Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:
Epiphany 1, 2017
Baptism of Jesus
January 8, 2017
- Freeman, Curtis W., "Between Text and Sermon, Matthew 3:13-17," Interpretation, 1993.
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A 1993 article from Interpretation. “…our Lord's baptism is the prototype of the Christian sacrament and, further, that the rite of baptism signifies the saving activity of God in history.”
Gibbs, Jeffrey A., "Israel Standing with Israel: The Baptism of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel (Matt 3:13-17)," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2002.
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“In sum, then, there is a certain narrative development from Matt 2:13-15 to Matt 3:13-17 to Matt 4:1-11. First, Jesus, son of God, is identified as the recapitulation of Israel and is utterly dependent on divine protection as Israel was. Second, Jesus, son of God, is identified as Israel, yet he comes to stand with the people as they confess the very sins from which he has come to save them. Third, Jesus, son of God, is led out to where Israel failed, but he does not fail; rather, he actively combats Satan and emerges victorious and obedient.”
Norris, Kathleen, "Marked for a Purpose," The Christian Century, 2007.
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“Baptism, then, is about celebrating the incomparable gift we receive as creatures beloved of God. But baptism is also about more fully engaging the responsibility that this identity entails.”
Vinson, Richard, "'King of the Jews': Kingship and Anti-Kingship Rhetoric in Matthew's Birth, Baptism, and Transfiguration Narratives," Review & Expositor, 2007.
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“In the times of Jesus and many of Matthew's early readers, "king" meant first Caesar, whose empire overshadowed and controlled every other political entity; and second, whatever local petty kings were the sharp end of the imperial spear.”
Bowens, Lisa M., "The Role of John the Baptist in Matthew's Gospel," Word & World, 2010.
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“John the Baptist has frequently been seen as a forerunner and foreshadower of Jesus, hut he can also be seen as a model of discipleship. Both Jesus' crucifixion and the death of John establish the fact that the gospel does not guarantee the avoidance of suffering. To be a disciple means to lose one's life for Christ's sake.”
Arterbury, Andrew E., "The Ancient Custom of Hospitality, The Greek Novels, and Acts 10:1 - 11:18," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2002.
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“In Acts 10:1-11:18, Luke explicitly refers to the custom of hospitality while narrating a radical change in the theology and praxis of the early church. First, because of a vision and the instruction of the Holy Spirit, Peter broke with tradition and offered hospitality to the Gentile emissaries. Next, he broke with tradition and accepted hospitality from Cornelius. This included both entering Cornelius's home and eating with him. Finally, Cornelius and his entire household were converted, after Peter testified to what God had done and after God had given the Holy Spirit to them. As a result, Peter's theological framework for evaluating people was drastically revised. In the midst of these three hospitality scenes, Peter was able to recognize that fearing God is more important to God than racial heritage.
Bond, L. Susan, "Scripture and Theology, Acts 10:34-43,"Interpretation, 2002.
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“PETER'S SERMON TO CORNELIUS CHALLENGES their understandings about what it means to follow Christ. The radical gospel of peace challenges our own notions of what it means to belong to a privileged religious community with the ‘exclusive’ truth about the way of salvation.”
Matson, David Lertis and Warren S. Brown, "Tuning the Faith: The Cornelius Story in Resonance Perspective," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2006.
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“This article seeks to identify what those sources arc and demonstrate their congruence at key junctures in the narrative, using an auditory/acoustic metaphor recently developed as a way to consider the relationship between neuroscience and Christian faith. It is hoped that this integrative approach to the question of truth and its competing sources might provide a working model for the doing of theology today.”
Mays, James L., "Expository Article: Psalm 29," Interpretation, 1985.
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“Finally, having recognized that the doxological orientation of the Bible is not toward "nature," a plea on behalf of the thunderstorm, we must give attention to the significance for us of its place in the psalm, where it is a "sign" in the Johannine sense of God's sovereignty over the cosmos.”
Evans, Craig A., "Jesus and Justice," Ex Auditu, 2006.
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- Lee, Max J., "Response to Evans," Ex Auditu, 2006.
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“In the Hebrew Scriptures the root for "righteous" and "righteousness," as well as for their approximate English synonyms "just" and "justice," is sdq (i.e., sedeq, sedäqäh, and sadîq). The words for "judge" (verb) and "judgment" are säpat and mispät. Other words, of course, come into play. Their Greek equivalents, in both the Greek version of the OT (i.e., the Old Greek or the Septuagint) and the Greek NT, are the forms that derive from the roots dik- (i.e., dikaios, "just" or "righteous"; dikaiosunë, "justice" or "righteousness") and kri-(i.e., krinein, "to judge"; ¡crisis, "judgment”).”
- Lindsey, F. Duane, "The Call of the Servant in Isaiah 42:1-9," Bibliotheca Sacra, 1982.
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“The anonymous servant of Isaiah 42:1-9 can be neither Israel nor Cyrus nor any person other than the royal Davidic Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. This first servant song introduces the servant and highlights the successful completion of the task to which He is divinely called. Only a hint is given of the pathway of suffering that the servant must tread to arrive at the glory of a completed mission when He will have caused a righteous order to prevail on the earth. He will bring in a just order on the earth following His second advent at the time of the fulfillment of the promised New covenant for the nation Israel. Gentiles also will benefit from the worldwide blessings of this covenant and kingdom.”
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