Key Texts: Ecclesiastes 4; Matthew 18:1-20 Jesus’s words in Matthew 18 about confronting a brother in sin are among the most frequently weaponised in service of power and against the persecuted. “But have you approached this person privately about this? Have you followed Matthew 18?” These are questions that so many of us will recogniseContinue reading “Two Can Resist Him: Matthew 18 and the Power of Two”
Category Archives: Matthew
A Stone’s Throw Away
The Bible’s rocks and stones have come up in my previous studies here and there, but there’s still more mystery on which to meditate. A while back, I considered the interplay between iron and rock. Ironwork was considered the work and weapon of the enemies of God (Ex. 20:25, Jdgs 1:19, 1 Kgs 6:7, 2 SamContinue reading “A Stone’s Throw Away”
The Girl is Asleep: Salvation in Luke 8
Until this morning, in my reading of Luke 8:40-56 I’d focused on Jesus’s two miracles in isolation. I’ve written already, for example, about the symbolic meaning of the colours in Jesus’s healing of the woman with the flow of blood. And in the story of Jairus’s daughter, I have previously reflected on striking parallels betweenContinue reading “The Girl is Asleep: Salvation in Luke 8”
Leaving everything behind
There is a lovely tension to explore in Luke 5:27-29, as Jesus meets the tax collector whose name was Levi. After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him. Earlier in the sameContinue reading “Leaving everything behind”
God’s Weaker Vessel, the Woman with Tender Eyes
One of the delights of the Bible is the abundance of its irony. I’ve talked about this before, when considering the principle of proportion, where God positions various contrasting elements within the redemptive story next to one another, highlighting His own attributes and through them, the subversive power of the Gospel. And among the Bible’sContinue reading “God’s Weaker Vessel, the Woman with Tender Eyes”
A Star from Jacob: Balaam and the Magi
Their ancestor Balaam had foretold that a star would come forth from Jacob (Numbers 24:17), saying, I see him but not now. I behold him, but not near. Numbers 24:17a And since that time, the magi had watched the heavens. In Balaam’s time, it was Balak the King of Moab who trembled at the sightContinue reading “A Star from Jacob: Balaam and the Magi”
The Donkey and the Colt
I’ve started creating short video meditations on Biblical themes, and I now have a YouTube channel. My first video focused on the theme of sparrows, and now here is one on donkeys. Having studied donkeys closely, I have a new appreciation for them. And how interesting that donkeys carry a cross on their back. WhenContinue reading “The Donkey and the Colt”
Adam and His Adversary: Israel’s crossing of the Jordan
After Adam’s headlining appearance in Genesis, his name is hardly mentioned for the rest of the Hebrew Bible. We find him mostly in genealogies and very occasionally in the books of the prophets (see Hosea 6:7). Still, Adam returns in other ways, many times after Genesis, in stories recounting his (and our) fall from glory.Continue reading “Adam and His Adversary: Israel’s crossing of the Jordan”
Desperate Words as Wind
Those who have suffered, those who have come alongside suffering, those of us who receive the compassionate love of Christ through suffering, we feel the cruelty of Job’s companions acutely. I’ve written already about these faux friends, who really are the worst. Here’s how my favourite Bible companion puts it: They express orthodox religious belief,Continue reading “Desperate Words as Wind”
Gender, Apologies and the Bible
In 2010, psychologists Karina Schumann and Michael Ross published research based on reported behaviour among Canadian university students (age 18 to 44) which suggests that on average, women apologize more than men. Not only did women document more apologies, but women also reported committing more offenses than men reported. And when presented with imaginary andContinue reading “Gender, Apologies and the Bible”
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