Jesus, a Friend of Pharisees

The concept that all Pharisees are evil is so ingrained that people often completely ignore or dismiss passages that present Pharisees in a positive light. The Gospels provide both positive and negative depictions of Pharisees. They also assume a cultural setting that esteemed Pharisees, and this fact should mitigate and contextualize the criticisms leveled against them.

A Pharisee Photo Album


The God of the Living: The Master on the Resurrection

The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, while the Pharisees did. One of the reasons that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection is that it is difficult to see it in the literal exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Pharisees on the other hand, were skilled in the area of midrash, which often probed beyond the literal meaning within the Scriptures.

I Came Not to Bring Peace


Hit-bo-what? The Master and Rebbe Nachman


The Key to Unlocking Matthew's Gospel

Israel was, at least from a theological perspective, still in exile. Israel was still suffering the consequences of covenant failure. But all this was now about to change. The shame and humiliation of exile was over.

Rosh Chodesh Tammuz and the Summer Harvester

As the summer month of Tammuz begins, we look to the fruit trees expecting an ample harvest. Yeshua instructed us to see the growth of new fig branches as a prophetic sign of apocalyptic events, but this seems like a strange comparison. Insights from Ezekiel and first-century Hebrew provide a new interpretation of Yeshua’s parable.

Son of Man

When we shrug our shoulders and say “Jesus is just weird,” it keeps us from asking any more questions. And if we don’t ask, we won’t get answers. If we don’t dig any deeper, we miss the chance to learn something. If we don’t dig down and find out why Jesus refers to himself as “the Son of Man” it becomes a barrier.