XXIII. Both Luke and Matthew record the Lord’s Prayer, but in different language. Matthew’s is the fuller version and we use it in the...

XXII. Jesus always cautions us against (as the retired Pope puts it) “the chatter, the verbiage, the smothers the spirit. We are all...

XXI. From the Beatitudes and Jesus’ “fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets” rather than abolishing them, Pope Benedict turns to the...

XX. As noted previously, Rabbi Neusner considers the teaching of Jesus from a Jewish perspective and finds it challenging that Jesus...

XIX. In the dispute over the Sabbath, the issue is not nitpicking obedience to ritual laws. For the Jewish mind, observing the Sabbath...

XVIII. The Sermon on the Mount continues with the “Torah of the Messiah,” as Pope Benedict puts it: the promised “new teaching” of the...

XVII. The final two beatitudes – those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and the pure of heart – conclude this section. First, Pope...

XVI. The second Beatitude regards mourning and comfort. Judas illustrates a kind of mourning that is despair at one’s failures and...

XV. Pope Benedict postpones the second Beatitude to focus on the third: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Jesus...

XIV. Pope Benedict clarifies that the Beatitudes do not represent some kind of contrast to the Ten Commandments, a new way to God; Jesus...

XIII. Chapter 4 of Jesus of Nazareth is a lengthy survey of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. As Jesus describes the Kingdom of God...

XII. As Jesus uses the term “Kingdom of God,” it is an action, not a place or structure. That is, the Hebrew term malkut means the active...

XI. The last post looked at various interpretations of “the Kingdom of God.” First is the Christological (Jesus is the Kingdom); second...

X. Chapter 3 of Jesus of Nazareth discusses “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.” The Greek for Gospel is evangelion, often translated as...

IX. The third temptation revolves around kingship. Satan offers Jesus exactly what the Messiah might be expected to possess: the...

VIII. The second temptation, for Jesus to thrown Himself off the Temple to be caught by God, is rooted in Scripture, Psalm 91: “He will...

VII. The three temptations are identical in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, although Luke changes the order slightly to end with the Temple,...

VI. Chapter Two of Jesus of Nazareth explores the “Temptations of Jesus.” We hear this narrative each First Sunday of Lent. In His...

V. Chapter One of Jesus of Nazareth examines the Baptism of Jesus. Luke is very specific about time references in history, such as...

IV. In the Introduction to Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict points out that the Old Testament primarily presents the figure of the...