The Sacred Page

Jesus Christ is the great High Priest, the mediator of the New Covenant. By His death and resurrection, the economy of salvation which the earthly Jerusalem's temple, priesthood and sacrifices pointed to has been brought to perfection. This is the main thesis of the letter to the Hebrews. Hebrews... Sign in to see full entry.

Hosea 14 is the last chapter in a prophetic book that is both beautiful and difficult: beautiful in poetic imagery and in the message it gives about the love of God, and difficult because of the state in which we find it now. I saw this last because it is obvious that in the course of its... Sign in to see full entry.

Psalm 6 is one of the seven penitential psalms. In vv. 2-8, one finds the prayer for help while in vv. 9-11, the petitioner's reaction to the answer to his prayer. There is no mention of sin here, but the petitioner does complain implicitly of the absence of God or at least His apparent inattention.... Sign in to see full entry.

Psalm 24 (25) is an acrostic psalm; its principle of unity are the letters of the alphabet. The psalmist however composed the psalm sufficiently well making it a vehicle through which one can express one's need of forgiveness. Except for the last line which perhaps was added later on when the psalm... Sign in to see full entry.

Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus moves in two parts after the brief introduction in verses 1-2. The first part is in vv. 3-8 where the keyword is "to be born." The second part is in vv. 9-21 which can be further subdivided into vv. 9-12 ("speak", "witness", "proclaim"), vv. 13-15 ("heaven", "raise... Sign in to see full entry.

Luke 15:1-32 Lost and Found The Lucan emphasis on forgiveness and God's mercy and compassion emerges most clearly in this chapter made up of materials that are mostly of Luke. The parables within this chapter are all addressed to the pharisees and scribes who complain about Jesus' attitude towards... Sign in to see full entry.

This is the second parable that Jesus proposes to the religious leaders of his time when asked about his authority (cf. Matthew 21:23). Briefly, the parable is about a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and hired tenants to look after it. When harvest time came, he sent his servants in two... Sign in to see full entry.

Jeremiah 17:5-18 is a collection of sayings ocncluding with a prayer. The principle of organization is not logical; these were materials put together because they belonged to the same period, like weblog entries belonging to the same week. The phrases "koh 'amar YHWH" (v.5) and "koh 'amar YHWH... Sign in to see full entry.

Psalm 30(31) has been associated with the Passion and Death of the Lord because one of the seven last words is a quotation from it: "Into your hand I commend my spirit" (v. 6, cf. Luke 23:46). It is the prayer of a just man who is persecuted by his enemies. The psalm can be divided into three parts... Sign in to see full entry.

John 2:13-22 Destroy This Temple And I Will Raise It Up After Three Days The account of Jesus cleansing the Temple is placed by Mark -- with Matthew and Luke following his lead -- towards the end of Jesus' ministry John puts it at the beginning, right after the first sign of Cana (John 2:1-12). Mark... Sign in to see full entry.