Our Rabbi Jesus

We’ve Found the Emmaus Road and It’s Crumbling

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Have you ever wished you could have been nearby when Jesus explained the Scriptures to the disciples on the Emmaus Road in Luke 24? Wouldn’t it be great to just see where this road was? Believe it or not, scholars have known its location for decades now. The remains of the Roman road are visible […]

Come Help Excavate Bethsaida this Summer

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Have you ever dreamed of being an archaeologist? You’ll be interested in the project at the likely site of Bethsaida. This is the village near where Jesus fed the five thousand (Luke 9:12-17), and where three disciples called home (John 1:43). If you’ve toured the land, you may have visited a site that is called […]

Considering the Context – A Talk I Gave

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Below is a talk I gave at the morning service at Cornerstone Church in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts a few months ago. I introduced people to my interest in Jesus’ cultural context and then shared a Hebrew idiom that unlocks part of the Sermon on the Mount. Then I spoke about what it meant to be […]

Review: The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Note: Updated ’19)

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People often ask me where they can find a Bible that includes the cultural background that I write about, so I wanted to mention a brand new resource that is excellent: the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Zondervan, 2016). The commentary was edited by two evangelical scholars who are well-known for their expertise on historical […]

Come Think Hebraically with Me in Dayton, October 15

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I hope you can join me for a brand new seminar based on my upcoming book on October 15, 2016 in Beavercreek, Ohio (near Dayton.) The workshop will be part of the Feast of Tabernacle weekend event hosted by the Church of Messiah on October 14-15. I’ll be giving three talks from 9 AM to […]

The Parable of the Golden Table Leg

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Once upon a time there was an old pastor who had served the Lord faithfully all of his life. He had an anointed ministry, and his prayers were always effective. Whenever he prayed for the sick, they were healed. But in spite of his powerful ministry, he was extremely poor, and he and his wife […]

Podcast Interview on the “The Dust Cast”

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I was recently interviewed on a podcast called “The Dust Cast: Exploring the Ancient Hebraic Context of the Bible.” I had a great conversation with the host, Jason Mahler, about the current book I’m working on, Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus, as well as some questions from earlier books. We talked about the “two […]

Praying for my Friends and Heroes in Jerusalem

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I just got news from friends about a prayer concern which I would like to share with you. Do you remember my telling about the heroic ministry over there called Shevet Achim? They are a Christian ministry that goes to Gaza, Iraq and Syria to bring children to hospitals in Jerusalem for lifesaving heart-surgeries. When […]

Extra, Extra! – A Brand New En-Gedi Website

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Big news…after fifteen years, the En-Gedi Resource Center has a brand new website at EnGediResourceCenter.com! (Please note the new URL.) The En-Gedi Resource Center is a ministry that I co-founded in 2001 to teach Christians about the Bible in its Hebraic cultural context. It’s where I got my start as a writer, when I began […]

Narkis Conference, Jerusalem (Links Updated)

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About a month ago I spoke at a conference at Narkis Church in Jerusalem. I posted a link to my talk called Jesus’ Bold Messianic Claims on an earlier blog, but many of the talks there will be of interest to those who like to learn about Christianity in its historical, Judaic context. The entire […]