the latest publication by Daniel Block

The latest entry in Daniel Block's growing bibliography is now in print! Dr. Block has long been known for his fine 2-volume commentary on Ezekiel in the NICOT series.  It is widely used in both seminaries and university classrooms (The University of Wisconsin - Madison, for example) and still recognized 15 years after publication as the most thoroughly exegetical commentary available. It's no wonder Tremper Longman gave it 5 stars in his Old Testament Commentary Survey. More recently he helped bring the late Jacob Milgrom's commentary on the latter part of Ezekiel to press.

While for the past 10 years Dr. Block's attention has centered on the book of Deuteronomy, his 3 decades of involvement in the SBL seminar on Ezekiel continues to draw him back to that book. Over the years he has presented and published dozens of essays on Ezekiel, covering aspects of the book that even a 2-volume commentary did not allow him adequate space to discuss. Now, for the first time, nearly all of Dr. Block's additional work on Ezekiel is available in two handy volumes (akin to his 2-volume collection of essays on Deuteronomy). The first volume is hot off the press and the second should be released within the next month.

By the River Chebar: Historical Literary, and Theological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel includes the following 9 essays:

Preaching Ezekiel
The Theology of Ezekiel
The God Ezekiel Wants Us to Meet
Divine Abandonment: Ezekiel's Adaptation of an ANE Motif
   Excursus A: The Prophetic Speech of Marduk
Chasing a Phantom: The Search for the Historical Marduk
The Prophet of the Spirit: The Use of ruach in the Book of Ezekiel
Beyond the Grave: Ezekiel's Vision of Death and Afterlife
Text and Emotion: A Study in the "Corruptions" in Ezekiel's Inaugural Vision (Ezek 1:4–28)
   Excursus B: Ezekiel 1:6, 8–10, 15–21, and 10:9–22 in Parallel
Ezekiel's Boiling Cauldron: A Form-Critical Solution to Ezekiel 24:1–14
   Appendix: In Praise of Moshe: A Tribute to Moshe Greenberg

These essays appeared in academic journals and edited volumes between 1988 and 2010, with at least three entries that are not yet in print elsewhere. But now you can have them all at your fingertips, complete with subject, author, and Scripture indices as well as a full bibliography. The bibliography alone is a testimony to the rich conversation in which Dr. Block has been engaged over the course of these years. For those involved in detailed study of the book of Ezekiel, Ian Duguid calls these books an "essential resource."

Congratulations, Dr. Block!

new books on the block ... by Daniel Block

Dr. Daniel Block must be one of the most productive writers on the planet. Since I arrived at Wheaton to study under him just 18 months ago he has published 4 books (including this, this, this and this), with 6 others in various stages of preparation, and several more on the horizon. You can watch for the following additions to his bibliography in the next year (the first three are with the publisher, the last two are in the final stages of submission, and the commentary on Ruth is in the research and writing phase):

• a book on biblical worship (Baker)
• a reprint of his Gods of the Nations, including an appendix with his original translation of a text on Marduk (Wipf & Stock)
• a commentary on Obadiah based on discourse-analysis in the new series for which he serves as general editor, Hearing the Message of Scripture (Zondervan)
• a commentary on Ruth for the same series (Zondervan)
• a 2-volume collection of his essays on Ezekiel, some of which have never before been published (Wipf & Stock)

Speaking of bibliography . . . if you’re looking for me, I’ll be in my study carrel fine-tuning footnotes and bibliographies.

Stay tuned for all this and more!

hot off the press

Just a few moments ago, I left my study carrel and took a momentous walk across the campus to the Billy Graham Center, where I ascended 5 stories and hand-delivered my first complete dissertation chapter to Dr. Block.
In 63 pages I explore the entire history of interpretation of Exod 20:7 and Deut 5:11, categorizing, listening, and finally critiquing each view. It's been a fun chapter to research and write, but I'm glad it's over (for now).

[Big Satisfied Sigh]

Dr. Block returned the favor by handing me my very own copy of Jacob Milgrom's commentary on the final chapters of Ezekiel. It's so hot-off-the-press that even Amazon doesn't have it yet!

