In Yohanan the Immerser’s Exhortations John the Baptist instructs his audience how they are to behave in order to bear the fruits of repentance.
Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance
In Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance John the Baptist challenges his audience, which had gone through all the trouble of going out to the Jordan River to receive his baptism, to accept his even more important advice: to repent of their evil deeds and imitate the faithfulness of Abraham their father.
A Voice Crying
An examination of the Jewish setting of John the Baptist’s proclamation of an immersion of repentance for the release of Israel’s sin indebtedness.
Darnel Among the Wheat Parable
Is the Darnel Among the Wheat parable an allegory about eschatological events, or a lesson about God’s character?
A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing
When a woman in the crowd praised Jesus’ person, he redirected her attention to the Kingdom of Heaven, which is realized through the doing of God’s word.
Yeshua, His Mother and Brothers
Did Jesus reject his natural family in favor of a spiritual kinship, or did he pay Mary and his brothers the highest possible compliment?
LOY Excursus: The Genitive Absolute in the Synoptic Gospels
What can the distribution of genitive absolute constructions in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us about the origins of the Synoptic Gospels?
Mustard Seed and Starter Dough Parables
Jesus used the Mustard Seed and Starter Dough parables to demonstrate that the Kingdom of Heaven is a living and active presence that is increasing within the realm of human experience.
The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing
An investigation of the possible Hebrew background of one of Jesus’ most difficult sayings.
Yeshua’s Words about Yohanan the Immerser
Did Jesus regard John the Baptist as a prophet? As more than a prophet? What did he mean that the least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist? Explore these questions in Yeshua’s Words about Yohanan the Immerser.
Yohanan the Immerser’s Question
When John the Baptist asked Jesus, “Are you the Coming One?” did Jesus reply, “Yes, I am” or “No, I’m not”?
The Value of Translating the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke to Hebrew
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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.
Call of Levi
In the Call of Levi story we learn about Jesus’ attitude toward sinful persons and about his relationship with the Pharisees.
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.
Return of the Twelve
When Jesus’ twelve emissaries to Israel returned from their mission, thrilled by their success at exorcising demons, Jesus described to them a vision of the expulsion of Satan from heaven. The vision’s message was double-edged: on the one hand, the downfall of the angelic prince meant that the way was opened for the redemption of Israel; on the other hand, having fallen to earth, Satan was about to unleash his fury against God’s chosen people.
Sending the Twelve: Apostle and Sender
The Apostle and Sender saying (Matt. 10:40; Luke 10:16) not only gave assurance to Jesus’ emissaries as he sent them out on their first healing and teaching mission, it also offers us an extraordinary glimpse into Jesus’ high self-awareness as the shāliaḥ, or official representative, of Israel’s God. In this segment of the Life of Yeshua commentary, David N. Bivin, JP’s editor-in-chief, and Joshua N. Tilton envision how Jesus’ Apostle and Sender saying may have been worded in Hebrew and explore the Jewish backgrounds of this profound saying.
Jesus’ Attitude Toward the Samaritans
It is always our duty to ask ourselves whether the kind of speech we voice and the kind of rhetoric we listen to engenders respect for our neighbor, no matter how different she or he might be from ourselves, or whether it is sowing the seeds of hatred and violence.