This is about the two stories spanning Luke 18:35-19:10. As Bailey notes, they belong together. The blind man is oppressed, and Zacchaeus is an oppressor; Jesus has mercy on both. Bailey offers another elaborate rhetorical analysis of the story of the blind man, but what I see is frankly a Hebrew drama, a brief scene…
Tag: faith
JTMEE: Chapter 12c
Jesus portrayed His Messianic mission as a Jubilee, not vengeance on the political enemies of Judea. When the audience in Nazareth outside the synagogue got hostile, He stated that no prophet was welcome in his hometown. Then He made some pointed comments (Luke 4:25-27). Bailey lays it out in rhetorical analysis: ABCD,ABCD. A. widows in…
JTMEE: Chapter 6
We continue with the Beatitudes. 4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Bailey notes that, while we understand the concept of hunger and thirst physically, few of us have actually experienced much of either compared to what might be more common in Jesus’ day. He recounts having…
JTMEE: Chapter 5
This chapter begins another section of the book, two chapters on the Beatitudes. Bailey immediately offers another structural outline. First, there is Luke’s version, laid out in couplets that match ABCD,ABCD — positive blessings and then negative woes. Sandwiched in the middle is an extended comment on facing persecution for the sake of following Jesus….
Misreading Scripture: Languages 02
The next question is: Can reality be expressed in our language? R/OB start this section with the Reformation. The whole point of Luther’s objections to the system was that the Church ritual of “penance” was not equivalent to what the New Testament referred to as “repentance”. This transitions into Americans and their presumptions about American…
Sands of Time Destroying Faith
If you can understand that seas symbolize time, chaos and entropy, while trees and mountains represent space, stability and security, then you are ready for taking things just a bit farther. Pageau’s The Language of Creation teaches us that time is also associated with a wheel spinning on its axle, round and without end. It…
More on Decision Theology
Decision Theology is the notion that anyone in the whole world can simply make a decision in their minds to convert to following Christ, and God will honor it, and that person will be born again. Notice that the missing ingredient is saving faith. I can’t count how many times preachers from all sizes of…
Grateful I’m Not Alone
I refer you to this week’s Radix Fidem community Bible study in Galatians 3. Radix Fidem says that we emphasize the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. That continuity most certainly includes the limitations of how much the Old Testament applies to us Gentiles in Christ. It is the Old Testament itself that testifies…
Crusader Failures
Protestants seldom realize just how much they agree with Catholics. I’ve had plenty of unpleasant encounters with evangelicals who are openly hostile to Catholicism. They are quite unforgiving that about my friendliness toward Catholics, just as I am not that difficult with other religious traditions. I get along okay with Orthodox, Mormons, and JWs just…
A Better Standard
Genuine faith is beyond words. We should be striving for a gospel commitment that uses whatever culture exists, but does not depend on it. What mankind can generate is just the context. Faith comes from God. We are dealing with a paradox here. It is our duty to understand as much as possible the context…