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Scholars have long noted the similarities between the regular depiction of God sending prophets, messengers, and even the Messiah, with the Jewish principle of agency. This episode introduces the Jewish principle of agency and offers an overview of its six major tenets. Over the next six episodes, we will examine evidence for each of the tenets of Jewish understandings of agency within the biblical texts of Scripture. 
Visit Amazon to buy your copy of my new book Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John:
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hoRJQsrQyC3QTwa7GyR3aERseGUds9xWdvmDW3405N4/edit?usp=sharing     
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My book, Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John, is now available. In this week's episode, I talk about why I wrote it, how I organized the material, and what you can expect in each chapter. If you are on the fence about buying it, or if you want to know more about how I organized the material, then this episode is for you.
Visit Amazon to buy your copy of my new book Wisdom Christology in the Gospel of John:
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BN9iXLjcDgqb8e-emPVynXv1gfZwGMmnilLR-1iUZb8/edit?usp=sharing    
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As we continue working through Alan Segal's arguments in favor of early Christian views of the Two Powers in Heaven heresy, we come to the Gospel of John. We explore the texts that Segal points to as evidence for the belief in Two Powers. In doing so, we interact with his arguments, weigh them for persuasiveness, and consider some of the much-needed evidence concerning monotheism that Segal conveniently neglects from his assessment of the Gospel of John. The resulting assessment is that the Gospel of John attests to a Christian view of monotheism that is in essential agreement with Judaism. 
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1otkm2mSPe5_CpnMHvnLJiU-qFIhVs8BoqqQ18GMXmcc/edit?usp=sharing   
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Did the Apostle Paul teach something resembling the heresy of Two Powers in Heaven that the later Jewish rabbis rejected? This episode interacts with Alan Segal's interpretation of three key Pauline texts where Paul may (or may not) be guilty of promoting Jesus as the second power in heaven. After dialoguing with Segal's reading of Paul, we offer a summary of what Paul did in fact teach about God's oneness, Jesus' humanity, and Jesus' subordination to the one God. 
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GdBLzHlL36PcJ4pmIWkl50-o1A9OkZ_1Sj8FoQL674g/edit?usp=sharing  
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Did Philo, the first-century Jew, believe and teach that there were actually two Gods in heaven? What does Philo mean when he talks about the "two powers" of God? This week's episode explores the complex theology of this prolific first-century theologian in order to better understand how Jewish monotheism was conveyed through the lens of a Middle Platonist. We interact with Alan Segal's book Two Powers in Heaven and assess his conclusions about the early dating of this heretical view.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cWnICjTFbMk674tOuoVtgRO5vMZB7IL3dxk5aT27Xbc/edit?usp=sharing 
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The seminal work by Alan Segal, Two Powers in Heaven, has made a demonstrable impact on how interpreters understand Jewish monotheism and early Christian views of the exalted Jesus. This episode introduces the topic of the Two Powers heresy. We examine three passages from rabbinical literature in order to better understand this peculiar heresy, who might have been promoting it, and what sort of passages were being cited in support of it. We also look closely at the Jewish scriptural response to the Two Powers heresy. 
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ejoUTkkmn_47ldylksMsmXVH1KnFxpdA7B-V2cl0b1Q/edit?usp=sharing    
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This episode interacts with a recently published article in the journal Novum Testamentum 66 (2024) entitled "Jesus’s Solidarity with Human Mortality and Perfection of Sonship in the Epistle to the Hebrews." The author draws attention to an overlooked argument in Hebrews, specifically in the manner in which the mortality of Jesus--the son of God--is set in parallel to the mortality of the original recipients of Hebrews. Both the son of God and the readers have joy set before them, submit to righteous behavior, and are promised an exalted inheritance for doing so. I discuss the findings of this article and show how they strengthen the Biblical Unitarian faith.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TMcE1-z5aDvpGQ2emgXU7FgLi3cxlIioLvDwonGtXqA/edit?usp=sharing   
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Deuteronomy 18:22 indicates that a presumptuous prophet is not to be feared. How does the theme of fear relate to those who hear Jesus’ prophetic preaching in the Gospel of John? Is Jesus feared, and if not, who is feared, and for what reason? Instead of ignoring Jesus as a presumably false prophet, why do some criticize him and his hometown anyway? And how are those who call for Jesus to be put to death for speaking presumptuously portrayed when it comes to their pious practices towards the God of Israel? This episode explores these overlooked topics in the Gospel of John.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jp1dHeFpEAqkZ8QHS2Ju6UFNopzs1opwyWz31RUnIsQ/edit?usp=sharing  
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If Deut. 18:21-22 gives a litmus test to determine the legitimacy of a prophet's status, how does the Gospel of John frame the portrayal of Jesus in a manner that both anticipates this test and answers it? This week's episode demonstrates how Jesus' status as the prophet like Moses in whom Yahweh has placed his words is true. By examining the testimony of John the Baptist, the emphasis on the fulfillment of the Hebrew Bible, the things said by Jesus that come true, and the ironic statements by Caiaphas and Pilate, we discern that Jesus is the promised Jewish messiah, not a messianic pretender.  
