INTRODUCTION Most of the Beatitudes are in the third person, but in verses 11-12 Jesus addresses the people directly: “Blessed are you.” That third-person address continues into verses 13-16. Jesus is addressing the same group. The people who fulfill Israel’s calling to be salt and light are the persecuted. THE TEXT “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown... Read more
1 Corinthians 10:16: Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? We drink here the cup of blessing. What blessings are contained in that cup? All the blessings that Jesus promises to his disciples are here. This is the feast of the kingdom, and with this cup we receive the kingdom of heaven. It is a cup of consolation for those who mourn. The cup is the product of the earth, and... Read more
In a 1927 article in JBL , one C. C. McCown examines the Beatitudes in the light of ancient Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hebrew ideals of kingship. There is a consensus that a just king will bring benefits to the poor. The rich benefit in any case, especially with a corrupt king. But it takes a just king to treat the poor with justice and mercy. That’s the kind of King Jesus is, and the kind of kingdom he rules. “A... Read more
Jesus’ disciples are salt and light. The salt is low, on the earth; the light is set up high on a lamp, so it can light the house. James Jordan has pointed out the connection with earth (salt) and heaven (light), and this links also to the Abrahamic promise of an abundant seed that is like sand and stars. Jesus’ disciples, like Israel, are to be an exalted heavenly people, the people that makes the world – like the salted... Read more
Jesus preaches the sermon to multitudes that gather for healing and to hear the gospel. They come from every point of the compass. Jesus has gone about “all Galilee,” and the crowds come to Galilee from all over the land – from the transJordan (including Syria, 4:24), from the South (Jerusalem and Judea, 4:25) and from Decapolis. The only direction not mentioned is West; there are no Gentile seaman coming to hear Jesus. But the whole land is covered, and... Read more
In the third of his five theological orations, Gregory Nazianzus mounts a reductio against latter-day Arians: “Solve me one more riddle. Were you present at your own generation, and are you now present to yourself, or is neither the case? If you were and are present, who were you, and with whom were you present? And how did your single self become thus both subject and object? But if neither of the above is the case, how did you get... Read more
By definition, justification must be by grace. Since the eyes are organs of judgment in Scripture, to find “favor in one’s eyes” is to be justified. Plus, “favor” just means “grace.” We can put it more strongly: Justified by grace is redundant, since “justified” means “grace in one’s eyes.” Read more
Saul sends three sets of men to capture David. As they approach, the Spirit falls on them and they prophesy. Mission unaccomplished. Ahaziah sends three sets of men to capture Elijah. As they approach, fire falls on them and they burn up – until the captain of the last group gets the hint and shows some deference to Elijah. Spirit-baptism is royal; fire-baptism is prophetic. Read more
Europeans saw the conquest of the Americas as a new Canaanite conquest. Once they subdued the land, what else would they do but build a temple. According to Hamblin and Seely, “Spanish missionary Toribio de Motolinia (d. 1568), for example, described the colonization and evangelization of New Spain (Mexico) as the conquest of a new Canaan, undertaken by the archetypal twelve Franciscan monk-apostles bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the new Temple they would build in the New World... Read more
Around 960, Joseph, Qaghan of the Khazars, wrote a letter explaining how his ancestor, Bulan, received the commission to build a tabernacle: “The angel appeared to him again, and said, ‘My son, the heavens and earth cannot contain me. Nevertheless, my son, build a temple in My name, and I will dwell in it’ . . . The people [were victorious in battle] and sanctified the spoils and used to build the Tent [of Meeting], the Ark, the menorah, the... Read more
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