One should not be too quick to throw out large portions of the Torah because of a four-word parenthetical comment by Mark at the end of a long halachic discussion.
Links with Tabernacles and Hanukkah in the Gospel Accounts of Palm Sunday
The Gospel writers wished their readers to be reminded of Hanukkah when they read the account of Palm Sunday.
Sunshine For Everybody
Song of Songs Zuta is a rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs. It may be characterized as exegetical and haggadic. In contrast to the better known Song of Songs Rabbah, Song of Songs Zuta is shorter in length. The words rabbah (great) and zuta (small) imply this contrast.
Repentance: God Inhales
Blessing God as one who delights in repentance has rich theological implications. Nevertheless, this blessing runs the risk of inaccuracy by understating God’s reaction to repentance. He not only delights in it but displays peculiar patterns of behavior when under its influence.
“They Didn’t Dare” (Matt 22:46; Mark 12:34; Luke 20:40): A Window on the Literary and Redactional Methods of the Synoptic Gospel Writers
Mark’s placement of Jesus’ “no longer dared” comment is very awkward: first, because the comment comes in the middle of a lovefest between Jesus and a scribe; and second, because the comment immediately follows Jesus’ appreciation of the scribe’s wisdom: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”
If Your Eye Be Single
In Matt. 6:22, where you would expect to find the idiom, “good eye,” the adjective used in our saying is not καλός (kalos, “good,” “pleasant”) but ἁπλοῦς (haplous, “single,” “simple”).
Jesus’ Jewish Command to Love
Jesus’ command to “love your enemies” was revolutionary! No one before him dared to raise such a high standard for the life of faith.
Let Him Who Is Without Sin…
When the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) is read within the setting of the Second Temple period, it resonates with authentic attitudes and issues.
Were the Pharisees “Legalistic”?
If we define legalism as “works righteousness,” then we cannot apply it to the Pharisees, because the Pharisaic understanding of piety was not based upon this concept.
Us and Them: Loving Both
In ancient Roman society, the taking of revenge on an enemy was considered a commendable deed, but Jesus encouraged his followers to “Love your enemies.”