It was a tremendous privilege to be part of bringing this book to press. This volume represents the last 5 years of Milgrom's scholarly work before his untimely death in 2010.

Dr. Milgrom, eminent Jewish scholar known for his work on Leviticus in the Anchor Bible series, was asked to write the final volume on Ezekiel for the same series, completing the work begun by Moshe Greenberg. Of all the commentaries available to him, Professor Milgrom found Daniel Block's Ezekiel commentary in the NICOT series to be most helpful. Block became his prime conversation partner. Since the evolving "conversation" no longer fit the parameters for the Anchor Bible series, Milgrom asked Block if they could pursue co-publication of the volume. Shortly thereafter Milgrom died, leaving the work to Dr. Block to finish. After a year of wrestling with fonts and footnotes, indices and italics, transliteration and bibliography, the book is finished. And isn't it beautiful! Wipf & Stock did a tremendous job with the cover and proved themselves once again to be the fastest and friendliest publisher on the planet.

To Dr. Block, and to the Milgrom family, with whom I've had an indirect connection all these months, Congratulations! Thanks to all of you for your persistence in publishing Dr. Milgrom's work. Students of Scripture will reap the benefits for many years to come.

is satan a fallen angel?

I honestly don't know, but I've spent the past month exploring Ezekiel 28, the text that (supposedly) depicts the fall of satan. During my research I came across an excellent resource that lays out the issues involved in interpreting this text and the others that have been understood to refer to the fall of satan. You might be surprised to hear that the Bible never teaches that satan was an angel who sinned and was later expelled from heaven. Several passages describe the fall of a human ruler using rather fantastic metaphorical language. In the early church many interpreters read those passages as if they contained two layers of meaning, one "physical" and another deeper "spiritual" sense. This allowed them to see both the fall of the literal king of Tyre and the fall of Satan in the same narrative.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia (A Tyrian Ship)

A Phoenician Cherub (http://christogenea.org/book/export/html/130)

I agree with those early interpreters that there are spiritual realities at work in the world, but I have a difficult time seeing Ezekiel 28 as a narrative account of satan's fall. In fact, the more I learn about ancient Tyre, the more Ezekiel's prophecies against Tyre make perfect sense as a reference to the physical nation and her leader. Tyre was the shipping capital of the ancient world, enjoying lavish wealth as a result, with access to every kind of precious stone imaginable. Tyrian art regularly depicts cherubim (winged beasts, sometimes with human heads) and by the time of Ezekiel Tyre was known for the production of quality engraved stamp seals. Ezekiel uses fitting metaphors for the ruler of Tyre, calling him a "seal of perfection" and a "cherub" covered with precious stones. Though he appears to be perfect and unassailable, Ezekiel says that he will be expelled from his position of authority on his lavish paradise island, just as Adam was expelled from Eden. This extended metaphor should not surprise us, because just prior to this Ezekiel has described the whole nation of Tyre as a ship (Ezek 27), and just after this he calls Pharoah a crocodile (Ezek 29) and Assyria a cedar (Ezek 30). Ezekiel delights in extracting parallels from these extended metaphors and using them to creatively describe the subjects of his oracles. We should not expect that he is referring to a literal cherub any more than we should expect that Tyre was a literal ship or Pharoah was really a river monster.

Context is key to setting the right kinds of expectations for our interpretation of this and any passage. In this case the presence of extended metaphors in Ezekiel's other oracles gives us the interepretive key. And knowing the history of Tyre helps us understand why Ezekiel would choose these particular metaphors and what he means by them. I am not necessarily trying to disprove the idea that satan is a fallen angel (if he is, I wasn't around to see it!), but I am suggesting that if satan did fall, God did not see a need to give us a detailed account of that event. For a longer article about the 'fall of Satan' I recommend checking out this website: http://www.julianspriggs.com/Pages/FallofSatan.aspx. 

spring break

Everywhere I look green leaves are pushing their way out of dark, winter earth, stretching their sturdy stems towards sunlight. Flashes of color remind us that cold is not forever!

