Myth-busting: Shepherds as despised ones?
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Bible
Caird on Luke's birth narrative
G B Caird is helpful, as ever, in his comments on Luke's account of the birth of Jesus:
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The Purpose of Philippians
I'm greatly enjoying spending some time in Paul's letter to the Philippians, in preparation for the first of our new quarterly combined services. The two churches (Kemsing and Woodlands) will come together for a shared Communion service 4 times a year. I am really looking forward to the occasion. In many respects, the two churches are very different. However the riches we share in Christ are many, and this quarterly celebration will be the chance to rejoice in that and to commit afresh to serving together in holding out the word of Christ.
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Studying the Word of God
Wayne Grudem is very helpful in his Systematic Theology on what we mean when we refer to "the word of God".
He points out on pages 47-48 that "the word of God" can refer, in Scripture, to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It can also refer to God's speech in 4 forms: 1. His decrees; 2. His words of personal address; 3. His speech through human lips, and 4. His words in written form, for us the Bible.
Not so with you
R T France is very helpful on what Jesus expects of his disciples. He comments on Mark 10:
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Hairy goats
Peter Leithart makes a wonderful observation about Jacob, Esau and Joseph.
He says this:
Esau is a “hairy man” (sa’iyr), something we learn only when Jacob dresses himself in goat hair to approach his father (Genesis 27:11, 23). Jacob becomes a hairy one, subbing in for his brother. The only other use of the word in Genesis is in 37:31, where it describes the “kid” killed to fool into thinking that Joseph has died. Both passages involve substitution, and both involve deception of a father.
1 Samuel 25 seems to be very important
I think this has struck me before. Re-reading 1 Samuel, we find that:
- Saul is rebuked by Samuel (1 Samuel 15)
- David has to flee to the Philistines (1 Samuel 21)
- The Ziphites betray David to Saul, then David spares Saul's life (1 Samuel 23-24)
- Samuel dies (1 Samuel 25:1)
- David accepts Abigail's gift, and marries her after God kills her fool of a husband (1 Samuel 25:2ff)
- The Ziphites betray David to Saul, then David spares Saul's life (1 Samuel 26)
- The Ziphites betray David to Saul, then David spares Saul's life (1 Samuel 23-24)
- David lives among the Philistine (1 Samuel 27)
- David has to flee to the Philistines (1 Samuel 21)
- Saul is rebuked by Samuel (1 Samuel 28)
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Why is Mark 6:14-29 in Mark's gospel?
Why is Mark 6:14-29 in Mark's gospel?
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Mark 6:14-29 and the book of Esther
I thought the reference in Mark 6:23 to "up to half my kingdom" sounded familiar. Sure enough, the phrase also occurs in Esther 5:3 and Esther 7:2.
That got me thinking.
In the book of Esther we have a king with an extravagant party who makes an oath to depose his queen, which would be (for her) a kind of death. He promises a girl up to half of his kingdom, and then executes somebody because it is effectively what that girl asked for. We have someone (Haman), who has the king's ear, asking for the people of God to be put to death. Sound familiar?
12 years and Mark chapter 5
R T France thinks that, in looking for links between the story of the raising of Jairus's daughter and the healing of a bleeding woman, recourse to the detail of “12 years” is “a counsel of despair” (page 235, fn 20).
Interesting, Larry Hurtado does not agree. From page 88 of his commentary:
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