Why Are There Four Gospels?
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“…there’s a whole lot more you can learn about someone by reading four stories of their life, rather than just one.” - P&D
What You Teach About Matthew’s Date Matters
Pastor, at some point this year you will be providing background context for the NT passage which you are about to preach, guiding your flock in properly visualizing the world of Jesus and the apostles, so that your people might better connect with the passage and also apply the background framework in their own studies. What will you teach them concerning the origin of the Gospels?
My goal in this article is to encourage you to pause and reflect on what will be said concerning the publication date of Matthew’s Gospel.
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Did Jesus Claim to be God? Answering Bart Ehrman
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“Bart Ehrman argues that Jesus didn’t, himself, claim to be God, but this was a belief that arose subsequently after his death, among his followers.” - Gavin Ortlund
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Review of ‘Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes’ by David Capes
Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, paperback.
I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. At least you can’t unless what you meant to say was something like “How the NT Book of _____ Reads the OT.”
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Holy Week, Wednesday The Anointing at Bethany – A Poem
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“I love the way Jesus responds to Mary’s beautiful, useless gesture and recognises it as something that is always worthwhile, something that will live forever, for all the carping and criticism of Judas, then and now.” - Malcolm Guite
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The New Birth Midrash, Part Two
Read the series.
(Ezekiel 18:3, 37:9-10; 1 Samuel 10:6, John 3:1-11)
As we continue on the subject of the New Birth (aka, regeneration), we can note that Jesus’ teaching about this miraculous work of the Spirit is based upon midrash from Old Testament texts. He expected Nicodemus, as a rabbi himself, to understand the concept—even before his encounter with Yeshua. Thus the concept of regeneration is not unique to the New Testament. However, Jesus’ terminology—“You must be born again”—is unique.
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The New Birth Midrash, Part One
Read the series.
(John 3:1-11 with Ezekiel 36:25-27)
The concept of the New Birth—aka, “regeneration” (Titus 3:5) or “circumcision of the heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6, 5:28-29 and 10:16)—is found throughout Scripture, but Jesus’ words to Nicodemus are perhaps the Bible’s definitive text on this subject.
Yeshua and Nicodemus
The (ESV) text of John 3:1-11 is a good place to start our investigation:
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Jesus’ Temple Remarks
Read the series.
My Father’s house
Jesus’ childhood narrative in Luke 3:41-51 records the only words spoken by Jesus while a youth. His family joined the caravan for an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. When they could not find Jesus in the caravan, they searched, finally returning to the temple courts in Jerusalem, where Yeshua was in dialog with the learned rabbis.
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