Interesting Podcast. Of course with regard to dates out about the birth of Jesus, it is hard for us to realise how difficult it was to piece together an accurate chronology. Most ancient historians around the 1st century used relative datin…
Hello Mark,Thank you for this episode. I'd love to hear or read your thoughts on why you think Luke knew Matthew and not the other way round, i.e. Matthew knew Luke and wrote after Luke. Thanks. Good thought. I have an essay coming out on t…
Great episode as usual. I always enjoy the entertaining sound clips.One tiny argument that I prefer in favor of Mark intending the gospel to end at 16:8 is that if so, Mark begins and ends his gospel with a divine proclamation. Mark 1:1 beg…
Thanks for this very timely podcast! Nice to listen to it as Good Friday approaches. Your thoughts about eyewitnesses make me think of Byrskog and Baukham, both of whom I was rereading recently as I was thinking about the lists of disciples…
That was very enlightening thank you Mark. You should think about being a radio dj on the side. Wow, what a voice. Good content, too! Thanks Mark - begs the question whether scholars should agree to offer two minutes radio soundbites.By the…
Interesting podcast, thanks!What I noticed was how important context -- how the question is framed -- is in this. If you're looking just at the detail of the soldiers casting lots for Jesus' clothes, then "prophesy historicized" makes sense…
Good work, Mark.I was wondering, in Daniel 7 does the Hebrew say "ben adam" and it gets translated as "son of man"?Could it be the gospel writers are trying to portray Jesus as the second Adam in this way? In which case, Paul would just be
To my mind the final argument is not valid. If the historical existence of "Jesus of Nazareth" is questioned, it does not follow that the existence of Pilate, Herod, Augustus and Tiberius would then also have to be questioned. Two possibili…
Mark, the synoptic problem is outside my field, so my question is not a well informed one. In textual criticism the harder reading is generally to be preferred, so could we not also suppose that the text of Luke is more original than that o…
Just finished this week taking the Church here through Hebrews in our mid-week bible class. Good summary. Would have been worth noting how it got in to the NT canon - especially since its authorship is unknown, its recipients unknown, and t…
Two very striking things in Mark's crucifixion account:(a) The parting of the garments and the casting of the lots are primary. The crucifixion is only mentioned in passing, in a subordinate clause. (Same in Matthew. Only in Lk & Jn did the…
Thank you. Very interesting topic, in my view, and I have one remark. You state that it seems as if Matthew "mapped the story of Jesus on the story of Israel", while he also quoted from the LXX, created stuff after the fact etc. and is in g…