound nature of Nicodemus’s questions and of Jesus’ answers. In verse 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus…
In his book 1994? , Harold Camping asserts that the life spans of the primeval patriarchs of Genesis 5 & 11 were actually epochs, one after another. This together with other mistakes in interpretation yields for him a creation date of 11013 B.C. From here, Camping tries to work out…
I have received a number of letters asking for my comments on this difficult passage. Here is my best shot! 2. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. This statement opens a new section…
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Matthew 10:10: The worker is worthy of his nourishment. Jesus sent the Twelve out with no means of support – no food, no money to purchase food, no extra clothes. They were to be like Israel, relying on the Lord to maintain them as they went out into the wilderness.…
Matthew 10:8: freely you received; freely give. The Twelve are not like the rest of Israel, lost sheep and oppressed. They have a shepherd, a good shepherd, the best shepherd, who summons, calls them, commissions them, heals them, sustains them, feeds them, cares for them. They have received all this…
“I love Jesus, but I can’t stand the church. I obey Jesus, but I won’t submit to any human authorities.” We hear these sentiments a lot in American Christianity. American Christians like to separate Jesus from His people, the Shepherd’s authority from the authority of His undershepherds. Jesus doesn’t allow…
Jesus sends the Twelve to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That fits the biblical pattern of “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Israel is the first site of mission. For many, though, the mission to Israel is a quick stepping stone to the mission…
Daniel Patte points out in his “structural commentary” on Matthew that there is a narrative logic to Matthew 8-13. Jesus comes healing, casting out demons, cleansing the unclean, raising the dead, all the while proclaiming the reign of God that these miracles incarnate. In chapter 10, He sends the Twelve…
Shakespeare’s Claudio and Hero are usually played as palely conventional lovers, a foil to the sparkling sparring of Benedick and Beatrice. A recent British National Theatre production of Much Ado gives a more colorful Claudio and Hero. According to the TLS reviewer, Laurie Maguire, “Claudio (Daniel Hawkesford) is alarmed by…
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