Dr Paul Allen

Peter's Denial by Rembrandt, 1660. Jesus is shown in the upper right hand corner, his hands bound behind him, turning to look at Peter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The priests and elders were “astonished” (marveled, wondered) when they saw the “courage” (Gk. parrēsian, confident openness and freedom in speech) of Peter and John; they perceived they were “unschooled,” not having attended a rabbinical school47 or having sat under a great rabbi like Gamaliel,48 and were “ordinary men,” nonprofessionals, laymen, amateurs. This does not mean they were totally unschooled. They had gone to the synagogue schools in their hometowns, but they were not professional teachers or trained speakers like the scribes and lawyers. Ordinary laymen did not speak with authority like this. It must have been hard for Peter and John to face such snobbishness. But the key to their courage and freedom in speaking was not their own talent or ability. It was, of course, the new fresh filling with the Spir...

Giotto's depiction of Jesus before Caiaphas in the morning based on Luke 22 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The next day the “rulers” (the executives or official members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Senate and Supreme Court ) with the “elders and teachers of the law” (experts in the interpretation of the law of Moses; professional teachers of the Law) who were in Jerusalem assembled. With them came, specifically, Annas , Caiaphas , John, Alexander, and all the rest of the relatives of the high priest who happened to be in the city. This was probably not an official meeting of the Sanhedrin, but “may simply have been a rather ad hoc gathering instigated by the family of Annas.” Annas here is called the high priest. He was officially high priest from a.d. 6–15. Then his son Jonathan was appointed for about three years. Next Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas, was made the official high priest (a.d. 18–36). But Annas remained the power behind the position and kept his honorary title....

Deutsch: Christus im Hause des Pharisäers, Jacopo Tintoretto, Escorial (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 16:1 –4 “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (v. 3). The Pharisees and the Sadducees are like the emperor and the townspeople in that they have a gift for refusing to accept the obvious. Coming to test  Jesus , they request a special sign (Matt. 16:1), which some of Christ ’s other enemies also looked for once (12:38). The Pharisees and Sadducees are strange bedfellows because they hold different theological and political views. For instance, the Sadducees are willing to adopt the ways of the Romans, and, unlike the Pharisees, they deny the future resurrection of the dead. Still, both parties have representatives on the Sanhedrin , the religious governing body of the Jews, and can unite behind their opposition to this Nazarene, whose popularity threatens their own power. As John Calvin tel...

Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) John 3 :4–8 “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (v. 8). Regeneration is absolutely necessary if a person is to enter the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3). No one is born a child of God. A change of heart effected by the Holy Spirit must first take place. In fact, the label “ born-again Christian ” is redundant, for it is impossible to be a Christian unless one is born again. Despite the fact that regeneration is required for spiritual life, it must be admitted that the experience of the new birth can be difficult to put into words. There is a great deal of mystery concerning the working of the Spirit in our lives. We know that He works, but we cannot always explain how He works. In fact, the actual process of regeneration takes place within and is not visible to our physica...

Corcovado jesus (Photo credit: @Doug88888 ) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” ( Acts 4:12 ) This is the climactic declaration ending Peter ’s three great messages in the early chapters of Acts (2:14-36; 3:12-26; 4:8-12).  On the previous day, he and John had seen the crippled man healed at the temple gate, saying: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk” ( Acts 3:6 ). Testifying to the crowd that had assembled following the miracle, Peter said: “His name through faith in his name hath made this man strong” ( Acts  3:16 ). But what exactly is meant by “His name”? In biblical usage, one’s name stands for his character and all that he is and does. In his three messages, Peter actually used many different names and titles to refer to Christ . Note the following partial list: the Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, Thine Holy One, Christ, Jesus Christ, a Prophet , the ...

What is truth? Deutsch: Was ist Wahrheit? Français : "Qu'est-ce que la vérité ?" Le Christ et Pilate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 27:11 –23 “Pilate said to them, ‘Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’” (v. 22). Our study of Matthew’s gospel has highlighted the opposition of Israel ’s leaders to Jesus (Matt. 2:16–18; 12:22–32; 16:1–4; 22:15–46). This hatred is seen most clearly in Christ’s trial and execution. Having had Jesus betrayed into their hands, the high priest Caiaphas and the other religious authorities have falsely convicted our Lord of blasphemy, a capital crime according to the  Mosaic code (Matt. 26:47–68; 27:1; see Lev. 24:16).  Since Rome does not allow the Jewish leaders to enforce the death penalty, Jesus is taken before Pontius Pilate (Matt. 27:2), and we find ourselves in his court today as we return to Matthew. To understand why Pilate final...

