Matthew Shepard

A Journey Through the Covenants: Exodus, Deuteronomy, Hebrews “If there is a single most important theological structure in the Old and New Testament, few would disagree that it must be the covenant. Both the Old and New Testaments weave their theology on the loom of history with the thread of the covenant” (Walton, 10). While the Old Testament and New Testament share many unifying values, it is important to look at how Jesus’ death and resurrection altered and further developed certain…

Introduction In much of the academic conversation surrounding theological interpretation of Scripture (TIS) one of the figureheads for studying a style and method for doing the old and re-imagined avenue of interpreting Scripture is John Calvin, yet Calvin is not particularly unique to his context because, as John Thompson notes, Calvin "accidentally" came into this second wave of seeing the necessity for biblical interpretation (Thompson, 59). Yet, instead of abstracting the theory or method…

Evangelist, writers of the gospels, compose Jesus’ life and ministry on Earth. Gospel means in Greek “good news”. The Good news is summarized as Jesus brings the message of light and truth to the world with his time on Earth. The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke combine into the Synoptic Gospels. The fourth gospel, John, writes on the mission and overall message of the kingdom of God. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary addresses John’s writing on the known information of the…

The Broader Context: The Gospel of Luke In order to best understand how to properly interpret Luke 16:1-13, it is best to first read the passage in light of its surrounding context—the entire book of Luke. In his introduction, Luke clearly states his purpose in writing this gospel: “so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught,” (Luke 1:4). This is Luke 's purpose statement, but what is the truth the Luke is trying to demonstrate? The main theme Luke wants to convey…

They linked people to their ancestors (1 Chr. 1-8). 2. Matthew presents Jesus’ genealogy in a unique way. a. He mentions David and Abraham first. b. Jesus’ connection to David would remind a Jewish reader of the kingship promised made to Judah and David (Gen. 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:12-16). c. Jesus’…

withered hand”, the synoptic narratives’ outline and overall message deduce an identical outcome with a noticeable pattern which shows similarities in wording as it relates to location (synagogue), and day (Sabbath). Thomas Lea and David Black shares “Matthew placed the incident in a different order than Mark and Luke;” however, this did not change the general message. Further, it should be noted that all three writers inserted a command, action, and finale approach. Jesus commands the man to…

Historical Context The book was written after Jesus death, between A.D 44-75, but believed to more closely to be approx A.D 67-68. At this time the audience may have been experiencing persecutions. The author of the book is not stated, but the consistent traditional view of the church history is that John Mark, the relative of Barnabas , is the author of the book. Papias (born between AD 50-60) appears to be the first witness of Mark indeed being the author of the book, along with others,…

Growing up as an inactive member of the Church I never had any real exposure to reading the scripture. My first real experience reading the scriptures in depth and studying them was in seminary, which to be honest was not the best way for me to learn about them. Trying to understand and take away from them at six in the morning did not really give me much of a background or knowledge of the Bible. So, when I enrolled in this class I felt as if I would have a difficult time. However, as the…

heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything (Psalm 103:19). In the New Testament we are asking God to do the same thing on earth that happens in heaven: “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew…

However, I believe that many of us have forgotten this fact when it comes to the Word of God and someone’s heart. As I read Matthew 13 the parable of the sower, I see that a person’s heart is like the earth. It can be hard and full of rocks, thorns and weeds that hinders the Word of God from growing and produce a crop in someone’s life. For this reason, we as believers…