Today we finish Mark with verses 16:9-19. These verses are not in the oldest available manuscripts, which leads many scholars to conclude they were added later by someone who is not the author. The last passage had concluded with the two Marys being told by a young man dressed in white that Jesus had risen and he would meet the disciples in Galilee. The women did not tell anyone because they were afraid. Now, in verse nine, we are told that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus after he rose. According to the text, Jesus had driven seven (magic number) demons out of her. The demon story does not occur in Mark, but it is found in Luke 8:2, leading me to the conclusion that this passage was added after the circulation of Luke's gospel.
We've just been told the women said nothing to anyone, but now we are being told Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Jesus earlier, presumably his entourage of disciples and women followers. Would you believe the word of someone who was thought to have had seven demons? The text says they didn't believe her either. However, Jesus appears in a different form (so how did they know it was Jesus?) to two more people (who were they?) as they were walking along a country road. No other witnesses. They weren't believed either, naturally.
Later, Jesus appears to the eleven (minus Judas) while they were eating. The text does not say where they were. He rebukes them for not believing the tales the others told. Shouldn't he have praised them for not having blind faith in something so unlikely? Shouldn't he have known ahead of time those people would not be believed? At this time he gives them what has been called "the Great Commission." He tells the disciples (not anyone else, not you and I) "Go out into all the world and preach the good news (What good news? He doesn't say.) to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Just like that, Jesus ruins the lives of countless unbelievers throughout the centuries, even those who led exemplary lives. Is this the exact point in history at which all unbelievers are eternally condemned? It doesn't seem quite fair to all the people who died after this moment yet never heard this "good news." Or is this condemnation only for those who hear the message and don't believe it. Wouldn't they have been better off never hearing it at all? The churches of Christ use this passage as one of there references for the doctrine of the necessity of believers baptism for salvation.
Jesus is not done talking. He also tells the disciples that signs will accompany those who believe. They will drive out demons, speak in tongues, handle snakes, drink poison with no ill effects, and heal the sick by laying on of hands. Was the person who wrote this trying to kill off crazy Christians?
When he was done talking, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right hand of god. How do they know that? Then the disciples went out and preached. Stuff happened just the way Jesus said it would. Amen.
We are done! Next time we will do a wrap up of what we learned in the book of Mark.
Showing posts with label disciples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disciples. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Mark chapter sixteen
We are at Mark 9:28. It has been implied that Jesus has just healed a boy from a demon (seizures), but all I see is him helping the kid up after a fit is over. Later, the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn't drive out the demon. He replied that that kind only came out through prayer. Huh? Jesus didn't pray the spirit out, He commanded it. Are demons discriminating as to how they are exorcised?
Jesus and the disciples went on the move. Jesus was again trying to be incognito, supposedly because he was training his disciples. If you ask me, he may have been avoiding people who would know that the people he "healed" had relapsed. I'm having a bit of respect for the author of this book. If it had stayed the only gospel account available, Jesus wouldn't measure up to his current reputation. Told in a spare way, with comparatively few embellishments, and a publicity avoiding Jesus, I can see in this story the unwillingness of the author to completely commit to the notion that Jesus was supernatural. If there was a Jesus of Nazareth, I imagine Mark, as the earliest, has the account that is closest to the reality.
In verse 31 Jesus predicts that the son of man (presumably a reference to himself) will be betrayed and killed and rise after three days. The disciples were afraid to ask him what that meant. Later, they were in a house in Capernaeum, maybe Peter's? Jesus asked the disciples what they had been arguing about on the road. They had been jockeying for hierarchical position in the group. Jesus told them "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." This is good psychology on Jesus's part. Now they will be trying to outdo each other in acts of service.
Jesus had a little child stand in front of the disciples, and holding the child close, said "whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Wow. What a lesson for today. Christians take note! Children had no authority or power, they often were the household servants, which I think was the point. He was eliminating cultural hierarchy with this statement, telling the disciples that they weren't any greater than a child. If he wasn't a charlatan, I could like this version of Jesus.
Matthew's (18:1-5) version of the story does not include the concept of service or becoming servants. Instead he focuses on humility, which is more abstract. The disciples are told to be humble like children to be the greatest in the kingdom. (Mark's version does not mention the kingdom at all. It was a more earthly discussion.) The thing about humility is you don't actually have to do anything to be commended for it. It's a negative virtue, all you have to do is refrain from overtly saying or acting like you are better than anyone. You don't necessarily have to actively serve them. Plus, this conversation doesn't eliminate earthly cultural hierarchy. Matthew tries to make up for it by having Jesus put a curse on anyone who would harm a child. We all know how well curses work.
Mark and Matthew have this story happening in a house in Capernaeum, but in Luke there is very little context. Luke has Jesus read the disciple's minds instead of them telling him what they were thinking. Luke 9:46-48 has no discourse on humility or servitude or the kingdom. He just tells them to welcome that child in his name. "For he who is the least among you all--he is the greatest." The way it reads, Jesus could be telling them that particular child was the greatest among them. In Luke's version Jesus also does not tell the disciples to be like a child/children in any way. I like the Mark version best.
This was fascinating to me because, in all my years as a christian, I never caught that this dialog happened in a private home and not out among the multitudes.
Jesus and the disciples went on the move. Jesus was again trying to be incognito, supposedly because he was training his disciples. If you ask me, he may have been avoiding people who would know that the people he "healed" had relapsed. I'm having a bit of respect for the author of this book. If it had stayed the only gospel account available, Jesus wouldn't measure up to his current reputation. Told in a spare way, with comparatively few embellishments, and a publicity avoiding Jesus, I can see in this story the unwillingness of the author to completely commit to the notion that Jesus was supernatural. If there was a Jesus of Nazareth, I imagine Mark, as the earliest, has the account that is closest to the reality.
In verse 31 Jesus predicts that the son of man (presumably a reference to himself) will be betrayed and killed and rise after three days. The disciples were afraid to ask him what that meant. Later, they were in a house in Capernaeum, maybe Peter's? Jesus asked the disciples what they had been arguing about on the road. They had been jockeying for hierarchical position in the group. Jesus told them "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." This is good psychology on Jesus's part. Now they will be trying to outdo each other in acts of service.
Jesus had a little child stand in front of the disciples, and holding the child close, said "whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Wow. What a lesson for today. Christians take note! Children had no authority or power, they often were the household servants, which I think was the point. He was eliminating cultural hierarchy with this statement, telling the disciples that they weren't any greater than a child. If he wasn't a charlatan, I could like this version of Jesus.
Matthew's (18:1-5) version of the story does not include the concept of service or becoming servants. Instead he focuses on humility, which is more abstract. The disciples are told to be humble like children to be the greatest in the kingdom. (Mark's version does not mention the kingdom at all. It was a more earthly discussion.) The thing about humility is you don't actually have to do anything to be commended for it. It's a negative virtue, all you have to do is refrain from overtly saying or acting like you are better than anyone. You don't necessarily have to actively serve them. Plus, this conversation doesn't eliminate earthly cultural hierarchy. Matthew tries to make up for it by having Jesus put a curse on anyone who would harm a child. We all know how well curses work.
Mark and Matthew have this story happening in a house in Capernaeum, but in Luke there is very little context. Luke has Jesus read the disciple's minds instead of them telling him what they were thinking. Luke 9:46-48 has no discourse on humility or servitude or the kingdom. He just tells them to welcome that child in his name. "For he who is the least among you all--he is the greatest." The way it reads, Jesus could be telling them that particular child was the greatest among them. In Luke's version Jesus also does not tell the disciples to be like a child/children in any way. I like the Mark version best.
This was fascinating to me because, in all my years as a christian, I never caught that this dialog happened in a private home and not out among the multitudes.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Mark part fourteen
We are now at Mark 8:14. After Jesus has told the Pharisees that he won't give them a sign from heaven, he and the disciples get in the ever present boat and cross the lake again. The disciples forgot about bringing food and had only one loaf of bread. To which Jesus says, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and that of Herod." Since we have just encountered Pharisees looking for a sign, I'm assuming Jesus is chiding them for not trusting him to provide for them, which he sees as the influence of the Pharisees. This is further born out in his discussion of the feeding of the five thousand and the four thousand, after which he says, "Do you still not understand?" It seems that the disciples had not seen those events as miraculous, and they were there.
Next they were in Bethsaida. Jesus healed a blind man with his spit, but for some reason it took two tries. Not only that, Jesus took the man out of the village to heal him, and after he was healed, he told him not to go back to the village. Doesn't that sound odd? Years later, if anyone asked the people of Bethsaida if Jesus had healed anyone there, they would say no. Then a follower could say that's because it happened outside the village.
