Last time I looked at the ways early Christians conceptualized Christ's example as one who was tempted but without sin. I considered whether the first Christians were interested in Christ's example in a comprehensive sense, or whether their emulation of him fit within a more specific context. I concluded that Christians were more interested in … Continue reading How and why did Satan tempt early Christians?
In our affluent modern Western context, Christians and non-Christians alike appeal to the example of Jesus in the process of making various moral decisions. Our ethical questions regarding quagmires ranging from finances, to sexuality, to national policy are often met with the refrain "what would Jesus do?" The assumptions underlying this question are twofold: First, … Continue reading Was Jesus tempted in every way?
The kerygma and praxis of John Kerygma The Christian gospel begins with one man's prophetic vision. This man, known to us as John the Baptist, believed Israel's God was about to judge his adulterous people in apocalyptic fashion by burning away the chaff and purifying the gold. The righteous Israelites who endured this national catastrophe … Continue reading Jesus the baptizer: why John and Jesus baptized
Where does the brunt of New Testament eschatology actually land? When did the disciples see the son of man coming in his kingdom? Did they see him at all? In attempting to answer these question we first looked at a number of problematic Jesus-sayings. These sayings associated the day of judgement, the coming of the … Continue reading When did the disciples see the son of man coming in his kingdom?
Certain preterist eschatological models are becoming more and more popular in Christian circles because they address an urgent problem: If we are going to read Jesus' statements about the date of the eschaton ("Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place," etc.) in a straightforward way, … Continue reading Did the disciples see the son of man coming in his kingdom in AD 70?
Jesus makes a number of predictions concerning the imminent arrival of the son of man and his kingdom in the Synoptic Gospels. Such prophetic utterances have caused theologians a great deal of strife as they seem to associate Jesus' own generation with the looming apocalypse. Jesus' claim that some of his listeners would see the … Continue reading Did the disciples see the son of man coming in his kingdom on the mount of transfiguration?
Two prophetic activities make up the bulk of the Gospel narratives. Jesus healed crowds of Jews in the countryside, in homes, and in synagogues, all while announcing the arrival of the kingdom through powers, teachings, and parables. Jesus debated priests, lawyers, scribes, and Pharisees concerning the Jewish scriptures wherever he met them; in Jerusalem, Galilee, … Continue reading Israel and the gospel of the kingdom
The kingdom among Jews I previously made the case that the kingdom of God as understood by the first Christians was not fundamentally a place, a polity, or a period of time; it was rather a process by which God's will became manifest on the earth in history. This process would at first be sudden … Continue reading Another look at God’s kingdom in second temple context
Paul outlines what appears to be a novel eschatological scenario in his first letter to the churches at Thessalonika. He writes that at the coming of Christ believers will be raised from the dead, collected into the air, and brought into the presence of the Lord (4:16-17). At the sound of the last trumpet there … Continue reading Functional eschatology at Thessalonika
Christ's physical resurrection In two previous posts I tried to discern the significance of Christ's resurrection for earliest Christianity. I came to the conclusion that the resurrection served, for the most part, as a sign pointing to the exaltation of Christ to God's right hand. I argued that this exaltation, in turn, established Christ's role … Continue reading The resurrection to heaven
Scribes of the Kingdom 