Wheaton is on spring break, and I am happily holed up in the library as usual, trying to crank out a few projects during the lull when classes are not in session. Dr. Block is in Asia for two weeks teaching, and he asked me to teach two 2-hr lectures for him while he's away. I've had a wonderful time preparing to teach on Ezekiel 28. My power point is almost ready, and last night I had my first "teaching" dream. Class time was over and we hadn't even begun my 78-slide presentation! {sigh} These dreams are typical for me while I'm teaching, so I guess I'd better get used to it. It could be worse: I could be having waitressing dreams!

Other spring break projects include:

• Chipping away at my Comprehensive Reading List (Hirsch, Validity in Interpretation)
• Writing an Essay on Hermeneutics
• Writing a paper on 'Seals and Signet Rings' in the ancient world
• Reading for class next week

The kids don't have spring break until the end of the month, so I'll take some time off then. For now, I'd better make hay while the sun shines!

coming soon . . . from Daniel Block

For all you Old Testament buffs out there, Dr. Block has several books in various stages of printing at this moment. It would be hard to find a more productive writer! He routinely spins off an article over the weekend while churning out hundreds of pages at a time for commentaries. Amazing.

Don't you wish you could get your hands on Block's NIVAC commentary? It won't be long now!

The good news is that Block’s long-awaited NIVAC commentary on Deuteronomy is undergoing final edits. The page proofs arrived here in Wheaton a few weeks ago, and several of us had the joy of combing all 817 pages to compile author and scripture indices. (I will never again look at an index in quite the same way!) Dr. Block tells me that Zondervan is now doing a final edit before they print it. Unfortunately, the book could still take many months to hit the shelves, but this one will be worth the wait.

Meanwhile, the longer 3-volume (1800-page!) version of Block’s Deuteronomy commentary is under consideration by two publishers. If this one goes to press, it will hopefully include all of Block’s Hebrew diagrams for the entire book, making it an excellent set for teaching exegesis courses.

provisional cover

Yesterday, Dr. Block sent off the corrected page proofs for his second spin-off volume of essays on Deuteronomy. Wipf & Stock published the first volume last fall with the title, How I Love Your Torah, O LORD!: Studies in the Book of Deuteronomy. That volume included essays on particular texts of Deuteronomy. The second volume, which includes essays on themes that span the whole book of Deuteronomy, should be available by the end of next week (Wipf & Stock are FAST!). It is entitled, The Gospel According to Moses: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Book of Deuteronomy. This photo shows the proposed cover as of last week. If you order a copy directly from the publisher and mention coupon code TGATM, you'll receive a 40% discount!

Wipf & Stock are also publishing a commentary on the latter part of Ezekiel by esteemed Jewish scholar Jacob Milgrom. Milgrom passed away before the project could be completed, and his family asked Dr. Block to oversee the printing of it. Milgrom chose the title himself: Ezekiel’s Hope: A Commentary on Ezekiel 38–48 — Jacob Milgrom and Daniel I. Block In Conversation. It's also at the publisher. Watch for this sometime soon!

Dr. Block also has a book on worship in the pipeline, a short commentary on Obadiah for a new series he is editing for Zondervan, and he will soon begin working on an 800-page commentary on Amos for a series edited by Seow. I’m sure he has other projects up his sleeves, too. Every day around here brings more surprises!

good grief

What's so good about grief?

Last Sunday we heard a sermon by Marshall Shelley (VP of Christianity Today) about what it means to be FULLY ALIVE, to have the kind of life that Jesus was talking about in John 10:10, an abundant life. He listed 5 things that characterize someone who is truly alive: praise, lament, confession, forgiveness, repentance. I found his list thought provoking. Why didn't success make his list? Or even service? How many of us would assume that happiness is the key to feeling alive? Don't confession and repentance feel like death? When we face our own ugly sin, isn't it depressing? Lament especially struck a chord with me.

According to Marshall, lament is key. He defined it as being "aware of and disturbed by what's wrong in this world." In order to be fully alive, we need to have a grip on reality. We praise God for the ways we see him working in the world, and we grieve that which is just not right.

