For God So Loved the Animals
Bulls, lions, dogs. Why all these metaphors from the animal kingdom to describe humanity as it encircles the crucified Savior? Because the man on the cross, God incarnate, is there for all creation, not just humanity.
Sections
Chad Bird
Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has contributed articles to Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation, The Federalist, Lutheran Forum, and other journals and websites. He is also the author of several books, including Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul, Your God Is Too Glorious
Learn More and Connect
Worms, Fire, and Eye-Gouging: What Does Jesus Mean by the Violent Language in Mark 9
Jesus uses a lot of violent language at the end of Mark 9:38-50. Millstones hung around people’s necks who are cast into the sea. Eyes gouged out and hands chopped off. People salted with fire. What’s up with all this? What does it mean? Using Proverbs, Leviticus, Isaiah, and some intertestamental literature, Chad Bird leads us into the Jewish thought…
The “Great Commission” Is Not in Matthew but Genesis
What Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28, atop a mountain, is a reaffirmation and clarification of what God told Adam and Eve from Mount Eden in Genesis 1.
How a Small, Country Congregation Became a Megachurch Overnight
This tiny rural church would bulge at the seams with worshipers from realms seen and unseen, all mixed together in the adoration of the Lamb.
Have No “Great Expectations” of Your Pastors and Christian Leaders
Our leaders, our pastors, our priests, our teachers, all have feet of clay, just as leaders in Israel did. We do not put our faith in them, even in the ones—perhaps *especially* the ones—in whom we are inclined to have great expectations. They preach the Messiah but are not the Messiah.