Thursday, November 29, 2018
MARK III
AS WE CONTINUE ON THE "CONFUSION" CYCLE THAT FOLLOWED JESUS STATEMENT IN MARK 11.) THAT HE IS TO SUFFER MANY THINGS AND THEN BE PUT TO DEATH AND THREE DAYS LATER WILL RISE FROM THE GRAVE, AND THIS STATEMENT WAS TO MUCH FOR PETER. IT MADE NO SENSE TO HIM AT ALL. THIS TALK ABOUT ABUSE AND DEATH SOUNDED LIKE NONSENSE TO HIM.-- AND HE TOLD JESUS SO. JESUS TURNED QUITE SHARPLY ON PETER AND ADDRESSED HIM AS "SATAN" AND TOLD HIM TO GET AWAY--FROM HIM. PETER WAS OPPOSING GOD HIMSELF. JESUS POINTED OUT THAT NOT ONLY WAS THE WAY OF THE CROSS ESSENTIAL FOR HIM, BUT ALSO FOR ANYONE INVOLVED IN HIS COMMUNITY. JESUS HAD COME TO USE HIS LIFE IN THE SERVICE OF HIS HEAVENLY FATHER AND OTHER PEOPLE, TO CARRY THE CROSS OF SERVANTHOOD.MARK CONTAINS THREE OF THESE "PREDICTION"---CONFUSION---CLARIFICATION" CYCLES. THE FIRST TOOK PLACE TOWARD THE CLOSE OF JESUS GALILEAN MINISTRY THE SECOND TOOK PLACE (9:30--32) AFTER JESUS TRANSFIGURATION (9:2:9) , SEE ALSO EXODUS 24:15-18). THE THIRD TOOK PLACE (10:32--45) DURING JESUS JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM AND DEATH,10:1. A REFERENCE TO CONFUSION OCCURS ALSO IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRANSFIGURATION, JESUS TOLD THOSE WHO WITNESSED THE EVENT THAT THEY WERE NOT TO SPEAK TO ANYONE ABOUT WHAT THEY HAD SEEN UNTIL THE "SON OF MAN"SHOULD HAVE RISEN FROM THE DEAD"(9:9. MARK CONTINUES; " SO THEY KEPT THE MATTER TO THEMSELVES, QUESTIONING WHAT THE RISING FROM THE DEAD MEANT 9:10. THEY COULD NOT UNDERSTAND JESUS TALK ABOUT RESURRECTION BECAUSE HE DIDN'T EXPECT JESUS WOULD DIE! WHY ALL THIS CONFUSION? APPARENTLY THE DISCIPLES ACCEPTED THE COMMON NOTION THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BRING HONOR, PRESTIGE, WEALTH, PRIVILEGE AND POLITICAL LIBERTY FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE. A FEW DAYS BEFORE IS DEATH, JESUS STOOD ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, AND LOOKED ACROSS THE KIDRON VALLEY TO JERUSALEM. HIS CHOICE OF TRANSPORTATION FOR ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM WAS NO ACCIDENT. LONG BEFORE, ZECHARIAH POINTED OUT THAT WHEN ZION'S KING EVENTUALLY CAME HER, HE WOULD IN HUMILITY ON AN ASS WHEN ON A MISSION OF PEACE. JESUS WANTED HIS MODE OF ENTRY TO SAY TO THE CROWDS THAT HE HAD NOT COME TO FOMENT POLITICAL REVOLT AGAINST THE ROMANS. HE HAD COME TO GIVE GOD'S PEACE TO SINNERS AND TO TEACH HUMANITY THE WAYS OF PEACE WITH ONE ANOTHER. HIS AUDIENCE MISSED THE POINT-- AND NO WONDER. THEY WANTED A MESSIAH WHO WOULD BE A CARBON COPY OF DAVID OF OLD WHO WOULD RESTORE TO THEM THE KIND OF NATIONAL PRESTIGE THEY ONCE ENJOYED. THEY WERE BLIND! AFTER JESUS HAD ENTERED THE CITY, HE WENT TO THE TEMPLE. WHAT HE SAW ANGERED HIM. THE NEXT DAY HE RETURNED TO THE TEMPLE AND CREATED A HOLY HAVOC AMONG THE MONEY CHANGERS AND ANIMAL SELLERS. HE SENT THEIR WARES FLYING AND FORBADE ANYONE FROM CARRYING ANYTHING THROUGH THE TEMPLE (THE MISHNAH FORBADE THE IRREVERENT USE OF THE TEMPLE AS A SHORTCUT, 11:16 HIS AUDIENCE WAS LEFT WITHOUT AN EXPLANATION. IS IT NOT WRITTEN," 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS? (ISAIAH 56:7:11). BUT YOU HAVE MADE IT A DEN OF ROBBERS.
MARK'S GOSPEL PART II
MARK 1:1-13 DEALS WITH PREPARATION FOR JESUS MINISTRY. THE LONG SECTION THAT FOLLOWS (V1:14-8:26) DESCRIBES JESUS' ACTUAL MINISTRY IN AND AROUND GALILEE. HE FULFILLED THE ISAIANIC SIGNS, DEMONSTRATED HIS POWER OVER NATURE, PUT THE DEMONIC WORLD IN ITS PLACE AND RAISED THE DEAD. DURING THIS MINISTRY JESUS MADE NO CLAIMS IN WORDS ABOUT WHO HE WAS. HE PROCLAIMED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAD COME, PERFORMED MIRACLES, DEMONSTRATED BY PERSONAL EXAMPLE THE NATURE OF LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND TAUGHT-BUT HE LEFT IT TO HIS AUDIENCE TO WORK OUT WHO HE WAS. STRANGELY ENOUGH, THOUGH THE DEMONS RECOGNIZED HIM, EVERY ONE ELSE REMAINED STRANGELY SILENT. DURING THIS PERIOD, JESUS DID NOT REFER TO HIS APPROACHING PASSION AND CRUCIFIXION. HE HAD REASONS FOR THIS. NOT ONLY DID HE WANT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH, BUT HE ALSO WANTED TO CLARIFY WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH HE HAD COME TO BE, NAMELY A "SERVANT MESSIAH." AT THIS TIME (PART ONE OF MARK) OF JESUS MINISTRY WAS DEVOTED TO TEACHING, AND DOING ISAINIC SIGNS, AND DEMONSTRATING HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY OVER NATURE. THEN JESUS ASKED HIS DISCIPLES WHO THEY THOUGHT HE WAS. THOUGH THEY HAD CONCLUDED THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH, THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT KIND OF A MESSIAH HE HAD COME TO BE. JESUS PREDICTED HIS APPROACHING PASSION THREE TIMES; EACH PREDICTION FOLLOWED AN IMPORTANT EVENT IN HIS LIFE. WHEN HE WAS CRUCIFIED, THE ONLY PERSON WHO SEEMED TO UNDERSTAND WHO HE WAS, A ROMAN CENTURION. WHEN JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY, HE WAS "ISRAEL REDUCED TO ONE.." AS HIS MINISTRY PROGRESSED, THE CROWDS GATHERED AROUND HIM. HOWEVER, WHEN THEY BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND HIS MESSAGE, THEY DESERTED HIM. AT THE CROSS, ONLY ONE PERSON CONFESSED WHO HE WAS. DURING HIS FINAL WEEK IN JERUSALEM, JESUS FOUND HIMSELF LOCKED IN CONTROVERSY WITH THE AUTHORITIES ABOUT PAYING TAXES TO CAESAR, LIFE AFTER DEATH., THE LAW, HIS AUTHORITY AND MESSIAHSHIP ( MARK 12:13-37). SOMETHING REMARKABLE FOLLOWED. JESUS FOR THE FIRST TIME SPOKE ABOUT HIS EXPECTED PASSION, DEATH, RESURRECTION. HIS COMMENTS AMOUNTED TO THIS: " YOU HAVE ANSWERED CORRECTLY. I AM THE MESSIAH. TO BE MESSIAH MEANS I MUST SUFFER MANY THINGS AT THE HANDS OF THE ELDERS, CHIEF PRIEST, AND SCRIBES. THEY WILL PUT ME TO DEATH. BUT AFTER THREE DAYS I SHALL RISE FROM THE GRAVE.
