The Bottom Line: To love, to do good, and to lend—even to your enemies—hits at the heart of the social world of the first-century.

We don’t expect a plumber to tell an electrician how to wire a house. Nor do we expect a mechanic to tell a chef how to make a delicious meal. So, when a carpenter comes along and tells a disappointed

We all know that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, and rose on the third day. And, most of us know that before his crucifixion, Jesus foretold of his humiliating and brutal death. But, he also said that if

Have you ever wondered how a preacher understands the meaning of a passage in scripture or a parable of Jesus? Well, they seek to put that passage into context. For the New Testament, this is a 1st-century Jewish worldview within

When we hear “communion” or “eucharist” or “the Lord’s Supper” we think of the Sunday sacrament. Today, it’s celebrated with a small morsel of bread and a bit of wine. But, in the 1st-century, it was a complete meal that

When Paul talks about “works of the law” in Galatians and Romans, what does he mean? Does he mean all human works, even good works as Martin Luther and John Calvin believed? Or, perhaps, is he referring to particular Jewish

We live in a world that’s heavily commercialized. Everything is an opportunity for profit—including land and natural resources. In order to monetize such things, we need laws that allow for private ownership. The downside, however, is that when this happens,

Scripture and Sacrifice Perhaps there is no other passage in scripture that is prayed more by Orthodox Christians than Psalm 51 (Psalm 50 in the LXX). It’s recited in the morning prayers, during orthros, the third hour, during compline, and

For those who have listened to me preach, or for those who regularly listen to the podcasts on the Ephesus School Network, you know that we prefer to translate the Greek word pistis as trust rather than faith. In English,

Most 21st-century Americans don’t have a good grasp of ancient middle-eastern geography. Yet, we can clearly see that most of the Old Testament stories take place in the Syrian wilderness. But, how are we to understand this geographical information? In