Why did Jesus teach using parables? This is the question his disciples asked him, to which he replied by quoting from Isaiah: And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes;lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:9-10 Did Jesus purposely use parables to obfuscate the meaning of his message? Did he actually not want the people to be transformed by his teaching? At a surface […]
Category Archives: Other
What is Jesus’ Gospel Really About?
Christians often employ the word “gospel,” for example, “We need to go share the gospel with them.” Does our understanding of this common term accurately reflect Jesus’ meaning? In the first part of this three-part series, we looked at the meaning of the gospel in the Greco-Roman world. We noted that “gospel” or “good news” (euangelion in Greek) proclamations were declared when a new Caesar was enthroned, to announce his birthday, or to celebrate a Roman army victory. Our focus in the second part was how euangelizo (bringing good news) was used in the Greek Old Testament, zeroing in on […]
The Gospel According to Isaiah
We know there are many references to the gospel in the New Testament, but is this term used in the Old Testament? Mark begins his account about Jesus with, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet…” (Mark 1:1-2a). Is Mark saying Isaiah wrote about the gospel? A Greco-Roman Gospel versus a Hebrew Gospel In my previous post, we examined the meaning of “gospel” in the Greco-Roman world. To review, euangelion, the Greek word translated as “gospel” was a familiar term to those in the Roman Empire. “Gospel” […]
The Gospel According to Caesar?
We have recently celebrated Jesus’ birth and a new year on our calendar. Did you know there are some surprising parallels to Caesar Augustus? Luke reminds us of who was ruling at the time of Jesus’ birth: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…” (Luke 2:1a) Caesar Augustus reigned over the Roman Empire when Jesus was born, including the areas of Judea (where Jesus was born) and Galilee (where Jesus grew up and did most of his ministry). “Gospel” Unlike Luke’s starting with Jesus’ nativity, Mark begins his account of Jesus with, “The beginning of the gospel […]
Learning to Love
Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. Genesis 24:67 I took a break from this blog for a chunk of 2022. I did not intend for the silence to last so long. What happened? I got married! Please welcome Sara to the team! We got married in August and have been adapting to married life. Isaac Loved Rebecca The passage quoted above ends a long chapter about Abraham’s servant going to fetch a wife for Isaac. […]
Your Invitation to God’s “Holy Day” Celebrations
Happy new year! I hope you are having a good holiday season. I use the word “holiday” deliberately here, not to obscure the centrality of Christ in Christmas, but to focus on the literal definition of “holiday”: a “holy” day. Throughout the year, we have various celebratory days that are “set apart” (that’s what “holy” means). The rest of the days are common, or unholy, by contrast. There’s nothing wrong with these ordinary days; they’re just not special like the others. As we start a new calendar year, did you know that God has a calendar full of scheduled holy […]
When Shepherds Encounter God’s Army
God has many titles/names. One of those is Yahweh Tzavot, which occurs 240 times in the Hebrew Bible along with other variations. What does this title mean? You and What Army? The word tzavot is the plural of tzava (צָבָא), which means an army or a large host/horde. While it often is attached to God, it also commonly describes earthly armies. For example, Abner was the commander of Saul’s army/tzava (1 Samuel 14:50, 26:5), and Joab was over David’s army (2 Samuel 8:16). Those serving at the tabernacle were considered to be in a tzava (Numbers 4:3), i.e. in God’s […]
Do Not Fear: God Is With Us
Most are familiar with the popular Christmas carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” but do you know the backstory to this title? It is most familiar in Jesus’ birth narrative, a message to Joseph from an angel: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:21-23 Immanuel 700 years before Jesus […]
The “Fourteenth” of Christmas
This traditional place for Jesus’ birth is marked with a silver fourteen-pointed star. Why fourteen? It is for the three lists of fourteen ancestors in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1. The birth stories of Jesus are favorites, especially with the magi, the shepherds, and the baby in the manger, but few of us would say we enjoy this long list of names. However, to much of the Eastern part of our world, what to us is a boring list of names is actually extremely important and interesting. An organization that distributes audio Bibles reports that one out of three people […]
Advent – A Season of Anticipation
Some Christian traditions celebrate Advent in the weeks before Christmas. The word comes from Latin (adventus) and means “coming” or “arrival” (parousia in our New Testament’s Greek). While most people focus on Advent’s preparation for Christmas, the Bible’s use of the term is usually about Jesus’ Second Coming. While it is wonderful to remember the time of Jesus’ incarnation and birth, we must never forget he has a second advent that we must all be prepared for. The main thing Jesus and the apostles taught about his return was to be ready. A little baby in a manger makes us […]