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In all three Synoptic gospels, Jesus concludes a conversation about the contrast between his teaching and practice and that of the Pharisees (and John the Baptist) by means of a parable about wine and wineskins. No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the … Continue Reading
I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible, or a theme or section of Scripture, and the ideas that it expresses. At the end of this piece I list the previous articles I have written for them. Here I explore what we can … Continue Reading
This Sunday, the last of the liturgical year, is Christ the king, and comes immediately before Advent. It is a slightly odd festival, since one of the key themes of Advent is not the anticipation of Christmas, but the anticipation of Jesus’ return as king; the Latin adventus is a translation of the Greek parousia … Continue Reading
It is often thought that in John 18 Jesus says ‘My kingdom is not of this world’. But this mistranslation is misleading: his kingdom makes itself felt in this world, but the origin of its power and the nature of its exercise is quite different from ‘worldy’ power. As we celebrate Christ the King on … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary for the Third Sunday before Advent at the end of this Year B is Mark 1.14-20, the beginning of Jesus’ active ministry in Galilee following his baptism in the Jordan and testing in the wilderness. I have to say I have found what the lectionary does with the opening chapter of Mark’s … Continue Reading
As we reach the end of the lectionary year, we are going back to the beginning, to where we started in the Gospel of Mark! This reading overlaps with some of the earlier ones in the year, but also patches in the verses that we previously missed out. As usual with Mark, his account is … Continue Reading
In September, Dr Logan Williams (University of Aberdeen) published a truly fascinating open-access academic article ‘The Stomach Purifies All Foods: Jesus’ Anatomical Argument in Mark 7.18–19‘ in the prestigious journal New Testament Studies. The essay won the Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament Scholarship from the Society of Biblical Literature (the main global Anglophone … Continue Reading
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday before Advent in Year B is the dialogue that includes Jesus’ summary of the law in Mark 12.28–34. As we count down the lectionary year, preparing to enter Advent with its focus on Jesus’ return, Mark is counting down the days and hours to Jesus’ trial … Continue Reading
The Sunday lectionary gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday before Advent in Year B is the dialogue that includes Jesus’ summary of the law in Mark 12.28–34. Offering this kind of summary was not uncommon in Second Temple Judaism, and we have a number of other examples of this. But Jesus’ response is striking in … Continue Reading
The gospel lectionary reading for the so-called Last Sunday after Trinity (or Trinity 22) in Year B is the story of the healing of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10.46–52. This reading has an appeal at two levels. First, it is in Mark’s usual lively and direct style, and has a similar feeling to some of … Continue Reading
The gospel lectionary reading for the so-called Last Sunday after Trinity (or Trinity 22) in this Year B is the story of the healing of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10.46–52. This reading has an appeal at two levels. First, it is in Mark’s usual lively and direct style, and has a similar feeling to some … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
