Typology and history

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:50 pm By Peter Leithart

In his classic essay on the “Reasonableness of Typology,” GWH Lampe argued that critical scholarship reintroduced history into biblical interpretation: “In place of the unhistorical attitude which saw the Bible as a vast harmonious complex of prophecy and fulfillment, type and antitype, allegorical picture and spiritual reality, fused together by the unfirm inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Biblical criticism sought to recover the true and original meaning of the literal sense, and to set the various documents comprising the Bible... Read more

Celibacy and the temple

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:48 pm By Peter Leithart

George Buchanan suggests a connection between Jewish asceticism and the expansion of purity concerns following the destruction of Solomon’s temple: “After the temple was burned in 586 . . . there was no longer a sacred place where the Lord could dwell in the land, undefiled. At that time celibacy became stronger as groups of laymen tried to fulfill that which was lacking. They attempted to keep their place of dwelling as undefiled as the temple, and themselves as undefiled... Read more

Jeremiah the Socialist?

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:45 pm By Peter Leithart

On both the cover and the title page, a recent book on Jeremiah typology in Matthew is subtitled “The Rejected Profit Motif in the Matthaean Redaction.” Read more

AD 70 and the Birth of the West

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm By Peter Leithart

Augustine’s City of God created the Christian West because it enabled believers to think about a future of Christianity that did not depend on the persistence of Rome. Augustine relativized the story of Rome to the story of the City of God. How did he do that? Jesus taught him. Jesus taught His disciples to imagine a future of the people of God, the children of Abraham, that did not depend on the persistence of Jerusalem or its temple. Jesus... Read more

Narrative structure of Matthew

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:09 am By Peter Leithart

In a 1997 article in NTS , Christopher Smith defends the five-discourse structure of Matthew against narrative critics who focus attention on the plot of Matthew. The problem with narrative approaches, Powell argues, is that as story Matthew doesn’t always work all that well: “it is a rather dull [story] for several long stretches, where the disciples basically sit around while Jesus talks.” If we are looking for Matthew’s arrangement of events or incidents and episodes, we’re bound to be... Read more

Stones

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:00 am By Peter Leithart

Oscar JF Seitz has an interesting article in a 1960 issue of JBL . He connects the stones in the Jordan in Josh 4 with the stones that Jacob erects in Gen 28, which form the “House of God” in contrast to the false house of Babel. Bringing this into the NT, he notes that John the Baptist preached near the Jordan, where the stones of Joshua were placed, and suggests that John was talking about God’s ability to raise... Read more

Joshua Typology

Last updated on: September 6, 2017 at 11:45 pm By Peter Leithart

George Wesley Buchanan notes that ancient Jewish writings pay comparatively attention to Joshua. But, “For the church fathers, Joshua was very important – much more important than Moses. It was Joshua who led the army while Moses stood on the mountain and held up his hands. Joshua succeeded in leading the people into the promised land after Moses had failed. Joshua performed the effective circumcision and renewed the contract. Joshua was the type for which Jesus was the antitype. The... Read more

Romans and AD 70

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:02 am By Peter Leithart

Paul’s discussion of the future of Israel assumes Jesus’ predictions about the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This is what he’s talking about when he talks about “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” and when he quotes from Hosea and Isaiah in 9:25-29. In 9:27, the “remnant” does not refer to the Jews who have responded in faith to the gospel, but to the Jews who have survived God’s judgment. Unless the Lord showed mercy, the Jews would... Read more

Sermon outline

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:01 am By Peter Leithart

INTRODUCTION As a church, we believe that before the foundation of the world God ordained whatever happens in the world, down to the slightest detail. But this seems to be contrary to some explicit statements of Scripture, which talk about God changing His plans. And it seems to nullify the significance of our prayers. How do we put all these things together? THE TEXT “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people... Read more

Peter and Jeremiah

Last updated on: September 7, 2017 at 12:04 am By Peter Leithart

In a 1975 article in JBL, one Bruce Dahlberg suggests that the background to Matthew 16:13-23 is less Isaiah 22 (the “key” of Eliakim’s shoulder) than Jeremiah 1, the call of the prophet. Some of his arguments rely on extrabiblical associations of keys with the temple (this has a biblical source – 2 Chron 9:26 refers to the keeper of the temple keys), and Jeremiah with temple keys (found in 2 Maccabees). But there are a couple of striking biblical... Read more