Sin is an ethical rather than a metaphysical problem – so says van Til, repeatedly. I know what he means: Creation is good; saved human beings are fulfilled human beings, not something other kind of being. Yet, there are questions. 1) What if we adopt a more relational metaphysics. Does that bring the ethical and metaphysical closer together? 2) The notion (found in Athanasius and many other fathers and medieval theologians) that sin inclines us to non-being seems a classic... Read more
Some thoughts on temperance inspired by a student paper on the Faerie Queene , Book 2. The student cited an article linking Guyon’s story with the developing “modern” view of time as a commodity. With the new view of time, temperance began to be linked with self-restraint in time. Instead of a sheathed sword, the hourglass became the new symbol of temperance. The article argues that Spenser was opposing this development, but I’m not so sure. And, whatever Spenser thought,... Read more
INTRODUCTION During Advent, Pastor Sumpter and I will be alternating preaching, and we will be preaching on the lectionary, that is, the passages that make up our Scripture readings for Advent. All these passages are about the Lord’s “coming,” and thus all shed light on the meaning of the incarnation, the Lord’s coming in the flesh. THE TEXTS “Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst . . . .” (Zechariah... Read more
Matthew 26:58: Peter also was following Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and entered in and sat down with the officers to see the outcome. We’ve concentrated in the sermon this morning on Jesus’ trial itself, but as Matthew tells the story of the trial, it is interwoven with the story of Peter’s denials. Jesus gives true testimony before the high priest. He remains faithful even when mocked and beaten and slapped. He... Read more
We live in an age when many of our relationships are mediated through a screen. We email family members in the next room, and often know more about the lives of Facebook friends than we do about the people who live next door or who sit next to us at church. This is not an attack on technology, but a reminder of how radically counter-cultural Sunday morning worship is. Here we spend an hour and a half – sometimes a... Read more
PROVERBS 28:7 We again have a proverb about torah and knowledge. The one who keeps watch over torah is a son who knows. The word translated as “wise” in the NASB is a form of the verb byn , used in verse 5. Here, the verb puns with the word for son, ben . The son who guards torah becomes more fully son, a son who knows, a ben mebyn . The son who spends his time in the company... Read more
Matthew describes two sets of witnesses in the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. One is a set of false witnesses, but they fail to bring convincing testimony. There is a second set of witnesses, two witnesses, who come “later” (v. 60). These witnesses bring a united testimony, one that passes the procedural test, the rules of evidence, the requirement of two or three witnesses. And, even better, their testimony happens to be true . They claim that Jesus said He was... Read more
The priests and elders are sticklers. They want to convict Jesus and put Him to death. That’s the goal of the trial. But they also know that they have to operate according to the rules of justice given in their Torah. They know they need testimony, and they know that they need at least two people to agree against Jesus. Matthew says, “the whole Sanhedrin was seeking false testimony against Jesus . . . and they did not find any”... Read more
On the first Passover, Israel was delivered from the angel of death and separated from Egypt. In the narrative in Exodus 12-14, the night of Passover continues, narrativally, until the day after the crossing of the sea. Chronologically, it is not the same night; but in the narrative there is no explicit reference to dawn from the night of Passover until Pharaoh and his hosts have drowned in the sea (Exodus 14:27). Matthew’s account of Jesus’ trials also moves from... Read more
The trial and death of Jesus looks like a tragedy, for Him. It isn’t, not in the least, and not just because He’s raised from the dead. He’s no victim of circumstance or fate, but lays down His life for His sheep. But there is tragedy, the tragedy of Israel. One by one, Israel divests itself of its privileges. It uses the law to condemn the Law-giver. It finds God guilty of blasphemy. Caiaphas rips up his priestly robes. The... Read more
Leithart
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