The Earliest Christian Reflection We have relatively little direct information about what the very first believers in Jesus thought about his death and its meaning. Acts of the Apostles gives us a small window into this period of time, but not much more. The earliest of the New Testament writings are the letters of Paul.…

Summing Up As we have seen, Jesus not only predicted his death, but also spoke of it as being necessary (e.g. Mark 8:31). Why? Why did Jesus think he needed to die? Jesus provides several different answers to this question. They include: Jesus believed that his death was the will of his Heavenly Father, so…

The Blood of the New Covenant As the Last Supper draws to a close, Jesus refers to the cup of wine as “my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). This is an allusion to the story in Exodus 24, where the people of Israel endorsed God’s covenant. Then, having…

How Does God Bring Destruction? Psalm 46:1-11 Come, see the glorious works of the LORD: See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire. Psalm 46:8-9 Psalm 46 is one of my favorite psalms.…

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