Next Jesus and the disciples went to the villages "around" Caesarea Philippi. (No specifics to pin anything down.) On the way there, Jesus went fishing, metaphorically speaking. He asked the disciples what people thought of him. They replied that some people thought he was (the resurrected) John the Baptist. Others thought he was Elijah or one of the other old testament prophets. Then Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was. Peter said he was the Christ. Note that this does not mean Peter thought Jesus was a literal son of god, but rather the "anointed one" or ruler/leader/messiah that the Jews had come to expect from their interpretation of their scriptures. Of course, Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone about him. Makes you wonder how the author was able to find any sources for this book. Plus, Jesus didn't actually tell Peter that he was correct.
Next, Jesus told the disciples that "the son of man" must suffer many things, be rejected by all the important Jews, be killed, and rise again after three days. Presumably he was referring to himself. Peter thought so and took Jesus aside to rebuke him for saying those things. Jesus then Said, "Get behind me, Satan." Which is not a very nice thing to say to someone who is concerned for your welfare.
Then Jesus tells everyone around him that if they want to follow him, they have to deny themselves and take up their cross. This would have made no sense to people who had no idea what a cross would eventually mean to christians, unless they understood it as a call to willing martyrdom. Then Jesus says, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." This seems to be a clear call for voluntary martyrdom. Not only that, it elevates those who choose that path, which is sick. What is this gospel Jesus wants people to die for? So far, the book of Mark (1:14,15) has only told us that the gospel/good news is the message that the kingdom of god is near. That's it.
After encouraging people to die for him and his message, Jesus asks the crowd, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world , yet forfeit his soul?" The implication is that if a person is on team Jesus, team die-for-the-gospel, they get to keep their soul forever. If they are not, sure they might have a long, happy life, full of good things. But when it's all over, bam!, bye bye soul. And this is supposed to be a reason to give up everything for Jesus. The crowd is also told that if anyone is ashamed of him and his words (He's looking at you, Peter), then the son of man will be ashamed of that person "when he comes in his father's glory with the holy angels." I find it hard to believe that anyone in that day and age could get away with saying something like that in public and not get stoned.
Last, Jesus says that some of those standing there would not taste death before they see the kingdom of god come. Well. They are all dead now, so what is the kingdom of god? Is it the one we read about in Revelation, the one up in the sky that comes down and settles on earth? That hasn't happened yet. It can't be it, can it? The churches of Christ say that the earthly church (true christians) is the kingdom that Jesus was talking about. However, it seems to me that this is a reference to that time when Jesus is supposed to come back in his father's glory. That kingdom was what was supposed to be near. In that case, Jesus was a liar or a lunatic.
Next they were in Bethsaida. Jesus healed a blind man with his spit, but for some reason it took two tries. Not only that, Jesus took the man out of the village to heal him, and after he was healed, he told him not to go back to the village. Doesn't that sound odd? Years later, if anyone asked the people of Bethsaida if Jesus had healed anyone there, they would say no. Then a follower could say that's because it happened outside the village.
Next Jesus and the disciples went to the villages "around" Caesarea Philippi. (No specifics to pin anything down.) On the way there, Jesus went fishing, metaphorically speaking. He asked the disciples what people thought of him. They replied that some people thought he was (the resurrected) John the Baptist. Others thought he was Elijah or one of the other old testament prophets. Then Jesus asked the disciples who they thought he was. Peter said he was the Christ. Note that this does not mean Peter thought Jesus was a literal son of god, but rather the "anointed one" or ruler/leader/messiah that the Jews had come to expect from their interpretation of their scriptures. Of course, Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone about him. Makes you wonder how the author was able to find any sources for this book. Plus, Jesus didn't actually tell Peter that he was correct.
Next, Jesus told the disciples that "the son of man" must suffer many things, be rejected by all the important Jews, be killed, and rise again after three days. Presumably he was referring to himself. Peter thought so and took Jesus aside to rebuke him for saying those things. Jesus then Said, "Get behind me, Satan." Which is not a very nice thing to say to someone who is concerned for your welfare.
Then Jesus tells everyone around him that if they want to follow him, they have to deny themselves and take up their cross. This would have made no sense to people who had no idea what a cross would eventually mean to christians, unless they understood it as a call to willing martyrdom. Then Jesus says, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." This seems to be a clear call for voluntary martyrdom. Not only that, it elevates those who choose that path, which is sick. What is this gospel Jesus wants people to die for? So far, the book of Mark (1:14,15) has only told us that the gospel/good news is the message that the kingdom of god is near. That's it.
After encouraging people to die for him and his message, Jesus asks the crowd, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world , yet forfeit his soul?" The implication is that if a person is on team Jesus, team die-for-the-gospel, they get to keep their soul forever. If they are not, sure they might have a long, happy life, full of good things. But when it's all over, bam!, bye bye soul. And this is supposed to be a reason to give up everything for Jesus. The crowd is also told that if anyone is ashamed of him and his words (He's looking at you, Peter), then the son of man will be ashamed of that person "when he comes in his father's glory with the holy angels." I find it hard to believe that anyone in that day and age could get away with saying something like that in public and not get stoned.
Last, Jesus says that some of those standing there would not taste death before they see the kingdom of god come. Well. They are all dead now, so what is the kingdom of god? Is it the one we read about in Revelation, the one up in the sky that comes down and settles on earth? That hasn't happened yet. It can't be it, can it? The churches of Christ say that the earthly church (true christians) is the kingdom that Jesus was talking about. However, it seems to me that this is a reference to that time when Jesus is supposed to come back in his father's glory. That kingdom was what was supposed to be near. In that case, Jesus was a liar or a lunatic.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Mark part thirteen
We are now at Mark 7:24. Have you noticed that in Mark, each event seems to happen immediately after the last, in quick succession. There is no real sense of how much time has actually passed since Jesus started preaching. There is also quite a bit of vagueness as to specifically where Jesus was. We get regions and vicinities, as in this next passage. Jesus is said to have left "that place" (what place?) and to have gone to the vicinity of Tyre. Keep in mind that Tyre is not Jewish territory. Jesus was the outsider there. We are told he tried to keep his presence there a secret, but we are not told why. Also wouldn't he have known that wasn't going to work?
While Jesus was in the vicinity of Tyre, a Greek Syro-Phoenician woman (a native of that area) came to Jesus to beg him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Here is another Gentile with a demon. Now comes an extraordinary dialog. Jesus tells the woman, "First let the children eat all they want, For it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." This is quite shocking because the clear implication is that the "children of Israel" are more precious to god and deserving of healing than this woman's daughter and her people. He is calling them dogs, a clear insult. This is a definite example of prejudice, and by Jesus. Unbelievably, the woman replies, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Jesus is impressed with the woman's sassy answer and heals her daughter long distance. So, the only thing Jesus did in Tyre was heal a little girl that he never saw, of a demon that she probably didn't have, while trying to remain incognito? And how did the author of Mark come to know this story? How could anyone have known if it was true?
Then Jesus left that area and into the region of the Decapolis, Gentile territory again. There he heals a deaf and mute man. First he takes the man away from the crowd. Why? Wouldn't these miracles be more believable the more people saw them? Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then spit, then touched the man's tongue. Ewww. Jesus then looked up to heaven, heaved a big sigh, and said, "Be opened!" Very dramatic. Of course the man began to hear and speak again or we wouldn't have the story. Jesus commanded the people present not to tell anyone, which of course was futile, as he should have known. They spread the news about how wonderful Jesus was. Again, from where did the author of Mark get this story? And how could anyone know if it was true?
We get to chapter eight and another vague time reference, "During those days, another large crowd gathered." We are not told anything about the location, except that it is remote, again. Again, the people needed to be fed. Again, the disciples ask about how to feed them. Again, Jesus asks how many loaves the disciples have. Last time they had five loaves and two fish. 5+2=7. Seven is a magic number. This time there are seven loaves and a few small fish. This time there were seven baskets of leftovers. Four thousand males were present.(100x40, 40 being another magic number) Again, females don't count. Again, what was done with the leftovers, which were presumably edible?
Afterward Jesus and his disciples got in the boat (Wait! What boat?) and headed to "the region" of Dalmanutha. Funny, There is no reason to believe Dalmanutha ever existed. Here is one man's take on the subject. (Link) The pharisees just happened to appear there to question Jesus. Those Pharisees got around. However, they don't seem to have been around in the places Jesus is supposed to have performed miracles. They asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus blew them off with a non-insult insult. "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given it." (Get out of here, I'm not going to show you my gun.) The Pharisees were skeptics, good for them.
