Psalm 1 is one of those passages that folks like to preach at the beginning of a new calendar year or ponder at the outset of a significant new season in life. Indeed, this psalm is particularly dear to my family. For . . . Continue reading →
It is the Monday after Easter Sunday, the most important day in the church calendar. For many, it is a time of great busyness as the typical practice is set aside in favor of flowers, choirs, and more. Big family brunches, lunches, . . . Continue reading →
King Jesus would know silence in a way that David never could because he was not merely wounded and abandoned. He was murdered in the most brutal way the Romans knew. He was publicly humiliated and shamed, and then, they hoped, silenced by being placed in a tomb.
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According to Josephus and three of the four Gospel writers, Caiaphas was Israel’s high priest during the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry.7 Further, as it turns out, he was the son-in-law of Annas, who had also reigned as high priest some years . . . Continue reading →
In Luke 16, Jesus tells a fascinating story about two contrasting characters: one who lives in luxury, and the other who lives in extreme poverty and, unlike all the other parables Jesus tells, in this particular narrative, one of the characters is . . . Continue reading →
Princeton Theological Seminary was established with the intention of combining excellent scholarship with an intelligent, hearty commitment to the Reformed theology, piety, and practice summarized in the Reformed confessions. It has not always been easy to maintain that marriage. Princeton Seminary was . . . Continue reading →
The work of creation is composed of an hexaemeron, or period of six days, coming to a majestic climax in the resting of the Creator on the seventh day. The length of these days is not stated but a certain correspondence of . . . Continue reading →
Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order . . . Continue reading →
Last time, we looked at the difference between glosses and word meanings. A gloss is an English word substitute and is of concern primarily to translators, while meaning is a brief description of a word’s referent. I illustrated this difference with some . . . Continue reading →
Given the abundant parallels to the construction in 1 John 2:8—with just a few of the ones I found given above—we can make two preliminary conclusions on its syntax that then impact the overall interpretation of the verse. First, the conjunction ὅτι . . . Continue reading →
When working with foreign words, we should be aware of a very important distinction: the distinction between meaning and gloss. For our purposes, a gloss is an English word substitute for a Greek word. In simple cases, a gloss is perfectly satisfactory . . . Continue reading →
So much for the picture of what is happening at the Supper. Now for its meaning. First, what it means for Christ himself: watch now the face of the Savior as he institutes the New Covenant in his blood. It is the . . . Continue reading →
“Do not think that I will accuse you with the Father” says Jesus. “There is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me. But if . . . Continue reading →
What follows is a sermon preached by Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), who was Professor of Apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary from 1929–72. This transcription from an audio recording was made in the 1990 and is published here with the permission of Westminster . . . Continue reading →
Perhaps one of the most common Bible verses found on bookmarks, in memory lists, and on social media posts is Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to . . . Continue reading →
The author of Hebrews is concerned about an unacceptable attitude toward the Word of God in the Christian community in Rome. Due to the threat of persecution and hardship in the church, these first century Christians were giving up on their commitments . . . Continue reading →
I corresponded with John Hughes recently and complimented him on a detailed scholarly article he wrote some years ago where he gave a most helpful treatment of Heb. 9:15-22. He mentioned in return that it was disappointing that his work seems to . . . Continue reading →
Despite how we know we should feel, even Christians who deeply love the Bible often feel a bit less than enthused if the preacher uses an obscure portion of the Old Testament as his sermon text. Some Old Testament books seem so . . . Continue reading →
This is a serious interpretive problem for those dispensationalists who argue, in effect, that redemptive history takes a U-turn in the millennial age, as the reality which is found in Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Temple imagery in his own body, supposedly returns to the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Continue reading →
Although Geerhardus Vos is best known as a biblical theologian, this is not an essay about biblical theology. Nor does it deal with his well-known 1894 Princeton inaugural address. It is instead a reflection on important aspects of the larger theological method that . . . Continue reading →