A few years ago when we were in California for one of David’s seminars, many of my local friends were shocked when I told them I’d ridden the RTD (Rapid Transit District) into Los Angeles. They considered it dangerous to ride the RTD. I hadn’t been at all worried because I take Egged.
Shopping on the Jericho Road
The Jericho Road is no more than a thirty-minute drive from where we live. Yet the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) can be as distant as the period of time in which it happened. Such a dramatic experience—passing up someone in dire need—would never happen to us! But how about someone who is not in such dire need? Let’s consider someone who needs just a little help.
Don’t Throw Away That Piece of Bread!
The importance of sharing one’s bread with the poor has remained in the Jewish consciousness until today.
Having some fun after visiting the dentist’s office
I feel I deserve a reward after agonizing in the dentist’s chair, so I arrange to meet my friend Ragna, to celebrate her birthday with a cup of tea. Anyway, it has been ages since I’ve been to the midrahov, the pedestrian mall on Ben Yehudah Street in downtown Jerusalem, with its outdoor cafes and restaurants.
Rosh Hashanah, Tishri 1, 5760
The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah (literally, “the head of the year”), is the first of three major biblical holidays that are rapidly approaching. This year Rosh Hashanah falls on September 11; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on September 20; and Sukkot, the week-long Feast of Tabernacles, is from the 25th of September to the 1st of October.
God’s Mercy and Our Disobedience
Reading a passage from the New Testament against the backdrop of ancient Jewish tradition can sometimes add to the its significance. Romans 11:30-36 is one such passage, where without knowing the Jewish tradition to which Paul alluded, we run the risk of not hearing his emphasis clearly: God is merciful and his ways, incomprehensible.
Emulating the Ways of Sodom
The Gospel writer Luke recorded a story that Jesus told about an anonymous rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Living in splendor, the rich man enjoyed his wealth, whereas Lazarus pined away outside the rich man’s gated home. The story gives the reader the impression that the rich man did little to alleviate Lazarus’ pain. He probably reasoned that what was his was his, and what was Lazarus’ was Lazarus’.
Matthew 5:5: Blessed Are the Meek
Sermon preached on July 18, 1998.
The Nature of Jesus’ Task
Christians read their Bibles through a lens of historical hindsight to illuminate certain features of Jesus’ teaching. Jews living in the first century did not have this benefit, and even one as saintly as John the Baptist struggled with aspects of Jesus’ messianic conduct.
The Cross: A Symbol of Solidarity
For Christians the suffering that Jesus endured, especially on the cross, has far reaching spiritual, theological and doctrinal significance. Accordingly, the cross has assumed a place of prominence in both Catholic and Protestant symbolism.
Milestones in the Life of Robert Lisle Lindsey
Robert L. Lindsey was born in Norman, Oklahoma on August 16, 1917. Here are some of the milestones in his life.
The Writings of Robert L. Lindsey
Despite Dr. Robert L. Lindsey’s workload as the full-time pastor of a Baptist congregation in Jerusalem, Israel, Lindsey wrote eleven books and booklets (including his monumental, three-volume A Comparative Greek Concordance of the Synoptic Gospels) and thirty-one articles.
Blessed Be the Faithful Judge!
When I came to Israel in 1963 to begin graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Lindsey was 45 years old. He and his family had moved recently from Tiberias to Jerusalem. It had been in Tiberias, beside the Sea of Galilee, just 18 months before, that he had stumbled upon the key to the synoptic problem’s solution: Luke’s Gospel was written before Mark’s.
Shmuel Safrai’s monumental article, “Jesus and the Hasidim”
Safrai has produced a detailed description of the Hasidim, and identified from among rabbinic literary works those that originated in Hasidic circles. His research enabled him gradually to sketch a composite portrait of the Hasidim. When he was finished, he discovered that this portrait was very much like the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels.
No Room in the Inn?
What was an inn like at the time of Jesus’ birth? Did it provide separate rooms, or was it like a dormitory with one big room?
Perspective on Robert L. Lindsey
Dr. Robert L. Lindsey was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1917. He earned a B.A. degree in Classical Greek at the University of Oklahoma, and concentrated in classical languages and biblical studies during his graduate career at Princeton School of Divinity and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.