The Word and the Spirit joined

Recent readings:

Since finishing up my MDiv, I haven’t been reading as much. These are the two books I’ve been reading recently.

One is a book on Revelations. I was originally assigned to do a sermon on Rev19:6-9 in September, but it is too close to my wedding, so the church assigned someone else subsequently. However, I continued to read the book anyways.

Another one is a book I picked up from the “second-hand” book sell outside Morling library several years ago by Smith Wigglesworth. I was listening to a talk by Bill Johnson a few days ago and heard him mention Smith Wigglesworth, which made me remember this book I bought several years ago. Some of Wigglesworth’s prophecies about end time revivals were quite interesting. For example:

The Word and the Spirit joined:

“When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit. When the word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed, the world has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and Welsh revivals of former years...”

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=l3U1AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=%22During+the+next+few+decades+there+will+be+two+distinct+moves+of+the+Holy+Spirit+across+the+church+in+Great+Britain.+The+first+move+will+affect+every+church+that+is+open+to+receive+it,+and+will+be+characterised+by+a+restoration+of+the+baptism+and+gifts+of+the+Holy+Spirit.+%22The+second+move+of+the+Holy+Spirit+will+result+in+people+leaving+historic+churches+and+planting+new+churches.&source=bl&ots=X9t8g8898u&sig=ACfU3U3lOhH30DsRhhL4aTHO3vqCZm-NGg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii_sip1MXjAhWC8XMBHbooDBsQ6AEwAnoECAUQAQ

And some people even claim that he had made a certain prophecy about Australia (Barry Chant made a detailed investigation into this and didn't really have a conclusion about the authenticity):

http://www.barrychant.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/That-Wigglesworth-prophecy1.pdf

Even though none of these prophecies are anything central (as Christ is the centre), it is quite interesting. The joining of the Word and the Spirit seems common-sense: that is what should normally happen in the life of a Christian (and sometimes I just don't understand the bickering between some charismatics and evangelicals... dialogues are more useful than criticisms... God is sovereign and works in many mysterious ways: no one can ever claim to know "complete theology").

Matter of Life & Death: book review

Abstract:

This is a book review on “Matters of Life & Death: Human dilemmas in the light of the Christian faith” by John Wyatt. The subject is medical ethics. The purpose is to help Christians respond to the central ethical dilemmas raised by modern medical practice in accordance with the Christian faith. Wyatt’s thesis is that each human is made in the image of God and that alone is the reason for the sanctity of life. Wyatt has argued well for his thesis as he covered a broad range of ethical scenarios and backs his response with Scripture. Wyatt achieved his purpose because this book really gets the reader thinking through life and death issues. It also helped me on a personal level by changing some of my mindsets. Wyatt gave some suggestions on appropriate practical responses but these must be lived out by the readers for it to be practical.

This is a book review on “Matters of Life & Death: Human dilemmas in the light of the Christian faith” by John Wyatt. The title already gives clue that the subject of this book is medical ethics, because the field of medicine often deals with the matters of life and death, and a dilemma is a situation where we have to make difficult choices in accordance with our ethical values. “In the light of the Christian faith” means the target audience includes all Christians. Wyatt’s purpose is to help Christians respond to the central ethical dilemmas raised by modern medical practice in accordance with the Christian faith.[1] Wyatt’s thesis is that each human is made in the image of God and that alone is the reason for the sanctity of life. Therefore, the value of each human life is not calculated in materialistic or functional terms, and the weak and vulnerable should be protected, not eliminated. However, humanity’s desire for control over its own destiny is one of the main fuels driving these dilemmas.

The structure consists of twelve chapters. The first chapter identifies five fundamental themes in health care and society which influences on the development of bioethical thinking: biological reductionism, technology, consumerism, limited resources and ethical diversity.[2] Chapter two talks about the biblical perspectives on humanness and how important it is to look at the four epochs of human history: creation, fall, redemption and future consummation, so that we do not get a distorted idea of the Christian truth.[3] Chapter three examines the history of reproductive technology and Christian perspectives on it. Chapter four looks at the implications of antenatal screening today. Chapter five looks at biotechnology and stem cells, including the selection of embryos with desirable characteristics, cloning for therapeutic research and reproductive purposes, and stem cells.

