When we hear the word gift, we usually think “no strings attached.” But that’s not how the ancient world worked — especially in the New Testament.

In this episode of Cultural Keys, Dr. T. Michael W. Halcomb explores reciprocity: how gifts, meals, and hospitality created obligation, loyalty, and relationship in the biblical world.

• Why was table fellowship so controversial?
• Why did Jesus eating with the “wrong people” cause outrage?
• And how does this reshape the way we understand grace?

Jesus didn’t abolish reciprocity — he reoriented it, relocating obligation from social systems to trust in God’s ultimate repayment.

This episode will change how you read the Gospels, Paul, and the early church.

#bible #podcast #biblestudy #faith #jesus #christ #books #grace #scripture #wordofgod #christianeducation #christian #christianity #scholarship #newtestament #question #culture #hermeneutics

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