After that brief encounter the disciples amd Jesus all pile back in the boat and cross the lake again.
While Jesus was in the vicinity of Tyre, a Greek Syro-Phoenician woman (a native of that area) came to Jesus to beg him to drive a demon out of her daughter. Here is another Gentile with a demon. Now comes an extraordinary dialog. Jesus tells the woman, "First let the children eat all they want, For it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." This is quite shocking because the clear implication is that the "children of Israel" are more precious to god and deserving of healing than this woman's daughter and her people. He is calling them dogs, a clear insult. This is a definite example of prejudice, and by Jesus. Unbelievably, the woman replies, "Yes Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Jesus is impressed with the woman's sassy answer and heals her daughter long distance. So, the only thing Jesus did in Tyre was heal a little girl that he never saw, of a demon that she probably didn't have, while trying to remain incognito? And how did the author of Mark come to know this story? How could anyone have known if it was true?
Then Jesus left that area and into the region of the Decapolis, Gentile territory again. There he heals a deaf and mute man. First he takes the man away from the crowd. Why? Wouldn't these miracles be more believable the more people saw them? Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then spit, then touched the man's tongue. Ewww. Jesus then looked up to heaven, heaved a big sigh, and said, "Be opened!" Very dramatic. Of course the man began to hear and speak again or we wouldn't have the story. Jesus commanded the people present not to tell anyone, which of course was futile, as he should have known. They spread the news about how wonderful Jesus was. Again, from where did the author of Mark get this story? And how could anyone know if it was true?
We get to chapter eight and another vague time reference, "During those days, another large crowd gathered." We are not told anything about the location, except that it is remote, again. Again, the people needed to be fed. Again, the disciples ask about how to feed them. Again, Jesus asks how many loaves the disciples have. Last time they had five loaves and two fish. 5+2=7. Seven is a magic number. This time there are seven loaves and a few small fish. This time there were seven baskets of leftovers. Four thousand males were present.(100x40, 40 being another magic number) Again, females don't count. Again, what was done with the leftovers, which were presumably edible?
Afterward Jesus and his disciples got in the boat (Wait! What boat?) and headed to "the region" of Dalmanutha. Funny, There is no reason to believe Dalmanutha ever existed. Here is one man's take on the subject. (Link) The pharisees just happened to appear there to question Jesus. Those Pharisees got around. However, they don't seem to have been around in the places Jesus is supposed to have performed miracles. They asked Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus blew them off with a non-insult insult. "Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given it." (Get out of here, I'm not going to show you my gun.) The Pharisees were skeptics, good for them.
After that brief encounter the disciples amd Jesus all pile back in the boat and cross the lake again.
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Mark part twelve
I've been think about the feeding of the five thousand, and all the leftovers. Why didn't Jesus let the people keep the left over food? Wouldn't it have been kinder and more practical? What use did he have for twelve basketfuls of scraps? What did the disciples do with those twelve baskets of food, take them on the boat? Throw them away? The only reason I can think of for the twelve baskets is so that the story could be magnified to make it seem a spectacular miracle, and to include the magic number twelve. It may symbolically represent god's care for the needs of the twelve tribes. In reality, it could be that all the people present (not likely to have been 5,000) just shared the food they had brought with them. Jesus needn't have performed any miracle at all. In fact the text doesn't actually say that he did.
On to the end of Mark chapter six, where we are told that Jesus's fame spread so that people all over the region brought their sick to wherever he was. Everyone who touched him was healed. And yet, no person living at that time wrote about him.
In chapter seven, some Pharisees from Jerusalem see some of Jesus's disciples eating food without first ritually washing their hands, according to Jewish tradition. This was a symbolic cleansing of an abstract notion of "impurity" not a precursor of concrete germ theory as some modern christians may claim. This passage may have been written as a natural segue to Jesus being touched by so many people, many of whom were almost certainly ritually unclean. Those with certain illnesses, menstruating women, and even non Jews, were automatically unclean. The pharisees questioned Jesus as to why his followers were not living according to tradition.
Jesus replied to the pharisees with a quote from Isaiah 29:13, which accuses people of just paying god lip service and worshipping god with man made rules. This was meant to burn. Then Jesus mentions a command given by Moses (Ironically, if he ever existed, Moses was just a man.) that the pharisees do not observe. This command is to honor one's father and mother. Presumably part of that honoring would be to take financial care of them in their old age. Yet the Pharisees have allowed/encouraged people to give whatever money they would have used to support their parents to god. (Who doesn't need money. Where does the money go?) That is indeed a lousy thing to do. Much worse than not washing hands before eating.
Jesus used this as a teaching tool, and probably as an added embarrassment for the Pharisees. He told the crowd hanging around that "Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean." This can be taken symbolically or literally, as we shall see. In the literal sense, it clearly shows that Jesus had no knowledge of bacteria and viruses. Jesus implies that in the literal sense things come out of the body, like blood, pus, vomit, semen, urine, and feces, were unclean, not things that went into the body from the outside, like food and drink. However, there is also a metaphorical sense. To emphasize this, Jesus says food goes into a persons stomach and then out of his body. It doesn't go into his heart. (The author of Mark says this means Jesus declared all foods clean. That is clearly his personal interpretation.)
The disciples didn't get what Jesus was trying to say, so Jesus had to spell it out for them privately, after first calling them "dull." It's the heart that matters, according to Jesus. We are not talking about the actual organ of the heart, but that something we might call the soul, the conscience, our essence, the seat of our emotions, or some other abstract concept which denotes our personality or psyche. Jesus says," what comes out of a man makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils cone from inside and make a man unclean." Jesus is not talking about bodily fluids and literal uncleanness, but spiritual uncleanness. He's taking uncleanness to another level, a level which makes it even more difficult to know if one is "clean" or not.
On to the end of Mark chapter six, where we are told that Jesus's fame spread so that people all over the region brought their sick to wherever he was. Everyone who touched him was healed. And yet, no person living at that time wrote about him.
In chapter seven, some Pharisees from Jerusalem see some of Jesus's disciples eating food without first ritually washing their hands, according to Jewish tradition. This was a symbolic cleansing of an abstract notion of "impurity" not a precursor of concrete germ theory as some modern christians may claim. This passage may have been written as a natural segue to Jesus being touched by so many people, many of whom were almost certainly ritually unclean. Those with certain illnesses, menstruating women, and even non Jews, were automatically unclean. The pharisees questioned Jesus as to why his followers were not living according to tradition.
Jesus replied to the pharisees with a quote from Isaiah 29:13, which accuses people of just paying god lip service and worshipping god with man made rules. This was meant to burn. Then Jesus mentions a command given by Moses (Ironically, if he ever existed, Moses was just a man.) that the pharisees do not observe. This command is to honor one's father and mother. Presumably part of that honoring would be to take financial care of them in their old age. Yet the Pharisees have allowed/encouraged people to give whatever money they would have used to support their parents to god. (Who doesn't need money. Where does the money go?) That is indeed a lousy thing to do. Much worse than not washing hands before eating.
Jesus used this as a teaching tool, and probably as an added embarrassment for the Pharisees. He told the crowd hanging around that "Nothing outside a man can make him unclean by going into him. Rather it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean." This can be taken symbolically or literally, as we shall see. In the literal sense, it clearly shows that Jesus had no knowledge of bacteria and viruses. Jesus implies that in the literal sense things come out of the body, like blood, pus, vomit, semen, urine, and feces, were unclean, not things that went into the body from the outside, like food and drink. However, there is also a metaphorical sense. To emphasize this, Jesus says food goes into a persons stomach and then out of his body. It doesn't go into his heart. (The author of Mark says this means Jesus declared all foods clean. That is clearly his personal interpretation.)
The disciples didn't get what Jesus was trying to say, so Jesus had to spell it out for them privately, after first calling them "dull." It's the heart that matters, according to Jesus. We are not talking about the actual organ of the heart, but that something we might call the soul, the conscience, our essence, the seat of our emotions, or some other abstract concept which denotes our personality or psyche. Jesus says," what comes out of a man makes him unclean. For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils cone from inside and make a man unclean." Jesus is not talking about bodily fluids and literal uncleanness, but spiritual uncleanness. He's taking uncleanness to another level, a level which makes it even more difficult to know if one is "clean" or not.
Friday, January 18, 2019
Mark part eleven
We are at Mark 6:45, which says, "Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray." When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake. They had made good time. However, now the disciples weren't getting anywhere because they were rowing against a strong wind. I would have thought Jesus would have known that was going to happen before he sent them out. He could see them from the land yet did nothing until "the fourth hour of the night."
