Whom will you serve? (Introduction to Exodus)
As we start a new year, many set new goals for themselves such as learning a new skill, losing weight, eating healthier, exercising more or spending less. Many of these resolutions fall by the wayside as the weeks turn into…
Looking forward (Psalm 37)
Ps 37:1-40 Some missionary friends who had applied for permanent residency in the country they were serving in, found themselves expelled instead with a month’s notice to clear out. The experience was traumatic. They started there as a young married…
Looking back on the year (Psalm 105)
Ps 105:1-45 The end of a year is often a time of stocktaking, of looking back. What was the year like for you? Much the same as the year before? Lots of change and transition? And where was God in…
The perspectives of the Gospels
A student of mine complained once when my NT colleague insisted that he should be focusing on the perspective of the particular gospel he was reading rather than bringing in viewpoints from the other gospels. ‘Why should I be focusing…
‘His own arm brought salvation’ (Isa 59:16; Matthew 1-2)
Having explored different aspects of Matthew’s Gospel on Jesus’s birth, I now draw together his portrayal of the events into an overall picture. A friend of mine once told me how saddened she was that she messed up God’s plans…
A salvation broader than we know (Matt 1:21)
Matt 1:18-25 Matthew’s Gospel focuses from the very beginning on Jesus’s mission to save from sin. But what does this expression mean? Obviously, atonement for sin and forgiveness are central to it. As an OT scholar, however, I cannot help…
Jesus the unexpected Messiah
Christians tend to assume that the OT clearly predicted Jesus’s suffering, death and resurrection. In the gospels, however, even Jesus’s disciples did not get that Messiah had to suffer. Prophecies recognised as Messianic in the OT set out a pattern…
Jesus the Nazarene? (Matt 2:23)
This post is also a part of my reflections in ‘The hidden centre of Christmas’ (read it here), but I reproduce it as a separate post, so it is easier to find. Matt 2:23 There are three major interpretations regarding…
The hidden centre of Christmas (Matt 2:19–23)
In this season of Advent, I am reflecting on the prophecies that Matthew cites in telling about Jesus’s birth. Matt 2:19-23 As Christmas approaches, Santa parades, images of Father Christmas, of reindeers and snow abound (rather incongruous in New Zealand…
Hope in tragedy (Jer 31:15; Matt 2:16-18)
In this season of Advent, I am reflecting on the prophecies that Matthew cites in telling about Jesus’s birth. Jer 31:15; Matt 2:16-18 Christmas is meant to be a season of joy, but instead of the most wonderful time of…