Dr Paul Allen

King Herod the Great is known by most Christians for his role in the Christmas story in Matthew 2. Afraid of losing the throne to a “newborn king of the Jews,” Herod tried to manipulate the three wise men into telling him where to find the rumored child; when that didn’t work, he ordered the killing of Bethlehem’s baby boys. But there’s a lot more to Herod than just this one scene . Herod, the Great’s life is a Hollywood blockbuster waiting to happen. There are overthrown kingdoms, political maneuverings, family feuds, love and betrayal, and unfortunately, a whole lot of death. It is an R-rated story, to say the least, but it can teach us something very important about the significance of Advent—if we look close enough. A tumultuous beginning Herod’s Fortress in MasadaHerod’s Fortress in Masada After the Romans pushed out the Hasmonean kingdom in 63 BC, an official named Antipater was installed to govern the land of Israel. Antipater put his son Phasael in charge of Judea and Herod in ...

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” ( 1 John 4:14 ) This unique title of the Lord Jesus Christ assures us that when the Father sent His Son away from the glories of heaven down to a world lost in sin, it was not just to be the Messiah of the Jews , or to assume David’s throne as King of Israel , or to punish the wicked Gentile nations. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” ( John 3:17 ). In fact, this special title is used only one other time in the Bible, and it was used by Samaritans rather than Jews when they came to know Jesus as He ministered among them for two days. These people were mostly of Gentile background with a mixture of Israeli blood who had become adherents of a quasi- Jewish religion that was also part pagan. But they were actually looking for a Savior, and their testimony after meeting Jesus was: “Now we believe . . . and know th...

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 19:1–8 “He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so’” ( v. 8 ). Though He has made a few excursions into Gentile areas ( Matt.8:28–34 ; 15:21–39 ), Jesus ’ roughly three years of public ministry have thus far been confined mostly to the region of Galilee ( 4:12–25 ; 9:1–7 ; 10:5–42 ; 17:24–27 ). But we see now that He has left Galilee for Judea ( 19:1–2 ), the place where His time among His disciples will conclude with His death, resurrection, and ascension. Upon arriving in Judea, Jesus meets some Pharisees who, as we have come to expect ( 12:1–14 ; 15:1–20 ), seek to test Him once more. Now the issue is divorce, and the Pharisees’ question ( 19:3 ) is rooted in the controversy over marriage in their day. First-century Jews interpreted Deuteronomy 24:1–4 , which allows for divorce on the grounds of “indecency,” i...

Colorful Grace Cathedral church interior (Photo credit: davidyuweb ) “Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God . So when Peter went up to Jerusalem , the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ‘You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.’” Acts 11:1–3 Some people hate change. Are you one of them? Is change hard for you? Do you get nervous and desire a quick return to the way things used to be? For many (especially those in the church), change can be very challenging, especially when it looms on the horizon. They might ask, “Are you sure we should be doing this?” to question the motives for change, to blatantly resist, or to incite others to join them. Sadly, this happens in many businesses, civic organizations , and churches. It also happened when God ushered in a whole new era, inviting outsiders into his redemptive plan. We have learned throughout Acts that God was starting something comple...

Painting by Rembrandt of Paul, one of the most notable of early Christian missionaries, who called himself the "Apostle to the Gentiles." Paul, a Hellenistic Jew, was very influential on the shift of Christianity to Gentile dominated movement. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Criticism is a close companion of creativity.  Whether it’s merited or not, there are many sources of criticism, especially those that express the fear of something new and different. This is exactly what Peter faced back in Jerusalem . After God extended the gospel to the Gentiles and smashed the social barriers that existed between them and the Jews, the “circumcision party” in Jerusalem criticized Peter and his recent exploits (Acts 11:2). We’re not told why they had a problem, but whatever it was, it was clear they didn’t like Peter’s association with the Gentiles. We can learn a great deal from Peter’s response to the criticism he received. He didn’t become angry and vengeful. He didn’t cower in s...

