New Testament scholarship at the intersection of empire, embodiment, disability, and interpretation
My research focuses on the New Testament and early Christianity, especially where questions of empire, embodiment, disability, and interpretation converge. I am particularly interested in how biblical texts construct bodies, power, healing, and communal belonging, and in how those texts continue to shape theological and public imagination. My work includes a monograph, an edited volume, peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, and public-facing scholarship for church and broader audiences
Books
“[Nelson’s] novel and ambitious project helpfully corrects the commentary tradition’s failure to consider holistically the impaired characters of Matthew’s healing narratives. I empathize with and laud Nelson’s desire to give these impaired, often-neglected characters agency and voice. Such informed, sensitive, and nuanced scriptural readings bolster biblical theologies that more fulsomely reflect these concerns within contemporary religious communities.”
-Review of Biblical Literature
Co-edited with Adam Winn.
“These essays show that questions of empire and imperialism remain vital in Gospel studies and offer new vistas on more specific questions today. Not to be missed!”
– Neil Elliott
Articles and Reference Works
- “Disability in a disabling empire: Investigating a person with paralysis in Luke 5:17–26,” Review and Expositor 122 (2025): 78-88.
- “Performing Power in the Public Court of Reputation: Capital Punishment, John the Baptist, and Julius Jones,” Review & Expositor 119 (2022): 303–314.
- “Pontius Pilate,” Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies, with Warren Carter, Anna Bowden, Annelies Moeser, and Kendi Mohn.
Current Projects
My current research continues to explore disability, embodiment, healing, and power in New Testament texts and their interpretation. Current projects include work on Luke 5, healing narratives and disabling readings in Christian communities, and ongoing research in empire criticism and the Gospels.
- Advent and Embodiment: A Seasonal Devotional
- Biopolitics, Spectacle, and the Cross: Disability and Identification
- Medicine and Marginality in Mark 5
Selected Presentations
- “Hidden Transcripts at Halftime: Bad Bunny, the Bible, and the Beats of Resistance” (SBL 2026)
- “Suffering under Many Physicians: Medicine and Marginality in Mark 5” (SWCRS 2026, SBL 2026)
- “The Kingdom of Heaven and the Roman Empire: A Tale of Two Economies” (SWCRS, 2024).
- “Muddling Miracles: Investigating a Man with Paralysis and De-Centering Jesus in Luke 5:17–26” (SWCRS, 2023)
Public Scholarship
In addition to my academic work, I write for church and public audiences on biblical interpretation, theology, and contemporary life. This writing includes contributions to Working Preacher and essays on my academic blog.
- Working Preacher commentaries on Luke 2, John 1, Matthew 4, and Matthew 5.
- Theology and Interpretation blog for Working Preacher “Healing Beyond Bodily Transformation in Matthew’s Gospel”
- Academic blog at jillian-nelson.com
Jillian D. Nelson, PhD 