I have been sharing thoughts about the first letter of Peter. It was probably a “circular” letter, carried and read to a number of communities in different locations. The recipients had been experiencing suffering because they were followers of Jesus. … Continue reading
Category Archives: A Look at the New Testament
In a chronologically ordered New Testament (NT), the letter that must be considered after second Thessalonians, is First Peter. I suspect that most people have never read or heard First Peter proclaimed. It consists of only five, relatively short chapters. … Continue reading
I have been sharing information in this article about second Thessalonians, a letter which is attributed to St. Paul but probably written by someone else. The author warns his recipients about “believers” who live in “idleness and not according to … Continue reading
The next book after Luke-Acts in a chronologically ordered New Testament (NT), is second Thessalonians. Paul’s first letter to the Christ-community in Thessalonica in northern Greece is the earliest document in the NT, but this letter is one of the … Continue reading
Another tradition, voiced by Eusebius as well as by Julius Africanus and the Monarchian prologue to Luke, identifies Luke’s hometown as Antioch on the Orontes. Granting that Luke is also the author of Acts, it is no surprise that he … Continue reading
I would continue presenting ideas about those writings ascribed to Luke. Like Luke-Acts as a whole, Luke’s first two chapters emphasize the Spirit. They do so five times (1:15, 25,41, 67; 2:25-27). Luke also emphasizes marginalized people more than any … Continue reading
Luke’s birth story of Jesus is an overture to his gospel, but it is very different from Matthew’s. There is no mention of Herod’s plot, no star of Bethlehem, no wise men, and no flight into Egypt. They almost seem … Continue reading
Scripture scholars maintain that Luke used Mark as a major source, as did Matthew, but in a different way. He included less of Mark – about 65 percent compared to Matthew’s 90 percent. And, rather than taking over large blocks … Continue reading
In the last issue of this article, I shared that both the Gospel and Acts present the reaction of townsfolk to Jesus. I already shared how this is presented in the Gospel. In Acts, the theme of rejection by the … Continue reading
At the ending of this article in the last Bulletin, I began sharing with you what scholars say about the dating of both Luke’s Gospel and Acts. Some scholars feel that Acts must have been written while Paul was still … Continue reading