Since Americans are celebrating “Labor Day” the first Monday of September– a federal holiday established in 1894 to highlight the economic achievements of American workers– it’s a perfect time to look at Jesus’ parable about the Laborers in the Vineyard. It’s told in both Matt. 20:1-16 and Mark 10:17-31. This is a head-scratcher if approached […]
Archive | Jesus Christ
Light: Three Distinct Biblical Uses
Everyone knows what light means – whether it’s the child convinced it’s all that stands between monsters and his bed, or the person appreciating street lamps after leaving the theater. It just makes life better, easier, happier. In fact, light is defined as the energy source for illumination, the very power that makes sight possible.But […]
Luke and his Special Affection for Widows
Discovering biographical data about writers of Scripture is tough–so many centuries ago, questionable sources, different ideas about using others’ more famous names, etc. We probably know as much about Luke, however, the evangelist/writer/historian, as any author. In addition to his Greek nationality and professional background as a physician, Luke uses the ‘we’ pronoun in parts […]
Paul’s Easter Witness: Victor not Victim
One way to celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus is to look at the transforming effect Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance made on a Pharisee, Saul. Because of his Damascus road post-resurrection encounter, Paul considered himself an apostle, as chosen as the original twelve. In his most autobiographical letter, Paul writes the Galatians: 11 For I want […]
Why was Lazarus’ resurrection so Important to Early Christians?
You start to notice this focus on Lazarus in the earliest centuries of Christianity through the art. In the Roman catacombs alone there are over 55 paintings of Lazarus’s resurrection. Roughly an equal number exist of Roman sarcophagi, the marble caskets in which nobility were buried, depicting this life-affirming story relayed only in John’s Gospel. […]
