Mt 16:23; Mk 8:33 – “Get behind me, Satan!’

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Mt 16:23 ‘He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”’

Mk 8:32f ‘Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 8:33 But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”’

The actual words of Peter’s rebuke are recorded in Mt 16:22 – “God forbid, Lord!…

The magi – Nabatean courtiers?

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In his book Mystery of the Magi, Dwight Longenecker develops a case for the Magi of Matthew 2 being courtiers from the kingdom of Nabatea.

Longenecker writes:

‘At the time of Jesus’ birth, the city of Petra was the thriving capital of the Nabatean kingdom, a major power in the Middle East. Covering most of the Sinai Peninsula and extending halfway along the eastern coast of the Red Sea, the Nabatean kingdom, at its height, spread across northern Arabia and present-day Jordan to Damascus in Syria.’

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Topical expository preaching

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Is it possible for topical preaching to be expository?

Yes, answers Timothy S. Warren, in chapter 112 of The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching (eds Robinson & Larson).

Topical preaching is popular.  Hearers appreciate preaching that addresses their immediate interests and concerns.

Topical preaching is biblical.  With the exception of Ezra (in Nehemiah 8) and our Lord himself (in Luke 4), no other preacher in the Bible began with a text.  Peter (in Acts 2) and Paul (in Acts 13) wove multiple texts into a single message.…

The Magi – the Damascus connection

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Dwight Longenecker, in his book Mystery of the Magi, proposes that the magi were courtiers from Nabatea (capital: Petra) in Arabia.

Their journey would have been undertaken on horseback and would have taken a few days.

We know from Matthew’s account that they returned by ‘another route’.  This might have taken them to Damascus (which was at that time also part of Arabia, but later became part of the Roman empire).

If the magi sheltered in Damascus, they would have been ‘in their own country’ but sheltered both from Herod and from their own king, Aretas III. …

Colossians 1:15 – ‘The firstborn over all creation’

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Col 1:15  ‘He [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.’

How can Paul use ‘firstborn’ language here? Does this mean that he conceives of Christ as simply the first thing that God created?

In the 4th century, the Arians taught that Jesus was the highest-ranking being in God’s creation.  He was above the rest of creation, but below God himself in rank and divinity.

This heresy is followed today by the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  …

Jn 14:13 – ‘I will do whatever you ask in my name’

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Jn 14:13f “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

A superficial reading of this saying might lead us to suppose that we are being offered a ‘carte blanche’ to ask for anything we like: “Dear God, I would like anew bike for Christmas.  In Jesus’ name.”

This is, of course, absurd. …

Jeremiah 29:11 – “I have plans to prosper you”

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Jer 29:11 – ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope.’

This verse is one of the most beloved in the Bible.  But it has all too often been taken out of context and therefore misapplied.  In other words, too many forget that a Scripture like this, although written for us, is not written to us.

As always, context is king:

’29:10 “For the LORD says, ‘Only when the seventy years of Babylonian rule are over will I again take up consideration for you.

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John 19:14, etc. – On which day of the week was Jesus crucified?

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It is commonly supposed that Jesus died on a Friday (‘Good Friday’), and was raised to life on the following Sunday (‘Easter Sunday’).

But the biblical accounts of ‘Holy Week’ do not lead straighforwardly to this conclusion.

Some scholars adopt a fundamentally sceptical position with regard to the historical record.  For example, Judith Redman supposes that she is speaking for many when she states that:

‘scholars who have looked at what we can know about the historical Jesus from the Gospels have generally decided that the answer is “not much”.’

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Consecutive expository preaching – pros and cons

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David Murray writes that, back in the Scottish Highlands, preachers tended to offer in their sermons ‘what the Lord had laid on their hearts’.  Such sermons were expository, but consecutive expository preaching was regarded with some suspicion.

Coming to the USA, David Murray says, he has grown to appreciate the value of extended sermon series that work through a section – often, an entire book – of the Bible.

Murray finds the following advantages in such consecutive preaching:

  • The pastor and congregation are ‘stretched’ to preach on and hear about subjects that would not be normally chosen;
  • The preacher and hearers are immersed in one book of the Bible for many weeks and months;
  • It helps to keep passages in context;
  • It teaches people how to read and study their Bibles;
  • It provides a balanced diet and prevents pastors from sticking to their ‘hobby horses’;
  • The pastor does not need to agonize over his choice of text each week;
  • There does not need to be so much introduction and background given each week;
  • The overall argument or narrative of the book is better grasped and understood;
  • It helps people to see the overall plan of Scripture;
  • It encourages people to prepare ahead by reading and thinking about the passage;
  • It emphasizes the centrality and authority of Scripture.
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