The Massacre of the Innocents and Flight to Egypt. For Christians, Herod the Great's most notorious act was the murder of innocent babies in his effort to kill the Christ child but Mary, Joseph and Jesus had fled to Egypt. Today some Bible scholars question whether these events even occurred. Can we trust the historicity of the Bible? What facts and traditions support Matthew's account?
King of the Jews? Herod the Great was not even Jewish! And yet, Herod had been proclaimed King in Judea by the Romans. Lacking legitimacy, he established his kingdom by brutality and terror. That insecurity never leaves him and he becomes greatly disturbed when a few foreign visitors ask him a simple question, "Where is he who is born King of the Jews?" We will delve into the person and personality of Herod the Great whose shadow continues to loom large in the New Testament.
Herod, the Magi, a Star... Are the descriptions of Herod, the Magi, and the Star of Bethlehem historically accurate, symbolic or legendary? Matthew emphasizes the royal and divine nature of Christ, and central to the story is a king who felt threatened by the one who was "born King of the Jews." Why would Herod the Great feel threatened by a little baby? Why was he called "the Great" anyhow? Join us on Search the Scriptures Live this Monday as we continue our study of the birth of the Messiah ac...
Pagan myths and the virgin birth. Is it true that pagans had stories about virgin births? Is it possible that the gospel stories were inspired by these mythologies? What about other elements in the Infancy Narratives, such as the Star and Herod's attempts to kill the newly born Christ? Are those historically based or simply imagery to convey messages and meaning about the birth of Jesus Christ?
Palace or manger? Royalty or poverty? The Birth of Christ in Matthew 1. As we continue our study of Matthew 1, we begin by responding to the criticisms of Jews and pagans about the genealogy of Christ in Matthew and Luke with answers from the Fathers of the Church. But why is the birth of Christ told differently by Matthew and Luke? What significant lessons do each teach us about the Incarnation of the Lord?
Meticulous Matthew, the first evangelist has been called. What do we actually know about Matthew from early Church tradition? The first gospel is not written by someone we might expect, someone prominent among the disciples, such as St. Peter. Instead, the first gospel was written by a former tax collector. And yet, he gave us a gospel that is magnificent in its spiritual insight and astonishing in its complexity. It is quite impossible to imagine the Church without the Gospel of Matthew, the go...
The first evangelist, Matthew, composed a masterpiece of literary construction and theological thought. Now our long awaited deep dive into this extremely important gospel begins. The Gospel of Matthew is called "the gospel of the Church." Join us for the start of this brand new series in which we will learn about the meaning and historical background of so many well-known stories and saying of Christ, not to mention those amazing patristic insights.
This week, Search the Scriptures LIVE! will be coming to you live from St. Tikhon's Orthodox School of Theology with a special guest, Dr. David Ford, professor of Church History at St. Tikhon's. Dr. Ford and Dr. Jeanne will be talking about the early Church, Dr. Ford's area of expertise, which is St. John Chrysostom, and other subject
Dr. Jeannie is joined by her husband Fr. Costas Constantinou for this week's show. They'll discuss his study of the Bible, Christian giving, why he loves Christmas, and other subjects.
We will continue our discussion of the startling story of Ananias and Sapphira from chapter 5 of The Acts of the Apostles to ponder and discuss from a patristic perspective why God allows occurrences that we consider unfair or even unfortunate. Is God unfair? Is God unjust? Does God act capriciously? How should we react to events that we consider inconsistent with justice?
he story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is one of the most perplexing in the New Testament. Husband and wife each dropped dead after lying to the Holy Spirit. How does Chrysostom explain the apparent harshness of this consequence? What does our uncomfortable reaction to this story say about us?
Peter and John were hauled before the Great Sanhedrin to explain how they were able to heal a man paralyzed from birth. In this dramatic scene, Peter preaches to the chief priests and high priest that the man was healed by faith in Messiah Jesus, whom they had rejected and crucified only weeks before, but who had risen from the dead. Join us as we continue our study of Acts of the Apostles and learn how the first believers preached the gospel to their fellow Jews.
After he healed a paralyzed man begging at the Temple, St. Peter explained that Moses himself foretold the coming of the Christ, Jesus who had recently been crucified among them. This week on Search the Scriptures LIVE!, we will continue our discussion of how the early Church evangelized the Jews
"They had all things in common." In Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke describes the lives of the very first Christians, a life of prayer, sacrifice, sanctification with sacramental fellowship, sharing all of their goods and possessions. What was so important about the practices St. Luke describes and what can we learn from the lives of these first believers?