Chapter six looks at the history of abortion and infanticide. Chapter seven explores Christian perspectives on the beginning of life looking at passages such as Psalm 139. Chapter eight talks about dilemmas in neonatal care, such as in the case of premature babies, neonatal euthanasia and the dying baby. Chapter nine talks about how euthanasia and assisted suicide are heading down a slippery slope. Chapter ten discusses the Christian view of dying and some practical responses. Chapter eleven looks at the history of medicine. The final chapter analyses the possible paths which humanity will head in the future in the light of the Enlightenment project and New Age spirituality, and contrasts that with a biblical understanding of the future hope.

Wyatt uses a catalogue of relevant topics for the arguments in this book. He opens the book with discussion on the main themes in the central ethical dilemmas today. He observes a trend towards scientific reductionism, where our body is viewed by scientists such as Dawkins as simply survival machines, built by the DNA to create more copies of the same DNA.[4] This leads to the temptation to transcend ourselves, eg. observe our brain function and learn to conquer it. Paradoxically, it also leads to pessimistic fatalism, where we can predict when malfunction will struck. As technology advances, science aims not merely to describe the world but also to control it. Many scientists dream of using technology to improve the capacities of the human body, thereby transforming the nature of humanity itself.[5] Furthermore, biotechnology can be used for ‘quality control,’ eg. in prenatal testing.[6] With increasing advancements, consumer expectations rise, leading to increasing expenditures to meet these expectations, thereby increasing economic burdens in the setting of limited resources.[7] In response to these dilemmas, the academic discipline of bioethics grew rapidly since the late 1970s.[8] Some bioethicists hold anti-biblical views, eg. Peter Singer, who proposes that the worth of life varies depending on the functioning of the cerebral cortex and recommends “mercy killing” for a life that is “not worth living”. Wyatt coins the term “corticalism” to describe Singer’s discrimination of people according to their cortex.[9]

Wyatt then logically moves on to the biblical perspectives on humanness, covering the theological themes of the image of God in the human, sin, soteriology and eschatology. Using the creation narrative, he demonstrates that human life is sacred because we are created in the image of God. Using the Fall narrative, he describes how human disobedience led to death and decay, and hence all the futility and sufferings humanity has to endure. The Tower of Babel narrative describes humanity’s tendency towards using technology to usurp God. There are multiple promises for redemption and commands to defend the defenceless. God became flesh to redeem us, revealing himself as a human being. Wyatt reminds us not to stop at the cross, as the Gospel emphasise the physical reality of Christ’s restored body and its continuity with his old physical body.^[10] Our physical bodies will also be transformed in the same way that Christ’s body was transformed. We can make sense of the present only in the light of the future.^[11]

Chapters three to seven focus on the beginning of life issues. Wyatt believes “the ethics of art restoration” can be practiced, where the restorer is not free to change or improve the masterpiece they are trying to restore, but to follow the artist’s (ie. God’s) original intention.[12] In reproductive technology, Wyatt thinks using IVF to assist an infertile couple to have their own genetically related child is a form of restorative technology. However, no spare embryos are to be created, and the genetic link between the married couple and their children is not to be broken, ie. no sperm or egg donation.[13]

Wyatt suggests that antenatal screening is fine, so long as the “treatment” for the condition being screened for is not abortion.[14] Furthermore, screening is a form of discrimination, implying that the lives of disabled people are of less value than those of the healthy.[15] Therefore, biotechnology should not be used to select embryos with desirable characteristics,[16] as this turns the child into a commodity[17] and takes away the loving unconditional welcome.[18] Embryo cloning should not be done for research or reproductive purposes as this leads to destruction of large numbers of human embryos and allow people to reproduce asexually.[19] Wyatt sees enhancing therapy as crossing the line and cautions that the distinction between restorative and enhancing therapy is not always clear cut.[20]

