The Sanhedrin condemns Jesus for claiming that He was able to destroy the temple and rebuild it. To them, that was equivalent to claiming God’s power, and had to be blasphemy. Surely Jesus didn’t have that kind of power - never mind that He had spent several years very . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Modern atheists try to test God by their own moral and logical standards, and they think they are very, very clever. They are more evangelical than they know: Humanity’s trial of God is one of the central episodes of the Passion Narrative. THE TEXT “And those who had . . . . Continue Reading »
The writer of Hebrews writes: “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things . . . . Continue Reading »
In Gethsemane, it seems that Jesus is being “reconsolidated” as the original Adam. His helpers, the disciples, flee from Him, leaving Him along to face His Satanic attackers. Maybe, though, the typology works differently. Perhaps we are to see Jesus-and-disciples as forming . . . . Continue Reading »
Toby Sumpter pointed out parallels between Matthew 18 and 26, specifically on the issue of “stumbling blocks.” Jesus condemns those who put stumbling blocks in the way of little ones, and predicts that the disciples will stumble over Him on the night of His arrest and trial. One . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus explains His arrest and the scattering of the disciples in terms of Zechariah 13:7-9, where Yahweh commands the sword, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” This all happens at night (Matthew 26:31), the night that happens to be Passover. Scripture records . . . . Continue Reading »
Peter denies Jesus three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest and trial. The only other time the verb “deny” is used in the NT, it’s used of “self-denial,” which is immediately connected to “taking up the cross.” There are thus two options: Deny . . . . Continue Reading »
Josh Gibbs writes: “While it might be anachronistic to read it this way (modern Christianity has likely blown the idea of the ‘sword of the Spirit’ way out of proportion), it seems best to me that we understand two entirely different, separate swords in . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow Me,” which is to say, “Be willing to die with me.” Instead the disciples flee. But it gets worse. The word “sword” is used six times in Matthew 26:47-56, three times in verse 52 alone. (Otherwise, . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Jesus goes to a garden to reverse Adam’s sin. Instead of seizing fruit, the Last Adam submits to His Father and drinks the cup. In the end, all His helpers – His Eve – flee, and He is left alone to face His accusers. THE TEXT “Then Jesus said to them, . . . . Continue Reading »
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