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The temptation of Jesus has seemed to spark the human imagination for millennia. Paintings and stained-glass windows that show Jesus confronted by the devil abound. Take for example Botticelli’s “Three Temptations of Christ” painted on (...)

At Jesus’ baptism, the heavenly voice announces, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” Immediately afterwards, Jesus is tempted by the devil, who treats Jesus as if the reality of his identity is the question: “If (...)

Today’s passage is part of Peter’s sermon following the original, powerful experience of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The experience of the Spirit began with a sound like a strong wind and tongues of fire (...)

In this Easter season, the letter of 1 Peter supplies useful metaphors for pondering the theological significance of Christ’s resurrection for faith-filled living. The first verse in its opening thanksgiving prayer (1 Peter 1:3) sets (...)

Our reading from 1 Peter for this week is organized around a pastiche of Old Testament texts.  Through allusion and quotation a structure, a means for understanding who Christ Jesus is, and who we are (...)

This alternative gospel text, John 7:37-39, may seem a strange choice for Pentecost Sunday. [Find commentaries on the main gospel reading, John 20:19-23, by Matt Skinner (2011) and Karoline Lewis (2008).] After all, it takes place (...)

Today’s text occurs in Athens. Paul has been brought here to escape violent opposition (Acts 16-17:15). In Athens, he preaches in the synagogues and marketplace (17:16-17). Epicureans bring him to the Areopagus, wanting to know (...)

Paul was the chosen instrument to carry Christ’s name to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Yet only twice in Acts is Paul’s missionary preaching aimed at an exclusively Gentile audience: in Paul’s address to the residents (...)

Jeremiah’s ministry extended for some forty years (about 625-585 BC). At the mid-point of his ministry, the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar began expanding in the Middle East and Israel’s existence was threatened. Jeremiah warned Israel (...)

After two harrowing stories — the near-deaths of both Ishmael and Isaac — today we have a love story, a love story that has been foreshadowed already in the account of the sacrifice of Isaac.1 (...)