Associate Professor of New Testament, Tyndale Seminary
The Problem of the Law One of the greatest tensions in the New Testament surrounds the Old Testament law, also called torah. On the one hand we read Matthew’s Gospel and hear Jesus make the solemn declaration: “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of…
Read MoreThis was a sermon delivered at St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill Anglican church in Pickering, Ontario, Sunday March 13th.
Read MoreI’ve been thinking lately about the debates in Christian circles (especially in the US) about “socialism.” By “socialism” I mean the basic idea that some justice can be preserved in a community if our government redistributes wealth — takes money or property from the wealthy and gives it to the poor. This socialist model has been…
Read MoreHere’s my sermon preached at St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill Anglican Church on Sunday, Feb. 14th. Yes, I drew the short straw and preached on Valentines Day! Enjoy.
Read MoreOne student recently suggested that there might be a progression in the Gospels from earlier books that are more this-worldly in focus to later books that are more “mystical.” I don’t think I’d agree that the later Gospels become more mystical, if by that you mean more “other-worldly.” On the one hand, I think all…
Read MoreIn my course on New Testament Theology and History I pointed out that Mark’s Gospel depicts Jesus’ death primarily as a Passover offering, not as a sin offering. One student asked me to elaborate on this and I thought I would share my thoughts here as well. If you go back to the book of…
Read MoreBack in June I had a wonderful conversation with Mark Groleau about everything from my experiences growing up to my book Paul’s Way of Knowing. You can find the interview in two parts here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Read MoreOne of the most important tasks in reading a story is deciding where to focus. As a reader, my focus is often scattered. Things catch my attention for all kinds of reasons, some personal and some because of my own place in culture and history. If we’re interested, though, in how the text was intended to affect us, we need…
Read MoreHere is a list of good journals that I use and recommend for studying the New Testament. These journals fall roughly into two categories: academic and semi-popular. These categories should be taken as a very rough guideline, though, since the level of technicality vs. broad readability will vary a great deal from article to article.…
Read MoreHere is a rough list of commentary series that I recommend for academic interpretation. I am not endorsing the opinions in any particular volume, and I am also not minimizing the value of commentaries that are non-academic. Those are often excellent for personal devotional study and for some small-group studies in your local church. What…
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