The fourth hour of the night is a phrase for the three hour period just before dawn, about 3-6am. These guys must have been rowing in the boat all night, about nine to twelve hours, getting nowhere fast. It seems a little ridiculous to me. The lake is 8 miles wide and 13 miles long. Why didn't they just go back to the shore and wait out the wind, when they first saw that it was futile to go on? And these are supposed to be men experienced with boats. Does the author of Mark actually know anything about this area?
So, what does Jesus do? He walks right out onto the lake and is about to walk past them when the disciples yell with fright because they think he is a ghost. Not only that, they must have been utterly exhausted and the mind plays tricks on you when you are tired. He told them not to be afraid and identified himself. He got in the boat and the wind died down. The text says they were amazed "for they had not understood about the loaves (aka miraclulous feeding) and their hearts were hardened." Harsh.
Reading this story makes me think it actually could have happened, but not the way we are meant to think it did. Let's try looking at it this way: Suppose Jesus did send the disciples across the lake and they got to the middle fairly quickly but a strong wind came up. By that time, it was evening and getting dark, but it was still light enough for Jesus to make them out on the water, especially if he was on high ground. Let's suppose that he also saw that they gave up trying to fight the wind and decided to head back. Then night fell. Remember, this is the first century, no electricity, no flashlights, no matches. Have you ever been in a remote place after dark? What about when there is cloud cover and no moon? What about on the water at night with no light at all? How far can you see? Yeah. Same here.
I don't know if this boat had sails. It definitely had oars, and must have been big enough to hold twelve people. I don't even know how sail boats work. How much can you do in pitch black, in a high wind, on any boat? It's my guess that you would hunker down and ride it out, hoping for the best, bailing water as fast as you can, if need be. Maybe they rowed in the direction the wind was pushing them, just hoping to reach land quickly, not knowing for certain exactly what spot they would end up at. We aren't even told exactly where they began. What was Jesus doing in the dark and the wind? Any normal human being would have found shelter and had a snooze, if possible. He surely wasn't standing on the hillside watching the disciples struggle with the boat for nine hours.
The hours between 3-6am are when the sky begins to lighten and visibility improves as dawn approaches. Jesus heads for the shore. By the time he gets there, he can see the boat rocking on the waves, anchored just off shore, with the crew of exhausted men limp and dozing. The wind has died down but they hardly notice. The tide is low, so Jesus walks out to the boat. There is a light morning mist hovering on the water. Someone is startled awake, sees Jesus appear to be gliding above the water, and yells. Everyone wakes up. Jesus looks ghostly in the early morning light. He laughs and says, "Relax, it's just me." He gets in the boat and they all realize the wind has died down, so they easily cross over and landed at Gennesaret, which is not where they had been heading the first time, but maybe it was the closest place, and they were probably hungry.
It could have happened that way.
The fourth hour of the night is a phrase for the three hour period just before dawn, about 3-6am. These guys must have been rowing in the boat all night, about nine to twelve hours, getting nowhere fast. It seems a little ridiculous to me. The lake is 8 miles wide and 13 miles long. Why didn't they just go back to the shore and wait out the wind, when they first saw that it was futile to go on? And these are supposed to be men experienced with boats. Does the author of Mark actually know anything about this area?
So, what does Jesus do? He walks right out onto the lake and is about to walk past them when the disciples yell with fright because they think he is a ghost. Not only that, they must have been utterly exhausted and the mind plays tricks on you when you are tired. He told them not to be afraid and identified himself. He got in the boat and the wind died down. The text says they were amazed "for they had not understood about the loaves (aka miraclulous feeding) and their hearts were hardened." Harsh.
Reading this story makes me think it actually could have happened, but not the way we are meant to think it did. Let's try looking at it this way: Suppose Jesus did send the disciples across the lake and they got to the middle fairly quickly but a strong wind came up. By that time, it was evening and getting dark, but it was still light enough for Jesus to make them out on the water, especially if he was on high ground. Let's suppose that he also saw that they gave up trying to fight the wind and decided to head back. Then night fell. Remember, this is the first century, no electricity, no flashlights, no matches. Have you ever been in a remote place after dark? What about when there is cloud cover and no moon? What about on the water at night with no light at all? How far can you see? Yeah. Same here.
I don't know if this boat had sails. It definitely had oars, and must have been big enough to hold twelve people. I don't even know how sail boats work. How much can you do in pitch black, in a high wind, on any boat? It's my guess that you would hunker down and ride it out, hoping for the best, bailing water as fast as you can, if need be. Maybe they rowed in the direction the wind was pushing them, just hoping to reach land quickly, not knowing for certain exactly what spot they would end up at. We aren't even told exactly where they began. What was Jesus doing in the dark and the wind? Any normal human being would have found shelter and had a snooze, if possible. He surely wasn't standing on the hillside watching the disciples struggle with the boat for nine hours.
The hours between 3-6am are when the sky begins to lighten and visibility improves as dawn approaches. Jesus heads for the shore. By the time he gets there, he can see the boat rocking on the waves, anchored just off shore, with the crew of exhausted men limp and dozing. The wind has died down but they hardly notice. The tide is low, so Jesus walks out to the boat. There is a light morning mist hovering on the water. Someone is startled awake, sees Jesus appear to be gliding above the water, and yells. Everyone wakes up. Jesus looks ghostly in the early morning light. He laughs and says, "Relax, it's just me." He gets in the boat and they all realize the wind has died down, so they easily cross over and landed at Gennesaret, which is not where they had been heading the first time, but maybe it was the closest place, and they were probably hungry.
It could have happened that way.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Mark part ten
We are at Mark 6:7. Jesus is travelling around teaching. He also sent his disciples out to teach in pairs, giving them the authority to cast out demons. They also performed faith healings. Jesus gave them specific instructions which sound like a religious commitment to poverty, similar to other mendicants throughout history. They were to take no food, no money, and no extra clothing with them. They were to rely on the hospitality of the townspeople, performing a kind of curse if they were not welcomed. ("Shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.")
Basically, they became a kind of "holy" beggar. Their message was that people should repent, but repent of what?
Jesus started to become well known and King Herod heard about him. This is not the Herod (the great) that was supposedly king when Jesus was born, but Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the great. Some people were saying Jesus was John the baptist resurrected, that's why he could do miracles. (Was John the baptist also known for miracles?) Remember, Mark has Jesus's ministry starting after the death of John. This is all significant because this Herod was responsible for John's death. John the baptist had told Herod it was not lawful to marry his brother's wife, Herodias, so Herod had locked him up. Herodias was enraged, and cooked up a sneaky plot. With her daughter's help, she tricked Herod into executing John and bringing his head to her on a platter.
Herodias had an interesting family. Her parents were first cousins. Her father was killed by her grandfather, Herod the great, when she was a child. She was married to her father's half brother Philip, then divorced and married to her other half uncle, Antipas.
Here we have the book of Mark's secular anchor in time. The events are now taking place after Herod took up with Herodias and before Herod was in a war with his first wife's father, in 36 CE. Herod was exiled in 39 CE because of the war. Herod had divorced his first wife to marry Herodias. John the baptist was supposed to have been beheaded after that. Jesus started preaching after John's death. Herod's first wife's father declared war on Herod as soon as he had his daughter safely back home. Common christianity says Jesus died around 33 CE. I think if Jesus lived and taught at the time Mark said he did, that date may be a little off. What do you think?
We are at Mark 6:30. After the apostles have been out teaching, they reported back to Jesus. They all tried to meet in a solitary place, but were recognized and followed by a crowd. So, Jesus began to teach the crowd. Along about dinner time, the apostles advised Jesus to send the people away to get something to eat. Jesus said, "you give them something to eat." The disciples were shocked that Jesus would ask them to spend the amount of money it would take to feed all the people. When Jesus asked how much food the disciples had on them, they replied, "five loaves and two fish."
Jesus had the people sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He looked up at the sky and gave thanks. Then he broke up the food and had the disciples distributed it. Everyone got enough to eat and there were twelve baskets full of leftovers. (Magic number alert) "The number of MEN who had eaten was five thousand." Because only men count. Get it? Did you notice that one hundred times fifty is five thousand?
More to come.
Basically, they became a kind of "holy" beggar. Their message was that people should repent, but repent of what?
Jesus started to become well known and King Herod heard about him. This is not the Herod (the great) that was supposedly king when Jesus was born, but Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the great. Some people were saying Jesus was John the baptist resurrected, that's why he could do miracles. (Was John the baptist also known for miracles?) Remember, Mark has Jesus's ministry starting after the death of John. This is all significant because this Herod was responsible for John's death. John the baptist had told Herod it was not lawful to marry his brother's wife, Herodias, so Herod had locked him up. Herodias was enraged, and cooked up a sneaky plot. With her daughter's help, she tricked Herod into executing John and bringing his head to her on a platter.