OBSERVATIONS MARK'S GOSPEL. PART I"
JESUS CLAIMED FOR HIMSELF THE RIGHT TO FORGIVE SINS,2:1-12. HIS CLAIM INCENSED THE SCRIBES, WHO INSISTED ONLY GOD COULD FORGIVE SINS,2:7. THEY WERE CORRECT, BUT IN THEIR BLINDNESS COULD NOT SEE WHO STOOD BEFORE THEM. JESUS NEVER DID ANYTHING TO BENEFIT HIMSELF. HE CONSISTENTLY REFUSED TO USE HIS DIVINE POWER TO PERFORM A MIRACLE TO SERVE HIS OWN PERSONAL NEEDS. EVEN WHEN HE WAS HUNGRY, HE CHOSE TO REMAIN HUNGRY RATHER THEN CHANGE STONES INTO BREAD, MATTHEW 4:4. JESUS WAS ALWAYS THE "SERVANT"; HE SOUGHT ONLY TO PLACE HIMSELF AND HIS POWERS AT THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY. AS JESUS MOVED AMONG PEOPLE, HE DEMONSTRATED REMARKABLE COMPASSION. FOR EXAMPLE, BEFORE HEALING A LEPER, HE REACHED OUT AND TOUCHED HIM, 1:40-45. THE PHARISEES ON OCCASION THREW ROCKS AT LEPERS AND SAID THEIR SUFFERING WAS THE RESULT OF SOME SIN THEY HAD COMMITTED. FURTHERMORE, JESUS SOUGHT THE COMPANY OF SINNERS, TAX COLLECTORS," AND THE LIKE, 2:15-17. HIS ACTIONS UPSET THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES FOR THEY FELT THAT IF HE REALLY WAS THE MESSIAH, HE WOULD SEEK OUT THE "RIGHTEOUS" (NAMELY THEMSELVES). JESUS CONCERN FOR THE GENTILES WOULD ALSO HAVE BEEN REPUGNANT TO MANY IN ISRAEL WHO BELIEVED THAT WHEN FINALLY THE MESSIANIC AGE CAME THE GENTILES WOULD BE DESTROYED OR AT BEST MADE SLAVES OF THE JEWS; 7: 24-30 JESUS REPEATEDLY IGNORED TRADITIONAL ATTITUDES CONCERNING THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH., WHAT MATTERED TO JESUS WAS THE WELL BEING OF HIS PEOPLE, NOT THE KEEPING OF RITUALS AND TRADITIONS. THIS WAS BOUND TO BRING HIM INTO HEADLONG CONFRONTATION WITH THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, FOR HIS ACTIONS CALLED INTO QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW. ALL BUT ONE OF JESUS MIRACLES (AS REPORTED IN MARK) ARE DONE IN AND AROUND GALILEE; HE HEALS BLIND BARTIMAEUS NEAR JERICHO 10:46-52. HE PERFORMS NO MIRACLES IN OR NEAR JERUSALEM, THE "CITY OF OPPOSITION." WHEN JESUS WAS RECOGNIZED, HE WARNED THE PERSON OR SPIRIT WHO HAD RECOGNIZED HIM
TO SAY NOTHING ABOUT THE MATTER,1:33,44; 5:43;9:9. WHY? FIRST JESUS WANTED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THE MESSIANIC AGE HAD COME AND THAT HE INDEED WAS THE MESSIAH. SECOND, HE WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT KIND OF A MESSIAH
HE HAD COME TO BE. THE COMMUNITY CONTAINED MANY BURNING WITH DESIRE TO BE RID OF THE ROMANS AND TO GAIN POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE. JESUS NEEDED TIME TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE WAS NOT THE KIND OF MESSIAH WHO WOULD FIT THAT KIND OF EXPECTATION. HE HAD NOT COME TO BE A POLITICAL DELIVER. IN MARK 8:27--30. JESUS PUTS TWO QUESTIONS TO HIS DISCIPLES. THE FIRST IS: "WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?! THE SECOND IS:WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?" THOUGH HE DID NOT PREVIOUSLY PUT THESE QUESTIONS TO ANYONE. HE WAS RECOGNIZED PRIOR TO THAT TIME--BY THE DEMONS! (1:24; 1:34; 3:11; 5:7). THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF MARK'S ACCOUNT, JESUS DISCOURAGES PEOPLE AND EVIL SPIRITS ALIKE FROM DECLARING WHO HE IS. THOUGH HE WANTED PEOPLE TO COME TO FAITH IN HIM AS THE MESSIAH, HE WANTED THEM TO SEE CLEARLY WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH HE HAD COME TO BE. WHEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AUTHORITIES IN JERUSALEM, " THE CITY OF OPPOSITION, " CAME NORTH TO WHERE HE WAS WORKING, USUALLY THEY CAME TO CHALLENGE AND OPPOSE HIM. JESUS LIFE WAS ALWAYS THAT OF A SERVANT. HE DEMONSTRATED GREAT COMPASSION TO THOSE HE CAME IN CONTACT. AT THE SAME TIME, HE CONSISTENTLY REFUSED TO USE HIS POWER TO BENEFIT HIMSELF IN ANY WAY. THE PEOPLE, THE AUTHORITIES AND HIS DISCIPLES FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO RELATE HIS LIFESTYLE TO TRADITIONAL EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE LIKE AND WHAT HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST.MARK CONTAINS NO INFANCY NARRATIVE. IT BEGINS WITH A REPORT OF HOW JESUS WENT FROM NAZARETH IN GALILEE TO WHERE JOHN WAS WORKING TO BE BAPTIZED BY HIM. AT HIS BAPTISM HE WAS ANOINTED INTO THE MESSIANIC OFFICE. HIS TITLES WERE ANNOUNCED, AND THE NATURE OF HIS MISSION WAS DEFINED. AFTER HIS BAPTISM HE RETURNED TO GALILEE. JESUS MINISTRY TOOK PLACE IN AND AROUND GALILEE. HE LEFT IT TO MAKE JOURNEYS TOWARDS TYRE AND SIDON, INTO THE DECAPOLIS AND TO THE REGION OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI, AND THE HEADED SOUTH FOR HIS FIRST AND FINAL VISIT TO JERUSALEM. MARK GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT JESUS MINISTRY WAS SHORT; HE MENTIONS JESUS ATTENDANCE AT ONLY ONE PASSOVER OBSERVANCE.
THOUGH JESUS TAUGHT EXTENSIVELY DURING HIS MINISTRY, MARK REPORTS ONLY A LIMITED AMOUNT OF WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY SAID. HE CONCENTRATES MORE ON JESUS ACTIONS, IN PARTICULAR HIS MIRACLES. THESE CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS. 1.) THE ISAIANIC SIGNS
2..) MIRACLES OVER NATURE.
3.) MIRACLES OVER THE REALM OF THE DEMONIC.
4.)MIRACLES OVER DEATH.
