Just weeks before, their hopes had been dashed. Now everything had changed. Back then, two of them had sadly explained to a fellow traveler that their teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, a mighty prophet, had been repudiated by the leaders of Judaism and crucified by Roman authorities. “But we had hoped that he was the one […]
Friday, 20 May, 2016 by Dennis E. Johnson
The Great Commission recorded in Matthew 28 and in Luke’s accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection teaching in his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles foretells the global expansion of the reign of God under the scepter of the exalted Messiah. In Matthew’s narrative Jesus declares, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given […]
Friday, 20 May, 2016 by Dennis E. Johnson
In our first study in Acts (Modern Reformation, January/February 2011) we observed that the title “Acts of the Apostles,” which became attached to this book by the end of the second century, is only partly accurate. From the opening lines of this theological history, Luke sent the signal that Jesus, the exalted Lord, would be […]
Friday, 20 May, 2016 by Dennis E. Johnson
I, King Ahaz, admit it. It didn’t turn out as I expected. But realistically, what alternative did I have? My administration and my nation were under military assault from all sides, and I needed to forge an alliance with a rising power, one with expansionistic aspirations and that would welcome a pretext for invading my […]
Thursday, 31 December, 2015 by Dennis E. Johnson
This series of sidebar articles from Dennis Johnson is adapted from the presidential address atthe annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society Far West Region, “From All the Scriptures (Luke 24:27): Preaching Jesus from the Old Testament” (April 2012). Dennis Johnson is professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido. 1. The Sermon […]
Wednesday, 31 December, 2014 by Dennis E. Johnson
We have observed that the risen Lord Jesus corrected the assumptions behind his apostles' question, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). (1) He gently squelched their curiosity about the timing of God's kingdom agenda, as such "inside information" was not theirs to know (1:7; see Matt. 24:36; 25:13; […]
Tuesday, 01 November, 2011 by Dennis E. Johnson
The opening words of Acts sum up the contents of Luke's "first book"’his Gospel’as "all that Jesus began to do and teach" until his ascension (Acts 1:1). These words imply, first, that the narrative in Acts will continue the account of Jesus' activity, as he now carries on his work from his heavenly throne through […]
Thursday, 01 September, 2011 by Dennis E. Johnson
When Christ poured out his Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, he ushered his “kingdom community” into the age to come. Pentecost is sometimes described as the birthday of the church, but that is not quite accurate. Far earlier in the Bible the Greek term ekklesia, which our English versions render “church,” had been applied […]
Thursday, 30 June, 2011 by Dennis E. Johnson
On the surface, their situations and standing in Israel could hardly have posed a sharper contrast. Zechariah was an aged man, an honored man, a privileged priest descended from Aaron, standing before the incense altar in the holy chamber of Israel’s temple in the holy city itself. Mary was a young unmarried woman in backwater […]
Thursday, 03 May, 2007 by Dennis E. Johnson
The Bible's variety is mind-boggling. It contains sixty-six documents, composed over one and a half millennia in three languages. Some biblical books are addressed to an oppressed Ancient Near Eastern clan, recently rescued from slavery; others, to agrarian communities of farmers and craftsmen; still others, to multiethnic urban cells around the Mediterranean Sea, groups that […]
Wednesday, 02 May, 2007 by Dennis E. Johnson