In 1922 William Lockton wrote an article for The Church Quarterly Review that challenged the foundations of accepted synoptic theory by positing that Luke was the earliest of the Synoptic Gospels.
What Robert Lindsey’s Theory Explains
A video presentation discussing how Lindsey’s solution to the Synoptic Problem is able to explain certain phenomena we observe in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Fathers Give Good Gifts Simile
Would you give a hungry child a poisonous arachnid to eat? Probably not, because even sinful human beings are not totally depraved. Would God give you something dangerous and destructive when you ask him for help? Certainly not, because he is the source and foundation of all goodness. In the Fathers Give Good Gifts simile, Jesus concludes his reassuring arguments that God can be trusted to provide for his full-time disciples when they pray the Lord’s Prayer.
Friend In Need Simile
Is God asleep, oblivious to our prayers? Is he a grouch, unwilling to respond to our pleas? In the Friend in Need simile Jesus instructed his disciples that the grounds for confident prayer is the character of their good and trustworthy God.
Persistent Widow Parable
In what way is God similar to a crooked judge? Do believers have to pester God into action? Explore questions such as these in the LOY commentary on the Persistent Widow Parable.
Help Unearth Bethsaida
Learn how you can participate in the excavation of the New Testament town of Bethsaida.
Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry
In Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry Jesus confronted one of the most serious concerns of the disciples: how would their basic needs be met now that they had given up their possessions and livelihoods in order to itinerate full-time with Jesus?
“Loving Divorce”: Born on the Battlefield
Ancient Jewish sages grappled with how to untie the knot when a couple’s future was shrouded by the fog of war, a challenge we sadly still face today.
Kingdom of Heaven
While the topic of the Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God were prominent in Jesus teaching, it’s not frequently spoken of now and when it is, it may betray some misunderstandings about just what Jesus meant by it. This short book endeavors to get to the heart of what Jesus meant by the term.
Praying Like Gentiles
What can Jesus’ warnings against praying like Gentiles teach us about Jesus’ relationship to Second Temple Judaism and his attitude toward non-Jews?
Lost Sheep and Lost Coin Similes
With the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin similes Jesus explained to his critics that he ate and drank with “sinners” because God rejoices when a person repents. God wants his friends—including Jesus and Jesus’ critics—to join him in the celebration.
Call of Levi
In the Call of Levi story we learn about Jesus’ attitude toward sinful persons and about his relationship with the Pharisees.
My Father in Israel
Robert Lindsey (1917-1995) was not only my teacher, he was also a surrogate father. My own father was never able to visit Israel.
Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven
Did Jesus offer a rationale for teaching with the aid of story parables in this pericope, or does the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven saying celebrate the dawning of the new age of redemption?
“Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
The Hebrew Life of Yeshua, the source that Robert Lindsey believed ultimately lies behind the Synoptic Gospels, contained a conversation about John the Baptist and his relationship to the Kingdom of Heaven. David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton attempt to reconstruct that conversation here.
LOY Excursus: Criteria for Identifying Separated Twin Parables and Similes in the Synoptic Gospels
Even casual Gospel observers notice that some of Jesus’ parables and similes come in pairs that resemble one another so strongly that they might be regarded as twins. But how does one determine which parables and similes truly are twins, and which might just bear a family resemblance? In this post David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton suggest five criteria that authenticate parables and similes as true twins.
Yeshua’s Thanksgiving Hymn
In Yeshua’s Thanksgiving Hymn the Holy Spirit inspires Jesus to utter an Essene-style hymn that expresses gratitude for the divine revelation that was being disclosed to his followers.