TO SAY NOTHING ABOUT THE MATTER,1:33,44; 5:43;9:9. WHY? FIRST JESUS WANTED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT THE MESSIANIC AGE HAD COME AND THAT HE INDEED WAS THE MESSIAH. SECOND, HE WANTED TO MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT KIND OF A MESSIAH
HE HAD COME TO BE. THE COMMUNITY CONTAINED MANY BURNING WITH DESIRE TO BE RID OF THE ROMANS AND TO GAIN POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE. JESUS NEEDED TIME TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE WAS NOT THE KIND OF MESSIAH WHO WOULD FIT THAT KIND OF EXPECTATION. HE HAD NOT COME TO BE A POLITICAL DELIVER. IN MARK 8:27--30. JESUS PUTS TWO QUESTIONS TO HIS DISCIPLES. THE FIRST IS: "WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?! THE SECOND IS:WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?" THOUGH HE DID NOT PREVIOUSLY PUT THESE QUESTIONS TO ANYONE. HE WAS RECOGNIZED PRIOR TO THAT TIME--BY THE DEMONS! (1:24; 1:34; 3:11; 5:7). THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF MARK'S ACCOUNT, JESUS DISCOURAGES PEOPLE AND EVIL SPIRITS ALIKE FROM DECLARING WHO HE IS. THOUGH HE WANTED PEOPLE TO COME TO FAITH IN HIM AS THE MESSIAH, HE WANTED THEM TO SEE CLEARLY WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH HE HAD COME TO BE. WHEN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AUTHORITIES IN JERUSALEM, " THE CITY OF OPPOSITION, " CAME NORTH TO WHERE HE WAS WORKING, USUALLY THEY CAME TO CHALLENGE AND OPPOSE HIM. JESUS LIFE WAS ALWAYS THAT OF A SERVANT. HE DEMONSTRATED GREAT COMPASSION TO THOSE HE CAME IN CONTACT. AT THE SAME TIME, HE CONSISTENTLY REFUSED TO USE HIS POWER TO BENEFIT HIMSELF IN ANY WAY. THE PEOPLE, THE AUTHORITIES AND HIS DISCIPLES FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO RELATE HIS LIFESTYLE TO TRADITIONAL EXPECTATIONS ABOUT WHAT THE MESSIAH WOULD BE LIKE AND WHAT HE WOULD ACCOMPLISH. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST.MARK CONTAINS NO INFANCY NARRATIVE. IT BEGINS WITH A REPORT OF HOW JESUS WENT FROM NAZARETH IN GALILEE TO WHERE JOHN WAS WORKING TO BE BAPTIZED BY HIM. AT HIS BAPTISM HE WAS ANOINTED INTO THE MESSIANIC OFFICE. HIS TITLES WERE ANNOUNCED, AND THE NATURE OF HIS MISSION WAS DEFINED. AFTER HIS BAPTISM HE RETURNED TO GALILEE. JESUS MINISTRY TOOK PLACE IN AND AROUND GALILEE. HE LEFT IT TO MAKE JOURNEYS TOWARDS TYRE AND SIDON, INTO THE DECAPOLIS AND TO THE REGION OF CAESAREA PHILIPPI, AND THE HEADED SOUTH FOR HIS FIRST AND FINAL VISIT TO JERUSALEM. MARK GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT JESUS MINISTRY WAS SHORT; HE MENTIONS JESUS ATTENDANCE AT ONLY ONE PASSOVER OBSERVANCE.
THOUGH JESUS TAUGHT EXTENSIVELY DURING HIS MINISTRY, MARK REPORTS ONLY A LIMITED AMOUNT OF WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY SAID. HE CONCENTRATES MORE ON JESUS ACTIONS, IN PARTICULAR HIS MIRACLES. THESE CAN BE CLASSIFIED AS FOLLOWS. 1.) THE ISAIANIC SIGNS
2..) MIRACLES OVER NATURE.
3.) MIRACLES OVER THE REALM OF THE DEMONIC.
4.)MIRACLES OVER DEATH.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
MESSIANIC MINISTRY.
WHEN JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS ARRESTED, JESUS GOES INTO GALILEE WHERE HE PROCLAIMS: THE TIME IS FULFILLED AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND; REPENT, BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL,"1:15. WITH THIS JESUS MESSIANIC MINISTRY GETS UNDERWAY. WHAT HAPPENS? THE TRUE ISRAEL BEGINS TO GATHER ABOUT HIMSELF A NEW PEOPLE. HE CONFRONTS PETER AND ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN AND SAYS "FOLLOW ME!" 1:17. THEY FOLLOW. THERE IS NO TESTS TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THEY ARE WORTHY OF BEING IN JESUS COMPANY. NO STUDY IS MADE OF THEIR FAMILY BACKGROUND TO CHECK OUT THEIR PEDIGREE. THERE IS ONLY AN URGENT SUMMONS. 2:13,14. A LITTLE LATER, THE TWELVE ARE ST ASIDE AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE NEW ISRAEL THAT IS BEING FORMED 3:13-18. THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY IS INDEED GETTING UNDERWAY. WHAT FORM DID THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY TAKE? 1:14-8:30 OUTLINES THE BULK OF JESUS MINISTRY, HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY TOWARD THE CLOSE OF THIS MAJOR SECTION OF JESUS MINISTRY. THAT HE PUTS TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS. THE FIRST IS:" WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?" THOUGH JESUS DOE NOT ASKS THIS QUESTION IN WORDS PRIOR TO THIS OCCASION, NEVERTHELESS HE POSES THIS QUESTION TO HIS WATCHING AUDIENCE AND TO HIS DISCIPLES CONTINUALLY THROUGH HIS ACTIONS! THE WHOLE POINT OF HIS EARLY MESSIANIC MINISTRY TO MAKE PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT WHO HE IS, WHAT HE IS DOING, AND WHY HE IS DOING IT. THROUGHOUT 1:14-8:30 MARK DEVOTES MUCH ATTENTION TO JESUS MIRACLES. TRUE, MARK FREQUENTLY DESCRIBES JESUS AS "TEACHING." HE RECORDS TEN INSTANCES WHERE JESUS IS ADDRESSED AS "TEACHER." HE SAYS JESUS HEARERS ARE ASTONISHED AT HIS TEACHING. DESPITE ALL THIS, MARK TELLS US LITTLE ABOUT WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY TAUGHT. HE RECORDS ONLY TWO EXTENDED PARABLES, EVEN THOUGH HE SAYS JESUS WAS ACCUSTOMED TO USE THIS FORM OF TEACHING, 4:2, 12:1. IF MARK PLACES SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON JESUS MIRACLES, ONE MUST ASK: "WHAT WAS THE INTENDED MESSAGE. JESUS STATED ON ONE OCCASION THAT OTHERS IN PALESTINE, APART FROM HIM, WERE ABLE TO CAST OUT DEMONS, MATTHEW 12:27: IT WAS BELIEVED THAT A PERSON COULD PERFORM MIRACLES NOT ONLY IN THE POWER OF GOD., BUT ALSO IN THE POWER OF SATAN, MARK 3:22. THE MIRACLES JESUS DID WERE DESIGNED TO SPEAK A POWERFUL MESSAGE ABOUT WHO HE WAS, AND WHAT AGE HAD BROKEN IN WITH HIS MINISTRY. WHAT FORM DID THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY TAKE? MARK 1: 14-8:30. OUTLINES THE BULK OF JESUS MINISTRY. HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY TOWARD THE CLOSE OF THIS MAJOR SECTION OF JESUS MINISTRY THAT HE PUTS TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS TO HIS DISCIPLES. THE FIRST IS:" WHO DO MEN SAY THAT I AM?" " WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? THOUGH JESUS DOES NOT ASK IN WORDS PRIOR TO THIS OCCASION, NEVERTHELESS HE POSES QUESTION THIS QUESTION TO HIS WATCHING AUDIENCE AND HIS DISCIPLES CONTINUALLY THROUGH HIS ACTIONS! THE WHOLE POINT OF HIS EARLY MESSIANIC MINISTRY IS TO MAKE PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WHO HE IS, WHAT HE IS DOING, AND WHY HE IS DOING IT. THROUGHOUT 1:14-8:30, MARK DEVOTES MUCH ATTENTION TO JESUS MIRACLES. TRUE, MARK FREQUENTLY DESCRIBES JESUS AS "TEACHING." HE RECORDS TEN INSTANCES WHERE JESUS IS ADDRESSED AS "TEACHER." HE SAYS THAT JESUS HEARERS ARE ASTONISHED AT HIS TEACHING. DESPITE ALL THIS, MARK TELLS US LITTLE ABOUT WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY TAUGHT. HE RECORDS ONLY TWO EXTENDED PARABLES, EVEN THOUGH HE SAYS THAT JESUS WAS ACCUSTOMED TO USE THIS FORM OF TEACHING, 4:2, 12 :1. IF MARK PLACES SO MUCH EMPHASIS ON JESUS MIRACLES, ONE MUST ASK: " WHAT WAS THE INTENDED MESSAGE OF THOSE MIRACLES?! JESUS STATED ON ONE OCCASION THAT OTHERS IN PALESTINE, APART FROM HIM, WERE ABLE TO CAST OUT DEMONS., MATTHEW 12: 27. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT A PERSON COULD PERFORM MIRACLES NOT ONLY IN THE POWER OF GOD BUT ALSO IN THE POWER OF SATAN, MARK 3:22. THE MIRACLES DID WERE DESIGNED TO SPEAK A POWERFUL MESSAGE ABOUT WHO HE WAS, AND WHAT AGE HAD BROKEN IN WITH HIS MINISTRY. THESE MIRACLES CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR GROUPS. THE ISAIANIC SIGNS, THIS TERM "ISAINIC" IS DERIVED FROM THE NAME "ISAIAH."
