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Author: Jen McNeel

Podcast recommendation

Podcast recommendation

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As you can tell from the title of this website, I believe context is crucial for understanding and interpreting the Bible well. One of my favorite Bible podcasts is dedicated to helping people understand the historical context in which Bible texts were written. It’s called Biblical Time Machine and is hosted by biblical scholar Helen Bond and journalist Dave Roos (though the latest episode announced some changes to the host lineup). https://www.biblicaltimemachine.com They are currently between seasons, but if you…

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Book release

Book release

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My second book, Under Her Wings: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament, is releasing on September 9 with Eerdmans Publishing Co.! This was a labor of love for me a decade in the making, and I am so excited that it is about to release. Here is the book’s description: Mothers and motherhood-related themes are present throughout the New Testament, yet they have not received sufficient attention from biblical scholars. Under Her Wings fills this gap by exploring the literary, historical,…

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Refocusing this website

Refocusing this website

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If you’ve been a follower of this blog in the past, you know that it has been inactive for a long time. When I moved from Virginia to Maryland in 2016, I didn’t have a job. I created this website primarily as a way to try to put my name and work out there so that I could get speaking invitations. But in 2017 I started my job as a core faculty member at St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore….

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A Poor Widow and the False Dichotomy of Charity vs. Justice

A Poor Widow and the False Dichotomy of Charity vs. Justice

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One of my favorite examples to illustrate the importance of literary context for biblical interpretation is the story of the poor widow’s offering. Here’s the story as we find it in the Gospel of Mark: 41 [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43 Then he called his…

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Violence, Division, and the Kingdom of God

Violence, Division, and the Kingdom of God

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On the last Sunday in June I preached a sermon on Matthew 10:24-39. That passage came to my mind again as I read about the events in Charlottesville last weekend. In part of that passage Jesus says the following: 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her…

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Romans 16: Who was Junia?

Romans 16: Who was Junia?

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This post is the last of a four part series. To read the previous posts, click here for part one, here for part two, and here for part three. The last stop in our tour of the women of Romans 16 is verse 7: 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Unfortunately, this intriguing little verse is all the information…

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Romans 16: Who Was Prisca?

Romans 16: Who Was Prisca?

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This post is part three of a four part series. To read part one, click here. To read part two, click here. Our next stop in chapter 16 of Paul’s letter to the Romans is verses 3-5. 3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, 4 and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Greet also the church in their…

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Romans 16: Who was Phoebe?

Romans 16: Who was Phoebe?

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In my last post I wrote about the insight that Romans chapter 16 gives us into the diverse and vibrant community of the early church. If you missed it, you can click here to read it. In this post I’m going to introduce one of the many woman mentioned in Romans 16. Most of the names in this chapter are members of the Roman church that Paul is sending greetings to. Phoebe, however, was not a member of the Roman…

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Romans 16: A glimpse into the ministry of women in Pauline churches

Romans 16: A glimpse into the ministry of women in Pauline churches

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Reading Paul’s letter to the Romans is no small undertaking. Paul makes some complex arguments that take some effort to work through, especially for those of us who are removed from the original context of the words by thousands of years. So, once you get to the last chapter and see there a long list of names, you might be tempted to skip that chapter and call yourself done. However, those who skip Romans 16 skip the opportunity to glimpse…

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The Story of Nicodemus

The Story of Nicodemus

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Biblical authors did not write in the style of modern novels. As a result, biblical characters can sometimes seem a bit flat to us, their lives lacking the kind of detail we are used to seeing in stories. But despite this lack of detail and characterization, there are certain Bible characters who seem to leap off the page and express their personalities to us across two thousand years or more. For me, Nicodemus is one of these characters. The Gospel…

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