Among those Jews in the Greek and Roman periods who expected a Messiah, most expected him to be a son of David. This Davidic Messiah would be a new and better David; he would obey God, judge among the people of Israel, and take control of the surrounding nations. Israel would finally be safe, prosperous, … Continue reading Son of David: healer extraordinaire?
In a previous post I argued that Jesus' initial prophetic aim was to gather together the inhabitants of Jerusalem—its Torah-observant Pharisees, scribes, and priests—into an eschatological remnant community. This community would stand firm on the day of judgement and then inherit the kingdom of God when it came in power. History did not play out … Continue reading He eats with lawyers and Pharisees!
I argued last time that the early Christians placed more significance on the exaltation of Christ to heaven than on his resurrection from the dead. Two observations pointed me in this direction. Some early confessional material managed to tell the story of Christ without an explicit reference to bodily resurrection (Philippians 2:5-6, Hebrews 1:1-4, 1 … Continue reading The significance of Christ’s resurrection in early preaching
Christ died and was raised Scholars characterize certain New Testament texts as discrete confessions or hymns. The most well-known among these is Paul's good news "of first importance" in 1 Corinthians 15—that Christ died in accordance with the scriptures, was buried, was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and then appeared … Continue reading Christ died and was exalted
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (Matthew 4:8-9) For much of church history—and down to the present day—Jesus' temptation in … Continue reading “All of these I will give you”
Eschatological woes The conceptual merging of the kingdom of God with the church appears to be a prudent theological move. The scheme relieves us of our eschatological woes, offering a remedy for the urgent and awkward apocalyptic eschatology we find in the New Testament. Once we have conflated the kingdom and the church there appears … Continue reading The kingdom of God is not the church
In my previous post I failed to explain the significance of the Son of Man's coming with the clouds of heaven as it was envisioned in Daniel and in the New Testament. Let's clear that up. Daniel 7 When Daniel first introduces the one like a son of man, the figure is approaching God on … Continue reading What is the coming of the Son of Man?
According to popular Christian tradition, the titles Son of God and Son of Man refer respectively to Christ's divine and human natures. Jesus is the Son of God because he is God and he is the Son of Man because he is man. But as is the case with the designation 'Immanuel,' I argue that … Continue reading Why did Jesus call himself the Son of Man?
Christmas and Theology Theological constructs, while often helpful, sometimes prevent us from hearing what Biblical texts have to say. This is certainly the case with scripture's dual nativity stories. Two theological concerns in particular blur our reading of these stories. Since the two birth narratives are divergent and sometimes contradictory, in our desire to defend the … Continue reading Immanuel: theology or history?
Scribes of the Kingdom 