The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
Bestselling author and modern-day prophet Tony Campolo believes that one of the best ways to tell the grand story of the gospel is to tell stories of everyday life where God is at work...just as Jesus did during his earthly ministry. This collection of stories from Tony's lifelong friendships and international travels allow readers to "overhear" the gospel at work around the world. Set around Romans 8, the stories center on eight gospel themes: freedom of condemnation, new life in Christ, intimacy with God, the call to rescue creation, living with hope, praying in the Spirit, God's plans for us, and the assurance we need. Whether humorous or poignant, each one is an unforgettable echo of God at work around us and within us.
Jesus' relation to the Torah forms a significant motif in Matthew's Gospel. This relation is taken up as an important theme in the Sermon on the Mount with its strong Sinai typology, and disputes about the Torah are repeated throughout the Gospel. Jesus is depicted as the last and greatest expositor of the Torah. When reading this Gospel, the central role of the Torah must be seriously considered. This present study is furthermore relevant in the light of new insights that have developed in recent years on the diversity and dynamics within the Judaism that confronted Matthew. This diversity within Judaism is usually related to Judaist attitudes towards the Torah. To complicate this, oral traditions were strong and lively. Questions arose about the status of the written Scriptures and oral traditions and the authority ascribed to these. The Matthean community developed within this turmoil of developing Judaism.
"This collection of essays by leading scholars addresses key issues regarding the Gospel of Matthew as a Second Temple Jewish text. The volume problematizes the bidirectionality of central issues related to Matthew within Second Temple Judaism, on the one hand, and Israel and the nations in Matthew, on the other. Chapters are arranged topically and focus on institutions and law, ethnicity, allies and opponents, purity and eschatology, and reception history"--
Christ’s Fulfillment of Torah and Temple is a concise introduction to the Christian theology of salvation in light of the contributions of Thomas Aquinas. In this cogent study, Matthew Levering identifies six important aspects of soteriology, each of which corresponds to an individual chapter in the book. Levering focuses on human history understood in light of the divine law and covenants, Jesus the Incarnate Son of God and Messiah of Israel, Jesus’ cross, transformation in the image of God, the Mystical Body of Christ into which all human beings are called, and eternal life. Taking the doctrines of faith as his starting point, Levering’s objective is to answer the questions of both Christians and non-Christians who desire to learn how and for what end Jesus “saves” humankind. Levering’s work also speaks directly to contemporary systematic theologians. In contrast to widespread assumptions that Aquinas’s theology of salvation is overly abstract or juridical, Levering demonstrates that Aquinas’s theology of salvation flows from his reading of Scripture and deserves a central place in contemporary discussions. Thomas Aquinas’s theology of salvation employs and develops the concepts of satisfaction and merit in light of his theology of the Old Testament. For Aquinas, Christ fulfills Israel’s Torah and Temple, law and liturgy. These two aspects of Israel’s religion provide the central categories for understanding salvation. The Torah expresses God’s Wisdom, incarnated in Jesus Christ. Christ’s passion, then, fulfills and transforms the moral, juridical, and ceremonial precepts of the Torah, which correspond to the three “offices” of ancient Israel—prophet, king, and priest. The New Law in Christ Jesus is also the fulfillment of the Temple, Israel’s worship. Christ offers the Father the perfect worship, participated in by all members of his Mystical Body through faith, charity, and the sacraments. Old Law and New Law are fulfilled in the perfect knowing and loving (perfect law and liturgy) of eternal life, the Heavenly Jerusalem. As a Thomistic contribution to contemporary theology, this fruitful study develops a theology of salvation in accord with contemporary canonical readings of Scripture and with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the fulfillment and permanence of God’s covenants.
Imagine yourself transported two thousand years back in time to Galilee at the moment of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. After hearing it, would you abandon your religious beliefs and ideology to follow him, or would you hold on to your own beliefs and walk away? In A Rabbi Talks with Jesus Jacob Neusner considers just such a spiritual journey.
Christians and Messianic Jews who are interested in the rich spiritual traditions of their faith will be thrilled with this brand new study Bible. The Complete Jewish Study Bible pairs the updated text of the Complete Jewish Bible translation with extra study material, to help readers understand and connect with the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. The Complete Jewish Bible shows that the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is a unified Jewish book meant for everyone Jew and non- Jew alike. Translated by David H. Stern with new, updated introductions by Rabbi Barry Rubin, it has been a best-seller for over twenty years. This translation, combined with beautiful, modern design and helpful features, makes this an exquisite, one-of-a-kind Bible. Unique to The Complete Jewish Study Bible are a number of helpful articles and notes to aid the reader in understanding the Jewish context for the Scriptures, both in the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and the B rit Hadashah (the New Testament). Features include: - Twenty-five contributors (both Jewish and Christian), including John Fischer, Patrice Fischer, Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Rabbi Russell Resnik, and more - Thirty-four topical articles ranging from topics such as the menorah (or candelabra of God ) and repentance (t shuvah) in the Bible, to Yeshua s Sermon on the Mount and the Noachide Laws (the laws given by God to Noah and subsequent generations) and their applicability to Gentiles - In addition to these topical articles and detailed study notes, there are twelve tracks or themes running throughout the Bible with 117 articles, covering topics such as Jewish Customs, the Names of God, Shabbat, and the Torah - New Bible book introductions, written from a Jewish perspective - Bottom-of-page notes to help readers understand the deeper meanings behind the Jewish text - Sabbath and Holy Day Scripture readings - Offers the original Hebrew names for people, places, and concepts "
In this meticulously researched study, David C. Sim reconstructs the Matthean community at the time the Gospel was written and traces its full history. Dr. Sim demonstrates that the Matthean community should be located in Antioch in the late first century, and he argues that the history of this community can only be understood in the context of the factionalism of the early Christian movement. He identifies two distinctive and opposing Christian perspectives: the first represented by the Jerusalem church and the Matthean community, which maintained that the Christian message must be preached within the context of Judaism; and the second represented by Paul and the Pauline communities, in which Christians were not expected to observe the Jewish law. Dr. Sim reconstructs not only the conflict between Matthew's Christian Jewish community and the Pauline churches, but also its further conflicts with the Jewish and Gentile worlds in the aftermath of the Jewish war.
In this comprehensive exposition, a leading New Testament scholar explores the unfolding theological unity of the entire Bible from the vantage point of the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the award-winning Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, examines how the New Testament storyline relates to and develops the Old Testament storyline. Beale argues that every major concept of the New Testament is a development of a concept from the Old and is to be understood as a facet of the inauguration of the latter-day new creation and kingdom. Offering extensive interaction between the two testaments, this volume helps readers see the unifying conceptual threads of the Old Testament and how those threads are woven together in Christ. This major work will be valued by students of the New Testament and pastors alike.
"Explores the relationship between the particular salvation of the Jews and the universal salvation of all people in the gospel of Matthew"--Provided by publisher.
