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On the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church held a meeting to discuss and argue over the proper, faithful types of vestments priests should wear during worship. Little did they know that in the coming years they … Continue reading
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If this whole argument, from start to finish, has not made my point abundantly clear, let me attempt to summarize. Based on the social context of the day, crucified leaders were failed leaders. Rome killed people for political agitation or … Continue reading
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The Roman empire killed Jesus on a cross. We must assume he was killed as a political agitator since that is why people were crucified in 1st century Palestine. The idea of resurrection derived, in the Jewish context, when foreign … Continue reading
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At this point, I want to introduce several massive questions that drove me to write this whole series: If Jesus and his disciples were a Jewish movement similar to other Jewish movements of their day, why did they, unlike the … Continue reading
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Ultimately, Jesus never died for our sins. Jesus died for causing the religious and political authorities to feel seriously threatened by his activity. To say otherwise is to say that people do not act with any reasonable purposes or motivations. … Continue reading
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The proper contexts for talking about Jesus and resurrection are now set. We know Jesus died in a shameful fashion. He died in a way no leader, no world ruler, and no person of long lasting importance ever would. We … Continue reading
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The Maccabean resistance movement resulted in a very short period of Jewish independence from the Seleucid empire. More importantly, it culminated in the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty. That is, Judas Maccabeus’ brother Simon established a monarchical throne over Judea. … Continue reading
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With the historical context of the crucifixion fresh in our minds, we turn to the context surrounding resurrection. Hope for resurrection always occurred in the face of imperial dominance. The Hebrew Bible contains many figurative uses of people being raised … Continue reading
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For those of you who cannot make it to my upcoming sermons, I will be posting my written notes in short sections as I write the sermons. Here is part 1 about how and why Jesus died. The cross was … Continue reading
The model for Lent comes out of the stories in the Synoptic Gospels about Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness being tempted (Matt. 4.1-11; Mark 1.12-13; Luke 4.1-13). During those 40 days, Satan tempts Jesus. In Matthew’s and Luke’s … Continue reading
messes of ben 