Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
One of the curiosities of the New Testament revelation is its focus on Galilee. The region of Galilee was given to Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, and Issachar, and the events of Judges 4-8 occurred there, so it had some importance in Israelite history. But when the tribe of Ephraim led the…
Numbers 3:40-51 tells us that the Levites were substituted for the firstborn of Israel. The firstborn belonged to God, as stated in Exodus 13:12-13 and 22:29. It is clear that the first group of firstborn claimed by God were those He saved at the first Passover (Ex. 12). These should…
I have lived and worked in Presbyterian circles since I became convinced of the Reformed faith over twenty years ago. Thus, it is easiest and most appropriate for me to issue criticisms and to call for reformation in the Presbyterian churches. Both Scripture and my own experience, and my observation…
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory...(John 1:14) Commentaries on John, discussing the Word or Logos in John 1, routinely turn to Greek philosophy and say that John is using a term and at least part of an idea familiar in the ancient…
John Wenham’s Redating Matthew, Mark & Luke: A Fresh Assault on the Synoptic Problem 1 is an impressively detailed treatment of the "synoptic problem." I lack both the patience and the knowledge to evaluate Wenham’s contribution to that vexing question. My purpose instead is to summarize his conclusions concerning the…
Commentators do not agree on the contents of the Book of Seven Seals (Revelation 5:1). Some see it as the New Covenant; others as the whole Word of God; others as the book of life; and others as the record of the Old Creation that is now being brought to…
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Matthew 14:11: And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she carried it to her mother. There are two tables in our sermon text, two feasts. There is the murderous feast of Herod, a cannibal king, a shepherd who devours the best of his…
There are echoes in the story of the book of Esther, at least in Mark’s version of John’s execution. Matthew tells us that when the daughter of Herodias danced before Herod, he promised with an oath to give whatever she asked. Mark records Herod’s words somewhat differently: He promises not…
In an old JBL article (on Peter in Matthew), Jack Dean Kingsbury points out that “with” statements frame the gospel of Matthew: “God with us” at one end, and “I am with you always” at the other. Within the gospel, Kingsbury argues that Jesus is mainly “with” the Twelve. Matthew…
Every time the name “Herod” appears in the gospel of Matthew, innocents die. Herod the Great is a prominent character in chapter 2, and the name Herod doesn’t appear again until chapter 14, where Antipas agrees to give Herod’s head to the female Herod, Herodias. Herod doesn’t appear in the…
Peter’s name is used 24 times in Matthew’s gospel. He is identified as “Simon, who is called Peter” or “Simon Peter” three times (4:18; 10:2; 16:16), once called “Simon” (17:25) and once “Simon Barjona” (and two more times is identified as “Simon” (16:17). The distribution of his major appearances in…
I suggested in an earlier post that time is not a lava flow that is liquid and dynamic until it reaches the past, at which point it hardens to rock. If not lava, then what? How does the past keep flowing when it’s no longer present (except as the “present…
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