Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philemon 1:3 NASB Lord – It’s hard to miss that fact that Paul distinguished between God the Father (patḗr) and Yeshua the kýrios (lord). That distinction creates an issue for Trinitarian doctrine, but not nearly as significant as Paul’s statement that…
—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home: Philemon 1:2 NIV Church – But of course it wasn’t a church! The word is ekklēsía, an assembly. In particular, a non-religious assembly. Not a synagoge—a religious assembly. By now we all know why Paul chooses this non-religious…
To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker—also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home: Philemon 1:1b-2 NIV Fellow worker/fellow soldier – Philemon and Archippus aren’t just ordinary believers in Paul’s thinking. They are syn-plus the noun, that is synergō and synstratiōtēs, a combination that demonstrates…
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker Philemon 1:1 NIV Prisoner – Who is responsible? That’s the underlying question here. Is Paul’s imprisonment due to the Romans? The Jews? The opposition to The Way? The puppet governor of Judea? Paul doesn’t seem to think so. As far…
let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. Acts 4:10 NASB Name – “In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk.” And, of…
Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. Luke 10:3 NASB Like lambs – It’s hard to miss his point. Sacrifice! That’s what happens to lambs among wolves. Yeshua sends out the seventy without resources and, apparently, without protection. So why would anyone go? If I came to you and…
Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of His faithful ones. Psalm 116:15 Robert Alter Precious – John Hartley expresses our common assumption about the term yāqor in this verse. Life is valued very highly in the ot. David would not kill Saul even when he had the upper hand because he…
Let them know that your name is Lord, you alone are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:19 New American Bible Revised Edition Your name is Lord – Let’s start this Gregorian calendar year with the right name. For most of our lives we’ve followed the Jewish convention of using “Lord” for the Hebrew…
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV Time – Mircea Eliade helped us recognize the “myth of eternal return” in the ancient world. Tomorrow is the Western celebration of that pagan ritual, an annual homage to the ancient idea of the circle of life (as…
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, Titus 1:1-2 NASB Hope of eternal life – “CHRISTIANITY is mainly wishful thinking. Even the part about Judgment and…
