LUKE CHAPTER 2
When the Zacharias' son John was born, he praised God for everybody around him to hear. During that praise he acknowledged that his son was going to be the forerunner of the one who would deliver Israel from their enemies so that Israel could serve God without fear. To the original audience that meant that Israel was about to find freedom from foreign oppression and it meant that the kingdom of David was about to be renewed with the rightful heir to the throne. With King David's throne established once again Israel could and would serve God without outside persecution or influence.
Zacharias also saw that his son John would prepare the way for this king through the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins.
If this prophecy was all we knew about John and Jesus we would say that Jesus' work was political insofar as he was to reestablish the monarchy of David, yet his work was also spiritual insofar as with David's throne once again inhabited, Israel could enter into a golden age where God could be served properly and fearlessly. In other words, at Jesus' birth, the way to spiritual salvation was deemed to be through the path of politics.
If this prophesy were all we had we would know that John's work was spiritual insofar as he would bring people to God for the forgiveness of sins. This forgiveness was not just for personal salvation, but so that Israel would be ready for the golden age where godliness reigned. John's work was to get people ready for the day when they could serve God in a kingdom established by God's political power - the earthly kingdom of God.
Just because people of the Bible were saints / holy / godly or whatever did not mean that they saw clearly all that God was about to do. They were bound to their world views, to their culture and their limited understanding in all things relating to the prophecies and to the Word of God. We see more clearly because of the events that took place at Golgotha - events that shocked even Jesus' closest friends, disciples and his mother - events they did not expect - events they would need the Holy Spirit to help them understand years later.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Angel's Message to Mary
LUKE 1
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
For us 2000 years later, we see all kinds of spiritual language in this passage. Jesus is eternal and his reign is spiritual and eternal. But the 1st Century people had very little of that in their thoughts. Their world view was filled with earthly kings and kingdoms; their stories of the past were filled with earthly kings and kingdoms; so when Mary was told about her son taking the throne of David, it was the highest earthly honor anyone could receive.
We understand that Jesus is eternal, but for Mary and those who first heard this, Jesus eternal rule would be thought of as one that passed on to his descendants from generation to generation. Why? Because there was nothing in their experience, their world views, their stories of old that could lead them to fathom or understand the real work of Jesus.
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:31-33)
For us 2000 years later, we see all kinds of spiritual language in this passage. Jesus is eternal and his reign is spiritual and eternal. But the 1st Century people had very little of that in their thoughts. Their world view was filled with earthly kings and kingdoms; their stories of the past were filled with earthly kings and kingdoms; so when Mary was told about her son taking the throne of David, it was the highest earthly honor anyone could receive.
We understand that Jesus is eternal, but for Mary and those who first heard this, Jesus eternal rule would be thought of as one that passed on to his descendants from generation to generation. Why? Because there was nothing in their experience, their world views, their stories of old that could lead them to fathom or understand the real work of Jesus.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Jesus and Prophecy
MATTHEW CHAPTER ONE
Most of the people of Israel did not read or write. They told stories and repeated what they heard from each other and from those who read the scriptures, the scribes and religious leaders. Its hard to imagine how the people reveared prophecies about the future, holding on dearly to portions of their writings knowing that in those writings were hints of a coming era when a new king would rise.
Scribes poured over their writings looking for such passages that could be lifted from their original context and time and give a clue about the kingdom and time that was expected. When Jesus came, a lot of these passages fit so well to him.
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14)
In Isaiah's day there were 2 nations / kings battling outside of Jerusalem's walls in hopes of bringing Jerusalem to its knees. King Ahaz protected himself and his city within the walls of the city, but he was very worried that the two kings would take the city and force him into servitude.
In that context Isaiah told King Ahaz that there would be a sign of a young woman / virgin (same word in the Hebrew) who would give birth to a son and before the son was old enough to know right from wrong the 2 armies would be gone. The prophet then went into the prophetess (his wife) and they had a child to fulfill that prophecy (Is 8:1-4) and before the child could say momma or dadda, the armies were gone.
It is one of many prophecies about Jesus that had double fulfillment. The first was in the day shortly after it was written, the second in Christ himself.
The fact that Isaiah's prophecy refered first of all so much to the polical and military situation of Israel brings a cloud of the same over the birth of Jesus... but whereas Isaiah's prophecy was originally about deliverance from a military siege, the angel let Joseph know that Jesus would bring about the deliverence of peoples' sins.