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11pYCT1y3-iXmhpJuQ8eLl5Y6tUgGxY-4ybIWDsMiLOc/edit?usp=sharing 
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Although the Gospel of John paints a thorough picture of Jesus as the prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15-19), many of those who rejected Jesus regarded him as a false prophet who spoke presumptuously in the name of Yahweh (Deut. 18:20). This episode traces the many ways in which the narrative of the Gospel of John is framed around the warning in Deut 18:20, focusing specifically on what Jesus said that led so many to consider him a messianic pretender, resulting in being put to death.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/158SBZImXkF8j7R7omiKbgav-nDLuSXYrVKMH4IUeZWc/edit?usp=sharing                    
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In our ongoing series that seeks to understand how Deut. 18:15-22 has shaped the depiction of Jesus in the Gospel of John, we focus this week on 18:19. This passage threatens the judgment of God upon those who do not heed the prophet in whom Yahweh has placed his authoritative words and commands. We demonstrate three ways in which those who refuse to listen to the prophet Jesus are called to account in the Fourth Gospel. 
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZyoIvLB0GvZ06PMpdQbGF694ugS3wD0vUYLB2CsdXoA/edit?usp=sharing                   
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As we continue our deep dive into the many ways that the Gospel of John displays Jesus as the prophet like Moses from Deut. 18:15-22, we focus this week on how Jesus speaks all that Yahweh has commanded him. We give attention to the insistence that Jesus' words are actually his Father's words spoken through him, the portrayal of Jesus as the agent who comes in the name of his Father, and the authority bound up in Jesus' name (which his followers can utilize).
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jQ2bI-4FV_4vcwXEicWOm-wfBbceXjgBFnR1jf8LbTg/edit?usp=sharing                  
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As we continue our exploration into the many ways that Deut. 18:15-22 has shaped the christological portrayal of Jesus in the Gospel of John, we focus this week on the phrase "I will put my words in his mouth" from Deut. 18:18a. We note the frequency in which Jesus openly admits that his words are not his own, rather they belong to the God who commissioned him. We also look at several witnesses in the Gospel of John who attest to Jesus' prophetic activity. Lastly, we observe how those who accept Jesus the prophet are also accepting the one who sent him as his agent. 
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uSLmVLfmAqo4eipQKce749Mn_np5-58Fbz0L5-kbn3U/edit?usp=sharing                 
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This week's episode continues exploring how the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as the prophet mentioned in Deut 18:15-22. Having already observed how Moses anticipates the Johannine Jesus, how Jesus is explicitly described with the title "Prophet," and the insistence that Jesus is a fellow human member of the people of Israel, we can turn our attention to the second half of Deut 18:15 where people are commanded to listen to this prophetic figure. This episode explores the many ways in which the readers of John are encouraged to listen to and obey Jesus, the prophet like Moses, in fulfillment of Deut 18:15b.  
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HJCSaRdQxoNU3ofBOnEGhS7F7xsLYpU1temXcAFdoJk/edit?usp=sharing                
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This week’s episode begins our exploration of the many ways in which the Gospel of John draws upon Deut. 18:15-22 in order to portray Jesus as the prophet like Moses. First, we note how Jesus is frequently introduced as a figure like Moses in John. Second, we take note of the motif where the crowds discover that Jesus is ”the prophet.” Third, we observe how the Johannine Jesus fulfills the requirement of being a member of Moses’ Israelite countrymen--a human being who is a member of Israel.
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To view the notes from this episode please click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZFf33EpDaD-jo2RY2GUvrvlNmTp_G3n1hDixxCTbdR8/edit?usp=sharing              
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