Note to My Readers
Note to my readers: what I try to do often here in this space is to get at the original meaning of the New Testament writings to the Jewish and Gentile audiences of first century Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. I believe that before we can ever apply the New Testament to our modern 21st century American lives we need to try and understand what the author was trying to say to their original audience in its original historical, social and political context. Those pastors and teachers who short-circuit this process often end up with something very different than the meaning of the text for the original listeners. Part of that process is trying to strip away 2,000 years of church tradition from our minds and really investigate "how would the Jewish Palestinian audience of the 1st century have heard and understood this text or this saying of Jesus." That is not easy! This is where we need help not only from historians and experts in 1st century Greek but also from the