Herodias had an interesting family. Her parents were first cousins. Her father was killed by her grandfather, Herod the great, when she was a child. She was married to her father's half brother Philip, then divorced and married to her other half uncle, Antipas.
Here we have the book of Mark's secular anchor in time. The events are now taking place after Herod took up with Herodias and before Herod was in a war with his first wife's father, in 36 CE. Herod was exiled in 39 CE because of the war. Herod had divorced his first wife to marry Herodias. John the baptist was supposed to have been beheaded after that. Jesus started preaching after John's death. Herod's first wife's father declared war on Herod as soon as he had his daughter safely back home. Common christianity says Jesus died around 33 CE. I think if Jesus lived and taught at the time Mark said he did, that date may be a little off. What do you think?
We are at Mark 6:30. After the apostles have been out teaching, they reported back to Jesus. They all tried to meet in a solitary place, but were recognized and followed by a crowd. So, Jesus began to teach the crowd. Along about dinner time, the apostles advised Jesus to send the people away to get something to eat. Jesus said, "you give them something to eat." The disciples were shocked that Jesus would ask them to spend the amount of money it would take to feed all the people. When Jesus asked how much food the disciples had on them, they replied, "five loaves and two fish."
Jesus had the people sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties. He looked up at the sky and gave thanks. Then he broke up the food and had the disciples distributed it. Everyone got enough to eat and there were twelve baskets full of leftovers. (Magic number alert) "The number of MEN who had eaten was five thousand." Because only men count. Get it? Did you notice that one hundred times fifty is five thousand?
More to come.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Mark part six
We are back to the book of Mark, just after the appointing of the twelve apostles, chapter three, verse 20.
Jesus is in a house trying to eat and a huge crowd develops. His family hears about it and thinks he's gone crazy. Teachers of the law say he's possessed by Beelzebub. He's able to drive out demons because he's in league with the prince of demons. Jesus basically says that's silly. Why would Satan oppose himself? A kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand. (Interesting that Beelzebub, the prince of demons, and Satan are used synonymously in this passage.)
Next Jesus says no one can enter a strong man's house and take his possessions without tying him up. Presumably this is referring to Jesus being able to remove people from demon possession. This must mean Jesus has some how overpowered Satan. Then Jesus pointedly says "I tell you the truth, all the sin and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whosoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will never be forgiven; he us guilty of an eternal sin. Jesus said this because they were saying he has an evil spirit." So, Jesus obviously equated their words about him with blasphemy against the holy spirit.
Because of this passage, blasphemy against the holy spirit/ Jesus/ God has come to be known in Christianity as the "unforgivable sin." Let me tell you, this fact has caused a of load trouble for people all around the world in the form of blasphemy laws. It also causes intense psychological angst for the person who thinks that just thinking forbidden words in ones head will bring a conviction of blasphemy/eternal sin from god. Do you know how hard it is not to think something once you've been told it is forbidden to think it?
Moving on to verse 31, Jesus's mother and brothers are outside the house and they send someone in to get him. He replies, "who are my mother and my brothers?" He answers his own question by saying, "Whoever does god's will is my brother and sister and mother." This seems to establish that Jesus had a family and that his mother had other children, but they are not named, not even Mary. Remember there was no holy spirit conception or virgin birth narrative at the beginning of Mark. So far, Jesus appears to be fully human. His holy spirit vision upon baptism wasn't witnessed by anyone else in Mark either. Is it no wonder some people thought he was crazy?
Next, Jesus is teaching by the lake and has to get in a boat because there are such large crowds. He apparently taught them parables from the boat. One of the parables was about a farmer who sowed seed. The seed fell upon different types of soil, producing different results, some good, some poor. When the disciples got Jesus alone they asked him to explain the parables. Jesus told the disciples that he would tell them the secret meanings of the parables, but he would not tell those "on the outside," so that "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven."
Wait. What?!! Do you realize that Jesus is saying he is deliberately keeping people from being forgiven? Well, if Jesus is god in the flesh, it's not the first time. That passage was quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10, where god says that to Isaiah. If the Jews hearing/reading this statement of Jesus's were familiar with the passage in Isaiah, they would know it goes on to say the peoples' non-understanding will continue "until the cities lie ruined....until the lord has sent everyone far away." Is this a foreshadowing of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the diaspora? If the author of Mark wrote later than 70 CE, he already knew what was coming.
More to come.
Jesus is in a house trying to eat and a huge crowd develops. His family hears about it and thinks he's gone crazy. Teachers of the law say he's possessed by Beelzebub. He's able to drive out demons because he's in league with the prince of demons. Jesus basically says that's silly. Why would Satan oppose himself? A kingdom or house divided against itself cannot stand. (Interesting that Beelzebub, the prince of demons, and Satan are used synonymously in this passage.)
Next Jesus says no one can enter a strong man's house and take his possessions without tying him up. Presumably this is referring to Jesus being able to remove people from demon possession. This must mean Jesus has some how overpowered Satan. Then Jesus pointedly says "I tell you the truth, all the sin and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whosoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will never be forgiven; he us guilty of an eternal sin. Jesus said this because they were saying he has an evil spirit." So, Jesus obviously equated their words about him with blasphemy against the holy spirit.
Because of this passage, blasphemy against the holy spirit/ Jesus/ God has come to be known in Christianity as the "unforgivable sin." Let me tell you, this fact has caused a of load trouble for people all around the world in the form of blasphemy laws. It also causes intense psychological angst for the person who thinks that just thinking forbidden words in ones head will bring a conviction of blasphemy/eternal sin from god. Do you know how hard it is not to think something once you've been told it is forbidden to think it?
Moving on to verse 31, Jesus's mother and brothers are outside the house and they send someone in to get him. He replies, "who are my mother and my brothers?" He answers his own question by saying, "Whoever does god's will is my brother and sister and mother." This seems to establish that Jesus had a family and that his mother had other children, but they are not named, not even Mary. Remember there was no holy spirit conception or virgin birth narrative at the beginning of Mark. So far, Jesus appears to be fully human. His holy spirit vision upon baptism wasn't witnessed by anyone else in Mark either. Is it no wonder some people thought he was crazy?
Next, Jesus is teaching by the lake and has to get in a boat because there are such large crowds. He apparently taught them parables from the boat. One of the parables was about a farmer who sowed seed. The seed fell upon different types of soil, producing different results, some good, some poor. When the disciples got Jesus alone they asked him to explain the parables. Jesus told the disciples that he would tell them the secret meanings of the parables, but he would not tell those "on the outside," so that "they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven."
Wait. What?!! Do you realize that Jesus is saying he is deliberately keeping people from being forgiven? Well, if Jesus is god in the flesh, it's not the first time. That passage was quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10, where god says that to Isaiah. If the Jews hearing/reading this statement of Jesus's were familiar with the passage in Isaiah, they would know it goes on to say the peoples' non-understanding will continue "until the cities lie ruined....until the lord has sent everyone far away." Is this a foreshadowing of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the diaspora? If the author of Mark wrote later than 70 CE, he already knew what was coming.
More to come.
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Mark part four
We are in the second half of Mark chapter two. Jesus now has five disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, John, and Levi. Levi is a tax collector. In verse 15, we find Jesus at Levi's house eating with many tax collectors and "sinners." Three times sinners are mentioned in this passage and all three times the word is put in quotation marks with no explanation for that. My study bible also says that these sinners were "notoriously evil people" like adulterers and robbers. It is also unclear how that conclusion was arrived at.
The pharisees apparently saw Jesus eating with these social outcasts and criticized it. How did they see that? Was everyone eating outside? Were the Pharisees looking in the windows? Jesus's defense against the pharisees charges was that he was not there to call the righteous, but the sinners.
Next, we are told that John's disciples and the pharisees were fasting, which probably made them cranky. The story doesn't say the occasion of the fast, but it was presumably religious. People wanted to know why Jesus and his disciples were not fasting. Jesus uses a metaphor to say they don't need to fast because he is with them, when he is gone then they will fast. He's special. Then Jesus makes another metaphor about old wine skins and new wine skins, which, to me, makes no sense at all in this context.
The next story takes place on a sabbath. Jesus and his disciples are walking through grain fields and the disciples begin picking heads of grain, presumably to eat. The pharisees, who must have been walking with them, tattle to Jesus, saying what the disciples are doing is unlawful on the sabbath. Jesus then gives an example of David breaking the mosaic law when he was hungry. He says "the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." Yeah, right. That is why god gave a death penalty for breaking the Sabbath. The story of David breaking the law and getting away with it only proves that no one was willing to kill him for that transgression, if it actually happened. In fact, throughout history, Jews have been reluctant to carry out all the various death penalties mentioned in the law of Moses.
