This gallery contains 1 photo.
The Apostle Paul lived in the Roman Empire. In the Roman Empire, a hierarchy existed between Rome and the nations. In English Bibles, the Greek word for “nations” is almost always translated as “Gentiles”. This enforces a hierarchy between Judean … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
The Apostle Paul lived in the Roman Empire. I must repeat this as often as I can. Rome spread the imperial ideology that it and it alone had the right to rule, that the Romans were, should be, and always … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
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
This gallery contains 3 photos.
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
This gallery contains 2 photos.
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
This gallery contains 1 photo.
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
This gallery contains 3 photos.
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
This gallery contains 2 photos.
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
This gallery contains 1 photo.
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 title of this sermon is Yelling at a Person Under a Bus, ‘Watch Out! You’re About to Get Hit By a Bus!’ It concerns the 14th chapter of the Book of Jeremiah which might very well be one of … Continue reading
messes of ben 