JOHN THE BAPTIST IS IN PRISON. HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER. HE SENDS SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS TO JESUS TO ASK IF HE REALLY IS THE ONE THEY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. JESUS DOES NOT WITH A VERBAL "YES ". INSTEAD HE POINTS TO THE THINGS HE HAS BEEN DOING. JESUS ACTIONS REVEAL WHO HE IS!
IN MATTHEW 11:5 JESUS SAYS, " THE BLIND RECEIVE THEIR SIGHT AND THE LAME WALK, LEPERS ARE CLEANSED AND THE DEAF HEAR, AND THE DEAD ARE RAISED UP, AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM." HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE, THE PROPHET ISAIAH WROTE, "THEN (WHEN THE MESSIANIC AGE
FINALLY COMES) THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED AND THE EARS OF THE DEAF UNSTOPPED: THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP LIKE A HART, AND THE TONGUE OF THE DUMB SING FOR JOY," ISAIAH 35:5,6; NOTE ALSO ISAIAH 42:7 AND 61:1. THE JEWS BELIEVED THAT WHEN THE MESSIANIC AGE BROKE IN, THE "SIGNS" ISAIAH HAD REFERRED TO WOULD BE DONE---EVIDENCE THAT THE MESSIANIC AGE FINALLY CAME. THEREFORE, THOUGH THE MIRACLES JESUS DID FOR THE BLIND, DEAF, DUMB, AND THE LAME WERE STUPENDOUS AND ASTONISHING, THEY WERE PRIMARILY INDICATIONS THAT THE HOPES ISRAEL HAD LONG CHERISHED WERE BEING FULFILLED. THAT SAID VOLUMES ABOUT WHO JESUS WAS. JESUS ACTIONS NEEDED TO BE READ WITH GREAT CARE.TOWARDS THE CLOSE OF HIS MINISTRY, JESUS QUESTIONED THE DISCIPLES ABOUT HOW THEY HAD READ THOSE ACTIONS, MARK 8: 27-30.
JOHN THE BAPTIST IS IN PRISON. HIS LIFE IS IN DANGER. HE SENDS SOME OF HIS FOLLOWERS TO JESUS TO ASK IF HE REALLY IS THE ONE THEY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. JESUS DOES NOT WITH A VERBAL "YES ". INSTEAD HE POINTS TO THE THINGS HE HAS BEEN DOING. JESUS ACTIONS REVEAL WHO HE IS!
IN MATTHEW 11:5 JESUS SAYS, " THE BLIND RECEIVE THEIR SIGHT AND THE LAME WALK, LEPERS ARE CLEANSED AND THE DEAF HEAR, AND THE DEAD ARE RAISED UP, AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM." HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE, THE PROPHET ISAIAH WROTE, "THEN (WHEN THE MESSIANIC AGE
FINALLY COMES) THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED AND THE EARS OF THE DEAF UNSTOPPED: THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP LIKE A HART, AND THE TONGUE OF THE DUMB SING FOR JOY," ISAIAH 35:5,6; NOTE ALSO ISAIAH 42:7 AND 61:1. THE JEWS BELIEVED THAT WHEN THE MESSIANIC AGE BROKE IN, THE "SIGNS" ISAIAH HAD REFERRED TO WOULD BE DONE---EVIDENCE THAT THE MESSIANIC AGE FINALLY CAME. THEREFORE, THOUGH THE MIRACLES JESUS DID FOR THE BLIND, DEAF, DUMB, AND THE LAME WERE STUPENDOUS AND ASTONISHING, THEY WERE PRIMARILY INDICATIONS THAT THE HOPES ISRAEL HAD LONG CHERISHED WERE BEING FULFILLED. THAT SAID VOLUMES ABOUT WHO JESUS WAS. JESUS ACTIONS NEEDED TO BE READ WITH GREAT CARE.TOWARDS THE CLOSE OF HIS MINISTRY, JESUS QUESTIONED THE DISCIPLES ABOUT HOW THEY HAD READ THOSE ACTIONS, MARK 8: 27-30.
Friday, November 23, 2018
MESSIANIC MINISTRY.
THE WORDS OF ISAIAH 40:3 (MARK 1:3) ARE FOUND IN ALL FOUR GOSPELS AND DEFINE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF JESUS APPROACHING MINISTRY. ISAIAH FIRST SPOKE THESE WORDS TO THE EXILES IN BABYLON. HE ASSURED THEM THAT WAS ABOUT TO RESCUE THEM FROM CAPTIVITY AND LEAD THEM BACK TO THEIR HOMELAND!