Chapter three tell us that "another time he went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there." Jesus was watched carefully to see if he would heal the man on the sabbath. Of course, Jesus bucked convention and healed the man's hand with a great deal of show. Apparently these healings did not impress the pharisees, because they began to plot Jesus's death. I wonder how the pharisees would have told this story. Did they think Jesus was a charlatan? Or were they actually so mean hearted as to prefer Jesus's death over his miraculous healings?
In chapter 3, verses 7-12, Jesus is being followed by crowds of people from all over the region, because of the healings. Demon possessed people are falling down before him and calling him the son of god, but he is adamant that they should not tell anyone. It does not say he exorcised all those demons. If he did, why would he have to tell them to shut up? Because of all the crowds, Jesus had a boat ready to take him away, at the sea of Galilee.
In verse 13, Jesus decides to take a few select people with him up on a mountainside. There he selects his twelve apostles. We've only read of five up to now. The twelve are Simon, who we are told Jesus names Peter, which means "pebble." Does this say something about Peter's personality? There are also James and John, who Jesus calls "the sons of thunder." Then we have, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, another James, Thaddeus, another Simon, and Judas Iscariot, who is said to have betrayed Jesus. There is a little foreshadowing there.
More to come.
The pharisees apparently saw Jesus eating with these social outcasts and criticized it. How did they see that? Was everyone eating outside? Were the Pharisees looking in the windows? Jesus's defense against the pharisees charges was that he was not there to call the righteous, but the sinners.
Next, we are told that John's disciples and the pharisees were fasting, which probably made them cranky. The story doesn't say the occasion of the fast, but it was presumably religious. People wanted to know why Jesus and his disciples were not fasting. Jesus uses a metaphor to say they don't need to fast because he is with them, when he is gone then they will fast. He's special. Then Jesus makes another metaphor about old wine skins and new wine skins, which, to me, makes no sense at all in this context.
The next story takes place on a sabbath. Jesus and his disciples are walking through grain fields and the disciples begin picking heads of grain, presumably to eat. The pharisees, who must have been walking with them, tattle to Jesus, saying what the disciples are doing is unlawful on the sabbath. Jesus then gives an example of David breaking the mosaic law when he was hungry. He says "the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." Yeah, right. That is why god gave a death penalty for breaking the Sabbath. The story of David breaking the law and getting away with it only proves that no one was willing to kill him for that transgression, if it actually happened. In fact, throughout history, Jews have been reluctant to carry out all the various death penalties mentioned in the law of Moses.
Chapter three tell us that "another time he went into the synagogue and a man with a shriveled hand was there." Jesus was watched carefully to see if he would heal the man on the sabbath. Of course, Jesus bucked convention and healed the man's hand with a great deal of show. Apparently these healings did not impress the pharisees, because they began to plot Jesus's death. I wonder how the pharisees would have told this story. Did they think Jesus was a charlatan? Or were they actually so mean hearted as to prefer Jesus's death over his miraculous healings?
In chapter 3, verses 7-12, Jesus is being followed by crowds of people from all over the region, because of the healings. Demon possessed people are falling down before him and calling him the son of god, but he is adamant that they should not tell anyone. It does not say he exorcised all those demons. If he did, why would he have to tell them to shut up? Because of all the crowds, Jesus had a boat ready to take him away, at the sea of Galilee.
In verse 13, Jesus decides to take a few select people with him up on a mountainside. There he selects his twelve apostles. We've only read of five up to now. The twelve are Simon, who we are told Jesus names Peter, which means "pebble." Does this say something about Peter's personality? There are also James and John, who Jesus calls "the sons of thunder." Then we have, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Matthew, another James, Thaddeus, another Simon, and Judas Iscariot, who is said to have betrayed Jesus. There is a little foreshadowing there.
More to come.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Mark part two
We are in Mark chapter one, at verse twelve. Jesus has just been baptized by John the baptist who was said to have been in a desert area. The spirit, which has descended on Jesus sends him "out into the desert," which must have been nearby. Jesus stayed in the desert forty days (magical number) being tempted by Satan. Mark says he was with wild animals and angels attended him. This story is much shorter than the similar event recorded in other gospels. It includes very few details. Notice that no one else was with him as a witness. So, if this was Jesus's claim, everyone who heard it would have had to take his word that he was telling the truth. Can you think of any reason why he would lie?
From there, the text jumps to John the baptist being in prison, after which Jesus went into Galilee telling people to repent because the kingdom of god was near, they were to believe the good news (aka gospel). Do you see that? Jesus didn't start preaching till AFTER John was out of the way. John could not publicly contradict Jesus's claims if he wanted to. Also, the "good news" here was the approaching kingdom of god. It feels like there are so many different gospels in the new testament.
When Jesus was at the Sea of Galilee (which is actually a lake) he recruited Simon (later called Peter) and his brother Andrew by telling the two fishermen that he would make them "fishers of men." How punny. Naturally, they dropped everything and followed him. In this same way, he also recruited James and John, who were just about to go out to fish in their father's boat. Now there are four disciples. Disciple just means student.
They all went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath (Saturday), Jesus taught in the synagogue. This is not anything special. I'm pretty sure any male Jew was allowed to get up and say something in turn. However, the text claims that what Jesus said impressed everyone, but it does not record his words on the occasion. While he was speaking, a man possessed by an evil spirit starts yelling at Jesus. He accuses Jesus of coming to destroy them and says he knows who Jesus is..."the holy one of god." (What if it was actually just some guy yelling, "Hey, I know who he is." Then the story got stretched. It could have happened that way.) Jesus commands the spirit to be quiet and come out of the man, which it does with a shriek. Good cinema. In fact, if this actually happened, who's to say Jesus didn't plant the man in the audience. That kind of thing happens today.
The people were sogullible amazed that they began gossiping about this guy who taught like he knew what he was talking about and could exorcise demons. Naturally the news spread quickly. The five of them then went to the home of Simon and Andrew, where Jesus got rid of Peter's mother-in-law's fever. Then she began to wait on them, 'cause that's what women were expected to do after recovering from a fever and they needed someone to wait on them. Jesus did all this stuff on the Sabbath. The mother-in-law also waited on the men on the Sabbath. Was it just men who were not supposed to work on the Sabbath? Or was waiting on men not considered work?
After sunset, when it was no longer the Sabbath, people began to bring all their sick and demon possessed to Jesus to be healed. He apparently healed a lot of people with "various diseases" and exorcised many demons. (I wonder if had the same success rate modern faith healers have.) However, he didn't let any of the demons speak "because they knew who he was." Ha. That's kind of funny if you think about it. People who knew who Jesus was were not allowed to speak and were said to have demons. Hmm. There is definitely more than one way to look at that.
More to come.
From there, the text jumps to John the baptist being in prison, after which Jesus went into Galilee telling people to repent because the kingdom of god was near, they were to believe the good news (aka gospel). Do you see that? Jesus didn't start preaching till AFTER John was out of the way. John could not publicly contradict Jesus's claims if he wanted to. Also, the "good news" here was the approaching kingdom of god. It feels like there are so many different gospels in the new testament.
When Jesus was at the Sea of Galilee (which is actually a lake) he recruited Simon (later called Peter) and his brother Andrew by telling the two fishermen that he would make them "fishers of men." How punny. Naturally, they dropped everything and followed him. In this same way, he also recruited James and John, who were just about to go out to fish in their father's boat. Now there are four disciples. Disciple just means student.
They all went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath (Saturday), Jesus taught in the synagogue. This is not anything special. I'm pretty sure any male Jew was allowed to get up and say something in turn. However, the text claims that what Jesus said impressed everyone, but it does not record his words on the occasion. While he was speaking, a man possessed by an evil spirit starts yelling at Jesus. He accuses Jesus of coming to destroy them and says he knows who Jesus is..."the holy one of god." (What if it was actually just some guy yelling, "Hey, I know who he is." Then the story got stretched. It could have happened that way.) Jesus commands the spirit to be quiet and come out of the man, which it does with a shriek. Good cinema. In fact, if this actually happened, who's to say Jesus didn't plant the man in the audience. That kind of thing happens today.
The people were so
After sunset, when it was no longer the Sabbath, people began to bring all their sick and demon possessed to Jesus to be healed. He apparently healed a lot of people with "various diseases" and exorcised many demons. (I wonder if had the same success rate modern faith healers have.) However, he didn't let any of the demons speak "because they knew who he was." Ha. That's kind of funny if you think about it. People who knew who Jesus was were not allowed to speak and were said to have demons. Hmm. There is definitely more than one way to look at that.