Hagia Sophia ; Empress Zoë mosaic : Christ Pantocrator; Istanbul, Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:63–68 “ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (v. 64). Ironically, it is often the case that in seeking to correct one error, the corrector goes too far and actually errs himself. Consider the uproar over the film The Passion of the Christ a few years ago. Our aim is not to debate the propriety of depicting Jesus on film but to recall that the movie was labeled anti-Semitic for involving first-century Jews in the crucifixion. Motivated to prevent the persecution of Jewish people that some have tried to justify using the passion narrative, revisionist scholars teach that Rome alone was culpable for murdering Jesus. Many individuals have persecuted Jews as “Christ-killers,” and some historians do all they can to abso...

Matthias Stom's depiction of Jesus before Caiaphas at night based on Mark 14 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:57–63A “Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death” (v. 59). In some ways Jesus can be seen as the victim of what is taking place during  Passover week, yet we also get the sense that He is in control of all that is happening. For example, He has remained cool, calm, and collected during His stay in Jerusalem , teaching openly in the temple courts, unafraid of those who hate Him (Matt. 21:23–23:39). His enemies, however, behave as if they might suddenly lose their grip on events. They meet secretly to plot Jesus’ death because they do not want to incite a riot (26:1–5), and they are similarly motivated to arrest Him in the dark (vv. 20, 47). This reveals their cowardice, not our Lord’s guilt, which is the point of Matthew 26:55 . If Jesus were guilty, ...

Christ before Pontius Pilate, Mihály Munkácsy, 1881 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.” [Luke 23:4]   Jesus had been tried and found guilty of a capital offense (blasphemy) by the Sanhedrin . Because the Jews did not have the right to put anyone to death, they took him to Pontius Pilate to issue Jesus’ death warrant. They accused Jesus of claiming to be king of the Jews. Pilate asked if this were true, and Jesus affirmed that it was. Pilate, however, was not interested in internal Jewish affairs and told the crowd that Jesus had done nothing worthy of death. The Jews responded by falsely stating that this Galilean had been seditious. Pilate pounced on the fact that Jesus came from Galilee , because that gave him a way out of this thorny situation. As a Galilean Jesus was under the jurisdiction of Herod , who just happened to be in Jerusalem for Passover . Pilate sent him t...

Jesus Led from Herod to Pilate (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God ?” He replied, “You are right in saying I am.” [Luke 22:70] Under Jewish law , the Sanhedrin could not hold a trial at night. Thus, Jesus was kept in abusive custody until the Sanhedrin met to try him the next day. The chief priests and teachers of the law were also there. Their first formal question to Jesus was whether he was the Messiah . Jesus replied that they would not believe him if he told them. The reason for this somewhat evasive answer is that Jesus knew they had a defective idea of the Messiah. Thus, Jesus could not give them a simple yes or no answer. Jesus, however, went on to explain of what his messiahship consisted. He told them that from that time on the Son of Man would be seated at the right hand of God. They knew Jesus had called himself the Son of Man, and now they were hearing him claim to be the coming King. Their next question was very important. T...

Small Passion: 16. Christ before Herod (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:63B–68 “ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven’” ( v. 64 ). Ironically, it is often the case that in seeking to correct one error, the corrector goes too far and actually errs himself. Consider the uproar over the film The Passion of the Christ a few years ago. Our aim is not to debate the propriety of depicting Jesus on film but to recall that the movie was labeled anti-Semitic for involving first-century Jews in the crucifixion. Motivated to prevent the persecution of Jewish people that some have tried to justify using the passion narrative, revisionist scholars teach that Rome alone was culpable for murdering Jesus. Many individuals have persecuted Jews as “ Christ-killers ,” and some historians do all they can to absolve the Sanhedrin of guilt in order to make impossible ...