I spent a couple of hours last night excavating my inbox. The pile of emails had grown to over 600, and I was tempted to just delete them all and start fresh. I am so, so glad I didn't. Buried in the pile were two priceless treasures -- Christmas letters from two courageous women who spent Christmas alone this year. Both lost their husbands to cancer within the past 5 years. Life has forced them down roads they didn't want to take. Awkward questions have stared them in the face. Who are you now? What will you do with your life? What these two Christmas letters had in common was honesty. They offered a window into a soul that has tasted the bitterness of grief. That window is a gift. Those of us on the outside need to know, want to know, where the journey has taken our friends. We want to know because we love them, and also because grief is a road we will all walk someday if we haven't already. Walking it is part of life -- true, abundant life.

Grief over untimely death is one kind of lament. Another kind of lament weeps over life that is less than what God intends. Injustice, bondage, rebellion, chronic pain, unforgiveness, exploitation, spiritual apathy. Are you grieved by a world where this is reality? Grief puts us in touch with what really matters, and with the state of our own soul.

Ezekiel records an obscure vision about a man who is told, "Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it." (Eze 9:4 NIV) God is looking for people who are disturbed by what is not right. Jerusalem, like our world today, was filled with bloodshed and injustice. Some people saw this and were grieved over the sins of their nation. Others complained that God wasn't doing anything about it because he didn't care. They refused to see their own guilt.

Are we marked by grief? Are we alive enough to lament what is wrong in the world? Abundant life does not deny the pain, but enters into it fully, clinging to the goodness of God we cannot always see. I, for one, am thankful for friends who take me with them into their lament, so I can really live.

first day of classes

After a thoroughly delightful week of "vacation" spent in my study carrel (studying whatever I wanted to study with no pressing deadlines!), the semester has officially begun. Now I have the joy of reading what others feel I ought to read (thankfully they all have good taste). All of my classes meet on Tuesdays, all in the same building. Here's the line-up:

Intro to Doctoral Studies (January only) - Dr. Daniel Block
Theological Hermeneutics (February through April) - Dr. Daniel Treier
Exegesis of Ezekiel - Dr. Daniel Block
Ancient Near Eastern Backgrounds - Dr. John Walton

You might have seen Dr. Walton's name before . . . on the IVP Bible Background Commentary (Old Testament), the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (5 vols), the Genesis commentary in the NIV Application Commentary Series, The Lost World of Genesis One, or even, perhaps, on the Tiny Tots Jesus Story Book. He wrote Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament as a course textbook for this class, and so far, it is just the thing I needed. It is such a privilege to learn from a respected expert in the field. Dr. Walton and his wife love to show hospitality to students, and I'll be in their home for the second time later this month.

I have another 6,000+ pages to read this semester, and believe it or not, I'm looking forward to all of it. I also have 2 papers to write, a number of book reviews and shorter essays, and one major hurdle to clear: my proposal defense. On April 11, I will present and defend my dissertation proposal. All of the PhD faculty will be present to ask questions about my proposal and point out areas of weakness. When I have revised the proposal to their satisfaction, I then have approval to begin working on my dissertation (a 300-page scholarly contribution to the field). I have a rough draft of the proposal already, which was part of my application last year. This weekend I plan to give it a thorough revision.

In exchange for the generous scholarship provided by Mina Marie Johnson through the school, I am also working 8-10 hrs/week as a research assistant for Dr. Block. Several publishing projects are on the front burner this month, and I'm learning what must happen behind the scenes for a book to make it in print. There's nothing glamorous about compiling an index, but many people will use it who are looking for help to understand the scriptures. Even this tedious work is a ministry to people I will never meet, a way of introducing the world to the work of my mentor.

Yes, my hands are full . . . and so is my heart. What a joy to be in this place at this time for this purpose!

Advent Tree: Week 4

Here we are at the final week of Advent (leaves are not pictured in order). I have really enjoyed diving into these stories. Most days the readings are a bit too long for Easton (age 3), but Eliana (age 10) is amazed at the way the whole Bible tells one big story!

