Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. Sounds crazy, I know. But here is a one-paragraph synopsis of both: The people of God have gone their own way,…
G.K. Chesterton famously said that the Gospels don’t reveal Jesus’ mirth. It’s true we never catch Jesus laughing. But can we believe He never did? I don’t think so. Laughter is human, and Jesus was fully human. Jesus promised that those who mourned would laugh. He mourned; would He not…
Matthew 2 has all the elements of an exodus story. There’s a murderous king, who slaughters Jewish babies. There’s a infant who will be Israel’s future deliverer, saved from the murderous king so He can later return to save His people and lead them to the Promised land. There’s an…
The calendar of Israel was primarily theological, centered on commemorating the salvific acts of God, but also agricultural, celebrating the creation-restoring effects of those salvific acts. The feasts of the first month celebrated the reviving of the world in the Spring, and typified the cutting off of the Savior in…
The chiastic shape corresponds to the shape of human life. This should not surprise us, because we are made in the image of God, and God is manifest in Word and Spirit. If we are living epistles, our lives will look a bit like the literary shape of the books…
Back in January, Venkatesh Rao wrote a fascinating post on the Ribbonfarm blog, discussing different forms of models of narrative. Engaging with Ursula LeGuin’s talk ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ , Rao explores her contrast between the (male) ‘hero narrative’ and the (female) ‘carrier-bag story’, and suggests a third…
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Sermon Outline for January 25: God and Mammon, Luke 16:1-17:10 INTRODUCTION Though Jesus begins a new parable in Luke 16:1, and is speaking to the disciples, in many ways chapter 16 is a continuation of what Jesus said in chapter 15. There is no change of scene, so Jesus is…
Eucharistic meditation, January 18: Luke 15:23-24 As the church has always recognized, the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus Christ as a blessing to the people of God. In it, we memorialize Jesus’ death, celebrate His victory over sin and Satan, and are refreshed in the power of the Spirit.…
Exhortation for January 18: The parable of the prodigal son has many levels, but one layer is that the story of the prodigal is the story of man. It is the story of Adam. Like Adam, the younger son has a great inheritance, but he despises it. Worse still is…
The elder brother in the parable of the prodigal is a piece of work. He enjoys the abundance of his father’s house, and obviously also enjoys his father’s affection. Yet, he is simmering with bitterness and anger, which breaks to the surface as soon as he hears the sound of…
Jesus describes the sinners who gather around Him as repentant sinners. What signs have they shown of being repentant? In the context of Luke 15, there are several. First, the chapter opens by saying that tax gatherers and sinners are coming near to “listen to Him” (v. 1). Hearing and…
In telling the story of the shepherd searching for a single lost sheep, Jesus is undoubtedly playing off the prophetic indicments of Israel’s shepherds in such passages as Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34. That gives his parable a much sharper edge than is usually recognized. Jesus’ question in Luke 15:4…
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