In Acts 13, Saul conflicts with the Jewish false prophet Bar-Jesus and is called by the name Paul for the first time. I explore the literary dynamics of this account a bit more closely.
Category: Acts
Saul, Saul, Why Do You Persecute Me?
I discuss the connections between Saul of Tarsus and King Saul.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is much richer than many suppose. Paying attention to biblical echoes and parallels, both within and without the Lukan corpus, will alert us to much that we might otherwise have missed.
Theopolis Podcast: How to Read the Bible Typologically
This is the second of my talks on reading the Bible, which I recently delivered in Twin Cities area. You can listen to the first here.
You can follow the Theopolis podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, and on most podcast apps. You can read show notes over on the Theopolis podcast website. You can also see past episodes I have contributed to by clicking the ‘Theopolis Podcast’ link in the bar above. If you would like to leave a question for us to answer, please do so on our Curious Cat page.
Theopolis Podcast: Sinai and Pentecost (Ten Words)
In light of the fact that we are in the season of Pentecost, Peter Leithart and I thought that it would be good to do a podcast exploring the connection between Pentecost and Sinai in our series on the Ten Words.
You can follow the Theopolis podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, and on most podcast apps. You can read show notes over on the Theopolis podcast website. You can also see past episodes I have contributed to by clicking the ‘Theopolis Podcast’ link in the bar above. If you would like to leave a question for us to answer, please do so on our Curious Cat page.
Talks on Pentecost
Over this past weekend, I had the privilege of spending a few days with Cornerstone Reformed Church in Carbondale, IL, where I explored the subject of Pentecost for their 2019 Easter Conference, in preparation for the coming season. You can listen to the five talks, a sermon, and a Q&A session here:
Interpreting Pentecost
Four Lenses on Pentecost
Unworking Babel
Revisiting Sinai
Making a Prophet
Sermon: The Death of Judas and the Reign of Christ
Q&A Session
Jonah’s Ark
Within this episode, I discuss the connection between the stories of Jonah and Noah explored in this video by The Bible is Art. See also my ‘Boat Stories’ Theopolis article.
What’s the Pastoral Use of Typology?
I very much appreciate your keen eye for typology and the like. As a pastor, I continually find myself thinking “That’s cool. So what?” I know that’s what many of my parishioners are thinking, so I try to show the importance and application of intertextual connections. I’d very much like to hear your reflections on the pastoral value of typology.
Numerology
Can you present some guidelines for a responsible handling of Biblical numerology? Many numerologists go way overboard, and many sober-minded theologians reject its use wholesale. Can you inject some moderation into this?
Why is the Apostle Peter Called Simon Bar-Jonah?
I found it odd that Jesus would address Peter as “Simon bar-Jonah” after his declaration of Jesus as the Christ (Matthew 16:17) — not because it’s uncommon for men to be referred to as “the son of” someone in the biblical text, but because the occurrence takes place so soon (in the text) after Jesus’ declaration that the only sign that the “wicked and adulterous generation” would receive was “the sign of [what I assume to be the prophet] Jonah” (16:4). Do you see anything beyond the coincidental double appearance of the name Jonah here?
Continue reading “Why is the Apostle Peter Called Simon Bar-Jonah?”
