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”?
LOY Excursus: Criteria for Distinguishing Type 1 from Type 2 Double Tradition Pericopae
How to tell the difference between the two types of Lukan-Matthean Double Tradition pericopae, and what the distinction can tell us about Luke’s pre-synoptic sources.
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.
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?
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?