Q. You chose to focus mainly on the Matthean account of the beginning of Passion Week. Why that account mainly? You highlight as well the tensions during Festival times for the rulers, including both the Jewish authorities and the Roman governor, due to the huge crowds present. Why do you think Jesus chose Passover, rather than Sukkot as the time to make his grand entry into the city? Is it because this was the biggest of the festivals, or perhaps... Read more

Q. When I try to help students and churchgoers understand the value and importance of the differences in the four Passion narratives, I tell them these are four interpretive portraits of what happened, not snapshots. They are more like Monet’s four paintings of Rouen cathedral in differing light, than they are like four mugshots of the same guy. In other words, the differences are largely intentional, as each Evangelist pursues his portrait with slightly different angles and emphases etc. If... Read more

Q. I find your analogy, in the Introduction between Lent and the 10 days of awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur interesting. I suspect most Christians would say that we are certainly called to ask forgiveness for ways we have wronged others, and saying one is sorry is not enough. Reconciliation is indeed a central calling in both Judaism and Christianity. But Christians would also say that they cannot atone for past sins, or misdeeds, or mistakes. They would... Read more

Q. One of the things I appreciate most about this study is it makes the Gospel stories an opportunity to question our own lives, commitments, actions, and ask what is worth living for, or dying for. What prompted you to take this more risky personal approach, and what questions did these stories lead you to ask of yourself, of your own life? When I have reflected during Lent on these sorts of things…. Sometimes poetry is the result. Here’s one... Read more

Q. On p. 8 you say “Nothing in the doing of history or the study of literature can ever take away from the theological claims of the church. There is nothing in these lessons that compromises the creeds or the deep beliefs you hold.” Yet many have found that critical study of the Gospels including this material has challenged their faith, because they are convinced that some of the major theological claims about Jesus and the last week of his... Read more

In this and subsequent posts, I am asking questions of Professor Levine about her Lenten study. Enjoy the dialogue. BW3 Q. What prompted you to provide this guide to the stories of Passion Week? A. Working with Abingdon on a 6-week study of the parables, based on my Short Stories by Jesus (HarperOne 2014) was a terrific experience. We agreed that another series was a good idea, and the guide to Jesus’ last week in Jerusalem was the logical next... Read more

A-J. LEVINE, ENTERING THE PASSION OF JESUS. A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO HOLY WEEK, (ABINGDON 2018), 143 PAGES, PLUS DVD WITH SESSIONS FOR EACH CHAPTER, AND A LEADER’S GUIDE. There are, of course, many resources for studying the events of Holy Week, from the triumphal entry to the crucifixion but few if any of them are as interesting and probing and creative as A-J Levine’s latest offering entitled Entering the Passion of Jesus. Levine is a leading NT scholar and professor... Read more

My friend A.-J.Levine tells the story of when she was a grader at Duke for a professor there who had put the Markan story of the anointing of Jesus by a woman on the exam and had asked for comments about the story. This particular student however had not bothered to read the Markan story for himself, but had simply listened to the lecture by the professor, and had misheard him to say that the woman anointed Jesus with LARD,... Read more

IF ONLY I I would have dressed up, Only it was too much trouble. I would have gone out, Only it cost too much. I would have driven, Only travel’s dangerous. I would have eaten, Only I weigh too much. I would have danced, Only I didn’t have a partner. I would have returned, Only it brought back bad memories. II I would have gone, Only I didn’t have time. I would have visited, Only I wasn’t wanted. I would... Read more

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