Wyatt believes abortion and infanticide are essentially the same on ethical grounds.[21] He then discusses “when is a person” in the next chapter using Psalm 139, which tells us God already knew us when we were still unformed. He concludes that the distinction between the formed and unformed is not a biblical concept,[22] and to ‘play it safe’ whenever there is uncertainty.[23] There are also hard cases such as rape victims, but Wyatt believes that there are always better alternative than abortions for unwanted or abnormal pregnancies,[24] and that it is often the failure of practical caring which drives people to consider unethical solutions.[25] Wyatt states that if Christians are not in the forefront of providing practical care for these people, “our supposed commitment to the sanctity of life is deeply suspect.”[26]

Wyatt moves on to the topic of dying in chapters eight to ten. He does not approve of neonatal euthanasia because if it is legal to end the life of a newborn on the basis of their own best interests, then it is illogical not to kill an incompetent child or adult under similar circumstances.[27] There is a slippery slope with legalising euthanasia, where some people are now giving ‘tiredness of life’ as the reason to request euthanasia in the Netherlands.[28] Wrong diagnosis is also an issue, especially when people are in the vegetative state.[29] Furthermore, the ethos of the medical profession is to preserve and protect life wherever possible, so allowing doctors to kill people would weaken the level of trust in the profession.[30] Wyatt also argues that even though the cortex is not functioning properly in people with dementia, the real person is still there.[31] Wyatt believes high quality palliative care is needed for all dying people.[32] He thinks respect for life and prohibition of suicide is part of the glue which binds society together.[33] Death may be seen as God’s “severe mercy” for his fallen creatures.[34] Suffering is “a mystery which demands a presence,” to be there for those who are ill, suffering, and dying.[35] Good medicine knows its limits, and the difference between intention and foresight.[36]

Chapter eleven discusses the Hippocratic tradition, how much it shared in common with Christian values, how they became the unlikely allies with the early Christians, how Christianity influenced the development of medicine, how the Hippocratic-Christian consensus eroded in modern days, and that we should defend the Christian worldview today. Wyatt’s final chapter ends on a note of hope for the future, that “unlike the secular humanist, who can never be spared form the crushing responsibility of fashioning the future, Christians can dare to rest, and celebrate the goodness of the creation…”[37] Furthermore, “we are treating someone now in the light of what they are going to be… This is why we can still respect and treat with dignity even the most tragically damaged of human beings.”[38]

I believe Wyatt argued for his thesis well, because he used many different dilemmas, yet his thesis still applied to each. It is backed up well by the Scriptures, which he quotes a lot of in Chapters two and seven. However, one needs to think through all the issues Wyatt raised intentionally before things start linking up. In terms of the sanctity of life, he describes how we need to be able to protect the vulnerable ones, including embryos, fetuses, infants, the disabled, people with dementia and people in the vegetative state, because no matter how unformed or dysfunctional, they are all humans made in the image of God, and that alone is the reason for the sanctity of life. Furthermore, the fact that God revealed himself to us in the flesh and still has a physical body in his resurrection tells us how important the human body is, and how we should see each person in the light of what they will be in the final consummation. The world is fallen and it is reasonable to practice the ethics of art restoration to restore people as closely to God’s original intention as possible. Wyatt emphasises the importance of practical care as the way we demonstrate our commitment to the sanctity of life.

Wyatt describes how humanity’s desire for control over our destinies drives many of these dilemmas. The combination of scientific reductionism and the rapid advances in biotechnology misleads humanity into thinking we can overcome the human condition. However, this only gives rise to rising consumer expectations. Rather than just seeking restorative treatments, people actually seek enhancement. People try to exert control over the beginnings of life, by selection of desirable embryos, which is really treating their children as commodities. People are trying to get around God’s original intention for marriage by seeking ways to reproduce asexually. People are also trying to exert control over death through euthanasia. Without the Christian hope, the secular humanist carries the crushing responsibility of fashioning the future.

I believe Wyatt achieved his purpose in this book, because in the process of thinking through these issues, I understand more. Any person can encounter at least one of the dilemmas described in Wyatt’s book, and everyone can benefit practically from this book as it helps people think about difficult issues ahead of time. Wyatt’s use of the Scriptures helps me understand the Christian perspective better and even changed some of my mindsets. For example, I just realised I am guilty of “corticalism” as I tend to get agitated when I see myself or others being “non-productive.”[39] I also did not realise until now how antenatal screening changes the relationship between the mother and the child from an inseparable attachment to one that begins with separation and distancing.[40] However, I am thankful for antenatal screening because I have personally encountered clinical scenarios where both mother and the baby might have died if antenatal screening does not exist, and early intervention saved their lives. So I agree strongly with Wyatt’s that antenatal screening can sometimes give us the opportunity to give early treatment for certain conditions, and is ok so long as it does not result in abortion.