THEIR MESSAGE IN THE GOSPELS IS: GOD IS ABOUT TO CARRY OUT THE GREAT AND FINAL RESCUE OF HIS PEOPLE. THEY ARE BEING HELD CAPTIVE, NOT TO EGYPT, ASSYRIA OR BABYLON, BUT TO THE POWER OF SIN, SATAN AND DEATH. THEY ARE CAPTIVE TO THEIR TRADITIONS AND RITUALS, AND TO THEIR OBSESSIONS WITH THE DESCENT FROM ABRAHAM AND FAMILY GENEALOGIES. JESUS IS COMING TO FREE THEM FROM THESE BONDS, AND TO LEAD THEM INTO LIBERTY OF TRUE SONSHIP WITH GOD. AS MALACHI OF OLD PREDICTED (3:1, 4:5), ONE HAD BEEN SENT TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE MESSIAH. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD CARRIED OUT HIS MISSION IN THE WILDERNESS, THE PLACE OF EXPECTATIONS, NEW BEGINNINGS, THE PLACE GOD TOOK HIS PEOPLE TO RENEW THEM. AND DRAW THEM CLOSER TO HIMSELF. APPARENTLY, CONSIDERABLE NUMBERS WENT OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS TO HEAR JOHN AND BE BAPTIZED BY HIM. THAT JEWS SHOULD HAVE SUBMITTED TO HIS BAPTISM IS REMARKABLE, FOR TRADITIONALLY ONLY GENTILES WERE BAPTIZED WHEN THEY CONVERTED TO JUDAISM. AS THE OLA SON OF GOD PASSED THROUGH THE WATERS OF THE RED SEA AND THE JORDAN, SO THE NEW SON OF GOD MUST PASS THROUGH WATER, THE WATER OF JOHN'S BAPTISM. HE WOULD LEAD HIS PEOPLE INTO THE INHERITANCE OF AN ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. WHEN JESUS WAS COMING UP OUT OF THE WATER AFTER HIS BAPTISM, " HE SAW THE HEAVENS OPENED AND THE SPIRIT DESCENDING UPON HIM LIKE A DOVE," 1:1O. CENTURIES BEFORE, THE PROPHET HAD CRIED OUT, " O THAT THOU WOULDEST REND THE HEAVENS ASUNDER AND COME DOWN," ISAIAH 64:1. AT JESUS BAPTISM THE HEAVENS WERE INDEED RENT, AND THE SPIRIT HIMSELF CAME DOWN IN A FORM THAT RESEMBLED A DOVE. AND HOVERED OVER THE HEAD OF JESUS. THE RABBIS (TEACHERS) SPOKE OF A DOVE AS A SYMBOL OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL. AT JESUS BAPTISM, THE SPIRIT IN THE FORM OF A DOVE HOVERED OVER THE HEAD OF THE NEW "SON OF GOD," THE TRUE ISRAEL. HE WAS TO LEAD A LIFE DIRECTED ENTIRELY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. AT HIS BAPTISM JESUS WAS ANOINTED BY THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN: " THOU ART MY BELOVED SON: WE THEE I AM WELL PLEASED. THIS STATEMENT SPEAKS VOLUMES. "THOU ART MY BELOVED SON," REFLECTS PSALM 2:7. THIS PSALM WAS USED IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AT THE CORONATION OF A KING FROM THE LINE OF DAVID. THE VOICE AT JESUS BAPTISM DECLARED THAT GOD HAD KEPT HIS PROMISE AND HAD NOT LET THE LINE O DAVID TO DIE OUT.
JESUS WAS INDEED, THE LONG AWAITED DESCENDANT OF DAVID, THE LONG--EXPECTED MESSIANIC KING WHO HAD COME TO RULE GOD'S PEOPLE THAT THEY MIGHT FIND THE ULTIMATE BLESSEDNESS WHICH HAD BEEN THE FOCUS OF ALL THEIR HOPES. THE DIRECTION THE LIFE OF THIS MESSIANIC KING WOULD TAKE WOULD BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT MANY WERE EXPECTING. " WITH THEE I AM WELL PLEASED" IS A QUOTATION FROM ONE OF ISAIAH'S SERVANT SONGS (42:1-4; NOTE V. 1). AS MESSIANIC KING JESUS WOULD BE THE SERVANT.. HE WOULD BE DESPISED, REJECTED, AND HIS PEOPLE WOULD DO THEIR VERY WORST TO HIM.
THEY WOULD CRUCIFY HIM! HOWEVER, THROUGH HIS DEATH HE WOULD LAVISH ON THEM THE OFFER OF A COMPLETE, PERFECT AND ETERNAL PARDON, AND DRAW
THEM INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF, WHICH THEY WOULD HAVE LIFE, NOW AND FOREVER. AFTER JESUS WAS ANOINTED INTO OFFICE AS THE LONG AWAITED KING, AND THE NATURE OF HIS KINGSHIP DEFINED., HE WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS. OLD ISRAEL HAD BEEN TAKEN INTO A WILDERNESS AFTER PASSING THROUGH WATER. SHE HAD BEEN TAKEN THERE TO BE TESTED AND TRIED, AND HAD DONE LITTLE ELSE BUT SIN. THE RECORD OF HER "FORTY YEARS" IN THE WILDERNESS IS A MISERABLE ONE. THE NEW ISRAEL, THE NEW SON OF GOD, WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS, TO BE TESTED AND TRIED BY SATAN FOR "FORTY DAYS." THERE JESUS PUT AN END TO SATAN'S RUN OF SUCCESSES WITH THE HUMAN RACE--HE DID NOT YIELD TO HIM. IN CHRIST, SATAN DID NOT MEET HIS MATCH, HE MET HIS CONQUEROR!
MARK STATES IN 1;3b, " JESUS WAS WITH THE WILD BEASTS, AND THE ANGELS MINISTERED TO HIM". SOME SEE IN THIS VERSE A REFERENCE TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIANIC AGE IN TERMS OF " PARADISE RESTORED," ISAIAH 11:6-9; 65:25; HOSEA 2:18. SOME SEE IN IT A REFERENCE TO THE NEW ADAM REGAINING CONTROL OVER THE REALM OF NATURE ON A COSMIC SCALE. OTHERS SEE IN THIS VERSE A SUBTLE SUGGESTION THAT JESUS REMAINED "IN THE WILDERNESS OF TEMPTATION," LOCKED IN COMBAT WITH SATAN THROUGHOUT HIS MINISTRY. MATTHEW 4:11 AND LUKE 4:13; SOME SAY THAT SATAN LEFT JESUS AFTER THE TEMPTATION. THAT COMMENT IS NOT MADE IN MARK, WHERE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN JESUS AND SATAN CONTINUES TO THE CROSS WHERE THE APPARENT CONQUEROR (SATAN) IS CONQUERED. ( NOTE: THAT THE FIRST MIRACLE JESUS PERFORMS IN MARK AFTER HIS TEMPTATION INVOLVES A STRUGGLE WITH A DEMONIAC.) AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST IS ARRESTED, JESUS GOES INTO GALILEE WHERE HE PROCLAIMS:" THE TIME IS FULFILLED, AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND, REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL,"1:15. WITH THIS, JESUS MESSIANIC MINISTRY GETS UNDER WAY. WHAT HAPPENS? THE TRUE ISRAEL BEGINS TO GATHER ABOUT HIMSELF A NEW PEOPLE. HE CONFRONTS PETER AND ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN, AND SAYS, "FOLLOW ME! " 1:17. THEY FOLLOW. THERE IS NO TEST TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THEY ARE WORTHY OF BEING IN JESUS' COMPANY. NO STUDY IS MADE OF THEIR FAMILY BACKGROUND TO CHECK OUT THEIR PEDIGREE. THERE IS ONLY AN URGENT SUMMONS, 2:13,14. A LITTLE LATER, THE TWELVE ARE SET SIDE AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE NEW ISRAEL THAT IS BEING FORMED 3: 13,14. THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY IS INDEED GETTING UNDER WAY.