John the Baptist (river with voice)
Jesus' Sermon (broken chains)
Good Shepherd (sheep and crook)
Door (open door)
True Vine (vine)
Bread of Life (broken loaf of bread)
Light of the World (sunrise)

You have probably figured out by now that the "Day #" does not correspond to the date of December, since advent starts four full weeks before Christmas. Don't worry about the date. Just keep on going until you're finished!

Day 22 - John the Baptist (river with voice) - Read Luke 3:2-6; 15-16; 21-22; Isaiah 42:1

Remember the baby that Zechariah and Elizabeth had? What was his name? His name was John.

What did God say he would become? A prophet who would prepare the people to meet God.

Well, when John grew up, that’s exactly what happened. He began preaching to people and warning them to stop disobeying God and do what pleases him. Many people thought that John must be the one they had all been waiting for – the Messiah, God’s anointed king. But he knew he was not the promised Messiah. He was just helping people get ready for his coming. John baptized people who were sorry for their sins in the Jordan river. Jesus, John’s cousin, had grown up, too, and he came to be baptized by John -- not because he had disobeyed, but to show that he was ready to do God’s work. When he came up from the water an amazing thing happened. The Holy Spirit came down upon him like a dove and God spoke from heaven. God told everyone that he was pleased with Jesus, that Jesus was the long-awaited king (see Psalm 2) , and that Jesus was the servant that Isaiah had promised would come (Isa 42:1)!

Day 23 - Jesus' Sermon at Capernaum (broken chains) - Read Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:14-21

After Jesus was baptized, he began teaching people everywhere about the kingdom of God. The first sermon we know about was in a Jewish synagogue. Do you remember when we talked about the scroll of Isaiah (and even looked at it on the internet?)? Picture this: when Jesus went up front to get ready to teach from the Bible, someone handed him that scroll – the scroll of Isaiah – the one that promised that he would come! Jesus rolled the scroll until he came to the part where Isaiah talked about the servant who would come to bring Israel back to God. Jesus read it to everyone, and then he announced that the promise had come true!

What did Isaiah say the servant would do? He would give good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight to the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. Jesus had come to make all of God’s promises come true!

Day 24 - Good Shepherd (sheep and crook) - Read Ezekiel 34:1-6; 11-16; John 10:11-16

Isaiah and Jeremiah were not the only prophets in Israel. Ezekiel was another prophet who spoke to the Israelites during the time when they were taken away into Babylon (the time of Daniel). He warned the leaders that they were like bad shepherds who only thought of themselves and didn’t take care of the sheep. He promised that someday he would come to shepherd the people himself. The Jewish leaders must have been pretty surprised when Jesus announced to them that he was the good shepherd! That meant that they were the bad shepherds and that God planned to remove them as leaders over his people.

Jesus was the king like David.
Jesus was the servant promised by Isaiah.
Jesus was the good shepherd. Does this mean he is God himself? It would seem so! He is the kind of shepherd who takes care of each of us, making sure we are strong, healthy and safe.

Day 25 - Door (open door) - Read John 10:7-10; 14:6; Ps 118:19-24

What did Jesus call himself in our lesson yesterday? The good shepherd.
Jesus also called himself the “gate” or “door” through which the sheep may enter and be safe. He is the only door that we can enter to become part of the family of God. He is the only way to get close to God because he is the only one who can teach us to live in a way that pleases God. Remember when Jesus was baptized and God called down from heaven and said he was pleased with Jesus as his son? If we want to learn how to please God, the only way to do it is to learn to live like Jesus. People today talk about there being many different paths to a healthy spiritual life. The Bible says there is only one path, and it’s Jesus. Tomorrow we’ll learn about what it is like to do things his way.

Day 26 - True Vine (vine) - Read John 15: 1-4; Isaiah 5:7

When the prophet Isaiah talked about the big problems that Israel had obeying God, he used many different word pictures to help them understand. One time he said that they were like a vineyard – a field full of grape vines – which only produced sour grapes. God said he would need to destroy the vineyard and start over again. Jesus came to fulfill this promise, too. He said that he was the true vine, and that everyone who stayed connected to him would bear good grapes. And that’s really true! When we try to do good things on our own strength, without depending on Jesus, the things we do don’t turn out well. Our actions become selfish and our attitudes turn sour. We need to keep on trusting Jesus in everything we do. That will make us the kind of vineyard God wants to keep!

