Covenant Meals Genesis 14.18-20 After Abram's victory, Melchizedek the priest-king brings out bread and wine and blesses Abraham. This act of sacrificial hospitality inaugurates a covenant of peace. Melchizedek's bread-and-wine offering foreshadows Christ the eternal priest and "bread of life" (Heb 5.6), pointing forward to the Eucharist. Genesis 26.29-30, Isaac and Abimelech solemnize a peace... Continue Reading →
Colossians 4.7-18, Partners in the Mission
Image Credit: Todd Bolen, bibleplaces.com. A series of mineral springs on the southern edge of ancient Hierapolis were popular then and now for bathing. Because Hierapolis is no longer inhabited, these springs are known by the name of the nearby modern town, Pamukkale. Paul closes his letter to the Colossians not with lofty argument but... Continue Reading →
Job 1.20-22, Worship with Ashes on Your Head
Figurine of a kneeling, shaven-headed man from Egypt’s Late Period (664–332 BCE), copper alloy, housed in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, Musée du Louvre, inventory no. N 1593 The story of Job confronts us with raw grief, deep trust, and worship. In Job 1.20-22, we see a man who has lost all: his children, his possessions,... Continue Reading →
The Ancient Paths
“Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jeremiah 6:16, ESV) When I first obeyed the gospel, my mother’s first emotion was not... Continue Reading →
Who Is Jesus? in the Gospel of John.
Papyrus P52 (Rylands Library Papyrus P52), containing John 18.31-33 and 37-38. John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester. Public Domain image courtesy of the University of Manchester. Who Is Jesus? in the Gospel of John grows out of my ongoing work, The Messiah in the Margins, a project that traces how the Hebrew Scriptures whisper,... Continue Reading →
Phillip W. Martin 