Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
References to the Son of Man coming on the clouds occur five times in the Synoptic Gospels. Three times such expressions appear in the parallel accounts of the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:36; Luke 21:27). Then, in parallel accounts of Jesus’ trial before the leaders of Israel, such expressions…
Just what the difference is in the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the New Testament is a question not so easily answered. The distinction is often said to be that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is on the believer, but in the New…
1. Introduction You should think of 1917 at church on Sunday. Why? Let me explain. There's one film every Oscar season which everyone seems to have watched—your parents, your colleagues, even your pastor. This year, it's 1917— Sam Mendes' WW1 epic following two British Tommies on a seemingly impossible quest…
This piece was originally part of the Bowyer response to the Theopolis series surrounding Professor McDermott’s essay, “Rethinking Israel.” For the sake of brevity, it was removed from the initial response, to be published as a standalone piece. As we’ve argued previously , we are strongly supportive of the right…
Richard Bauckham’s groundbreaking work, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony , is profoundly insightful, but the message of the book is hampered by the presupposition of Marcan priority. Ironically the place where this assumption perhaps does its most damage is in Bauckham’s discussion of the apostle Matthew…
The Protestant Reformation was defined by certain clarifying disagreements between the medieval Church and those who came to be known as Protestant Reformers. Chief among these was the nature of justification: whether one was justified by works, or by faith and works, or—as Martin Luther contended—by faith alone. Now over…
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Last time Andrew Sullivan took note of something I wrote, he implied I was anti-Semitic for writing a favorable obit for RJ Rushdoony. Today, he noted my little piece on health care, published on the First Things web site, on his Daily Dish. I am supposed to have concluded that…
A student, Daniel Foucachon, gave some very thoughtful perspectives on Jesus’ instructions in the Sermon on the Mount. He noted that Jesus is not commending non-resistance, but a particular kind of resistance. Our resistance is modeled on Jesus’ own; He conquered by going willingly to the cross, and He instructs…
John does not record the tearing of the veil of the temple. Alone among the gospel writers, though, he records the piercing of Jesus’ side. The two facts are related: Jesus is the temple (as He says in John 2), and in the tearing of His flesh there is a…
The folks at First Things were kind enough to include a short article of mine on their blog. You can find it at: http://www.firstthings.com.
A student suggests a creation image in John 9 - the clay and spittle on the blind man’s eyes recall the dust-and-breath of Genesis 2. Further, she suggests a connection with the land-sea imagery of the OT: Spittle and clay join Jew and Gentile in one new man, a man…
During his trial, Jesus is frequently, remarkably silent. This is particularly striking in John, where Jesus has been identified as the eternal Word of the Father. But when Jew and Gentile combine to put the Word of the Father in the dock, the Word says nothing. Is there here perhaps…
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