Day 27 - Bread of Life (broken loaf of bread) - Read John 6:48-51

Jesus used another word picture to tell his followers about who he was and what he came to do. He told them that he was the “bread of life.” He knew that his body would be broken, just like the bread they ate. And somehow his brokenness would bring life to everyone who trusted in him. When Israel was in the wilderness God gave his people manna to provide for their hunger. Now he was giving the life of his son to provide food for their spiritual needs. It sounded just as strange to them as it does to us. Eat Jesus? Jesus meant that they needed to take what he was giving them – his very self – and let him transform them from the inside out. They no longer needed to look anywhere else to find what they needed. It was all found in Jesus. And it’s the same today. Jesus is all we need to stay spiritually alive and close to God.

Day 28 - Light of the World (sunrise) - Read Isaiah 60:1-3; John 8:12 OR John 11:17-25; 33-44

Isaiah had told the people of Israel that one day a light would dawn and shine on everyone. All the darkness and sadness and confusion would be gone. Instead his light would brighten everything. Remember the star that shone brightly when Jesus was born? It was a hint of who Jesus really was. When Jesus was grown he announced that he was that light, and he proved it by giving sight to the blind and raising Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus is the true, anointed king! He rules over the whole world as the Messiah.
Jesus is the special servant! He came to bring us back to God.
Jesus is the snake crusher! He conquered death and sin. Death came into the world when the snake led Adam and Eve to disobey God. But now, in Jesus, we can live forever! His light shines in our hearts and shows us the way to live.

bringin' in the big dawgs

I've been meeting with some Jehovah's Witnesses off and on for about 17 months now.  We met regularly for 6 months and then took a break for the summer. We met a few more times and then I asked if we could wait until April and meet to talk about the Trinity.

I have learned a lot from Lula. She is a godly woman, dedicated to the ministry, who really knows her Bible.  She has refused to be intimidated by my 6 years of formal Bible training and knowledge of both Greek and Hebrew.  Though not formally educated herself and not paid a dime for her ministry, she has continued to come week after week to meet with me and study the Bible.  Each time we meet she brings along someone different, always another woman volunteer. Can I make a confession?  For a long time now I've wondered when she would call in her supervisor. Today she finally did.

Kevin is the district substitute superintendent for the entire Charlotte area all the way to Spartanburg.  Like Lula, he is mystified that anyone could actually read the Bible and persist in believing in the Trinity.  Often I tell them that I can see how they could read the passage in the way that they do, but that I understand it differently. Today Kevin finally asked me (in exasperation?), "If a straightforward reading of the Bible implies that Jesus is not God, but sent from God as his representative, then what would motivate you to elevate him further?"

I was so glad he asked.  I pointed immediately to a brochure Lula had given me last year entitled, Should You Believe in the Trinity? They do a good job of introducing the topic, and I especially like this: "If the Trinity is true, it is degrading to Jesus to say that he was never equal to God as part of a Godhead. But if the Trinity is false, it is degrading to Almighty God to call anyone his equal ..." (3). This is why it matters: because right worship depends on knowing God as He really is.

Though there is a number of passages that seem to suggest that Jesus was not equal to the Father (John 14:28; 1 Cor 11:3; 15:27), there are many other indications in Scripture that Jesus was more than just God's representative (John 1:1; 17:21; Acts 2:21 with 4:12). Jesus did things that only God can do.  He forgave sins, he raised the dead, he healed a man blind from birth. Jesus also made claims that were tantamount to claiming deity.  He called himself the "light of the world" (John 9:5 with Isa 60:1-2), the "good shepherd" (John 10:11 with Eze 34), the "son of man" (Matt 17:9 with Dan 7:9-10, 13-14; Rev 1:12-18), and the "I am" (John 8:54-59 with Ex 3:3-4). These claims caused great consternation among the Jewish leaders, and in several cases they tried to stone him for blasphemy! His followers worshipped him (see John 9:38), and he did not object.