Most of the people of Israel did not read or write. They told stories and repeated what they heard from each other and from those who read the scriptures, the scribes and religious leaders. Its hard to imagine how the people reveared prophecies about the future, holding on dearly to portions of their writings knowing that in those writings were hints of a coming era when a new king would rise.
Scribes poured over their writings looking for such passages that could be lifted from their original context and time and give a clue about the kingdom and time that was expected. When Jesus came, a lot of these passages fit so well to him.
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.” (Isaiah 7:14)
In Isaiah's day there were 2 nations / kings battling outside of Jerusalem's walls in hopes of bringing Jerusalem to its knees. King Ahaz protected himself and his city within the walls of the city, but he was very worried that the two kings would take the city and force him into servitude.
In that context Isaiah told King Ahaz that there would be a sign of a young woman / virgin (same word in the Hebrew) who would give birth to a son and before the son was old enough to know right from wrong the 2 armies would be gone. The prophet then went into the prophetess (his wife) and they had a child to fulfill that prophecy (Is 8:1-4) and before the child could say momma or dadda, the armies were gone.
It is one of many prophecies about Jesus that had double fulfillment. The first was in the day shortly after it was written, the second in Christ himself.
The fact that Isaiah's prophecy refered first of all so much to the polical and military situation of Israel brings a cloud of the same over the birth of Jesus... but whereas Isaiah's prophecy was originally about deliverance from a military siege, the angel let Joseph know that Jesus would bring about the deliverence of peoples' sins.
Jesus and His Mother's Virginity
MATTHEW CHAPTER ONE
Chapter one established that Jesus was King David's descendant and rightful heir to his throne. Chapter one also told us that Jesus was born from God, born of a virgin.
To us in the 20th Century we have had 2,000 years of priests, scholars and students tear apart the scripture in order to discover the nature and the person of Jesus. For us Son of God born of a virgin is something purely religious and spiritual. But for those who first read the gospel something else stood out above all else.
Caesar and Pharoah were considered and called son of God, son of Zeus, king of kings, etc. You get the picture. The point is, when the Bible established that Jesus was the Son of God or born of a virgin, people were not necessarily thinking religiously or only spiritually like we would. They were seeing Jesus as a true earthly king, chosen by God, born of God and born from David for the purpose of bringing the nations under the feet of Israel.
But in the midst of all this political expectation, Matthew began to redefine the Son of David, the king of Israel by giving us the purpose of Jesus. His job was to save his people not from their political enemies but from their own personal shortcomings, from their own sins.
Chapter one established that Jesus was King David's descendant and rightful heir to his throne. Chapter one also told us that Jesus was born from God, born of a virgin.
To us in the 20th Century we have had 2,000 years of priests, scholars and students tear apart the scripture in order to discover the nature and the person of Jesus. For us Son of God born of a virgin is something purely religious and spiritual. But for those who first read the gospel something else stood out above all else.
Caesar and Pharoah were considered and called son of God, son of Zeus, king of kings, etc. You get the picture. The point is, when the Bible established that Jesus was the Son of God or born of a virgin, people were not necessarily thinking religiously or only spiritually like we would. They were seeing Jesus as a true earthly king, chosen by God, born of God and born from David for the purpose of bringing the nations under the feet of Israel.
But in the midst of all this political expectation, Matthew began to redefine the Son of David, the king of Israel by giving us the purpose of Jesus. His job was to save his people not from their political enemies but from their own personal shortcomings, from their own sins.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Political Expectations
In Jesus' day there was a lot of expectation / hope for the coming of the Messiah. Most religious people had some sort of belief that there would be somebody coming who would rule God's people and bring about some type of revival of the Law of Moses. The expected ruler would help promote Israel to unparalleled success, power and prestige.
The expected Messiah would deliver the nation from the Roman oppression and bring freedom to Israel. He would rule as King David and King Solomon did in their days. He would conquer the nations like David and build like Solomon. He would rule a kingdom that would never fall. As a ruler he would bring justice to the nations through a renewed commitment to God's Law. Indeed, how could one rule justly without the Law of God that was so admired by the religious.
This is only a snapshot of the expectations people had about the Messiah. And this snapshot helps us to understand that when Jesus spoke of a kingdom, people heard him speak to their idea of a kingdom mentioned above. It was political, spiritual and judicial - all at the same time.
