Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
After the identification of the recipients of his letter at the beginning of Revelation, John gives a benediction that resembles the benedictions of the Pauline letters. He pronounces grace/favor and peace, grace and favor that lead to peace, grace that leads to fullness and harmony that is the biblical definition…
Throughout the latter half of 1-2 Samuel, Saul and David are locked in hand-to-hand combat. It seems an unequal contest. All the heavy artillery is on Saul's side. To understand the full scope of the conflict, we need to back up to the beginning of the book. Prior to Saul's…
Last week, I lectured at Ostrog Academy in Ostrog, Ukraine, and at a pastors' conference in Kyiv. The latter was co-sponsored by Trinity House and the Alliance of Reformed Churches in Ukraine. I offer my impressions of Ukraine this morning at Firstthings.com .
Why do I bristle when I see someone with white wires hanging from his ears, flipping through what must be a million songs downloaded onto his iPod? No doubt, it’s the threat of the new. I've only recently begun carrying a cell phone, and now I hear tell of compact…
Judah is in terrible shape (Isaiah 57). Yahweh told Israel to worship Him only at the temple, but the people worship on every hill and under every green and leafy tree. He commanded them to worship Him alone, but they are devoted to many gods. Worshipers set up their beds…
Like any great writer, the Lord foreshadows late happenings in early happenings. Like many greater writers, the Lord ends where he begins, returning to a glorified Edenic city-sanctuary at the end of his cosmic story. The Lord writes with history, real people and events, not merely with words. But His…
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More from Green’s commentary: Luke is amazing. In 7:1-10, Jews come to Jesus interceding for the centurion. They insist that the centurion is worthy of attention because he has done good to the nation of Israel: “He loves our nation, and it was he who built our synagogue” (v. 5).…
Building from Joel Green’s comments on Luke 7:1-10, I suggest a combination of chiastic and parallel structure in the passage: A. Centurion’s slave is ill, v 2 B. Centurion sends delegation of Jews, v 3 C. Jews convince Jesus the centurion is “worthy,” vv 4-5 D. Jesus responds by going…
Bailey’s discussion (previous post) also helped me to answer questions about the sexual imagery of Luke 7. Not only do we have references to “feet” (euphemistic for sexual organs), but the woman is said to “touch” him, which often has sexual connotations as well. Plus, the woman looses her hair…
There is a very intriguing analysis of Luke 7:36-50 in Kenneth Bailey’s Through Peasant Eyes . He points out that Simon the Pharisee must have invited Jesus to his house with the deliberate intent of insulting him, testing him. Simon left out all the basic rites of hospitality, which he…
It was one of those “blinding flashes of the obvious” that Jim Jordan often talks about (and apparently, experiences). I was asked the other day if the effort to formulate a thorough-going Trinitarian theology was an exercise of systematics, and if so how this fit with my bias (and that…
After reading through a stack of papers on Aeschylus’s Oresteian trilogy, a few thoughts have occurred to me, mainly having to do with my unbegun and doubtless forever unfinished work on the atonement, sacrifice, and so on. Essentially, these thoughts all boil down to one question: What would Aeschylus have…
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