Scripture Guide

Matthew 22:15-22

Author

William Rowley

Keywords (8)

Scripture (5)

Updated

Oct 23, 2023

Preaching Commentary

A Notoriously Difficult Passage

This passage includes one of the most iconic and quotable of Jesus’s interactions with his contemporary opponents. Jesus deftly steps out of a trap set for him by the Pharisees and Herodians which was meant to implicate him in treason or turn the crowd against him. However, this is a notoriously difficult passage. Different interpreters come away from it with wildly different messages. How should we interpret it from the pulpit?

Deadly Politics

This is an extremely dangerous moment for Jesus in an extremely dangerous week. Recall the context.

By entering Jerusalem to the cries of “Hosanna!” Jesus had effectively lit a slow fuse to a pile of dynamite and he knew it. Jesus…

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Author

William Rowley

William Rowley (MA, Talbot School of Theology; PhD, University of Rochester) is a freelance editor and administrative assistant for The Pastor's Workshop. He is involved in leadership at his local church and is an occasional lay preacher. His theological background is equal parts evangelical and anglican.

He is broadly interested in matters at the intersection of faith and reason. He has a Master's degree from Talbot School of Theology and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Rochester. His specializations in philosophy are epistemology (the theory of knowledge), early modern philosophy, and philosophy of religion/philosophical theology. He dabbles in ethics. William was privileged to teach philosophy, writing, and logic to undergraduates for six years in the Rochester area.

William now works for the Pastor’s Workshop on a freelance basis. He assists with customer service, marketing, design, curation, planning, and editing content. He sometimes creates content for the site, primarily in his areas of theological interest, which include Ancient Near Eastern history, culture, and Old Testament interpretation, New Testament interpretation, literary and poetic analysis of scripture, and philosophical perspectives on the Bible and theology. His ministry passions are fostering a love and reverence for scripture and increasing space within churches for the life of the mind.

William also is available as a freelance editor and writer. As an editor, he has worked on long and short-form, from blog posts to full-length published books. As an author, he has experience and expertise to work on theological, philosophical, and literary topics. Contact him through LinkedIn.

Outside of his professional life, William lives in the New Haven area in Connecticut, with his wife and two dogs.