Dennis E. Johnson
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Michael S. Horton joined fellow White Horse Inn co-host Kim Riddlebarger, Steve M. Baugh, and Dennis E. Johnson in a roundtable discussion on the book of Revelation. Dr. Kim Riddlebarger is pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim and the author of A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times (Baker, 2003) and Man of […]
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; […]
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 […]
"Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ" by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson
Cultural shifts in the perspective of broad fields of study such as philosophy, theology, sociology, and psychology eventually trickle down and begin to affect individuals in a society. The movement away from biblical truth in the twenty-first century is having a devastating effect on men and women already ruined by the Fall’devastating because most human […]
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 […]
Many evangelicals today suspect that were they to imitate the New Testament's use of the Old Testament, they would be getting the right doctrine from the wrong texts. Is it possible for today's uninspired exegete to employ the christological hermeneutic of the apostles? Drawing on a lifetime of pastoral ministry and teaching as a professor […]
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 […]
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 […]
