The Expectation of Sabbatical Redemption within Ancient Judaism and Luke-Acts

Articles, DB 85th Festschrift

Luke-Acts attests to the connection of the movements of John the Baptist and Jesus to ancient Jewish hopes of sabbatical redemption.

Yerushalayim Besieged

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In Yerushalayim Besieged Jesus describes and laments the consequences that will befall Israel as a result of its rejection of the Kingdom of Heaven and its ways of peace.

Feast of the Circumcision (New Year’s Day)

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The first of January, celebrated around the world as New Year’s Day, is also the eighth day of Christmas and, as such, the Feast of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus. Of course, no one knows on what day of the year Jesus was actually born, but since it has become traditional to celebrate Jesus’ birth on the 25th of December, it follows that the first of January is the day on which Christians celebrate the circumcision and naming of Jesus.

Christians and Biblical “Law”

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Jesus was Jewish and so were his disciples. He did not start a new religion, but his movement was consistent with being one of several sects of first-century Judaism. There were probably essentially very few non-Jewish followers of “The Way” (Jesus, Yeshua) for the first ten years or so after his death and resurrection.

Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb

Articles, LOY Commentary

Careful analysis shows that a Hebraic source ultimately stands behind the Synoptic Gospels and that this source is best preserved in Luke. Luke’s version of the Preparations for Eating Passover Lamb preserves details—such as Jesus taking the initiative to send the two disciples, commanding the disciples to prepare the lamb, and using Hebraic idiom—that fit the cultural context of first-century Judaism.

Links with Tabernacles and Hanukkah in the Gospel Accounts of Palm Sunday

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The Gospel writers wished their readers to be reminded of Hanukkah when they read the account of Palm Sunday.