One thing I do not agree with is his statement “God’s ultimate being is found not in glory, not in power, not in authority, but in self-giving.”[41] I think God is all of these, and Wyatt seems to be putting God into a box to support his argument for empathy here. In terms of practical application, Wyatt attempts to give some practical responses in chapter ten, “a better way to die.” Although it helps me reorganise my mindset, these are just words on the paper. I believe that practical caring can only be learned through the experience of being present for the suffering ones we encounter in our lives, and learning from the mistakes made in the process. Overall, I find Wyatt’s book very helpful but need the power of the Holy Spirit to apply these into my everyday life.

Bibliography:

Wyatt, John. Matters of Life & Death: Human dilemmas in the light of the Christian faith. Nottingham: IVP, 2009.

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[1] John Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death: Human dilemmas in the light of the Christian faith (Nottingham: IVP, 2009), 15.

[2] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 48.

[3] Ibid., 52.

[4] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 28.

[5] Ibid., 34.

[6] Ibid., 36-37.

[7] Ibid., 39.

[8] Ibid., 40.

[9] Ibid., 45-46.

[10] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 79.

[11] Ibid., 80.

[12] Ibid., 99.

[13] Ibid., 103.

[14] Ibid., 108. Abortion is eliminating the patient, not treating the patient.

[15] Ibid., 118.

[16] Ibid., 123.

[17] Ibid., 132.

[18] Ibid., 173.

[19] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 125-126.

[20] Ibid., 132.

[21] Ibid., 135.

[22] Ibid., 165.

[23] Ibid., 167.

[24] Ibid., 177.

[25] Ibid., 133.

[26] Ibid., 177.

[27] Ibid., 181.

[28] Ibid., 203.

[29] Ibid., 205.

[30] Ibid., 181.

[31] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 213.

[32] Ibid., 232.

[33] Ibid., 218.

[34] Ibid., 219.

[35] Ibid., 220.

[36] Ibid., 224.

[37] Ibid., 271.

[38] Ibid., 273.

[39] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 47.

[40] Ibid., 112.

[41] Wyatt, Matters of Life & Death, 260.

Morling Tuesday Chapel: A Consecrated life

Speaker: Beth Jackson, Sole Pastor of St. Ives Baptist Church

Scripture: Malachi 3:6-18

First half of Malachi 3: The people of God were weary and worn-down and half-hearted. These worn-down people’s worship wasn’t pleasing God.

Malachi was there to call them back, to their original intent as the people of God.

Most people use today’s verses in reference to tithing.

People keep progressing then falling back. Eg. Joshua leading the people into the Promised Land.

The role of a minister in a faith community is to continually draw God’s people back to the centre. It is an ongoing work.

The people asks for concrete examples: “How do we return to you?”

Let’s begin with the tithes. The people were giving blemished tithes. The people were just covering their bases, but their hearts were not in it.

They were still reserving the best for themselves, “just in case”. “We’ve given up everything for you, Lord. But just what if you don’t come through?”

There was a time in the UK where Beth was paid so little in her ministry work that she was having financial struggles bringing up her children.

“Tithing is biblical, but not Christian. Tithing is simply not radical enough for the kingdom of God.” God wants the best of us, all of it. Justice, mercy and faithfulness.

“Return to me and I will return to you.”

Many people do not stay in ministry for long. Tragic when once faithful servants of God turn away from God when they become disillusioned and the cost just seems to high.

“Great is the reward”: closing in hope. “In the fullness of time, those who have remained faithful, they will be mine.” A Consecrated life.  

The vocation and mission of Jesus

Why did Jesus came on earth? What did he came to do?

