Bible – Christian Mancini

IS JESUS WITH US EVERY DAY OR IS HE IN HEAVEN?

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:02:57+00:00

CAP.33. JESUS RISES AND REMAINS AMONG THE DISCIPLES (28:1-20) 2.THE FINAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE ELEVEN APOSTLES (28:18-20) A. The overall meaning of the message. The event of the crucifixion made it necessary for Jesus to repeat the previous programme, as we find in the last two verses (28:18-20), of which we now take an overview, going over them again later in more detail, starting from his being king (“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”), then re-launching the project of spreading the seed of the Gospel (cf. 13:23-38), through the reproduction of the disciples on [...]

IS JESUS WITH US EVERY DAY OR IS HE IN HEAVEN?Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:02:57+00:00

ACTS 16. PAUL’S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:21+00:00

[16:1-5]. Application of the decisions of the "Apostolic Council". If the "Apostolic Council" of Jerusalem forbade circumcision, why did Paul circumcise Timothy? This embarrassing episode we tend to overlook and even more we overlook the fact that it is Paul himself to perform the operation in a Hebrew manner (v. 3). The fact is that circumcision was not at all forbidden, but only made not-mandatory for the Gentiles in order to belong to the Church, while the Jews were well pleased to continue to practice it for the purpose of belonging to the people of Israel. Galatians is often quoted as [...]

ACTS 16. PAUL’S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEYChristian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:21+00:00

“ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTHANI?”. WITH THESE WORDS JESUS TURNS EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN (27:46-49)

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:29+00:00

The Roman soldiers heard and kept in mind the great cry of Jesus, but it is likely that they did not understand anything of his sentence in Hebrew. Those who had a superficial knowledge of the Scriptures misunderstood “Eli” as Elijah, of whom it was said that he had to return (Mat 17:10; cf. Malachi 4:5). The most practising Jews, however, knew the Psalms by heart, also due to their habit of singing them, so in Jesus’ sentence they immediately recognized the beginning of Psalm 22, prompting them to recall it all to memory. We will try to understand something of [...]

“ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTHANI?”. WITH THESE WORDS JESUS TURNS EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN (27:46-49)Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:29+00:00

ACTS 15. THE “APOSTOLIC COUNCIL” OF JERUSALEM

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:34+00:00

[15:1-35]. The "Apostolic Council". The two most quoted chapters of Acts are Acts 2 (birth of the church at Pentecost) and this one (supposed "deliverance" of the Church from the law of Moses). It is therefore necessary to be very careful now, both because the way of understanding this chapter 15 influences the vision of the whole New Testament, and because we will propose an often-contrasting reading to the most indorsed ones. The problem the apostles began facing was with «some men [who had] come down from Judea», who were teaching the brothers that «unless [they] are circumcised according to the custom [...]

ACTS 15. THE “APOSTOLIC COUNCIL” OF JERUSALEMChristian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:34+00:00

DOES MATTHEW MISREPRESENT THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:39+00:00

Chap. 3.4. DOES MATTHEW MISREPRESENT THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT? (1:22-23) First of all, it is necessary to clarify what we mean by prophecy, because sometimes scholars know things that then they neglect to clearly expose to a wider audience. A true prophecy, in the sense that is commonly given to this word, is when an unlikely event is announced in advance, publicly and clearly, the occurrence of which can then later be checked. For example, the statement ‘in the future it will rain’ is not a prophecy, because it is expressed imprecisely and it is a probable event. It [...]

DOES MATTHEW MISREPRESENT THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT?Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:39+00:00

ACTS 14. CONCLUSION OF BARNABAS AND PAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY TRIP

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:42+00:00

At Iconium too we find the usual alliance between «the Jews who refused to believe» and the Gentiles, directed against «the brothers», that is, those Jews and those Gentiles who had believed (v. 2). But those who had previously been called «the Jews who had refused to believe» are just called «Jews» (v. 5), since it is now understood that those who refused to believe were the majority (as we have considered earlier). Luke calls the pair Paul and Barnabas «apostles» (vv. 5 and 14), but for us "the apostle Paul" is paired with "the apostle Peter", in a widely used [...]

ACTS 14. CONCLUSION OF BARNABAS AND PAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY TRIPChristian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:42+00:00

NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE KINGDOM WITH THE PARABLES

Christian Mancini2021-02-05T16:07:12+00:00

INTRODUCTION TO PART IV The common message of John and of Jesus was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (3:2; 4:17; 10:7). So many people had shown enthusiasm for John and for Jesus, but the repentance of the ruling class had not happened, while that of the crowd had turned out to be superficial and temporary. The kingdom of God could have been inaugurated anyway, on the basis of the 120 disciples who remained until the end with Jesus (Acts 1:15), but a similar choice was made by God with the Flood, after which he promised not to [...]

NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THE KINGDOM WITH THE PARABLESChristian Mancini2021-02-05T16:07:12+00:00

ACTS 13. BEGINNING OF BARNABAS AND PAUL’ MISSIONARY WORK

Christian Mancini2021-02-05T15:58:59+00:00

[13:1-13]. «The Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.». In listing the five principal church leaders of Antioch, Luke places Barnabas first, while Saul is last. Even if he is appointed last, it was clear to me that Paul was the most important personality. Writing these notes, however, forced me not to neglect the details, including the reversal of appointment order that will follow (i.e., Paul before Barnabas, see below Further Insight no. 5). We have already mentioned that Luke uses the Hebrew name of Saul as long as the context remains [...]

ACTS 13. BEGINNING OF BARNABAS AND PAUL’ MISSIONARY WORKChristian Mancini2021-02-05T15:58:59+00:00

THE ‘KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’ AS THE ‘FIFTH KINGDOM’ OF DANIEL

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:54+00:00

2.THE ‘KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’ AS THE ‘FIFTH KINGDOM’ OF DANIEL For an overall summary of the book of Daniel we refer to the one presented in Summary of the OT (chap.23). Here we recall the vision of Daniel ‘of the four beasts’ and that of the ‘son of man’, to which we have already alluded (chap.2/5). In Daniel 7:17-18 it is written: “The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever”. ‘Holy’, in biblical language, means ‘belonging to God’, ‘set [...]

THE ‘KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’ AS THE ‘FIFTH KINGDOM’ OF DANIELChristian Mancini2021-02-27T09:03:54+00:00

ACTS 12. HEROD: A “SMALL ANTICHRIST” JUDGED BY GOD

Christian Mancini2021-02-27T09:04:39+00:00

The previous chapter ends with a flash on Agabus which is strongly reminiscent of some "raids" of the Old Testament prophets (e.g., 2 Chr 11:2-4). The "Old Testament" climate continues in this chapter 12, where God shows that he has not ceased to exercise control over political authorities, even if sometimes his choices are not easy to understand. The chapter seems to interrupt Luke’s "filigree drawing", because events that are relevant are introduced, but they have little to do with the story of Paul (which is close to Luke’s heart). It can be discerned that Luke considers this chapter as a parenthesis, [...]

ACTS 12. HEROD: A “SMALL ANTICHRIST” JUDGED BY GODChristian Mancini2021-02-27T09:04:39+00:00