Hot answers tagged gospels
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Manuscript Evidence
While the Codex Sinaiticus dates from the 4th century, other manuscript fragments date much earlier. The Greek unical codices provide important clues to the development of the Canon, but are less important as evidence of the date of composition. For instance, this is a fragment of the Gospel of John:
Dating the papyrus scrap is ...
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Ehrman is a fascinating scholar, swinging radically between perspectives throughout his career. He's obviously quite intelligent and it also seems like he wholeheartedly throws his entire being into his research, which is why you can account for such radical opinions. They become a part of his very being.
The primary medium by which information was ...
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The Hebrew word שמיים (shamayim), which is translated into English, is what is known in Judaism as a כנוי (kinnui), or a "substitute," "nickname."
The reason why Matthew uses "kingdom of Heaven" more often than "kingdom of God" is because he wrote to a Jewish audience, and the Jews did not pronounce the Tetragrammaton יהוה, and sometimes not even the word ...
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Some say the "Kingdom of Heaven" refers to the a physical/political kingdom on earth while the "Kingdom of God" is the spiritual, coming reign of Christ.
Arguments against the two being the same often come down to hair splitting and misinterpretation of verses. For example, the site listed above relies on a single verse in an attempt to say they are ...
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The original washing of hand before eating applied only sanctified food such as to cohanim (descendents of Aaron) when eating trumah, Levites when eating maaser and to other people when eating maaser sheni in Jerusalem on the pilgrimage holidays of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles.
About the time of Jesus, the Pharisees began a custom of eating hulin ...
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Jesus had the legal authority to cleanse the temple not because he was a rabbi but because he claimed to be like Solomon, the "Son of David" and thus the builder of God's house (2 Samuel 7). This is evident from a careful reading of the gospels through the lens of the Hebrew Bible.
In the synoptics the temple cleansing is immediately preceded by Jesus' ...
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The text says nothing about confusion or doubt. John knew from his infancy that Jesus was the promised Messiah. He knew from Jesus' baptism that He was also the God's Son, the King. But kings, messiahs, never do miracles. As Frank says, many Jews interpreted the prophecies to mean that both a new David and a new Moses would come. But was Jesus also the new ...
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Beyond all possible doubt, the context is Christ as a High Priest. This is clear by a cursory review. Therefore, As we approach the High Priest's ministry we need to identify the prayers and supplications he performed -- then how they were answered.
The day of atonement brings the high point of this ministry into view. There were three beasts to be ...
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An alternative answer:
The NT is not a history, neither were the apostles historians nor were their followers. The intent of the writings is to transmit a religious message, not to record historical fact. So even if the oral transmission was reliable, the motivation and the outlook of the authors was not historical.
Besides the oral transmission of the ...
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In the case of Moses the manna is clear. In dire straights God provided what was needed to be sustained in a desert without food and water. God preserved them. Therefore ‘man shall not live by bread alone’ means man must rely on God who gives life and sustains life in providing anything we need.
In the case of Jesus, He is referring to the manna as God’s ...
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I'm going to focus on just the explanation of the parable of the sower and not (for the moment) consider other explanations. Conveniently, that text is found in all three Synoptic gospels. Assuming Mark was the first written, we can get a pretty good idea of how Matthew handled the material:
When you look at the diffs, the changes are:
Plural => ...
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Among the commentaries there is some disagreement as to whether the first offering of wine was in kindness with a wine mixed with frankincense or other herb (in relation to Proverbs 31:6-7 which advised to give strong drink to the condemned), or that both wines were the simply the cheap common Roman sour wine often drank by soldiers. In either case, it does ...
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The Lord Jesus' use of the text, taken in the wider context of his teachings, is perfectly aligned with the original account of the manna in Exodus 16, and also with Moses' epexegetical comments, when they are understood in their context.
The Giving of the Manna
The people were truly, legitimately hungry.
Yahweh had just delivered them from Egypt, and ...
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