Even the apostles held onto this type of world view. James and John sought to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his kingdom - a kingdom they expected here and now in this world. When Jesus first mentioned that he had to suffer, Peter rebuked him because in his mind there was nothing of the sort for a world ruler. And when Jesus rose from the dead, the apostles still believed that Jesus was going to set up a worldly kingdom... "Lord are you going to restore Israel's kingdom now?" If the apostles who lived with Jesus for so long believed that Jesus was bringing an earthly kingdom, how much more the common people. And how much more still those who were in authority believed Jesus to be a political threat.
As we listen to Jesus' message about the kingdom throughout the Gospels it is imperative to keep this in mind. People did not expect a "spiritual kingdom," they expected a worldly kingdom that would serve their social, spiritual and political needs... needs that were human centered and not God centered, and for that reason Satan's playground (Mark 8:33).
The expected Messiah would deliver the nation from the Roman oppression and bring freedom to Israel. He would rule as King David and King Solomon did in their days. He would conquer the nations like David and build like Solomon. He would rule a kingdom that would never fall. As a ruler he would bring justice to the nations through a renewed commitment to God's Law. Indeed, how could one rule justly without the Law of God that was so admired by the religious.
This is only a snapshot of the expectations people had about the Messiah. And this snapshot helps us to understand that when Jesus spoke of a kingdom, people heard him speak to their idea of a kingdom mentioned above. It was political, spiritual and judicial - all at the same time.
Even the apostles held onto this type of world view. James and John sought to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his kingdom - a kingdom they expected here and now in this world. When Jesus first mentioned that he had to suffer, Peter rebuked him because in his mind there was nothing of the sort for a world ruler. And when Jesus rose from the dead, the apostles still believed that Jesus was going to set up a worldly kingdom... "Lord are you going to restore Israel's kingdom now?" If the apostles who lived with Jesus for so long believed that Jesus was bringing an earthly kingdom, how much more the common people. And how much more still those who were in authority believed Jesus to be a political threat.
As we listen to Jesus' message about the kingdom throughout the Gospels it is imperative to keep this in mind. People did not expect a "spiritual kingdom," they expected a worldly kingdom that would serve their social, spiritual and political needs... needs that were human centered and not God centered, and for that reason Satan's playground (Mark 8:33).
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Mary's Pregnancy and Joseph's Response
MATTHEW 1
In our day the Bible is considered spiritual and the law of the land is political. We differentiate between the two. Judah did not make such a division; the Law of Moses was both spiritual and political. Roman law was not inherent to Judah, it came out of another culture and was forced upon Judah. Some from Judah no doubt prefered Roman law, but many such as Joseph still held on to Moses' Law for spiritual and political direction in life.
Mary was very young when she and Joseph were engaged...probably around 13 years old. Shortly afterward she became pregnant from somebody other than Joseph. At least that's what it looked like to Joseph for he had no clue that the child was the Holy Spirit's.
Before Joseph was told by God in a dream that the child was from the Holy Spirit he was faced with a dilemma. The Law stated that she and whoever got her pregnant should be put to death, but Matthew stated that Joseph did not want to do this because he was a righteous man.
Joseph was very liberal with the Law. He did not contemplate how to put Mary to death, but how to put her away quietly, thus removing her from the consequences that breaking the Law demanded. For this action, the Bible called Joseph a righteous man.
So, Joseph sought ways to disobey the Law in order to protect Mary who had supposedly betrayed him, and for this disobedience he was called righteous. So how did that work?
Throughout the Old Testament God sought mercy over judgment, but how much mercy should be given and how much was Judah to follow the Law without mercy? Although the Bible does not seem to give us clear rules when mercy should be used over judgment, we have a few examples in the gospels such as breaking the Sabbath and letting a woman caught in adultry go with a message of forgiveness. These will be addressed in future blogs.
In our day the Bible is considered spiritual and the law of the land is political. We differentiate between the two. Judah did not make such a division; the Law of Moses was both spiritual and political. Roman law was not inherent to Judah, it came out of another culture and was forced upon Judah. Some from Judah no doubt prefered Roman law, but many such as Joseph still held on to Moses' Law for spiritual and political direction in life.
Mary was very young when she and Joseph were engaged...probably around 13 years old. Shortly afterward she became pregnant from somebody other than Joseph. At least that's what it looked like to Joseph for he had no clue that the child was the Holy Spirit's.
Before Joseph was told by God in a dream that the child was from the Holy Spirit he was faced with a dilemma. The Law stated that she and whoever got her pregnant should be put to death, but Matthew stated that Joseph did not want to do this because he was a righteous man.
