Why didn’t Paul quote Jesus more often?

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Readers of Paul’s letters have often wondered why he didn’t quote Jesus’ teaching, or refer to episodes in Jesus’ ministry, more than he does.

In The Historical Reliability of the New Testament, Craig Blomberg suggests a number of factors that help to explain this:

First, we must remember that none of Paul’s letters represents first-time evangelism of unsaved people or even the beginning of the discipleship process for brand-new Christians. These had already taken place before Paul ever penned a single one of his epistles.…

Matthew 12:40 – Three days and three nights

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Mt 12:40 “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish for three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”

See also Mt 16:21 (‘on the third day’); Mt 27:63 (‘after three days’); Acts 10:40; 1 Cor 15:4 (‘raised on the third day’).

There are two issues here.

The first is the question of whether Jesus’ words here are decisive in determining whether the Jonah incident should be considered fact or fiction. …

Mt 24:34/Mk 13:30/Lk 21:32 – ‘This generation will not pass away’

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Mt 24:34/Mk 13:30/Lk 21:32 – “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.”

Jesus has been speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem and the ‘coming’ of the Son of Man.

Taking our Lord’s words at face value, it is possible to suppose that he is teaching that the parousia would take place within the lifetime of his hearers (‘this generation’).  If that is what he meant, then he would appear to have been mistaken.…

Psa 50:7-12 – God’s self-sufficiency (sermon notes)

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Bible reading: Psa 50:7-12

[Note: this sermon was live-streamed from Holy Trinity Church, Norwich, on the morning of Sunday 22 March 2020.  This was Mothering Sunday, and also the first Sunday on which our church (and many others) did not meet for public worship because of the increasing threat posed by the Corona Virus (Covid-19) pandemic.]

The world is a very different place today than it was even a week ago.  From lockdowns and school closures to travel restrictions and self-isolation the impact on us all is enormous. …

Responding to the current global health crisis

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In the light of the current viral pandemic, Brian Tabb remarks that disease is iconoclastic: it challenges and destroys our most treasured cultural idols.

What follows is based on (and quotes from) Brian Tabb’s article.

First, ‘disease smashes the idol of security’.  People long for security: physical security, economic security, emotional security, online security.  But the most determined government, the most formidable military force, the most sophisticated surveillance system, cannot protect us against the invisible threat of the Covid-19 virus.…

On NOT clinging to hope

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A recent article on the BBC website sets out to tell us ‘why we should all hold on to hope.’

‘Through difficult times, the daily grind and the problems that we encounter in our lives, staying positive and committing to change can be a real challenge. That’s where hope comes in.’

What, then, do we need to know about the importance of hope?

1. ‘Hope helps us to reach our goals.’  Unlike optimism, which is passive, hope is active. …

God’s presence

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The presence of God’s glory is in heaven;
the presence of His power on earth;
the presence of His justice in hell;
the presence of His grace with His people.

If He denies us His powerful presence we fall into nothing.
If He denies us His gracious presence we fall into sin.
If He denies us His merciful presence we fall into hell.

Fear God for His power.
Trust Him for His wisdom.
Love Him for His goodness.…

God does not need us

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What! he who guides the stars, and keeps them revolving in their orbits by the motions of his fingers, does he need an insignificant atom like one of ourselves to serve him?

What! he whom all the hosts of angels do worship, and before whose throne the cherubim do veil their faces with their wings, does he need a tiny creature like man to give him homage and reverence?

If he did need men, he could soon create as many mighty kings and princes as he pleased to wait upon him, and he could have crowned heads to bow before his footstool, and emperors to conduct him through the world in triumph.…

Tozer on God’s self-sufficiency

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Here are some extracts from A.W. Tozer on God’s self-sufficiency.

A voluntary relation

‘God has a voluntary relation to everything He has made, but He has no necessary relation to anything outside of Himself. His interest in His creatures arises from His sovereign good pleasure, not from any need those creatures can supply nor from any completeness they can bring to Him who is complete in Himself.’

We must learn to think differently about God

‘We must reverse the familiar flow of our thoughts and try to understand that which is unique, that which stands alone as being true in this situation and nowhere else.…

Christ in all the Scriptures, but…

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We preachers are rightly urged to preach Christ from every Old Testament passage.  This is sound advice, and finds support from our Lord himself, in Luke 24.

There are, however, some dangers and pitfalls in doing so, as helpfully pointed out by Colin Adams.  Here’s what he has to say (in his own words, but slightly abbreviated):

i) Christ is everywhere in the Old Testament but he’s also the promised one.

Christ was certainly present in the entire history of redemption (John 8:56-57, Hebrews 11:26, Jude 5).…