How do we pray the Psalms as new covenant Christians? What difference does it make that they have been prayed before — now not just by king David but by king Jesus?
Is there any mileage in seeing the Lord's Prayer as a key part of this answer?
John Richardson offers us some interesting reading on Mark 13. He argues a few points somewhat more carefully than I have before, which I think clarifies things helpfully. Thanks John!
See my earlier post weighing the textual options for Matthew 18:15.
Enjoying R T France’s commentary on Matthew
Reading him on Matthew 18:15-17.
I haven’t posted for ages – partly very busy, partly nothing to say.
But I thought I’d post briefly now, because this has encouraged me.
The parable of the weeds and the wheat in Matthew 13:24-30 shows (I think) that the world is a mixed place – it contains true disciples and it contains unbelievers. We need to wait until the end of the age to see truly who is who.
Why does Jesus spend forty days in the wilderness, confronting public enemy number 1 (Satan, the accuser of the people of God), immediately after he has been declared Son of God (echoing Psalm 2) at his baptism?
I know that one answer is that it relates to the 40 years Israel spent in the wilderness. Jesus must be faithful at the exact point at which they failed.
Doing some work on Matthew’s account of the first Palm Sunday, I’m struck again by how helpful R T France’s commentary on Matthew
Some highlights:
Why have I not seen this before? 2 men, in white, asking the disciples why they look for Jesus in the wrong place, but telling him where they will see him.
“While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”“ (Luke 24:4-7)
Last week I was doing a bit of work in the garden, cutting back the ever-encroaching bramble and gorse bushes.
I found myself wondering why there are so many of the things in the garden. It’s a bit of a pain.
Not that it required much thought. Genesis 3:18 solves that one for me – they serve as a reminder of the fact that life in rebellion of God’s law is never a fulfilled / happy / pain-free one. God judges those who rebel against him.
A few of us spent a good hour, a few weeks back, reading and reflecting on Psalm 42-43.
We did talk about when Jesus might have prayed such a Psalm, and thought that Gethsemane was the kind of moment.
What we didn’t pick up
