Texts and Contexts honors the life and scholarship of David E. Garland. Fifteen colleagues, friends, and former students each offer a study on one of the canonical Gospels or Paul’s letters, demonstrating how these texts continue to reveal new surprises and a wealth of resources for service to the gospel.

Throughout his productive career as a New Testament scholar—first at the Southern Seminary and later at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary—Garland became widely known and highly regarded for his wise and careful interpretive work. His commentaries on the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) as well as Paul’s letters (1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon) exemplify careful, thoughtful, and faithful biblical scholarship in service of both the academy and the church.

This present volume begins with five studies on Gospels texts and the Jesus tradition (Margaret E. Ramey, Richard Bauckham, Mikeal C. Parsons, Andrew E. Arterbury, and Craig L. Blomberg). Five essays on Pauline passages and interpretation follow (Todd D. Still, Mark A. Seifrid, Craig S. Keener, Bradley Arnold, and Klyne R. Snodgrass). Five homilies round out the collection (Ben Witherington III, W. Hulitt Gloer, Bill J. Leonard, Timothy George, and Daniel O. Aleshire). Even as this book celebrates and commemorates what Garland has already done, it anticipates scholarship yet to be received.

Part One: Gospels Studies
1. Seasoning in the Sermon: Wealth Wisdom in the Sermon on the Mount
Margaret E. Ramey
2. Where Was Dalmanutha?: Mark 8:10
Richard Bauckham
3. The "Sinful Woman" and Simon the Pharisee: Character and Characterization in Luke 7:36-50
Mikeal C. Parsons
4. The Battle on the Mount of Olives: Reading Luke 22:39-46 in Its Literary Context
Andrew E. Arterbury
5. When Ockham’s Razor Shaves Too Closely: A Necessarily Complex Model of the Development of the Jesus Tradition
Craig L. Blomberg

Part Two: Pauline Studies
6. Why Did Paul Preach "Christ Crucified" in Corinth? A New Answer to an Old Question from an Unexpected Place
Todd D. Still
7. Paul: A Theologian of the Cross
Mark A. Seifrid
8. Corrupted vs. Renewed Minds in Romans 1, 7, and 12
Craig S. Keener
9. The Presence and Function of Athletic Language in Philippians 1:27-30
Bradley Arnold
10. Reflections on Paul and Women
Klyne R. Snodgrass

Part Three: Gospels and Pauline Sermons
11. You Be the Judge: Matthew 7:1-6
Ben Witherington III
12. The Jericho Connection: Luke 19:1-10; 4:14-30
W. Hulitt Gloer
13. The Things That Make for Freedom: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Bill J. Leonard
14. Why Don’t Y’all Pass the Bread?: Galatians 2:11-16; 3:26-29
Timothy George
15. Traveling Mercies: Reflections along Life’s Journey: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22
Daniel O. Aleshire