Jesus’ birth was a deeply subversive affair in at least a few ways. Last time, we looked at how Luke and the angels subvert Roman authority and emperor cult, but the Incarnation was also deeply subversive to Jewish hopes and expectations, particularly for national hopes of rebellion. This subversion of expectations and hopes comes fromContinue reading “Taxes and Death: Incarnation and Subversion (Luke 2)”
Category Archives: Tis the Season
Gods, Angels, and Emperors: Subversion and Incarnation (Luke 2)
Jesus’ birth was a deeply subversive affair in at least a few ways. Perhaps most obviously, the proclamation of the angels recorded by Luke was a direct assault upon the power of the Roman Emperor. When Augustus was finally crowned in 9 BC, the assembly explains their reasoning thus: Divine providence which orders our livesContinue reading “Gods, Angels, and Emperors: Subversion and Incarnation (Luke 2)”
The “Other Brother”: Genesis 43 and Father’s Day
The story of Joseph (Gen 37–50) is a family drama. And like so many family dramas, from Wes Anderson films to Inception, the focus is on redemption and reconciliation. All of the action that takes place serves only to move the characters into the right place—both locationally and mentally—to confront their past mistakes and eachContinue reading “The “Other Brother”: Genesis 43 and Father’s Day”
Animals and Babies, Homes and Barns: Why Modern Perceptions Conceal the Point of the Nativity
When Luke sets out to tell the story of Jesus’s life in his gospel, he includes a well-known description of his birth. The ESV (which I normally like!), reads: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governorContinue reading “Animals and Babies, Homes and Barns: Why Modern Perceptions Conceal the Point of the Nativity”
Ben Neviim 