Nazareth Most of my posts in this series up to this point have involved sites more related to the Old Testament than to the New Testament. The New Testament alone specifically mentions the town of Nazareth. The town sits about 20 miles east of the Mediterranean Sea and about 15 miles west of the Sea […]
Israel Research Trip, Post #7 Read More »
For Passion Week I have written a series of meditations following Jesus and His disciples on each day, starting with Palm Sunday. The meditations are published on the Canyon Ministries blog “GuidePosts.” Below are the first three with links. Each day I will add another link. With most of us in lockdown due to the
Passion Week Meditations Read More »
Caesarea Maritima / Caesarea Palestina Intertestamental Period In the 3rd century BC the Persians gave the area to the Phoenicians who built a small anchorage here and named it Strato’s Tower. The site had been controlled by the Sidonians, but the Romans under Octavian (who later became Augustus Caesar and the first emperor of the Roman
Israel Research Trip, Post #4 Read More »
This final post reporting on my research trip to Jordan includes two sites we visited on our first day. I’ve done so in order to tie together some of the significance aspects of our visit to Gerasa and our later examination of sites in Israel. Elijah’s Hill / Tell Elias In order to identify sites
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This apparent contradiction of the timing of the events involved Jesus’ cleansing the Temple and cursing the fig tree. Matthew 21:12–19 reports that Jesus cursed the fig tree on the day following His cleansing of the Temple. However, Mark 11:12–24 appears to indicate that Jesus left Bethany (v. 12), cursed the fig tree for not
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: When Did Jesus Curse the Fig Tree? Read More »
Earlier we discussed whether Jesus healed one man or two men on His journey between Jericho and Jerusalem (Matthew 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43). At least one additional problem presents itself in these three passages. Luke 18:35 says that Jesus was approaching (or, entering) Jericho. But Mark 10:46 says, “as He was leaving Jericho,” and
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: Entering or Leaving Jericho? Read More »
The synoptic Gospels seem to put different words into Peter’s mouth when he makes his statement regarding the identity of Jesus. Compare the following: Matthew 16:16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Mark 8:29, “You are the Christ.” Luke 9:20, “The Christ of God.” In our thinking the event was so
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: What Did Peter Say? Read More »
In ancient Israel people often used the Persian reed (Arundo donax—a tall reed growing up to eighteen feet or more high; also known as giant cane) for a walking stick. Other uses for this reed included fishing rods, measuring rods, and musical pipes.[1] Some individuals may have chosen a wooden stick (a staff) for greater stability
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: How Many Walking Sticks? Read More »
Let’s return to the synoptic Gospels’ reporting of the healing of the demon-possessed men (or man?) from Gadara (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39). We dealt with the apparent geographical contradiction in our first post. At least one more problem exists when we compare these passages. According to Matthew, two demon-possessed men approached Jesus. However,
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: How Many People? Read More »
Matthew 8:5–13 reports the miracle of Jesus healing a Roman centurion’s servant. Matthew seems to say the centurion himself approached Jesus with the request. Luke 7:1–10, however, speaks only of some Jewish leaders coming to Jesus with the centurion’s request. Is there a mistake in one of these two Gospel accounts? A possible answer to
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