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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Psalm 22 provides much of the background for the crucifixion of Jesus. It begins with “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me,” the words of Jesus from the cross. “Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? O my God, I…
Evangelicals need to thicken our theology of the Lord’s Supper, first by drawing more of the Bible into the discussion of the Supper, and second by drawing more of the Supper into discussion of the Supper. Even a fine recent treatment of Reformed sacramental theology, Todd Billings’s Remembrance, Communion, and…
The Passion Narrative is about Jesus’ arrest, trial, and death; it’s about the Son of Man being “delivered up.” But there’s a lot more going on. The story is actually woven of several distinct stories. Two other characters are introduced in Matthew 26 – the woman who anoints Jesus and…
After the Olivet Discourse, Jesus “finished all these words.” Matthew has used a similar phrase before (26:1; cf. 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1). Throughout the book, in fact, each time that Jesus finishes a long section of teaching, Matthew tells us that Jesus “finished these words.” That refrain doesn't just tell…
Jesus starts His procession from the Mount of Olives, the mountain just east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It’s the first time He has come to the Mount of Olives, but it takes on prominence in the last week of Jesus’ life. He begins His triumphal entry from the…
In a review of Steven Pinker's new book on Enlightenment, Peter Harrison observes that Pinker treats reason "as an unproblematic given, as if we all know what it is and are happy to sign up to Pinker's version of it." It's not so simple, and in fact Pinker's easy use…
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