Joseph was very liberal with the Law. He did not contemplate how to put Mary to death, but how to put her away quietly, thus removing her from the consequences that breaking the Law demanded. For this action, the Bible called Joseph a righteous man.
So, Joseph sought ways to disobey the Law in order to protect Mary who had supposedly betrayed him, and for this disobedience he was called righteous. So how did that work?
Throughout the Old Testament God sought mercy over judgment, but how much mercy should be given and how much was Judah to follow the Law without mercy? Although the Bible does not seem to give us clear rules when mercy should be used over judgment, we have a few examples in the gospels such as breaking the Sabbath and letting a woman caught in adultry go with a message of forgiveness. These will be addressed in future blogs.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Matthew's Genealogy and Politics - pt. 2 - Rahab and Bathsheba
MATTHEW 1
RAHAB
Rahab was a prostitute who lived in the city of Jericho. During her years the city of Jericho was filled with the rumors of slaves who escaped Egypt, wandered in the desert for 40 years and were moving Northward toward their city. They had heard about how those same slaves had taken down powerful cities and how that group was coming closer and closer to their own city.
During this fearful time 2 strangers walked into the city. How the 2 men ended up at her house is a mystery, but what happened afterward is recorded. The 2 men were spies from the slaves - from the people of Israel. Rahab knew that her people would know who the 2 strangers were, so she hid them and protected them in exchange for her life and the lives of her family.
In order to save her life, Rahab betrayed her people delivering them over to their certain death. But in Israel she became a hero.
BATHSHEBA
Bathsheba's husband was at war as she took a bath on the roof of her house, purifying herself from her monthly period. When she finished king's messengers were at her door to bring her to the king himself. Although we don't know if she gave herself willingly or out of fear, we do know that she had sex with King David, she got pregnant and in order to protect her and the King's reputation, King David gave orders to have her husband killed.
After her mourning she moved into the palace with the king and gave birth to a child who died shortly after birth. The second child however survived and later became the next king in Israel and the next in line to be the ancestor in the genealogy of Jesus.
POLITICS
-Tamar nobly and diligently followed cultural and political duty even to the endangerment of her life.
-Ruth did the same, and although her life was never in danger, her reputation was. Ruth also left her people, nation and family in order to stay with Naomi and secure her survival and safety.
-Rahab turned her back on her people and government in order to protect her life and her family's lives.
-Bathsheba was King David's Monica Lewinsky, but much worse.
CONCLUSION
The 4 women in Jesus' ancestry were all tied to sexual scandals to one degree or another. One can only surmise that these scandals introduce us to the story of Mary the mother of Jesus who likewise faced sexual scandal. Out of the four women who precede her, Mary is closest to Tamar and Ruth who, although faced the appearance of scandal were in fact blameless and godly in their intentions and their actions.
RAHAB
Rahab was a prostitute who lived in the city of Jericho. During her years the city of Jericho was filled with the rumors of slaves who escaped Egypt, wandered in the desert for 40 years and were moving Northward toward their city. They had heard about how those same slaves had taken down powerful cities and how that group was coming closer and closer to their own city.
During this fearful time 2 strangers walked into the city. How the 2 men ended up at her house is a mystery, but what happened afterward is recorded. The 2 men were spies from the slaves - from the people of Israel. Rahab knew that her people would know who the 2 strangers were, so she hid them and protected them in exchange for her life and the lives of her family.
In order to save her life, Rahab betrayed her people delivering them over to their certain death. But in Israel she became a hero.
BATHSHEBA
Bathsheba's husband was at war as she took a bath on the roof of her house, purifying herself from her monthly period. When she finished king's messengers were at her door to bring her to the king himself. Although we don't know if she gave herself willingly or out of fear, we do know that she had sex with King David, she got pregnant and in order to protect her and the King's reputation, King David gave orders to have her husband killed.
After her mourning she moved into the palace with the king and gave birth to a child who died shortly after birth. The second child however survived and later became the next king in Israel and the next in line to be the ancestor in the genealogy of Jesus.
POLITICS
-Tamar nobly and diligently followed cultural and political duty even to the endangerment of her life.
-Ruth did the same, and although her life was never in danger, her reputation was. Ruth also left her people, nation and family in order to stay with Naomi and secure her survival and safety.
-Rahab turned her back on her people and government in order to protect her life and her family's lives.
