John Mark Hicks

At least two theological themes emerge from this pericope. On the one hand, the kingdom of God breaks into the life of a woman who had been bound by her disability for eighteen years. She is healed and experiences redemption. On the other hand, opposition to the kingdom of God arises in response to her […]

Standing in awe of God’s gracious Spirit empowering Israel’s relationship with Yahweh (Zechariah 4), something catches Zechariah’s eye. The first line of the sixth vision highlights the sudden appearance of a strange object. Literally, Zechariah turns around to see what caught his attention, looks up into the sky, “sees” something and “behold,” that is, astonishingly, […]

There are many hermeneutical issues surrounding the Apocalypse, of course.  And I will assume my own perspectives in this final installment on “Reverse the Curse.”  One of my primary assumptions is the progressive cyclical undestanding of the seven seals, trumpets and bowls of wrath in the second vision (“in the Spirit,” 4:3) of Revelation (chapters 4-16). […]

“In my former book, Theophilus, I worte about all that Jesus began to do and to teach….” (Acts 1:1). “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and […]

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). “Today this scripture is […]

“…Galilee of the Gentiles–the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:15d-16). “…Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17) “Galilee of the Gentiles”? Is that not part of the land of promise? Indeed. […]

“The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:7-8). “[Yahweh] brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 26:9). When the […]

“God saw all that he had made and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31a). “….Cursed are you above all the livestock….Cursed is the ground…” (Genesis 3:14a, 17b). God created order, life and light out of a chaotic, inanimate and dark earth.  By divine act, life emerged from nothingness, light appeared in the darkness, and order […]

The Red Soxs did it in 2004. After 86 years, the curse of the Bambino was finally lifted. While the Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908, their “curse” actually dates to 1945 when a goat was refused admittance to Wrigley field. I wear my Cubs hat with great pride–“reverse the curse” with […]

I tend to think of the Psalms in the broad category of “calling upon God”–they are situated responses to God’s own call toward us in creation and redemption. In dialogue believers call upon the creator and redeemer God in profession, prayer and praise; they respond to God’s divine acts in the world in confession, lament and thanksgiving […]