Crucial prophecies and Jewish expectations about the long-anticipated Messiah were fulfilled by Jesus. St. Peter explained these prophecies on the day of Pentecost when he delivered the very first sermon on the "birthday of the Church." Join us as we continue our study of Peter's sermon and learn about the character and lifestyle of those who joined the primitive Church in those early days
When St. Peter arose to address the people of Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, he explained that the Resurrection of Christ was the fulfillment of prophecy. This was the first sermon to proclaim the gospel to the masses, delivered on Pentecost, the "birthday of the church." Peter's sermon, and other speeches in Acts of the Apostles, expressed and preserved crucial early Church traditions of how the crucifixion and resurrection were foretold by the prophets. It provides a snapshot of how the ap...
After receiving the Holy Spirit, the Church is off and running. St. Peter immediately begins preaching to the crowd, astonished by the sight and sound of Galileans speaking various foreign languages. His speech, which is very important for understanding the message and mind of the early Church, inspires St John Chrysostom to contrast the humble fisherman disciple with the famous and renowned philosopher, Plato.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was a dramatic event characterized by visual and audible phenomena: the sound of a mighty wind and something that looked like fire. Why was the Spirit manifested with these signs? Why did it come like this at all, since the Lord had breathed on the disciples and bestowed the Spirit after His resurrection? The Fathers will answer these and other questions on Search the Scriptures LIVE!
More discussion about the Holy Spirit is featured on Search the Scriptures LIVE this week. We will continue our study of the initial chapters of Acts of the Apostles, focusing on Pentecost as well as aanswering listener questions on the doctrine about the Holy Soirit and who can be a Father of the Church.
On the Monday of Pentecost, Dr.Jeannie was live in our Chesterton, IN studio. In this episode she takes us through the early arguments against the divinity of the Holy Spirit as well as the divinity of Jesus Christ. She helps us understand why we believe in and affirm the three persons of the Trinity - One in essence and undivided.
Doubts about the scientific possibility of the Resurrection are nothing new. They were raised long ago even by Greek Christians, not surprisingly by none other than Christians in Corinth. But because of their doubts, St. Paul wrote the earliest written account of the appearances of the Risen Christ and a theological masterpiece about the reality and importance of the Resurrection. Join us on Search the Scriptures LIVE! for our final lesson of this series on the Resurrection.
On the road to Emmaus, the Risen Christ is asked by his own disciples, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that happened there in these days?" We will discuss the Resurrection of Christ as presented in the gospel of Luke including the conversation between the Risen Christ and two disciples and his appearance to the Eleven in the upper room. Join us as we continue to discuss the Resurrection tonight on Search the Scriptures LIVE
The Resurrection of Christ is the hope of all Christians and the foundational teaching of our faith. Why do people resist it and what arguments do they raise against it? Can it be "proven," and if not, why not? Why wouldn't God want us to be assured of the resurrection and give us absolute proof?
The Resurrection of Christ: What are its key components and the main criticisms against it? Since the Resurrection is critical to the Christian faith, why didn't the Lord give us something "obvious" or "provable" for this most important of all events? We will also return to some of our "Random Questions."
We conclude our series on the Crucifixion of the King of Glory by turning our attention to the burial process described in the gospels, many details of which have been disputed in modern times. The discovery of the empty tomb and the Resurrection itself have been challenged on the basis that, as a condemned criminal, Jesus would not have been buried at all. Is there any truth to these claims? What about the details such as the huge quantity of myrrh and aloes brought by Nicodemus? What was the p...
Two Messiahs? A dead God? Christ as the True Isaac? The "crucifixion" of sacrificial lambs? How strange typologies and amazing prophecies were fulfilled are the subject of this week's episode of Search the Scriptures LIVE! Join us tonight as we continue our discussion of the new book, The Crucifixion of the King of Glory
The "last words" of Christ on the cross have been the subject of much interest over the millennia. In spite of his extreme pain, the Lord spoke seven times from the cross and each statement is instructive for us. Each evangelist recorded the statements that he considered most important to his presentation of Christ, his identity, example, and purpose.
King of Glory: Crucifixion Part 2. No punishment is more associated with the Roman Empire than crucifixion. Almost no one was immune from the possibility of suffering this fate and everyone feared it. Crucifixion was specifically designed to maximize pain. But also fundamental to the procedure and this punishment was the humiliation of the cross, the shame and loss of status in a culture which esteemed personal glory, honor and reputation above all.
Crucifixion. Nothing was more feared in the Roman Empire than this horrific punishment. Almost no one was immune from the possibility of suffering this fate. Crucifixion was specifically designed to maximize pain. But also fundamental to the procedure and this punishment was the humiliation of the cross, the shame and loss of status in a culture which esteemed personal glory, honor, and reputation above all. Join us tonight on Search the Scriptures LIVE! as we discuss the cross and crucifixion i...
Mockings were routine in Roman culture, but in Christ's case, the crown of thorns contributed significant physical agony. Scourgings also routinely preceded crucifixions. What was a scourging, and if Pilate believed Jesus to be innocent, why was Jesus scourged at all? The Jewish leaders insisted on crucifying Jesus and blackmailed Pilate to achieve their goal. Find out how on Monday's podcast, Search the Scriptures LIVE!
