Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Evangelistic Message to the Uninformed: 1 Timothy 3.14-16 Even though this is written as a sermon for delivery, and even though it was preached in a homiletics class, I decided I can’t post it as a sermon because it was not truly preached at a place where nonchristians wanted to…
If we only read the Gospels of Mark and Luke, we might get the impression that Jesus’ ascension was on resurrection Sunday. Matthew speaks of going to Galilee but he does not put things into a clear time frame. John shows us that Jesus appeared to the disciples eight days…
The most cursory glance at the history of Western literature reveals that it has been deeply influenced by the Bible. Some of the greatest classics of Western literature draw their plots, characters, and ideas largely from Scripture; Dante’s Divine Comedy and Milton’s Paradise Lost are two of the most notable…
Few themes emerge as profoundly and persistently in the streams of biblical narrative as the conflict between light and darkness, and the juxtaposition of humanity with monstrosity. These themes not only weave through the fabric of Scripture, emerging in stories from Genesis to Revelation, but also stitch together the human…
In John Wenham’s work, Easter Enigma , he devotes an entire chapter to Mary Magdalene, which is rephrased and summarized here. 1 One of the interesting things that Wenham said was that Mary Magdalene was the second “most favored woman in the Bible.” 2 He adds, “Yet apart from a…
God made man to live in a larger relational context, and even in high rebellion, man cannot escape his created nature. Instead, that nature takes revenge on rebellious man. Autonomous and alone, the self craves absolution but recognizes no authority that might give it; it thirsts for glory but rejects…
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A rabbinic text ( Avot de Rabbi Natan , 6) reads: Once, as Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai was coming forth from Jerusalem, Rabbi Joshua followed him and beheld the temple in ruins. “Woe unto us,” Rabbi Joshua cried, “that this, the place where the iniquities of Israel were atoned for,…
In an article on temple Christology in John , Mark S. Kinzer devotes a few illuminating pages to Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. Citing Raymond Brown, he points out that the dialog is set in the middle of a chiasm that includes extensive treatment of Jesus as the temple: A. First…
Francis Moloney ( Signs and Shadows , 147-8) has this nice comment on Jesus’ conflict with the Jews during the feast of rededication (John 10): “Jesus, who stands before ‘the Jews’ in the portico of Solomon in the Temple, points to himself and claims that he is the visible presence…
In a brilliant paragraph ( The Mystery of the Temple ), Congar summarizes the synoptic indications that Jesus is Himself the Presence. “When two or three gather, I am in the midst” (Matthew 18:20) attributes to Jesus the place and role Jews assigned to the Shekinah. At the transfiguration, a…
A friend and former student, Katy Cummings, writes with some thoughts on how to take Christmas music back from the sentimentalists. The rest of this post is from Katy. Part of the problem with Christmas carols is that, as the kerygma of Linus has testified, Luke 2 has become the…
It took 46 years to build this temple, the Jews object to Jesus. And you’ll raise it up in three days? Clearly, the 46-year period refers to the building. Or maybe not. In his Commentary on John , Aquinas summarizes the view of Augustine who says in his Book of…
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