Category Archives: Jesus Christ

He stooped to conquer

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‘Irony’ means using words with the opposite meaning to that which is usually intended.  It is a powerful device, and can sharpen up our understanding of people and events by showing us who ‘gets it’ and who ‘doesn’t get it’.

Irony is not only a verbal device.  There is also ‘dramatic irony’, in which the ‘real’ meaning of an entire event may be the opposite of its assumed, or apparent, meaning.

The account of Jesus’ crucifixion as recorded in Gospel of Matthew (Mt 27:27-51) is dripping with irony. …

Ephesians 1:10 – ‘The fullness of the times’

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In the New International Version (1984 ed.) Eph 1:9f reads:-

‘[God] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.’

There are several issues with this translation.  Firstly, ‘to be put into effect’ rather obscures the important word οἰκονομίαν (economy, administration) in the original. …

The historical reliability of the Gospels

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Of course, for some kinds of literature, historical reliability is irrelevant.  Who cares about the factuality of a fairy story, a piece of science fiction, or even an anecdote about some famous person?  But when we read other kinds of material, including newspaper reports, biographies, and works of history, we have a right to ask, “Did this really happen?”

We certainly ought to ask this question of the four Gospels.  For the Christian faith is not, in the first instance, a call to a certain way of life. …

The Cross as the symbol for Christianity

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At first sight, the selection of an instrument of brutal execution as the symbol of a religion of love seems extremely odd, perverse even.

There were, after all, plenty of other candidates.  The church might have chosen

  • the crib in which the baby Jesus was born (emblem of his incarnation)
  • the carpenter’s bench at which he worked in Nazareth (emblem of the dignity of manual labour)
  • the boat on the lake of Galilee which he used as a pulpit (emblem of his teaching ministry)
  • the towel which he tied round him when he washed and wiped his disciples’ feet (emblem of humble servitude)
  • the tomb in which his body was laid and from which he rose (emblem of his resurrection)
  • the throne which he occupies today at the Father’s right hand (emblem of his supreme sovereignty)
  • the dove, the wind or the fire (emblems of the Holy Spirit)

But the cross is the fitting symbol of the Christian faith. …

John 20:1-18 – Little faith, great God – sermon notes

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There is no evidence that she had ever been a prostitute. The idea that she was married to Jesus and carrying his baby at the time of his death is fantasy, pure and simple. What we do know of Mary Magdalene is that she was a Galilean woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. Along with several other women, she accompanied Jesus and his disciples on their travels, and contributed towards their support. She may well have been a woman of some substance and standing, and she is always listed first in groups of named female disciples.…

One language, two religions

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It was J. Gresham Machen, in Christianity and Liberalism, who commented that thorough-going theological liberalism is actually a different religion from orthodox Christianity.  It is, in fact, a different kind of religion.

This observation was borne out in a recent discussion on Premier Christian Radio’s Unbelievable? show between Ben Witherington III and Stephen Thornton.  Ben is an evangelical biblical scholar, Stephen a retired URC minister of liberal persuasion.

The topic under consideration was the narratives of Jesus’ birth as recorded in Matthew and Luke. …

Demons, ghosts, and Jesus

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For those who accept the metaphysical reality of daimons (I’m using a straight transliteration of the Greek, in order to place at a bit of distance the baggage that tends to accompany the word ‘demons’) the conventional idea is that they belong to an order of created, malevolent, non-corporeal beings.

The popular conception a ghost is that it is the spirit of a dead human being.

Peter Bolt has provided solid documentary evidence to show that for many people living at the time of Jesus, ‘daimon’ would have been virtually synonymous with ‘ghost’.…

Nicer than God?

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A Christian friend of mine was rather allergic to the word ‘nice’.  He had noticed how often it creeps into everyday conversation (“That’s nice”; “She’s nice”) and concluded that it is a weak, insipid, non-descript term that has little place in our working vocabulary.  My friend rarely used the word himself.  And when others used it he would often ask, “What exactly do you mean?”

The trouble is that for many Christians, ‘Thou shalt be nice’ has become the first and greatest commandment. …

Heb 7 – Completely, for ever – sermon notes

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“This Melchizedek”. I’m trying to imagine a conversation you might have with a friend tomorrow. “How was your weekend?” you are asked. “Pretty good. Went to church yesterday evening.” “Oh yes? What was that all about?” “Melchizedek.” I’m really not sure where the conversation might go after that. Straight back to the Olympics, presumably.

The writer to the Hebrews seems to have had his own doubts about broaching the subject of Melchizedek. He’s been edging up to it for a while now.…

The Lewis ‘Trilemma’ revisited

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What possible answers could be given to the question, “Who was Jesus?”

C.S. Lewis famously wrote:-

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.…