I recommended two books that have been helpful for me on this issue.  One is Donald Fairbairn's Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the Help of the Church Fathers. Not only is it written simply and beautifully, it is changing the way I think about salvation.  I highly recommend it!  Fairbairn explains that the earliest followers of Jesus saw salvation as an invitation to share in the life of the Trinity the way the Father and Son share life together.

The other book is Richard Bauckham's Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity. This one is not quite as easy to read, but terribly profound. Bauckham argues that Jesus' actions and claims about himself prompted his early followers to include him within their concept of "one God." The first century Jewish idea of monotheism was flexible enough to allow for Jesus' inclusion in the deity without seeing God as "more than one." At the end of our discussion, Kevin admitted that he needed to go back and reexamine some things in the Bible.  And that's what every good Bible discussion should do -- push us back to the Scriptures with fresh eyes to see once again what God has revealed and how we are to respond.  Please pray for Kevin, and for me and Lula as we continue to study the Bible and discuss what it teaches.

'the good shepherd' in 3-D

Here's an example of how reading the New Testament in 3-D works practically.  Grab your Bible and turn to John 10.  This is a familiar passage where Jesus talks to the Pharisees about who He is using shepherding metaphors.  John tells us that Jesus spoke figuratively and that the Pharisees missed the point (10:6).  (Note: This is no surprise, because Jesus has just called them 'blind' (9:39-41) and made clear that He has taken up Isaiah's mission to blind the Jews.  Their inability to fully understand His words is what buys him enough time to make disciples.  When they eventually figure out what He is saying, they crucify Him.)

So let's try reading this passage using our 3-D glasses (explained more fully in the previous post).  Lens #1 - Jesus is the true Israel. First, we need to see how Jesus' announcement that He is the 'good shepherd' (John 10:11) relates to Israel.  Is there any history to this metaphor being used of Israel?  Yes!  Perhaps the best example is found in Ezekiel 34:

"'Son of Man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves!  Should not shepherds take care of the flock?  ... You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured.  You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost.  You have ruled them harshly and brutally.  So they were scattered because there was no shepherd ..." (Eze 34:2-5)

The leaders of Israel had historically failed to shepherd God's flock under them.  In fact, in the preceeding story (John 9) the Jewish leaders showed a blatant lack of care for the blind man in their midst and treated him and his family harshly.  It's no wonder that Jesus launches into this metaphor!  It should be obvious by now that Jesus did well what Israel's leadership failed to do, that is, He cared for God's flock.  When he says He is the 'good shepherd' it is in contrast to the many bad shepherds who have successively destroyed the flock.  But that is only half of the picture.

Lens #2 - Jesus is Yahweh.  If we read on in Ezekiel 34 we find something remarkable.  Because of the complete failure of Israel's shepherds, Yahweh announces:

"I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. ... I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD.  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak ..." (Ezekiel 34:11-16)

The expectation is that Yahweh Himself is the good shepherd who will come and care for His flock!  And Jesus has just demonstrated such care for the neglected blind man.  His announcement that He Himself was the good shepherd should have sent shock waves through the crowd.  To claim that He was the good shepherd was tantamount to claiming deity!  This is not the only relevant passage either.  Psalm 23 naturally contributed to the idea that the LORD is the true shepherd of Israel.

So we have two options.  We can read John 10 as a creative illustration made by a good teacher who tended to be a bit mysterious.  Or we can put on our 3-D glasses and read His words in light of their bold claims.  Jesus is establishing Himself as the true leader of Israel.  He is also indicating that He is Yahweh Himself, come to shepherd His flock.  It took the Jews a while, but they eventually figured out what He really meant, and tried to stone Him (John 10:31-33)!  Let's not be counted among those who miss the significance of His words.

To read more about the significance of the 'Shepherd' metaphor in Scripture, I highly recommend:
Timothy S. Laniak, Shepherds after My own Heart: Pastoral traditions and leadership in the Bible (NSBT Vol 20; Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2006).