This was delivered at a joint Trinity-Christ Church Good Friday Service, April 9 2004. 1 Corinthians 2:8-9: We speak God?s wisdom among you in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age had understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Homily Who died on the cross on the first Good Friday? All the Christological heresies... Read more
This article is reprinted from Tabletalk 25.4 (April 2001): 9-10, 54. Thanks to John Barach for typing it up for use here. Many today boast of near-death experiences. I do not. I have never had a near-death experience. But I am not intimidated by those who have, because I can boast, too. I have never been near death, but I have died many times. Before I was born, I was living in a warm and cozy, if somewhat damp, environment,... Read more
The Westminster Dictionary of Worship has this explanation for the name Maundy Thursday: “The title for Thursday in Holy Week derives through Old French mande from the Latin ‘mandatum novum,’ ‘a new commandment’ (John 13:34), associated with the ceremonial washing of feet, which is still continued in some token form in Rome. The English distribution of Maundy money by the sovereign was a vestigial trace of this.” Read more
The Word, the Bread, and the Nations, Luke 24:1-53 INTRODUCTION Jesus was condemned to death, but throughout Luke?s account various people declare that Jesus is innocent. Seven times, someone states that he is righteous or treats Him as not guilty (Luke 23:4, 14, 15, 22, 41, 47, 51). On the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, the ?eighth day,?EJesus receives an eighth verdict, the most important of all: God the Father declares Jesus ?righteous?Eby raising Him... Read more
Robert C. Tannehill points out that the resurrection narrative in Luke 24 has a generally chiastic structure. First, there is an inclusio with the idea of “return” (23:56; 24:52), and the emphasis on the fact that Jesus’ disciples are observant Jews (23:56b; 24:53). Second, within that, there is a chiastic structure: A. Angels announce that Jesus is risen B. Jesus instructs the two disciples on the road to Emmaeus C. Jesus breaks bread with the two disciples D. The disciples... Read more
Who else but Melville could have written this line? He advises a sea captain examining a Portuguese for his crew to ask, “His knees, any Belshazzar symptoms there?” Read more
Feminism is a case study in the need to define identity through relationship, rather than by cutting the bonds of relationship. In a brief review of Dr. Laura’s new book for the Weekly Standard (March 22), Tammy Bruce suggests that Dr L has grasped something that feminists, with all their sophistication, have missed: “The freeing of women from the bonds of the family has delivered many of them into a kind of sexual slavery. If women are released from the... Read more
As I’ve suggested in several recent posts, the turning point of Luke’s crucifixion narrative is the “conversion” of the criminal on the cross, and Jesus’ acceptance of Him into His kingdom. Jews and Romans had joined in mockery of Jesus’ claims to be “savior” and “king,” but the criminal entrusts himself to Jesus for his salvation and Jesus promises to bring him into His “kingdom,” His royal “Paradise.” In Luke’s account, this exchange is immediately followed by a description of... Read more
Psalm 25:14 says that “the secret of Yahweh is for those who fear Him, and His covenant He will cause them to know.” The parallel structure of the verse indicates that “secret” and “covenant” are describing the same reality, and the parallel comes out more strongly in the Hebrew since the phrases “to those who fear Him” and “to cause them to know” (Hiphil infinitive of yada’ ) are grammatically parallel constructions, an aspect of the verse that is hard... Read more
Algis Valiunas has little affection for Gabriel Garcia Marquez , the Columbian author of One Hundred Years of Solitude , inventor of “magical realism,” and one of the most widely read and best-loved living writers. In a brief review of the first volume of Marquez’s memoirs, Valiunas summarizes some of the smarmier incidents of Marquez’s own life (drink, drugs, affairs, brothels), all of which is recounted in the memoirs with an unrepentant macho swagger. Nor does Valiunas think much of... Read more
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