More to come.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
The Sermon on the Mount, part one.
I'm not ready to plunge into a study of heaven and eternal rewards, so I thought we might look at the so called "sermon on the mount." This sermon of Jesus is found in Matthew 5:1-7:29 and Luke 6:12-6:48. Luke's version is significantly different than Matthew's, plus it is much shorter. I think a side by side comparison should be interesting. This sermon is not found in Mark or John. John should have been there. Why didn't he remember it?
First the setting: The author of Matthew tells us Jesus went up on an unnamed mountainside because of the crowds of people that had been following him around the region. This mountainside could have been anywhere from Galilee to Jerusalem. Jesus sat down on the mountainside and began to teach his disciples. Then we get the extensive lesson in the supposed words of Jesus.
On the other hand, the author of Luke tells us Jesus had gone up an unnamed mountainside to pray all night. The next morning, he gathered his disciples and chose the special twelve whom he also designated as apostles. Matthew neglects to mention this, and he was there, according to Luke, who wasn't there. Confused? After that, Jesus went down the mountain to a level place, where there were crowds of people who were all trying to touch him. Then he began to speak to his disciples.
The first section of his speech is called the "beatitudes" in Matthew and called the "blessings and woes" in Luke. Those phrases are not part of the text, but the designations given by the people who formatted my bible. Beatitude is just another word for blessing. Woes are curses. Let us begin.
Matthew: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Luke: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kindgom of god."
Luke's version appears to me more directly addressing the audience. Matthew's seems to imply that it is humility vs. the lack of worldly goods that gets you the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps Matthew wasn't keen on being poor for god.
Matthew: ""Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Luke does not have this phrase, but it does say, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Matthew is more abstract. Luke is more concrete.
Matthew: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Luke does not say that, but there is something similar in Psalm 37:11.
Matthew: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Luke: "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied." That's quite a difference if you think about it, a spiritual desire vs. a physical need. Again, abstract vs. concrete.
Matthew: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Even merciful athiests?)
Not found in Luke.
Matthew: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see god." Is anyone pure in heart according to god's standards?
Not found in Luke.
Matthew: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of god." What about the warmongers? What will happen to them, hmm?
Not found in Luke.
More to come.
First the setting: The author of Matthew tells us Jesus went up on an unnamed mountainside because of the crowds of people that had been following him around the region. This mountainside could have been anywhere from Galilee to Jerusalem. Jesus sat down on the mountainside and began to teach his disciples. Then we get the extensive lesson in the supposed words of Jesus.
On the other hand, the author of Luke tells us Jesus had gone up an unnamed mountainside to pray all night. The next morning, he gathered his disciples and chose the special twelve whom he also designated as apostles. Matthew neglects to mention this, and he was there, according to Luke, who wasn't there. Confused? After that, Jesus went down the mountain to a level place, where there were crowds of people who were all trying to touch him. Then he began to speak to his disciples.
The first section of his speech is called the "beatitudes" in Matthew and called the "blessings and woes" in Luke. Those phrases are not part of the text, but the designations given by the people who formatted my bible. Beatitude is just another word for blessing. Woes are curses. Let us begin.
Matthew: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Luke: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kindgom of god."
Luke's version appears to me more directly addressing the audience. Matthew's seems to imply that it is humility vs. the lack of worldly goods that gets you the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps Matthew wasn't keen on being poor for god.
Matthew: ""Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
Luke does not have this phrase, but it does say, "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Matthew is more abstract. Luke is more concrete.
Matthew: "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Luke does not say that, but there is something similar in Psalm 37:11.
Matthew: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."
Luke: "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied." That's quite a difference if you think about it, a spiritual desire vs. a physical need. Again, abstract vs. concrete.
Matthew: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." (Even merciful athiests?)
Not found in Luke.
Matthew: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see god." Is anyone pure in heart according to god's standards?
Not found in Luke.
Matthew: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of god." What about the warmongers? What will happen to them, hmm?
Not found in Luke.
More to come.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
What happened on Sunday morning? part 1
Last year, on the Saturday before Easter, I posted "What happened on Saturday?" Today, I want to look at the events of "resurrection Sunday" as recorded in the Bible. We will look at Mark 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24, and John 20. We will also try to see what passages outside the gospels might say about the resurrection.
First, all four gospels record what happened on the morning ofthe first day of the week.
*Mark: very early just after just after sunrise
*Matthew: at dawn
*Luke: very early in the morning
*John: early, while it was still dark
Who went to the tomb?
*Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bringing spices for the body.
*Matthew: Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" to look at the tomb
*Luke: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women, taking spices.
*John: Mary Magdalene
How was the tomb opened?
*Mark: the large stone in front of the tomb was already rolled away from the entrance
*Matthew: there was a violent earthquake because of an angel coming down from heaven to roll away the stone.
*Luke: the stone was already rolled away
*John: the stone was already removed from the entrance
What people or things did the women see at the tomb?
*Mark: a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side as the women entered the tomb. He said Jesus was not there, he had risen and was going ahead of them to Galilee.
*Matthew: an angel of the lord was sitting on top of the stone. His appearance was like lightening, his clothes as white as snow. He said Jesus was not there he had risen. The tomb guards were so afraid they were shaking and unable to move. The angel told the women to go tell Jesus's disciples that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee and they would see him there.
*Luke: two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening suddenly appeared. The men said Jesus was not there, he had risen.
*John: no people or things mentioned
What did the women do when they found Jesus was gone?
*Mark: 16:8 says the women said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. 16:10 (not found in the earliest manuscripts) contradicts that and says Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Jesus who were mourning.
*Matthew: the women ran to tell the disciples. On the way, Jesus appeared and spoke to them. They clasped his feet and worshipped him. He reiterated the command to tell the disciples to go to Galilee where they would see him.
*Luke: the women told everything to the eleven remaining disciples and "all the others."
*John: Mary ran to Peter and the disciple "Jesus loved." She said, "they have taken the lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him!" No supernatural explanations have been provided yet.
So far, I see that Luke and Mark have many similarities, but are not exactly alike in details. Matthew is kind of like Mark and Luke smashed together then embellished with many extra details. It is much more dramatic and wordy. John's story is very quiet and down played, with very little detail and nothing of a supernatural nature yet.
First, all four gospels record what happened on the morning ofthe first day of the week.
*Mark: very early just after just after sunrise
*Matthew: at dawn
*Luke: very early in the morning
*John: early, while it was still dark
Who went to the tomb?
*Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bringing spices for the body.
*Matthew: Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" to look at the tomb
*Luke: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women, taking spices.
*John: Mary Magdalene
How was the tomb opened?
*Mark: the large stone in front of the tomb was already rolled away from the entrance
*Matthew: there was a violent earthquake because of an angel coming down from heaven to roll away the stone.
*Luke: the stone was already rolled away
*John: the stone was already removed from the entrance
What people or things did the women see at the tomb?
*Mark: a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side as the women entered the tomb. He said Jesus was not there, he had risen and was going ahead of them to Galilee.
*Matthew: an angel of the lord was sitting on top of the stone. His appearance was like lightening, his clothes as white as snow. He said Jesus was not there he had risen. The tomb guards were so afraid they were shaking and unable to move. The angel told the women to go tell Jesus's disciples that Jesus was going ahead of them to Galilee and they would see him there.
*Luke: two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening suddenly appeared. The men said Jesus was not there, he had risen.
*John: no people or things mentioned
What did the women do when they found Jesus was gone?
*Mark: 16:8 says the women said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. 16:10 (not found in the earliest manuscripts) contradicts that and says Mary Magdalene went and told those who had been with Jesus who were mourning.
*Matthew: the women ran to tell the disciples. On the way, Jesus appeared and spoke to them. They clasped his feet and worshipped him. He reiterated the command to tell the disciples to go to Galilee where they would see him.
*Luke: the women told everything to the eleven remaining disciples and "all the others."
*John: Mary ran to Peter and the disciple "Jesus loved." She said, "they have taken the lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him!" No supernatural explanations have been provided yet.
So far, I see that Luke and Mark have many similarities, but are not exactly alike in details. Matthew is kind of like Mark and Luke smashed together then embellished with many extra details. It is much more dramatic and wordy. John's story is very quiet and down played, with very little detail and nothing of a supernatural nature yet.
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Jesus and gentiles part 3
Today, I will skim through the book of Matthew, looking for Jesus's interactions with, or statements about, gentiles.
