A live performance of Richard Burridge’s new translation of the Gospel of Mark

My friend the New Testament scholar Richard Burridge has worked on a new English translation of Mark’s Gospel, seeking to be as true as possible to the word order, verb tenses, word-plays and puns in Greek, and the like. I’ve read sections of this and it’s fascinating—at times it sounds rather Yoda-like in its word order, and that helps recognise the strangeness of Mark’s writing in our English-orientated world. Richard is giving a live performance of his translation with Justin Butcher reading the narrator, Andy Continue reading →

My commentary on Acts 2:42-47

As many of my readers will know, I’m working on the Word Biblical Commentary (WBC) on Acts. My friend Andrew Roberts recently asked me to contribute to his Holy Habits blog on Acts 2:42-47, and I gave him the ‘Explanation’ section of my commentary on that passage—that’s the part of the WBC which focuses on pulling the threads of a passage together to give an overall interpretation of it. Here’s a link to that blog—you’ll find lots of other good stuff there too! Comments and Continue reading →

Who was Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1)? A podcast interview

While I was in Houston, Texas at the Lanier Theological Library during May, David Capes recorded a second podcast interview with me, this time for the Exegetically Speaking podcast which Wheaton College and the Lanier Theological Library jointly sponsor. This one focused on the identity of Theophilus, the addressee of Luke and Acts. You can access it directly here or (as they say) wherever you usually get podcasts (Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, YouTube). It’s a touch under 10 minutes. In case you missed the first Continue reading →

My new book: Reading Acts Theologically

I’m delighted to say that my new book is now available. It’s a ‘collected essays’ volume, bringing together thirteen essays about Acts that I’ve written over the last twenty years as I’ve worked on my Word Biblical Commentary on Acts. Most have been published elsewhere; two are published for the first time here. Alas, it’s not cheap in the hardback which now appears, but there will be a paperback in 18–24 months, so be patient—and please, in the meantime, ask your library to get the Continue reading →

Panel discussion on Romans 6–8 with Tom Wright, Foley Beach, Rodney Reeves and Steve Walton

While in Houston at the wonderful Lanier Theological Library recently, I had the fun of taking part in a panel discussion on Romans 6–8 with a distinguished set of colleagues: (from left to right) the Baptist NT scholar and pastor Rodney Reeves, the amazing NT scholar Tom Wright, me, and the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, Foley Beach. The panel was moderated by Mark Lanier, the founder of the library, and a fine, forensic attorney. Here’s a link to the recording of Continue reading →