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
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 One
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(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
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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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Jesus: The Branch and Ladder
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(Matthew 2:23, Genesis 28:10-17 with John 1:43-51)
Jesus as Netzer
Jesus was just beginning to assemble His band of key disciples. The first chapter of John’s Gospel introduces us to Nathaniel (probably also known as Bartholomew). During their initial meeting, Yeshua dazzles Nathaniel and then shares a midrash to describe the nature of His ministry.
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Dueling Midrash: Satan vs. Jesus in the Temptation in the Wilderness (Part 2)
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(Psalm 2:7-9; Psalm 91:1; Matthew 4:5-7, 10)
In the last installment, we began to ponder the temptation of Jesus from the angle of rabbinic debate and midrash, Satan pitted against Jesus. We introduced this subject and looked at the first temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Today we will discuss Yeshua’s final two temptations. It is probable Jesus and Satan engaged in much more discussion than is recorded. We must remember that the Gospels are brief summaries.
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