Fortress Cathedral (Photo credit: Stuck in Customs ) “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit , it multiplied.” Acts 9:31 What is the key to growing a church? How does a church remain healthy amid various challenges? We have learned in the book of Acts that the church had to endure various forms of persecution: Peter and John were beaten for preaching. Stephen was stoned to death. Paul was dragged off to prison. The church was “being built up.” How could that have happened in light of such circumstances? The text gives us two clues: it says that they were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.  Why do you think those two things would cause them to grow in spite of all these challenges? Walking in the fear of the Lord means that they feared God more than they feared their attackers. This gave them immense p...

English: Christ and the woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Two thousand years out, it’s easy to miss how shocking the salvation of the Samaritans would have been to the Jewish Christian community . The Samaritan people were neither Gentiles nor were they Jews ; they were a detested third entity.  The route from Jerusalem to Galilee was through the land of Samaria , but Orthodox Jews would take a much longer route, just to avoid being defiled by an “unclean” people. The Samaritans , in turn, despised the Jews, claiming the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible ) as their own but changing words and sacred places to fit themselves. In John 8:48 , the Jews, seeking to slander Jesus , accuse him of having a demon and being a Samaritan. And now we read how God scatters the young church into Judea and Samaria ( Acts 8:1–4 ). The spread of the gospel beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem may seem inevitable from our point of view, but it took tragedy...

English: Baby Moses rescued from the Nile (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 2:19–23 “He went and lived in a city called Nazareth , that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene ’”(v. 23).  In  Matthew 2 , note how the evangelist has taught us about God ’s providence. We should see that Herod ’s hatred of Jesus and slaughter of the young boys in Bethlehem (vv. 16–18) parallel Pharaoh ’s attempt to kill Moses (Ex. 1:8–2:10). 

English: This is a map of first century Iudaea Province that I created using Illustrator CS2. I traced this image for the general geographic features. I then manually input data from maps found in a couple of sources. Robert W. Funk and the Jesus Seminar. The Acts of Jesus. HarperSanFrancisco: 1998. p. xxiv. Michael Grant. Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels. Charles Scribner's Sons: 1977. p. 65-67. John P. Meier. A Marginal Jew. Doubleday: 1991. p. 1:434. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 3:1–3 “This is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight’” (v. 3). Following Christ ’s move to Galilee, Matthew does not give any further details of Jesus ’ childhood. Instead, he picks up the story of his gospel three decades after Jesus returns from Egypt, as we learn elsewhere that He is about thirty when He begins His ministry (Luke 3:23). The events of Matt...

English: Christ rides into Jerusalem. Passeri. In the Bowyer Bible in Bolton Museum, England Print 3820. From “An Illustrated Commentary on the Gospel of Mark” by Phillip Medhurst. Section P. into Jerusalem. Mark 10:46-52, 11:1-11, 11:15-18, 12:41-44. http://pdfcast.org/pdf/an-illustrated-commentary-by-phillip-medhurst-on-the-gospel-of-mark-section-p (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Acts 8:1–8 “There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in  Jerusalem , and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles” (v. 1b). Regrettably, we often overlook what this passage tells us about evangelism  in the early church. Immediately after the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), a “great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem,” which caused all of the Christians there, except the apostles, to be scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (8:1b). In other words, the laity in Jerusalem were forced to flee ...

From The Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, 1923. via http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/history_middle_east.html Category:Historical maps by William R. Shepherd (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 4:23–25 “Great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis , and from Jerusalem and Judea , and from beyond the Jordan ” (v. 25). In this passage, Matthew summarizes Jesus ’ public ministry in Galilee, an area encompassing 2,800 square miles. Covering this region is no small under-taking, because Jesus, if He moves rapidly and visits two cities a day, will need more than three months to visit every town and village! Jesus is met with much acclaim during the time He spends preaching and teaching in Galilee. Matthew tells us that “great crowds” from the Decapolis and from beyond the Jordan follow the Christ, along with many citizens from Jerusalem and Judea (4:24–25). The Decapolis is a group of about ten cities included within the Roman province of Syri...