The book of Ecclesiastes is probably best known for its repeated refrain that "everything is meaningless," or "vanity." However, a thorough reading demonstrates that this is not its final conclusion.
Knut Heim's Tyndale commentary shows that the book is intellectually sophisticated, theologically rich, emotionally deep—and full of hu… Read more…
Genesis is a book of origins: of the world, of sin, of God's promise of redemption, and of the people of Israel. It traces God's pledge of a Savior through Abraham's line down to his great-grandson Judah. It serves as a foundation for the New Testament and its teaching that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to save humankind from sin … Read more…
It is widely accepted that Mark's gospel reflects the teaching of Peter. The internal evidence suggests that it was written for primarily the Romans, with comparatively few Old Testament quotations. Rather than assuming knowledge of Jewish customs, it explains them, pointing to an intended Gentile audience. Scholars tell us that Mark's Greek was suit… Read more…
Both Titus and Timothy were young, gifted, and beloved by Paul; both of them were entrusted with delicate missions on more than one occasion. But there the similarities end. Titus and Timothy are a study in contrasts. Timothy was half Jew and half Gentile; Titus was a full-blooded Gentile. Paul circumcised Timothy because the young man was already half Jewis… Read more…
The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for the Jewish people, whose great hope was the coming of a Messiah that would restore the former glories of the kingdom, elevate Israel to the head of the nations, put an end to Gentile dominion, restore the world, and bring blessing to all mankind. Enamored of the promises of a Messiah coming to reign, they forgo… Read more…
We know little of Luke, with information found in the "we" passages of Acts, in three places where Paul mentions him by name, and where he identifies himself as the author of Luke and Acts. Luke interviewed and conversed with the people who had known Jesus. He likely studied Mark's gospel, with nearly half of Mark's verses appearing in his own gospel… Read more…
John's gospel immediately impresses us with how different it is than the others. There is no genealogy, no manger, no boyhood, no baptism, no temptation, no mount of transfiguration, and no Gethsemane. There are no scribes, lepers, publicans or demoniacs. There are no parables. Luke had written to show that Jesus was the Son of Man, but John to show he w… Read more…
Peter's epistle seems to have been written between AD 65 and AD 67, between the outbreak of Christian persecution and the outbreak of the Jewish war. The world was changing, and Peter felt the peril and suffering of the times. With Christianity in crisis, Peter had some things to say.
Peter had known Christ as few people have known hi… Read more…
Every movement of God needs a fresh touch of the Holy Spirit by the third generation. The first generation is motivated by conviction; great truths have been grasped, and those who have espoused them have a compulsion to spread those truths abroad. They will dare all and die for them. The second generation inherits these truths, but the conviction softens to… Read more…
Jude's original intention was to write a treatise on the subject of salvation. The Holy Spirit changed his mind, however, and he wrote, instead, a remarkable memorandum on apostasy. Suddenly, the full scope and horror of the apostasies that seemed to be surfacing everywhere in late apostolic times dawned upon him. Hence, his vivid little volume!
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James was a man whom the Jerusalem church, a thoroughgoing Jewish church, much loved and honored. James modified his views on issues of circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and eating only ritually clean food as a concession to Paul's impassioned convictions. An all-out fight could have wrecked the church, that these two strong men avoided it is remarkable. Ja… Read more…
Romans is the gospel according to Paul. There can be little doubt that it was Paul who thought through the theological implications of Christianity. It was Paul who thought through the deeper meaning of the Old Testament in the light of Calvary and in the light of that great experience which was when, on the Damascus road, he came face to face with Jesus of … Read more…
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