“Judas, with the piece of bread, left.” Lore Wilbert
There’s some debate on whether Judas took and ate the bread and wine Jesus offered. Whether he partook of the sacraments, I don’t know, and I don’t know if we can know. But here’s what every translation of John 13:30 says in some form: he left with the bread. It seems like every week another […]
Q&R: Blessings or Curses? Deuteronomy 11:26-28
Question I’d like to know if there is somewhere you have addressed Deut. 11:26-28? I’ve heard you say that God let His people tell the story. But what about God promising blessing or judgment on the land, based on their obedience to Him? Response I have not written on this text before. Let’s look at […]
Q&R: How Do You Read the Prohibitions to Women (1 Timothy 2)?
Question How do you understand 1 Timothy 2, where Paul tells Timothy that he does “not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over men”? Response I really think you should try to get hold of Gordon Fee’s little hermeneutics book, Gospel and Spirit, where he spends a chapter directly addressing the issue of […]
Where Are Our Departed Loved Ones? “Present. With the Lord.”
In grateful memory of my friend Paul Redekkop. I shared the following at the virtual graveside service of my friend, Paul Redekopp, and I am told that it would be helpful for a broader audience to (re)consider how we approach the departure of loved ones based on a more biblical and apostolic foundation than what […]
Q&R: “One True Church?”
Question Since your conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy, has that changed the way you now view the salvation/deification of your Protestant brothers and sisters? I ask this because the theology of the Roman Catholic church scares me and the proclamation of the Eastern Orthodox to be the true church (RC´s as well proclaim this) concerns me. Response Before […]
Is John 17:9 exclusive? – “I’m praying for them, not for the world.”
Question In John chapter 17:9, in his prayer to the Father, Jesus says, “I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine…” It’s hard not to interpret this verse as “some are in, some are out.” I know I’m cherry-picking […]
Communion vs Alienation – Brad Jersak with David Goa
Communion vs Alienation Brad Jersak with David Goa Whenever I speak with our friends in the Evangelical faith or from that background, there seems to be a much stronger (even compulsive) emphasis on afterlife affairs—heaven, hell, and who goes there—than is emphasized in the biblical and apostolic tradition. The question of knowing who is ‘in’ […]
Isaiah 53 Across the New Testament
QUESTION In Acts 8:26-35, the Ethiopian eunuch or Luke omits “for the transgression of my people he was punished” (NIV) which is the last part of Isaiah 53:8. Either Luke or the eunuch omits the end of the sentence and stops mid-sentence. …do you have any insight into this? I find it interesting that the […]
Passion Sunday: Redemptive Violence is Only Expunged at the Cross
Passion Sunday: Redemptive Violence is Only Expunged at the Cross Bradley Jersak In the Christian West, lectionaries call today either the Triumphal Entry OR Passion Sunday. Today (March 28, 2021), I’m choosing to focus on Passion Sunday, because I’m impossibly weary of the pseudo-triumph of spectrum ideologies and their Christless slander of love and peace […]
Every Eye Shall See Him: Zechariah 12:10 through John’s Eyes
I am frequently asked on what biblical basis I have become convinced of the ultimate redemption of all people. My answer has been distilled to this: because the New Testament repeatedly foresees it. I need to adjust my response to the Scriptures repeatedly foresee it. It should be enough that Jesus Christ declared in John 12:32-33, “And […]