THEIR MESSAGE IN THE GOSPELS IS: GOD IS ABOUT TO CARRY OUT THE GREAT AND FINAL RESCUE OF HIS PEOPLE. THEY ARE BEING HELD CAPTIVE, NOT TO EGYPT, ASSYRIA OR BABYLON, BUT TO THE POWER OF SIN, SATAN AND DEATH. THEY ARE CAPTIVE TO THEIR TRADITIONS AND RITUALS, AND TO THEIR OBSESSIONS WITH THE DESCENT FROM ABRAHAM AND FAMILY GENEALOGIES. JESUS IS COMING TO FREE THEM FROM THESE BONDS, AND TO LEAD THEM INTO LIBERTY OF TRUE SONSHIP WITH GOD. AS MALACHI OF OLD PREDICTED (3:1, 4:5), ONE HAD BEEN SENT TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE MESSIAH. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD CARRIED OUT HIS MISSION IN THE WILDERNESS, THE PLACE OF EXPECTATIONS, NEW BEGINNINGS, THE PLACE GOD TOOK HIS PEOPLE TO RENEW THEM. AND DRAW THEM CLOSER TO HIMSELF. APPARENTLY, CONSIDERABLE NUMBERS WENT OUT INTO THE WILDERNESS TO HEAR JOHN AND BE BAPTIZED BY HIM. THAT JEWS SHOULD HAVE SUBMITTED TO HIS BAPTISM IS REMARKABLE, FOR TRADITIONALLY ONLY GENTILES WERE BAPTIZED WHEN THEY CONVERTED TO JUDAISM. AS THE OLA SON OF GOD PASSED THROUGH THE WATERS OF THE RED SEA AND THE JORDAN, SO THE NEW SON OF GOD MUST PASS THROUGH WATER, THE WATER OF JOHN'S BAPTISM. HE WOULD LEAD HIS PEOPLE INTO THE INHERITANCE OF AN ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. WHEN JESUS WAS COMING UP OUT OF THE WATER AFTER HIS BAPTISM, " HE SAW THE HEAVENS OPENED AND THE SPIRIT DESCENDING UPON HIM LIKE A DOVE," 1:1O. CENTURIES BEFORE, THE PROPHET HAD CRIED OUT, " O THAT THOU WOULDEST REND THE HEAVENS ASUNDER AND COME DOWN," ISAIAH 64:1. AT JESUS BAPTISM THE HEAVENS WERE INDEED RENT, AND THE SPIRIT HIMSELF CAME DOWN IN A FORM THAT RESEMBLED A DOVE. AND HOVERED OVER THE HEAD OF JESUS. THE RABBIS (TEACHERS) SPOKE OF A DOVE AS A SYMBOL OF THE NATION OF ISRAEL. AT JESUS BAPTISM, THE SPIRIT IN THE FORM OF A DOVE HOVERED OVER THE HEAD OF THE NEW "SON OF GOD," THE TRUE ISRAEL. HE WAS TO LEAD A LIFE DIRECTED ENTIRELY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. AT HIS BAPTISM JESUS WAS ANOINTED BY THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN: " THOU ART MY BELOVED SON: WE THEE I AM WELL PLEASED. THIS STATEMENT SPEAKS VOLUMES. "THOU ART MY BELOVED SON," REFLECTS PSALM 2:7. THIS PSALM WAS USED IN ANCIENT ISRAEL AT THE CORONATION OF A KING FROM THE LINE OF DAVID. THE VOICE AT JESUS BAPTISM DECLARED THAT GOD HAD KEPT HIS PROMISE AND HAD NOT LET THE LINE O DAVID TO DIE OUT.
JESUS WAS INDEED, THE LONG AWAITED DESCENDANT OF DAVID, THE LONG--EXPECTED MESSIANIC KING WHO HAD COME TO RULE GOD'S PEOPLE THAT THEY MIGHT FIND THE ULTIMATE BLESSEDNESS WHICH HAD BEEN THE FOCUS OF ALL THEIR HOPES. THE DIRECTION THE LIFE OF THIS MESSIANIC KING WOULD TAKE WOULD BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT MANY WERE EXPECTING. " WITH THEE I AM WELL PLEASED" IS A QUOTATION FROM ONE OF ISAIAH'S SERVANT SONGS (42:1-4; NOTE V. 1). AS MESSIANIC KING JESUS WOULD BE THE SERVANT.. HE WOULD BE DESPISED, REJECTED, AND HIS PEOPLE WOULD DO THEIR VERY WORST TO HIM.
THEY WOULD CRUCIFY HIM! HOWEVER, THROUGH HIS DEATH HE WOULD LAVISH ON THEM THE OFFER OF A COMPLETE, PERFECT AND ETERNAL PARDON, AND DRAW
THEM INTO A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF, WHICH THEY WOULD HAVE LIFE, NOW AND FOREVER. AFTER JESUS WAS ANOINTED INTO OFFICE AS THE LONG AWAITED KING, AND THE NATURE OF HIS KINGSHIP DEFINED., HE WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS. OLD ISRAEL HAD BEEN TAKEN INTO A WILDERNESS AFTER PASSING THROUGH WATER. SHE HAD BEEN TAKEN THERE TO BE TESTED AND TRIED, AND HAD DONE LITTLE ELSE BUT SIN. THE RECORD OF HER "FORTY YEARS" IN THE WILDERNESS IS A MISERABLE ONE. THE NEW ISRAEL, THE NEW SON OF GOD, WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO THE WILDERNESS, TO BE TESTED AND TRIED BY SATAN FOR "FORTY DAYS." THERE JESUS PUT AN END TO SATAN'S RUN OF SUCCESSES WITH THE HUMAN RACE--HE DID NOT YIELD TO HIM. IN CHRIST, SATAN DID NOT MEET HIS MATCH, HE MET HIS CONQUEROR!
MARK STATES IN 1;3b, " JESUS WAS WITH THE WILD BEASTS, AND THE ANGELS MINISTERED TO HIM". SOME SEE IN THIS VERSE A REFERENCE TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIANIC AGE IN TERMS OF " PARADISE RESTORED," ISAIAH 11:6-9; 65:25; HOSEA 2:18. SOME SEE IN IT A REFERENCE TO THE NEW ADAM REGAINING CONTROL OVER THE REALM OF NATURE ON A COSMIC SCALE. OTHERS SEE IN THIS VERSE A SUBTLE SUGGESTION THAT JESUS REMAINED "IN THE WILDERNESS OF TEMPTATION," LOCKED IN COMBAT WITH SATAN THROUGHOUT HIS MINISTRY. MATTHEW 4:11 AND LUKE 4:13; SOME SAY THAT SATAN LEFT JESUS AFTER THE TEMPTATION. THAT COMMENT IS NOT MADE IN MARK, WHERE THE CONFLICT BETWEEN JESUS AND SATAN CONTINUES TO THE CROSS WHERE THE APPARENT CONQUEROR (SATAN) IS CONQUERED. ( NOTE: THAT THE FIRST MIRACLE JESUS PERFORMS IN MARK AFTER HIS TEMPTATION INVOLVES A STRUGGLE WITH A DEMONIAC.) AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST IS ARRESTED, JESUS GOES INTO GALILEE WHERE HE PROCLAIMS:" THE TIME IS FULFILLED, AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND, REPENT, AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL,"1:15. WITH THIS, JESUS MESSIANIC MINISTRY GETS UNDER WAY. WHAT HAPPENS? THE TRUE ISRAEL BEGINS TO GATHER ABOUT HIMSELF A NEW PEOPLE. HE CONFRONTS PETER AND ANDREW, JAMES AND JOHN, AND SAYS, "FOLLOW ME! " 1:17. THEY FOLLOW. THERE IS NO TEST TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER THEY ARE WORTHY OF BEING IN JESUS' COMPANY. NO STUDY IS MADE OF THEIR FAMILY BACKGROUND TO CHECK OUT THEIR PEDIGREE. THERE IS ONLY AN URGENT SUMMONS, 2:13,14. A LITTLE LATER, THE TWELVE ARE SET SIDE AS THE NUCLEUS OF THE NEW ISRAEL THAT IS BEING FORMED 3: 13,14. THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY IS INDEED GETTING UNDER WAY.
Monday, November 19, 2018
MARK: [ CHRIST THE SERVANT].
