The Annunciation in Matthew (2) Although it is not an annunciation story, it is proper to include here some thoughts about how John begins his Gospel. John self-consciously invokes the creation narrative, but he introduces the “only begotten Son” (Jn. 1:18), Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:17), as the Logos or “Word” as a Principal in the making of the world: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the …
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Part One The Flight to Egypt Joseph is told to leave for Egypt before Herod finds the child and tries to kill it. He and Mary take Jesus away that night “until the death of Herod.” What Matthew does next appears interpretively strained. He claims that Hosea 11:1 is fulfilled in this incident (Matt. 2:13-15), or at least in the return from Egypt. But Hosea 11:1 in its original setting is speaking about Israel not its Messiah. What is …
Part Two The Annunciation of Jesus’ Birth in Matthew Matthew famously begins his Gospel with a stylized genealogy. Placing a genealogy upfront like that bespoke a narrative rooted in the Jewish heritage. Starting your book off with a genealogy hardly seems to us to be a great attention-grabber, but Matthew’s Gospel certainly didn’t suffer on account of it (by all accounts Matthew was the most popular Gospel in the early Church.)[1] Certainly, this way of beginning a narrative about a …
Part One As one comes to Luke’s second chapter the census is mentioned, but only because it furnishes the reason for Joseph and his family to go south to Bethlehem, the town of David’s birth (Lk. 2:4-5), while also giving the location for the extraordinary vision of the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20. That event is also filled with covenant expectation. Notable is that the angel announced, “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” (Lk. 2:10). The …
The annunciation passages in Matthew and Luke are our first introduction to the way the Holy Spirit will pick up the threads of the OT and join them with the new revelation that came with the advent of Jesus Christ. We start with those passages where angels announce the birth of the Savior. I am going to begin with Luke’s account, and move on to Matthew’s Gospel. Even John could be considered since his account, although it skips the birth …
When we cross over from the OT into the NT we might think that we ought to expect a very clear continuity. After all the OT, particularly the covenants and the Prophets have led us to expect a great future for the nation of Israel. Even though that people had gone and done their own thing, we would think that God would stick with His covenants and promises to that nation and bring them to Himself. We would also expect …
Part Two This post will be the last set of recommendations for those whom one might call “beginning students.” I had said that I would do Church history and biography, but first let me say something about the apologists Francis Schaeffer and C. S. Lewis. Surveying some of the works of these men does not mean that I endorse everything about their methodology or substance, but the importance of their work speaks for itself. Francis Schaeffer wrote small but thoughtful …
Since we have been without power for several days and it probably won’t come back on for a day or two, I thought I would repost this piece from a talk I gave few years back. It’s quite long, but I hope it is profitable. Introduction. Let me begin with a few lines from T. S. Eliot: “Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness; Knowledge of speech, but not of silence; Knowledge of words, but …
A Review of 40 Questions about Biblical Theology by Jason S. DeRouchie, Oren R. Martin, and Andrew David Naselli, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2020, 400 pages, paperback. How does one review a well-written and well researched book on Biblical Studies that one disagrees with almost entirely? That is the position I find myself in with this book. DeRouchie, Martin, and Naselli are all subscribers to the fast-spreading approach to the Bible called “Progressive Covenantalism”; an approach first annunciated for most people …
Part One I said in the last post that I would continue where I left off, so let me say something about books covering other aspects of Systematic Theology first. The doctrine of man and sin require some strong representation in these days. Since the books by Ryrie, Stott. Lightner and Boice already mentioned treat these issues well I shall not add any other books to the list with the exception of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s The Plight of Man and the …
