What are the elements of the gospels?
When studying the gospels, it helps to know the kinds of material you will find and to think about classifications of different passages. I made this imperfect list for myself toward the beginning of...
View ArticleParables That Make it into All Three Gospels
Which of Yeshua’s many parables make it into all three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke)? It’s an interesting list. Perhaps all three evangelists saw these as indispensable. New Cloth – Mk 2,...
View ArticleIdentity Stories in the Gospels
If you click the category “Gospel Genres,” you will find a post called “What are the elements of the gospels?” It is a list that will be in the upcoming Yeshua In Context Sourcebook, a cornucopia of...
View ArticleThree Pillar Stories in Mark
Mark’s gospel is organized as a series of short scenes in a style similar to the chreia of Greek rhetoric, descriptive scenes that show something about the character. Scene after scene, Mark’s chreia...
View ArticleThe Purpose of Parables
As part of a presentation I gave on September 18 at a “Studying the Jewish Gospels” event here in Atlanta, I developed an outline of “20 Ways to Read the Life of Yeshua.” Among my twenty pointers were...
View ArticleWhat is in the gospels? (Genres)
This is a rather imperfect list (some categories overlap) but one that helps us to know the kinds of material found in the gospels: Infancy narratives John the Baptist narratives Teaching narratives...
View ArticleParables, Gospel by Gospel
What parables are in three gospels? In two? In only one? The following list will help you think about how the parables are distributed and also to find them easily. PARABLES IN ALL THREE SYNOPTIC...
View ArticleList: Teachings of Yeshua
Repent for the Kingdom is at Hand – Mt 4:17 (Mk 1:15). Beatitudes – Mt 5:3-12 (similar to Lk 6:20-26). Salt and Light – Mt 5:13-16 (similar to Lk 11:33-36, Mk 4:21-22) Law and Prophets – Mt 5:17-20...
View ArticleList: Teachings Unique to Luke
Anointed to Proclaim to the Poor – Lk 4:18-21 Prophets and Gentiles – Lk 4:24-27 Two Debtors – Lk 7:41-43 Satan Falls as Lightning – Lk 10:18-20 Good Samaritan – Lk 10:25-37 One Thing – Lk 10:41-42...
View ArticleList: Healing Miracles
There are twenty-six distinct healing miracles. I exclude exorcisms here (that list is next). I made this list long ago, based on some source I no longer remember. The idea was to list the healing...
View Article“My Son” as Midrash
It’s a famous example of what seems to be the unusual, perhaps questionable, use of the Jewish scriptures by the apostles. It occurs in a very noticeable location — the birth narrative of Yeshua in...
View ArticleList: Exorcisms by Yeshua.
There are no exorcisms in the Bible before Yeshua (note: unless you are in a church that reads the Apocrypha as scripture, in which case Tobit has the first exorcism). The few exorcisms in Acts seem to...
View ArticleList: Nature Miracles of Yeshua
In some cases these miracles are curiosities, like the coin from the fish (some think this may be a parable rather than a literal event). But in others, these are among the most majestic portion in the...
View ArticleSymbolic Actions and Kingdom Enactments
Isaiah spent most of his career in sackcloth, but for three years went about barefoot and in his undergarments as a sign of what was to come (Isa 20:1-3). Ezekiel laid on his side for three hundred and...
View ArticleApplying Messiah’s Kingdom Parables, Part 1
To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables. -Mark 4:11 “Kingdom” is not “afterlife” exactly and it is not “people of Israel” or “people of...
View ArticleApplying Messiah’s Kingdom Parables, Part 2
. . . birds came along and devoured it . . . it withered away . . . it yielded no grain . . .” -Mark 4:4, 6, 7. Parables are usually connected to a scripture text or several of them. They often explain...
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