HOW DOES ONE STUDY THE GOSPELS? SHOULD ONE STUDY MATTHEW FIRST IN VIEW OF ITS PLACE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT? IF A PERSON DOES JUSTICE TO MATTHEW, IS IT NECESSARY TO READ ANY OF THE OTHER GOSPELS/ WHY NOT STUDY ALL FOUR GOSPELS AT THE SAME TIME? WHY NOT USE SCISSORS AND PASTE, AND TRY TO FIT ALL FOUR ACCOUNTS INTO ONE HARMONIOUS WHOLE ? IT IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS THAT. ANY ATTEMPT TO MIX ALL FOUR GOSPELS INTO A SINGLE ACCOUNT GAINS NOTHING AND LOSES MUCH. WHEN TATIAN TRIED TO COMBINE THE GOSPELS, THE EARLY CHURCH SOON REALISED THAT THE INDIVIDUAL INSIGHTS EACH GOSPEL HAS TO OFFER WERE LOST IN THE PROCESS. JESUS PERSON AND MINISTRY ARE LIKE A INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL DIAMOND WITH COUNTLESS FACETS TO IT. EACH GOSPEL WRITER CONCENTRATES ON ON PARTICULAR FACETS OF THE ONE DIAMOND. TO JUMBLES THE GOSPELS TOGETHER IS TO BLUR THREE TOTAL PICTURE THAT EMERGES WHEN EACH GOSPEL IS STUDIED IN ITS OWN RIGHT.
WHEN EACH EVANGELIST WROTE HIS RESPECTIVE GOSPEL, HIS GOAL WAS NOT TO PRESENT HIS READERS WITH A COMPLETE ACCOUNTS OF EVENTS IN JESUS LIFE. HE DESCRIBES THE LIFE MINISTRY, MISSION OF JESUS ONLY IN BROAD OUTLINE. WHAT DETAILS HE SELECTS ARE CHOSEN FOR A PURPOSE THAT HIS READERS MAY "BELIEVE" AND HAVE LIFE," JOHN 20:30,31.
TWO FACTS ABOUT MARK'S GOSPEL ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.
FIRSTLY, IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT MARK WAS WRITTEN FIRST. THERE IS ALSO GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT MARK SERVED AS A BASIS FOR THE WRITING OF BOTH MATTHEW, AND LUKE. MARK CONTAINS 661 VERSES. MATTHEW REPRODUCES 606 OF THESE AND LUKE 32O. ONLY 31 OF MARK'S 661 VERSES DO NOT APPEAR IN EITHER MATTHEW OR LUKE. MATTHEW OCCASIONALLY VARIES MARK'S ORDER OF EVENTS WITHIN HIS GOSPEL; LUKE DOES THE SAME. HOWEVER, MATTHEW AND LUKE TOGETHER NEVER VARY THE ORDER; ONE OF THEM ALWAYS AGREE WITH MARK'S ORDER OF EVENTS, AND MOST OFTEN BOTH DO. A KNOWLEDGE OF MARK HELPS A PERSON READ MATTHEW AND LUKE MORE INTELLIGENTLY. SECONDLY, DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE SECOND CENTURY A.D., THE BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS IN SOUTH PHRYGIA WAS A MAN CALLED PAPIAS. PAPIAS TOOK AN INTEREST IN COLLECTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOSPELS. HE WROTE ON ONE OCCASION THAT MARK CONTAINS THE MATERIAL THAT PETER USED IN HIS PREACHING. HE SAID THAT MARK WAS PETER'S INTERPRETER, AND THAT HE WROTE DOWN THE THINGS PETER USE TO SAY ABOUT JESUS. IF WE ACCEPT PAPIAS'S
STATEMENT AT FACE VALUE, IT WOULD MEAN THAT IN MARK WE HAVE VIRTUALLY AN EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF JESUS LIFE. IF THIS IS SO, ONE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY MARK QUOTES AN OCCASIONAL WORD OF JESUS IN "ARAMAIC": "TALITHA CUMI," 5:41; "EPHPHATHA," 7:34; "ABBA," 14:36. IN THESE VERSES JESUS ORIGINAL WORDS ECHO DOWN TO US THROUGH PETER'S VIVID MEMORY. WE CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY MARK OFTEN USES A TENSE THAT WE MIGHT CALL A HISTORIC "PRESENT" 151 TIMES IN ORIGINAL GREEK; IT READS MUCH LIKE THE REPORT OF AN EYE-WITNESS. MARK'S GRAMMAR AND STYLE HAVE BEEN 'IMPROVED" TO PRODUCE A MORE POLISHED LITERARY PRODUCT. OTHER FEATURES OF MARK STYLE ARE WORTH OF NOTE. MARK IS VERY FOND OF THAT LITTLE WORD "AND." OFTEN WHEN TELLING A STORY, HE JOINS ITS DETAILS TOGETHER BY ADDING "AND... AND... "AND..." IN THE GREEK OF CHAPTER THREE, 29 OF 35 VERSES BEGIN WITH "AND."
MARK IS ALSO FOND OF THE WORD "IMMEDIATELY." HE USES IT 41 TIMES IN HIS GOSPEL . 10 TIMES IN THE FIRST CHAPTER ALONE. HIS USE OF THE WORD CREATES A SENSE OF URGENCY---" THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE. LISTEN NOW! BELIEVE NOW!
FOLLOW NOW! MARK'S STORY DOES NOT MARCH ALONG IT GALLOPS ALONG WITH SUCH SPEED THAT THE IMAGINATIVE READER HAS LITTLE TIME TO CATCH HIS BREATH.
WHEN EACH EVANGELIST WROTE HIS RESPECTIVE GOSPEL, HIS GOAL WAS NOT TO PRESENT HIS READERS WITH A COMPLETE ACCOUNTS OF EVENTS IN JESUS LIFE. HE DESCRIBES THE LIFE MINISTRY, MISSION OF JESUS ONLY IN BROAD OUTLINE. WHAT DETAILS HE SELECTS ARE CHOSEN FOR A PURPOSE THAT HIS READERS MAY "BELIEVE" AND HAVE LIFE," JOHN 20:30,31.
TWO FACTS ABOUT MARK'S GOSPEL ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.
FIRSTLY, IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT MARK WAS WRITTEN FIRST. THERE IS ALSO GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT MARK SERVED AS A BASIS FOR THE WRITING OF BOTH MATTHEW, AND LUKE. MARK CONTAINS 661 VERSES. MATTHEW REPRODUCES 606 OF THESE AND LUKE 32O. ONLY 31 OF MARK'S 661 VERSES DO NOT APPEAR IN EITHER MATTHEW OR LUKE. MATTHEW OCCASIONALLY VARIES MARK'S ORDER OF EVENTS WITHIN HIS GOSPEL; LUKE DOES THE SAME. HOWEVER, MATTHEW AND LUKE TOGETHER NEVER VARY THE ORDER; ONE OF THEM ALWAYS AGREE WITH MARK'S ORDER OF EVENTS, AND MOST OFTEN BOTH DO. A KNOWLEDGE OF MARK HELPS A PERSON READ MATTHEW AND LUKE MORE INTELLIGENTLY. SECONDLY, DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE SECOND CENTURY A.D., THE BISHOP OF HIERAPOLIS IN SOUTH PHRYGIA WAS A MAN CALLED PAPIAS. PAPIAS TOOK AN INTEREST IN COLLECTING INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOSPELS. HE WROTE ON ONE OCCASION THAT MARK CONTAINS THE MATERIAL THAT PETER USED IN HIS PREACHING. HE SAID THAT MARK WAS PETER'S INTERPRETER, AND THAT HE WROTE DOWN THE THINGS PETER USE TO SAY ABOUT JESUS. IF WE ACCEPT PAPIAS'S
STATEMENT AT FACE VALUE, IT WOULD MEAN THAT IN MARK WE HAVE VIRTUALLY AN EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF JESUS LIFE. IF THIS IS SO, ONE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY MARK QUOTES AN OCCASIONAL WORD OF JESUS IN "ARAMAIC": "TALITHA CUMI," 5:41; "EPHPHATHA," 7:34; "ABBA," 14:36. IN THESE VERSES JESUS ORIGINAL WORDS ECHO DOWN TO US THROUGH PETER'S VIVID MEMORY. WE CAN ALSO UNDERSTAND WHY MARK OFTEN USES A TENSE THAT WE MIGHT CALL A HISTORIC "PRESENT" 151 TIMES IN ORIGINAL GREEK; IT READS MUCH LIKE THE REPORT OF AN EYE-WITNESS. MARK'S GRAMMAR AND STYLE HAVE BEEN 'IMPROVED" TO PRODUCE A MORE POLISHED LITERARY PRODUCT. OTHER FEATURES OF MARK STYLE ARE WORTH OF NOTE. MARK IS VERY FOND OF THAT LITTLE WORD "AND." OFTEN WHEN TELLING A STORY, HE JOINS ITS DETAILS TOGETHER BY ADDING "AND... AND... "AND..." IN THE GREEK OF CHAPTER THREE, 29 OF 35 VERSES BEGIN WITH "AND."