*The first thing I notice is the visit of the magi to the infant/child Jesus in chapter 2. They surely weren't Jews, so why did they recieve a debatable astronomical revelation of the birth of "The king of the Jews?" My study bible says it is because Matthew (actually an unknown person who wrote the book of Matthew) wants to show that people of all nations acknowledged Jesus as king of the Jews and worshipped him as lord. How can they say that these magi represented "all nations" when all that is said about them is "they came from the east?" This story is not found in any other part of the bible.
*At the end of chapter 4, we are told that large crowds of people followed Jesus around as he performed miraculous healings, including people from the decapolis and across the Jordan, which were gentile regions. In spite of this, there are no contemporary records of Jesus or his activities.
*In Chapter 8, a Roman centurian asks for help because his servant is ill. Jesus offers to go heal him but the centurian says he is not worthy to have Jesus in his home and requests that the servant be healed long distance. Then we have a significant statement from Jesus, who is astonished at the centurian's faith. (One wonders why he is astonished if he is god in the flesh and has read people's thoughts in other passages.) Jesus says,"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The servant was healed.
*At the end of chapter 8, we have a repetition of the story of the demon possessed man and the pigs, found in the book of Mark. However, here there are two mad men, not one.The people still asked him to leave.
*In chapter 10, Jesus gives his twelve disciples authority to heal, then sends them out with this admonition, "Do not go among the gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." Later in the passage Jesus prophesies to them,"On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the gentiles." There is no contemporary extrabiblical record of this happening to the twelve. This passage is very similar, word for word in parts, to Luke chapter 10. However, in Luke, Jesus sends out seventy-two others, two by two. This also occurs in Mark 6, where the twelve disciples are sent out two by two. Neither the Mark nor Luke accounts have Jesus telling the disciple not to go to the gentiles.
It is interesting to note that, according to my study bible, some manuscripts record Jesus sending out seventy people not seventy two. That actually makes more sense when we remember that 70 is one of the special significant Jewish numbers. In fact the greek translation of Hebrew scriptures in Jesus's day was the Septuagint, which means seventy.
To be continued.
Edited to correct an error.
*The first thing I notice is the visit of the magi to the infant/child Jesus in chapter 2. They surely weren't Jews, so why did they recieve a debatable astronomical revelation of the birth of "The king of the Jews?" My study bible says it is because Matthew (actually an unknown person who wrote the book of Matthew) wants to show that people of all nations acknowledged Jesus as king of the Jews and worshipped him as lord. How can they say that these magi represented "all nations" when all that is said about them is "they came from the east?" This story is not found in any other part of the bible.
*At the end of chapter 4, we are told that large crowds of people followed Jesus around as he performed miraculous healings, including people from the decapolis and across the Jordan, which were gentile regions. In spite of this, there are no contemporary records of Jesus or his activities.
*In Chapter 8, a Roman centurian asks for help because his servant is ill. Jesus offers to go heal him but the centurian says he is not worthy to have Jesus in his home and requests that the servant be healed long distance. Then we have a significant statement from Jesus, who is astonished at the centurian's faith. (One wonders why he is astonished if he is god in the flesh and has read people's thoughts in other passages.) Jesus says,"I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." The servant was healed.
*At the end of chapter 8, we have a repetition of the story of the demon possessed man and the pigs, found in the book of Mark. However, here there are two mad men, not one.The people still asked him to leave.
*In chapter 10, Jesus gives his twelve disciples authority to heal, then sends them out with this admonition, "Do not go among the gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." Later in the passage Jesus prophesies to them,"On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the gentiles." There is no contemporary extrabiblical record of this happening to the twelve. This passage is very similar, word for word in parts, to Luke chapter 10. However, in Luke, Jesus sends out seventy-two others, two by two. This also occurs in Mark 6, where the twelve disciples are sent out two by two. Neither the Mark nor Luke accounts have Jesus telling the disciple not to go to the gentiles.
It is interesting to note that, according to my study bible, some manuscripts record Jesus sending out seventy people not seventy two. That actually makes more sense when we remember that 70 is one of the special significant Jewish numbers. In fact the greek translation of Hebrew scriptures in Jesus's day was the Septuagint, which means seventy.
To be continued.
Edited to correct an error.
Friday, December 9, 2016
Paul's early life and mission as found in Acts, part 2
*We are at Acts 9:17.Both Saul (Paul) and Ananias have had visions about each other. Now Ananias goes to the house where Saul is staying. He put his hands on Saul. He identified the lord who appeared to Saul on the road as Jesus and says Jesus sent him to help Saul gain his sight back and be filled with the Holy Spirit, whatever that means. Scales fell off Saul's eyes. He got up and was baptized. It doesn't say why he was baptized. Today, it is generally assumed that it was to join the church, but notice that he ate right afterward. I looked at the Interlinear reference for the original word "baptized" in this passage. I found that the exact same word was used in Luke 11:38 (Supposedly written by the same author) to denote a tradition of ceremonial washing before eating!
*Next we are told Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus and immediately began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. This is in direct contrast to what he says in Galatians 1:15. There he says that after his revelation he did not consult anyone but went immediately to Arabia and returned to Damascus later. Galatians also has Paul going to Jerusalem three years later. In Acts, he appears to go to Jerusalem right after Damascus. He never goes to Arabia. In Galatians, Paul sees only Peter and James, none of the other apostles. In Acts, Barnabas takes Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem and he preaches about Jesus in the city. Because of his preaching, Acts says an attempt is made on Paul's life in both Damascus and Jerusalem. Galatians does not mention that. Acts says other believers helped Paul escape by taking him to Caesarea and sending him off to Tarsus. (They sent him home.) Galatians says that Paul went to Syria and Cilicia, it never mentions Tarsus. In Galatians, Paul states, "I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in christ." This is a direct contradiction to the events recorded in Acts 9.
*When we get to Galatians 2, we will see Paul going to Jerusalem with Barnabas...fourteen years later! Let's take a look at the timelines so far.
Galatians:
Persecuting the church
Revelation in unknown place, told to preach Jesus to the Gentiles
Trip to Arabia
Return to Damascus no people or events mentioned
Three years later, Trip to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James and no one else, for fifteen days
Trip to Syria and Cilicia
Fourteen years later, trip to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus in response to a revelation.
Acts:
Stoning of Stephen
Persecuting the church
Road to Damascus with bright light and voice
In Damascus with Ananias and disciples of Jesus
Ananias and Paul recieve visions. Ananias is told that Saul will preach Jesus to the Gentiles.
Caused trouble with his preaching, foiled a conspiracy to kill him, escaped
Trip to Jerusalem to join the disciples there
Barnabas takes him to meet the apostles
Caused trouble with his preaching, foiled a conspiracy to kill him, escaped
Sent to Tarsus by the disciples
*Next we are told Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus and immediately began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues. This is in direct contrast to what he says in Galatians 1:15. There he says that after his revelation he did not consult anyone but went immediately to Arabia and returned to Damascus later. Galatians also has Paul going to Jerusalem three years later. In Acts, he appears to go to Jerusalem right after Damascus. He never goes to Arabia. In Galatians, Paul sees only Peter and James, none of the other apostles. In Acts, Barnabas takes Paul to meet the apostles in Jerusalem and he preaches about Jesus in the city. Because of his preaching, Acts says an attempt is made on Paul's life in both Damascus and Jerusalem. Galatians does not mention that. Acts says other believers helped Paul escape by taking him to Caesarea and sending him off to Tarsus. (They sent him home.) Galatians says that Paul went to Syria and Cilicia, it never mentions Tarsus. In Galatians, Paul states, "I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in christ." This is a direct contradiction to the events recorded in Acts 9.
*When we get to Galatians 2, we will see Paul going to Jerusalem with Barnabas...fourteen years later! Let's take a look at the timelines so far.
Galatians:
Persecuting the church
Revelation in unknown place, told to preach Jesus to the Gentiles
Trip to Arabia
Return to Damascus no people or events mentioned
Three years later, Trip to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James and no one else, for fifteen days
Trip to Syria and Cilicia
Fourteen years later, trip to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus in response to a revelation.
Acts:
Stoning of Stephen
Persecuting the church
Road to Damascus with bright light and voice
In Damascus with Ananias and disciples of Jesus
Ananias and Paul recieve visions. Ananias is told that Saul will preach Jesus to the Gentiles.
Caused trouble with his preaching, foiled a conspiracy to kill him, escaped
Trip to Jerusalem to join the disciples there
Barnabas takes him to meet the apostles
Caused trouble with his preaching, foiled a conspiracy to kill him, escaped
Sent to Tarsus by the disciples
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