Posts from April 2024

Someone asked me a few days ago, “why is it that Easter does not always fall on the Passover?” After all, we know Jesus was crucified on the week of Passover—it would make sense if the annual observance of his resurrection, which occurred three days later, was celebrated at the same time. Without going too far down the historical rabbit hole, the short answer is that after a couple of centuries of increasing distance between early Christianity and Judaism, there…

The deadline to file your income tax return—or, if you prefer to put it off as long as possible, your extension—passed this week. Some of us might have received a refund (of the interest-free loan we made to the government over the past year); others might be smarting from having to write a check. In either case, no one is really fond of paying taxes. It is remarkable, then, that the most noteworthy fact about the apostle Matthew, the author…

Last week in this space, we laid out a theology of giving. Of course, giving is a broader topic than just the offering we take up every Lord’s Day. But the weekly contribution in particular is one of the most neglected aspects our assemblies—it makes us all rather uncomfortable to talk about. That is unfortunate, because it is extremely significant. The earliest Christians were characterized by their readiness to give. And when we study it deeply, we find there are…