The Orant

After Jesus' rejection in Samaria we find him once again on the road in Luke 9: 57. This passage is an important piece of the story of Jesus and the way of life he calls his disciples to. The text is not explicit about where Jesus is heading specifically, but we do know he continues to head generally toward Jerusalem. In this passage he interacts directly with three would be followers of him. These interactions do have a parallel in Matthew 8: 18-22, but the context is somewhat different in … [Read more...]

As we have seen there is quite a bit of background going on in the story of Jesus' rejection in Samaria. I now lets start putting the pieces together. Find a Bible, open up to Luke 9:51-56 and follow along as we go verse by verse through the text. Verse 51 This passage is a clear break in the overall narrative of Luke, which is why scholars use it to point to the travel narrative.1 When Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem a new theme is introduced which is repeated again and again until he … [Read more...]

The travel narrative begins with the brief encounter where Jesus is rejected in Samaria, and rebukes his disciples after they ask if they should burn the Samaritan village. There are a few things we know. Jesus is either in or heading toward Samaria. We know Jesus is planning on staying in a village in Samaria, but he is denied. There is no record of Jesus interacting with the village directly, but his movements are known to the Samaritans. The interaction between Jesus and the Samaritans seems … [Read more...]

"Follow me." With these words Jesus invited his earliest followers to leave the life and story that defined them, and to take up his. It is a call that has been given and responded to by countless others throughout history, some have said yes and others have said no, but for many the response has been "hold on a minute." There is something about Jesus' call that keeps people uneasy. The problem with Jesus' call is he doesn't explain fully how it will work. It demands … [Read more...]

Scholars recognize a shift in Luke's gospel with the phrase "When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51 ESV). After this point Jesus seems to be always heading toward Jerusalem. Because of this many have called it "the travel narrative." The travel narrative here is not all that dissimilar to many of the travel narratives that gained popularity in the Twentieth Century. Like "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck, the trip was made because … [Read more...]

The first Day of advent is drawing to a close. Light the first candle and sing a song... This one's always a classic.Can you think of a time when you waited for something or someone? … [Read more...]

I would like to take a brief look at Luke as a whole. When I work on a puzzle I often find it useful to take a good look at the whole picture before I examine the individual pieces. By doing this I feel comfortable working on a small section; the larger picture helps me understand the smaller parts. Reading the bible is somewhat similar. If you want to understand a passage getting a good look at the context of the whole book is quite helpful, and it's something many of us don't take time to do. … [Read more...]

I have often heard the question asked "could God create a rock so heavy he himself could not lift it" or more recently "could God create a burrito so hot he could not eat it"... there are potentially millions of these examples.Today I would like to answer these questions for you.First: we should get our terminology right. I am a theist so what God means to me is a being which is outside of the universe, who created the universe. I don't mean a life force within the universe or anything like … [Read more...]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!σήμερον εὐχαριστῶ διά ὑμῖν - I give thanks this day because of you!In greek the word for "give thanks" is εὐχαριστῶ (Eucharistéō ). It is from this word that we get the word Eucharist.You can see where we get it in the passages below:For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you,that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks (eucharistéō), He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in r … [Read more...]