To proclaim the Kingdom of God[1]

l   The biblical evidence is clear:

n   …proclaiming the good news… “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15). Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1:38-39)

n   …to proclaim good news… (Luke 4:18-19). “But He [Jesus] said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43). 

n   “And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people” (Matt. 4:23).

l   Most scholars would agree that a central feature of Jesus’ ministry was the kingdom of God.[2],[3] But there is little if any agreement about what the Kingdom is or how it should be defined.[4]

l   There are ways in which Jesus sees the kingdom of God as already present: ‘the time is fulfilled’ (Mark 1:15).

l   Jesus tells parables which stress the hidden, yet present, dynamic growth of the kingdom (Matthew 13:1-46).[5]

l   The kingdom of God is described in terms which put it in the future: ‘Your kingdom come’ (Matthew 6:10).[6]

l   Overthrowing the enemy:

n   Jesus relates the overthrow of demonic powers, seen in the exorcisms he performed, to the presence of the kingdom (Matthew 12:28).[7]

n   It appears Jesus understood the kingdom of God as a powerful demonstration of the rule of God, in line with the Old Testament expectation of his coming to deliver the people.[8] His experience as an infant bears striking resemblance to that of Moses; he is a greater Moses leading his people to deliverance.[9]

n   Jesus has a definite way of overthrowing the enemy in the fulfilment of time: His refusal to defend himself, on the cross, his death. God’s Kingdom rule was established at creation; It was attacked by Satan at the fall; now it is being restored on earth through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ who defeats Satan, death, and sin![10]

l   Preaching good news to the poor:

n   ‘…the poor (in spirit)… shall inherit the kingdom of God’.

n   Latin American liberation theology claim that there is preferential love by God for the poor. So the beatitudes are popular with liberation theologians. On the other hand, traditional theology has been seen to bolster social injustice because of its refusal to address critically social and economic problems. Therefore, the positive attraction of Marxist theory to combat these problems is obvious.[11]

n   The inauguration of social structures that promote the prophetic vision of justice and restore the shalom of God's people fundamentally expresses God's kingship.^[12]

n   However, if the signs of God’s rule/kingdom only primarily lie only in feeding the poor, eliminating the wrong systems etc., then the cross was not necessary and we only need the socialists. Building orphanages, etc. are important. But most important is the reality of the cross and resurrection. Wherever Christians are is God’s rule. Wherever Christians are suffering and kept in faith, God’s rule is there.

l   Miracles: Jesus gave radically new meaning to the ‘language’ of the miracles: they are signs of the kingdom, signs of what God wants to do and is already doing in humankind in Jesus.^[13] The miracles include exorcisms, healings, raising the dead and nature miracles, which are intended to reveal the presence and power of the kingdom.^[14]

n   The miracles of healing and deliverance which Jesus did, and which the apostles performed in his name, were the apex of the biblical pattern of witnessing to the salvation of God.[15]

n   There is sovereignty in healing: He did not heal everyone. He delivered only one of many at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1).

n   There exists a frequent connection between healings and faith, but this is not uniform. There is also a connection between healing and forgiveness, but this is not uniform.

n   The miracles are primarily signs, which point us not to themselves but to something else: the signs of the kingdom of God, Jesus’ own messianic credentials, and the fulfilment of the age of preparation.[16]  

n   Miracles did not of themselves bring about a great surge of faith. Jesus taught that if people did not believe the OT Scriptures, the greatest of all miracles would not persuade them to change (Luke 16:31 The Rich Man and Lazarus).[17]

l   The kingdom of God is the reign of God, inaugurated with the coming of Christ, but not fully consummated until his return at the end of the world.[18] The Kingdom of God involves two great moments: fulfilment within history [already], and consummation at the end of history [not yet].[19]

To seek and to save the lost

l   The lost sheep of the house of Israel:

n   “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10).

n   …sheep without a shepherd. (Matt 9:36 Workers are Few) …lost sheep of Israel. (Matthew 10:6 Jesus sends out the 12)

l   ‘I will build my church’ (Matthew 16:18 Peter’s confession of Christ)

n   The church is, in one sense, Christ’s storm troopers, spearheading the progress of the kingdom.

