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.
Tag: Apostle Peter
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?
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Is Peter the Rock on which the Church is Built?
In the following video, I discuss a recent article from the Calvinist International by Joe Minich, trying to discern the relevant background for Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 16:13-23. See the rest of my videos (and subscribe) here.
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Acts 12 and the Resurrection and Exodus of Peter
I’ve just recorded another Youtube video (see my first one here), this time on the subject of Acts 12 and the ways in Peter’s experience is modeled after Christ’s and Israel’s. Acts 12 was one of many exodus-themed parts of Scripture that we didn’t have the space to get into in Echoes of Exodus, but it will give you a flavour of the sort of things we explore in other passages.
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