The Yeshua In Context Handbook
This is a post that will grow over time. Think of it as an online (and thus, free) book. I had planned to write something like this and publish it. Instead, I am adding bits and pieces at a time to this post (all the chapters will be linked from here with new ones added periodically). Perhaps it will be available as an eBook when I have posted a sufficient number of articles. Here is the growing Table of Contents (more to come): What is in the gospels? (Genre). Study Methods and Tips: Beginner to Intermediate. Reading as a disciple. Parables, Gospel by Gospel. List: Teachings of Yeshua. List: Teachings Unique to Luke. List: Healing Miracles of Yeshua. List: Exorcisms by Yeshua. List: Nature Miracles of Yeshua. Symbolic Actions and Kingdom Enactments. Midrash in the Gospels, the Example of Matthew 2:15. Yeshua's ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: 1a - Intro to the Gospels , Beginners , Featured , Reading Strategies , Study Tips
Gematria in the New Testament?
Sometimes I can't resist skipping ahead in a book. Preparing for the "Eyewitnesses in the Gospels" seminar coming up June 5, 2011, here in Atlanta, I decided to start a second book by Richard Bauckham, The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John. When I saw the final chapter, "The 153 Fish and the Unity of the Fourth Gospel," I had to skip ahead. And here are some interesting facts that sound like a combination of the show Numb3rs and biblical scholarship . . . Gematria is the rabbinic term for finding numerical patterns in the biblical text. It is not a term that was used in the time the New Testament was written. But numerical patterns are definitely part of the biblical ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Featured , Gematria , Literary Features
Yeshua and Sacrifices
A curious question to ask is whether Yeshua ever offered sacrifices in the Temple? It's a curious question because the gospels never depict him doing so. Our off-the-cuff answer to the question may reveal a lot about our assumptions concerning Yeshua. Another question might be, "Why don't the gospels ever depict Yeshua offering a sacrifice or mention that he did so?" ... Read entire article >>
Filed under: Background to Gospels , Erasing Anti-Judaism , Featured , Law, Torah , Sacrificial System , Temple and Torah