n   It is important to note that although the kingdom of God includes the church as a central component, the kingdom is extensive over the entire cosmos.[20]

l   God’s rule has broken into human history to deliver men and women from the power of sin, death, and Satan. From start to finish, Jesus’ entire life and ministry was the expression of God’s mighty rule that had broken into history to deliver the creation and its human inhabitants from the curse of sin and death.[21]

To bring about God’s judgement on sin

l   …baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16-17 John the Baptist Prepares the Way)

l   Division (Luke12:49-51 No Peace but Division): The Gospel, which is as fire, that gives both light and heat, warms the hearts of God's people, and causes them to burn within them; though very distressing and torturing to wicked men; so the word of God is compared to fire. Or else zeal for it, and which would be opposed with sharp contentions by others; or rather persecution for the sake of the Gospel, called sometimes the fiery trial; which tries men, as gold is tried in the fire.[22]

l   Jesus weeps for the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44 The Triumphal Entry).

To give his life

l   Jesus tells his disciples privately about his forthcoming death and resurrection, but they fail to grasp its significance, because the meaning was hidden from them (Mark 8:33; Luke 18:31-34). It was not something intended for public consumption.[23]

l   Jesus affirmed the eternal validity of the law, stating that not even the smallest letter would disappear from it (Matthew 5:18-20). Jesus emphasized the true essence and purpose of the law, and his role as the fulfilment of the law.^[24]

l   Christ died for our sins. Buried, raised, appeared. (1 Cor 15:1-8 The Resurrection of Christ).

l   “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 The Request of James and John). By becoming “a ransom for many” through his sacrificial death, Christians are under the new covenant, God’s righteous standards are now written on their hearts, not on tablets of stone.[25]

l   On the cross, God in Christ conquered sin, defeated death, and triumphed over Satan. Jesus is Christus Victor! By means of this victory, we are restored to God and our true purposes as human beings. It is the mystery of the Kingdom that makes us new creatures in Christ.[26]

l   Augustine explains the goal of the “sendings” of the Son and Spirit is to restore fallen humans into a relationship of communion with God.

References:

Chouinard, Larry. “The kingdom of God and the pursuit of justice in Matthew”, Restoration Quarterly, 45 (2003): 229-242

Chung, Miyon. “The Incarnation and Mission of Christ (Part 1).” Lecture Notes, Morling College, September 6, 2016.

Bible study tools. “John Gill's Exposition of the Bible”, Accessed November 3, 2016. http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/

Hendrickx, Herman. The miracle stories of the synoptic gospels. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1987.

Letham, Robert. The Work of Christ. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993.

Naugle, David. “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.” Christian Worldview Journal. Accessed November 3, 2016. http://www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/indepth/15062-jesus-christ-and-the-kingdom-of-god

Strauss, Mark. Four Portraits, One Jesus. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

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[1] Chung, “The Incarnation and Mission of Christ”

[2] Letham, The Work of Christ, 57.

[3] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”

[4] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”

[5] Letham, The Work of Christ, 59.

[6] Letham, The Work of Christ, 60.

[7] Letham, The Work of Christ, 59.

[8] Letham, The Work of Christ, 60.

[9] Letham, The Work of Christ, 61.

[10] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”

[11] Letham, The Work of Christ, 62-63.

[12]Chouinard, “The kingdom of God,” 236.

[13]Herman Hendrickx, The miracle stories of the synoptic gospels (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1987), 11. Nowadays people speak of miracles in terms of a ‘violation of the laws of nature’. The more important this ‘violation’, the greater the miracle. But Jesus and his contemporaries would not have understood this way of thinking and speaking. They were not familiar with our concept of ‘laws of nature’. In a biblical perspective, therefore, one cannot speak of a miracle as a ‘violation of nature’.

[14]Strauss, Four Portraits, 461-465. 

[15] Letham, The Work of Christ, 68.

[16] Letham, The Work of Christ, 69.

[17] Letham, The Work of Christ, 70.

[18] Letham, The Work of Christ, 62.

[19] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”

[20] Letham, The Work of Christ, 74.

[21] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”

[22] “John Gill's Exposition of the Bible”

[23] Letham, The Work of Christ, 71.

[24]Strauss, Four Portraits, 441. 

[25]Strauss, Four Portraits, 444. 

[26] “Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God.”