In Matthew Bates’s influential Salvation by Allegiance Alone (2017) and Gospel Allegiance (2019), Bates seeks to define the gospel based on the NT’s own summary texts. He concludes that the content of the gospel consists of a series of 8 or 10 “Christ events” and is centered on Jesus’ kingship. Bates assumes and builds upon … Read more
In the proposed paper, I argue that ecclesial testimony—the church’s proclamation and embodiment of the gospel message—is a function of both its priestly and prophetic nature. My constructive account adds “priestly” to the predominantly prophetic understanding of ecclesial testimony, exemplified in the writing of Karl Barth. In service of this, I offer a Protestant appropriation … Read more
The Hebrew Scriptures depict a change in relationship between man and woman after humanity sinned in the Garden of Eden. The nature and implications of this change hinge on the interpretation of Gen 3:16 and, specifically, the meaning of תשוקה—the “desire” as found in the divine judgment on Eve (as wife). Definitions like “inclination,” “turn/return,” … Read more
Matthew 9:18–26 recounts the stories of a bleeding woman and a young girl, and this narrative has become a focal point of homilies, sermons, religious art, songs, and social movements. Varying interpretations of this passage abound throughout church history, and although many of these interpretations typically express more than a simple correlation between faith and … Read more
The unique feature of Johannine eschatology – the tension between the present and the future, with a significant focus on the present age – is well reflected in John 3:36, which describes two destinies: eternal life or the wrath of God. Two further aspects of this verse have been largely overlooked by scholars: (1) the … Read more
This paper argues that in his account of the stoning of Stephen, Luke alluded to the seizure of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 26:1-24. This allusion, which has passed largely undiscussed within modern scholarship, is exegetically significant because it draws a contrast between the generation of Jeremiah and the generation of Stephen. During Jeremiah’s generation, in all … Read more
From the Jewish leaders’ fear of the crowd to their own use of the crowd to intimidate Pilate, the specter of mob violence lurks in the background of Matthew. Unfortunately, very little scholarly work has been done on the role of mob violence in Matthew. This paper seeks to fill this gap in scholarship by … Read more
This essay brings the theology of participation with Christ into contact with Paul’s first-century belief about the spirit-world, both fundamental components of Paul’s thought. By doing so, one can see that participation with Christ, who triumphed over the powers, entails similar spiritual warfare for believers. While Tannehill briefly recognizes this component of participation, and Gombis … Read more
Andrew Abernethy, in Eating in Isaiah, argues that food plays a vital role “in Isaiah’s aim of establishing YHWH’s kingly supremacy, envisioning Zion’s judgment and restoration, and creating a community of obedience” (185). Expanding on Abernethy’s insight, I explore in this paper how food informs covenant and sacrifice in Scripture, thus yielding a deeper understanding … Read more
In this paper, I argue that retrieving a patristic model of “Scripture as food” can greatly nourish the church’s doctrine of Scripture today. I first trace the biblical text in both the OT and NT to demonstrate Scripture’s affinity for describing God’s Word, both spoken and written, as food. I then develop this food model … Read more