Raising Lazarus From the Dust

Echoes of Genesis in John’s Gospel:

The gospel of John stands out among the four gospels. One key reason for this, I am convinced, is that John has purposely presented Jesus’ life and ministry in a particular theological way by having it echo the creation account in Genesis. By means of this, John presents Jesus as the very Creator God of Genesis who has now entered into His own creation in order to recreate it anew.

Mary Magdalene and the Reversal of Eden

Mary Magdalene in the garden with Jesus, detail of mosaic in Resurrection Chapel, Washington National Cathedral

In John 20 the risen Lord appears to Mary Magdalene. This unique scene, appearing only in the gospel of John, must carry some sort of theological significance. But what could that be? While thinking through some of the bigger eschatological stories at play in the New Testament generally, and the gospels in particular, it struck me that perhaps John includes this scene as a symbolic portrayal of the inauguration of the new creation. More specifically, perhaps it symbolizes the reversal of the original judgment of Eve in the garden of Eden.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 9): Living with Purpose

In the final installment of this series, I want to, briefly, consider the question of how we, as followers of Christ, are to live within this story of family and work as human purpose. While the answer would vary for each individual, I can offer some general thoughts.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 8): Human Purpose and the Eschaton

In the last blog post, I made the assertion that our salvation is ultimately for the sake of restoring us to a new world where we can properly glorify God in our family and work. While such a notion may leave some skeptical, consider how scripture portrays human life on the other side of eternity.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 7): Human Purpose and the New Testament

A study of how the themes of temple, the image of God, and, indeed, the creation mandate unfold in the New Testament is beyond the scope of this blog post.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 6): Human Purpose and the Fall

Leading up to this post, a valid objection that could be leveled at what I’m proposing is that all of my arguments are based on events that occurred prior to the Fall in Genesis 3.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 5): The Image, Family, and Work

In the previous post I delved into the notion that Genesis 1 describes all of creation as Yahweh’s cosmic temple. However, one glaring question left open is how does this understanding of Genesis 1 intersect with human purpose?

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 4): Genesis 1 and the Cosmic Temple

In much of modern, western Christendom the first chapter of Genesis has been at the heart of the ideological battle between atheistic evolution and biblical creation. While this battle against secular understandings of human origins is a worthy venture, there is a problem with attempting to interpret Genesis 1 through modern scientific paradigms.

The Image of God and Human Purpose (pt. 3): Work as Human Purpose

For part 3 of this series, I return to the text of Genesis 1:28, which reads:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”