MARK IS ALSO FOND OF THE WORD "IMMEDIATELY." HE USES IT 41 TIMES IN HIS GOSPEL . 10 TIMES IN THE FIRST CHAPTER ALONE. HIS USE OF THE WORD CREATES A SENSE OF URGENCY---" THERE IS NO TIME TO WASTE. LISTEN NOW! BELIEVE NOW!
FOLLOW NOW! MARK'S STORY DOES NOT MARCH ALONG IT GALLOPS ALONG WITH SUCH SPEED THAT THE IMAGINATIVE READER HAS LITTLE TIME TO CATCH HIS BREATH.
Sunday, November 18, 2018
FIRST CENTURY JUDAISM
UNTIL A FEW DECADES AGO, THE POPULAR VIEW WAS THAT, IN JESUS TIME, JUDAISM WITHIN ISRAEL KEPT ITSELF PURE FROM FOREIGN INFLUENCES, BUT JUDAISM OUTSIDE ISRAEL WAS INFLUENCED BY GREEK AND ROMAN CULTURE. THIS VIEW HAS BEN ABANDONED. ARCHAEOLOGY HAS SHOWN THAT MANY SYNAGOGUES IN ISRAEL HAD GREEK CHARACTERISTICS. THE WRITINGS OF RABBIS REVEAL THOSE WHO LIVED IN THE HOLY LAND HAD A TASTE FOR GREEK CULTURE, IDEAS, TERMS AND METHOD OF INTERPRETATIONS. THERE WAS TRAVEL BETWEEN ISRAEL AND JEWISH CENTERS AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD; FOR EXAMPLE, EACH YEAR EMISSARIES WERE SENT FROM JERUSALEM TO THE JEWS OF THE DISPERSION WHO WERE EXPECTED TO PAY THE ANNUAL HALF- SHEKEL TEMPLE TAX. THE RESULT WAS A CERTAIN UNITY OF THOUGHT AMONG JEWS EVERYWHERE, A UNITY THAT WAS EXPRESSED IN THE UBIQUITOUS SYNAGOGUE. THOUGH THE OF JESUS DAY WAS COMPLEX ND CONTAINED A NUMBER OF SECTS AND MOVEMENTS, JUDAISM , EVERYWHERE HAD MUCH IN COMMON. LET'S LOOK AT THE BASIC BELIEFS OF JUDAISM IN THE TIME OF JESUS. THE GREEK MIND SOUGHT GOD THROUGH REASON, AND EXPLAINED GOD FROM THE WORLD AND ITS LIFE FROM GOD, BELIEVING THAT HE MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN THROUGH REVELATION. THE EXISTENCE OF GOD POSED PROBLEMS FOR THE HEBREW MIND. GOD EXISTED, AN D WAS LORD OVER ALL CREATION AND LIFE., DEUTERONOMY 6:4. ISRAEL WAS HIS "SON," EXODUS 4:21,22. DURING THE POSTEXILIC PERIOD, THE JEWS SOUGHT INCREASINGLY TO PRESERVE THE "OTHERNESS OF GOD. FROM THE THIRD CENTURY B.C. ONWARDS, THE NAME YAHWEH (LORD) WAS EXCLUDED FROM THE READINGS
OF SCRIPTURES, AND THE NAME ADONAI WAS USED INSTEAD. THE GREEK TRANSLATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (SEPTUAGINT) TRANSLATED YAHWEH BY KURIOS (LORD. THE TARGUMS (ARAMAIC) TRANSLATIONS OF THE HEBREW TEXT) USED THE WORD MEMRA (WORD). IN THE LITURGY OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, THE HIGH PRIEST MUMBLED THE NAME FOR GOD SO THAT NO ONE COULD UNDERSTAND IT. TO GIVE A PROPER NAME TO GOD WAS TO SUGGEST THAT HE WAS A GOD AMONG GODS. BY NOT USING GOD'S NAME, THE JEWS DECLARED THAT HE IS ABOVE AND BEYOND ANYTHING CREATED. SOME MIGHT ARGUE THAT THIS INSISTENCE ON GOD'S "OTHERNESS" REMOVED HIM FROM THIS WORLD. JUDAISM ANSWERED BY SAYING THAT ONE COULD EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE ON EARTH THROUGH HIS "SHEKIAH" OR (DOXA (GLORY). THOUGH THE "SHEKIAH" GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE AMONG THE PEOPLE THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT WHICH CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS POSSESSED AND SPOKE TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH HIS OWN "VOICE" OR "THE DAUGHTER OF A VOICE" MATTHEW 3 :17; 17:5; JOHN 12:28. THE JEWISH ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD WAS NOT ONE OF FEAR. THOUGH PROVERBS 1:7 SPEAKS OF "THE FEAR OF THE LORD" AS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM." THE TERM "THE FEAR OF THE LORD" IS ROUGHLY THE EQUIVALENT OF "RELIGION" ISRAEL EMPHASISED GOD'S LOVE FOR HER AS MUCH AS HER REVERENCE FOR HIM.
OF SCRIPTURES, AND THE NAME ADONAI WAS USED INSTEAD. THE GREEK TRANSLATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (SEPTUAGINT) TRANSLATED YAHWEH BY KURIOS (LORD. THE TARGUMS (ARAMAIC) TRANSLATIONS OF THE HEBREW TEXT) USED THE WORD MEMRA (WORD). IN THE LITURGY OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT, THE HIGH PRIEST MUMBLED THE NAME FOR GOD SO THAT NO ONE COULD UNDERSTAND IT. TO GIVE A PROPER NAME TO GOD WAS TO SUGGEST THAT HE WAS A GOD AMONG GODS. BY NOT USING GOD'S NAME, THE JEWS DECLARED THAT HE IS ABOVE AND BEYOND ANYTHING CREATED. SOME MIGHT ARGUE THAT THIS INSISTENCE ON GOD'S "OTHERNESS" REMOVED HIM FROM THIS WORLD. JUDAISM ANSWERED BY SAYING THAT ONE COULD EXPERIENCE GOD'S PRESENCE ON EARTH THROUGH HIS "SHEKIAH" OR (DOXA (GLORY). THOUGH THE "SHEKIAH" GOD MADE HIS PRESENCE AMONG THE PEOPLE THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT WHICH CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS POSSESSED AND SPOKE TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH HIS OWN "VOICE" OR "THE DAUGHTER OF A VOICE" MATTHEW 3 :17; 17:5; JOHN 12:28. THE JEWISH ATTITUDE TOWARDS GOD WAS NOT ONE OF FEAR. THOUGH PROVERBS 1:7 SPEAKS OF "THE FEAR OF THE LORD" AS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM." THE TERM "THE FEAR OF THE LORD" IS ROUGHLY THE EQUIVALENT OF "RELIGION" ISRAEL EMPHASISED GOD'S LOVE FOR HER AS MUCH AS HER REVERENCE FOR HIM.
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