Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | August 5, 2012
There is an unspoken but implied meaning in the illustration of the speck and log. The hypocrite with the log in his eye actually sees himself as being the man with the speck. Only “sinners” have sins as large as logs and the Pharisees were not “sinners.” Until we are willing to see our specks […]
PHall | August 4, 2012
Do you feel guilty when you read the Sermon on the Mount? Do you look at yourself and think, “I just don’t measure up?” If you do, you are not alone. But maybe, and this is an important life-changing point, you are reading it totally wrong. Contrary to how it is commonly interpreted, the Sermon […]
PHall | August 3, 2012
Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, as long as they wear a tie to serve the Lord’s Supper.” Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are we who mourn, that others are not as holy and righteous and doctrinally perfect as we.” Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are we who are meek, as long […]
PHall | August 3, 2012
Just as the Lord’s Prayer echoes the Temptation in the Wilderness, it foreshadows the temptation in Jesus’ final day before His crucifixion in the upper room, garden and trial. “Our Father in heaven (6:9) – “My Father” (26:39) “Hallowed/holy be Your name” (6:9) – “He has blasphemed” (26:65) “Your kingdom come (6:10) – “I will […]
PHall | August 2, 2012
The Beatitudes are not to be seen as moral achievements but the acknowledgement of the exact opposite – moral depravity, moral emptiness, and moral needs. The Beatitudes are not philosophical idealism but the idea that we are not spiritually ideal. Self-righteousness looks at the qualities of poor in spirit, moral mourning, and such as achievements […]
PHall | August 1, 2012
Matthew begins and ends with God’s presence. Matthew begins with Jesus being, “God with Us” (1:23); and closes with Jesus saying, “I am with you always” (28:20). In between Jesus fulfills the Law and Prophets (5:17). In fulfilling God came near, and when we fulfill the true meaning of the Sermon on the Mount (7:12), […]
PHall | July 31, 2012
“Blessed” – what is the real meaning? Some suggest “happy” but I wonder if the meaning of “blessed” is closer to being spiritually “content” or “fulfilled:” Each beatitude has a blessing or reward that corresponds with the need. The hungry are filled; the mourners are comforted; etc. Blessings from God fulfilled His purposes and individual […]
PHall | July 30, 2012
Shockingly, at least to our modern theological ears, the most works-oriented discourse in the Bible, whether Old or New Testament is…the Sermon on the Mount. Maybe equally shocking is that the word “grace” is never uttered; yet Jesus commands the ultimate call to be perfect as His Father is perfect (5:48). Is Jesus the Uber-Pharisee?
PHall | July 27, 2012
So much of Jesus’ wilderness experience is echoed within “The Lord’s Prayer.” This suggests to me that Jesus prayed what He experienced. Our prayers should be filled with the reality of this life and God’s life in us. “Our Father in heaven (6:9) – “If you are the Son of God” (4:3,6). “Hallowed/holy be Your […]
PHall | July 27, 2012
There is an intriguing shift from blessings to warnings between chapters 5 and 6: In chapter 5 Jesus blesses those who are persecuted because they are seen practicing righteousness; and in chapter 6 Jesus warns against practicing your righteousness to be seen. In chapter 5 Jesus blesses public righteousness, salt and light; and in chapter […]