Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The story of Judges 19 and the subsequent chapters are some of the most shocking and appalling accounts in all of Scripture. The callousness of the old host and the Levite, and the monstrous brutality of the men of Gibeah, leaves us feebly scrabbling for words by which to surmount…
David has become king. He has conquered the capital city of Jerusalem. He has brought the ark of Yahweh into the city and placed it in a tent. He has stationed Levites at the tent to offer sacrifices of praise. An anomaly hits him: He has a cedar-paneled palace, and…
In Part 2 of this series we traced what we have of the development of the epiclesis in the liturgy of the Church. In this third and final part we’ll look at the theological implications of this and how we may apply what we’ve learned. As we saw in Part…
In a 2014 piece published in First Things , I offered a "wish list" for Protestant churches, a checklist for a future catholic Protestantism. The wish list doesn't cover everything. It doesn't mention those things that Protestants, especially Evangelicals, already do, often exceedingly well, things like missions and evangelism and…
In the first part of this series we examined the meaning of “blessing” in Scripture and its parallels in Jewish liturgical tradition, but did not find anything that we could properly call an epiclesis (an invocation of the Holy Spirit). We did find examples of invocation of Jesus to “come”…
When the Aaronic priests were ordained, the blood of the ram of "filling” was placed on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev. 8:22-24). Similarly, the cleansing rite for a leper included smearing the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe with…
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In his NIV Application commentary on Hebrews, George Guthrie offers this chiastic outline for Hebrews 1:2b-4: A. God appointed Christ as heir B. Through him he created the world C. He is the radiance of God’s glory C’. He bears God’s stamp B’. He governs universe (having made purification for…
Twice at least Paul says about the “working” of God in us is like God’s work in raising Jesus (Ephesians 1:19-20; Colossians 2:12). The characterization of God’s energy as energy to raise the dead is underscored by a pun. In Greek, “working” is energeia and “raise” is egeiro . Colossians…
Thomas Aquinas: “Trust is the expectation of help; and trust was found in Christ in that in accordance with human nature he looked for help from the Father in his suffering.”
The writer to the Hebrews expounds on the superiority of the Son in a series of seven quotations mainly from the Psalms. Seven words certainly piques one’s interest, no? Day 1: Light, and the beginning of creation. Hebrews 1:5a: the Son is begotten “today,” likely the day of resurrection, as…
The parable of the unjust steward is one of the most difficult of Jesus’ stories. The following essay is an attempt (following Joel Green and other recent commentators) to make sense of the story. Though Jesus begins a new parable in Luke 16:1, and is speaking to the disciples, in…
For the writer to the Hebrews, Christological interpretation is an absolute necessity. Earlier revelation was fragmentary - many parts, many ways - but His new speech is unified in huio - in the (one) Son. Without Jesus, the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible lacks unity. Would the writer to the…
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