Psalms for Everyone - The Mystery of Sin
Psalms for Everyone - The Mystery of Sin
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Mystery of Sin Psalm 19 One of the Christians I know who have had affairs had three such relationships and got away with two without anyone knowing. Then some people discovered about the third (I don’t know what his wife might have suspected), which was how he came to be talk…
Psalms for Everyone - Thus Far and No Further
Psalms for Everyone - Thus Far and No Further
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Thus Far and No Further Psalm 8 The crying of babies and sucklings is hard to listen to yet hard to avoid. In the area that is now South Sudan, one in seven children dies before his or her fifth birthday. In Darfur, countless young girls have been raped and abducted. The media re…
Psalms for Everyone - Did You Have Your Eyes Shut, Then?
Psalms for Everyone - Did You Have Your Eyes Shut, Then?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Did You Have Your Eyes Shut, Then? Psalm 37: 21-40 There’s a poem by Jacqueline Osherow in which she imagines a Jewish boy who has learned the Psalms by heart saying them at Auschwitz and puzzling over Psalm 37 (“Psalm 37 at Auschwitz,” in Dead Men’s Praise [New York: Grove Press…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Story to Question: the Implicit Phariasic Worldview
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Story to Question: the Implicit Phariasic Worldview
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (vi) From Story to Question: the Implicit Pharisaic Worldview Praxis, symbol and story lead the eye to the implicit questions which, we have argued, can be raised within any worldview. Who are we, whe…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - The Aims of a Zealous Pharisee
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - The Aims of a Zealous Pharisee
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL The Aims of a Zealous Pharisee Part of the answer to this question is easy; part is more controversial. The two outer limits are easy. First, personal purity. This has been sufficiently explored in ma…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Who Were the Pharisees?
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Who Were the Pharisees?
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL 2 Who Were the Pharisees? Twenty years ago or so there took place a massive debate about who exactly the Pharisees were.11 The debaters included heavyweights like Ed Sanders and Jacob Neusner, with th…
Simply Good News - The Back Story
Simply Good News - The Back Story
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 part c The Back Story In particular, Paul was saying that they didn’t need the old gods any more. At this point he was presenting to the world an essentially Jewish message. The Jewish people cherished their ancient scriptures, in which, across many centuries, prophets, scribes…
Simply Good News - Roman Good News
Simply Good News - Roman Good News
by SPCK - N T Wright
1, part c Roman Good News Let me turn now to another illustration. This one comes from the time and place where Jesus himself burst on the scene with his original good news, where Saint Paul went with the gospel: the world of the early Roman Empire. Come back with me to the first…
Simply Good News - Foolish, Scandalous or Good
Simply Good News - Foolish, Scandalous or Good
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 Foolish, Scandalous or Good? The man was a Jew, born and bred in what is now south-eastern Turkey. He was called Saul, a Hebrew name that, in his Jewish culture, had ancient royal associations. In Greek, however (Greek was the standard language around the Mediterranean world, l…
Simply Good News - The King's Herald
Simply Good News - The King's Herald
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 part b The King’s Herald So what was he talking about in Thessalonica and several other cities in the middle of the first century? In what sense was he bringing good news? What did he think had happened that made an all-important difference to the world?…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Returning to the Father
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Returning to the Father
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Returning to the Father Throughout these farewell discourses, Jesus has been preparing the disciples for his departure. He has made it increasingly clear that there will be a major division after he has gone. On his side there will be those who remain in his love and in the Fathe…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The Task of the Spirit
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The Task of the Spirit
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Task of the Spirit In this final farewell discourse, Jesus has described the two sides, those who are abiding in love with him and his Father and those who are opposed to them all. Although he is going away, this will enable the Holy Spirit to be ‘called alongside’, as the Pa…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Jesus Prays for His Disciples
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Jesus Prays for His Disciples
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Jesus Prays for His Disciples Having prayed to be with God in glory, Jesus turns to pray for his disciples who will be left behind. They are only a small frightened group, who still do not really understand what he is saying. At one level, it is not much to show for the fruits of…
Mark The People's bible commentary - Getting Rid of the Son
Mark The People's bible commentary - Getting Rid of the Son
by BRF - Dick France
GETTING RID of the SON In the last study we heard Jesus’ claim, by implication, to divine authority for what he was doing. Now the same claim is made, this time in the form of a fictional story with a transparent meaning. His opponents know exactly what he means (v. 12), but they…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING is CRUCIFIED Through these seven balanced trial scenes, Pilate moved from mocking Jesus to a grudging respect for his kingship while “the Jews” rejected the rule of God, preferring Caesar. Now Pilate ‘hands him over to them’, using the word for ‘betray’, after the action…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
REBUKES & DENIALS The scene has moved from the garden to the house of Annas, the old high priest. We have seen that John is building the tension by oscillating between events out in the courtyard and the preliminary hearing taking place in the house.
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST