This article is part of a series on Jesus the Jewish Messiah by Gerald McDermott. Click here to view other articles in this series. Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. (Matthew 4:5) As I have written in previous posts in this series, it was only a few decades ago that I started to…
Jesus and the Jewish Commission
This article is part of a series on Jesus the Jewish Messiah by Gerald McDermott. Click here to view other articles in this series. Jesus sent off the Twelve after commanding them, saying, “Don’t take the road for the Gentiles and the city of the Samaritans. Keep on going instead to the lost sheep of…
Jesus and Leviticus
This article is part of a series on Jesus the Jewish Messiah by Gerald McDermott. Click here to view other articles in this series. Go and show yourself to the priest and bring the offering which Moses commanded (Matthew 8:4, alluding to Leviticus 14:21). In a previous article, I wrote that Leviticus is the book most…
Grief in the Psalms
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Psalm 13:1 Psalm 13 captures the heavy heart of Lent in this somber passage. Alone with his grief, the Psalmist cries out for God to see him. Similarly, Psalm 22 begins, “My God, My God, why have…
Jesus and the Jewish Sects
This article is part of a series on Jesus the Jewish Messiah by Gerald McDermott. Click here to view other articles in this series. The scribes and the Pharisees have been sitting on Moses’ seat. Therefore practice and protect everything they tell you, but don’t practice their works (Matthew 23:2-3). Most Anglicans know that there…
Did Jesus Wear Tassels?
The men of that region recognized him and sent out to all the country nearby and brought to him all those who were sick. They begged him that they might touch merely the tassels of his garment. And all those who touched it were healed (Matthew 14:35-36). Why would Gentiles in what is now Jordan…
Did Jesus Reject the Jewish law?
This article is part of a series on Jesus the Jewish Messiah by Gerald McDermott. Click here to view other articles in this series. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17). In his 1526 lectures on Jonah, Martin Luther taught that Jesus attacked Judaism and “abolished the Law through His Holy…
Ecstasy at the Empty Tomb
The Empty Tomb All four gospels depict the women’s surprise when they find the empty tomb. However, the Gospel of Mark gives the most specific and intense description of the women’s emotional response: And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone,…
The Way of the Cross: An Invitation to Holy Week
Holy Week is the high mark of the church’s liturgical year. In it, we celebrate Jesus’ final week in Jerusalem, from his arrival on Palm Sunday to his death on Good Friday. Then, we celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday, with all the momentous events in between. There are many ways to commemorate the week,…
What is Apostolic Succession, Anyway?
What does it mean be in a church that had an unbroken line of succession to the first Apostles, namely to Peter and finally, to Jesus Christ?
St. Mary the Virgin: Reflections from a Former Evangelical
As someone who grew up evangelical Protestant, I always viewed the doctrinal distinctives of the Church of Rome with suspicion. To me, one of the stranger elements of Roman piety and practice was devotion to the Virgin Mary. I always believed Mary was important and special. She miraculously conceived our Lord, after all! However, because…
Rogation Days: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Days of fasting and prayer amid a feast season seem counterintuitive. However, Rogation Days remind us that our lives and seasons are in God’s hands. “Rogation” comes from the Latin noun rogatio, meaning “asking” (the verb is rogare, “to ask”). The Rogation Days are also known as Rogationtide. When are the Rogation Days? The Sixth…