-Bathsheba was King David's Monica Lewinsky, but much worse.
CONCLUSION
The 4 women in Jesus' ancestry were all tied to sexual scandals to one degree or another. One can only surmise that these scandals introduce us to the story of Mary the mother of Jesus who likewise faced sexual scandal. Out of the four women who precede her, Mary is closest to Tamar and Ruth who, although faced the appearance of scandal were in fact blameless and godly in their intentions and their actions.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Matthew's Geneology and Politics - Tamar and Ruth (pt 1)
MATTHEW 1
The first chapter of Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus beginning with Abraham and ending with Jesus. In this genealogy four women are mentioned, all of which were tied one way or another with a sexual scandal and all of them broke the laws or customs of their people. They are Tamar, Ruth, Rahab and Bathsheba.
TAMAR
There were no written laws for Abraham's family that we know of during the time of Tamar, neither was there much of a system of government established. In a way, “everybody did what seemed right in their own eyes.” This comment about "doing whatever was right in their own eyes" was made 2 times in the book of Judges reflecting on the situation during the time when there was no king to establish the Law. If everybody did their own thing when there was already a law set up, but no king to help enforce it, then how much more when there was no law yet set up?
Even though the Law was not yet given, in many ways the early Fathers of Israel followed what seemed right and what would become Law in due time. According to the custom that would later become written law, a widow should marry her dead husband’s nearest kin (brother if there was one).
The purpose of this custom was more for the dead husband than for the woman and her social and economic needs. The need for the husband’s name to continue in Israel even after his death was of primary importance. I have always believed that having a son insured the economic and social well being of a widow. We see this in Paul’s letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:16) when he tells the church to have family members take care of widows so that the church is not encumbered with too many widows. But in the Law the needs of the widows don’t seem to carry the weight given to the needs of the dead husband passing on his name to future generations.
As is mentioned, passing on the name of a dead husband was very important. In fact, it was so important that it superseded most if not all other moral boundaries. So we find Tamar posing as a prostitute in order to sleep with her father-in-law and we find Ruth slipping away at night to the bed of Boaz uncovering his feet (a term possibly used to say she was uncovering his private areas - see Dt 28:57 & Ezek 16:25).
Both were highly commended for following duty over personal passion. Even though both of these ladies did what would be unacceptable in our day as well as their own, their devotion was to unwritten custom (Tamar) and written law (Ruth) in their own day. Their devotion shows us that there was a hierarchy of ethics / morality, that is, some morals were more important than others. In fact, some morals could be sacrificed to serve other more important moral duties.
Tamar pretended to be a prostitute in order to get pregnant by her father-in-law - an act that almost caused her the death penalty. Ruth went to Boaz by night which almost caused them both scandalous reputations. But in the end both were commended for their devotion to duty.
The first chapter of Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus beginning with Abraham and ending with Jesus. In this genealogy four women are mentioned, all of which were tied one way or another with a sexual scandal and all of them broke the laws or customs of their people. They are Tamar, Ruth, Rahab and Bathsheba.
TAMAR
There were no written laws for Abraham's family that we know of during the time of Tamar, neither was there much of a system of government established. In a way, “everybody did what seemed right in their own eyes.” This comment about "doing whatever was right in their own eyes" was made 2 times in the book of Judges reflecting on the situation during the time when there was no king to establish the Law. If everybody did their own thing when there was already a law set up, but no king to help enforce it, then how much more when there was no law yet set up?
Even though the Law was not yet given, in many ways the early Fathers of Israel followed what seemed right and what would become Law in due time. According to the custom that would later become written law, a widow should marry her dead husband’s nearest kin (brother if there was one).
The purpose of this custom was more for the dead husband than for the woman and her social and economic needs. The need for the husband’s name to continue in Israel even after his death was of primary importance. I have always believed that having a son insured the economic and social well being of a widow. We see this in Paul’s letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:16) when he tells the church to have family members take care of widows so that the church is not encumbered with too many widows. But in the Law the needs of the widows don’t seem to carry the weight given to the needs of the dead husband passing on his name to future generations.
As is mentioned, passing on the name of a dead husband was very important. In fact, it was so important that it superseded most if not all other moral boundaries. So we find Tamar posing as a prostitute in order to sleep with her father-in-law and we find Ruth slipping away at night to the bed of Boaz uncovering his feet (a term possibly used to say she was uncovering his private areas - see Dt 28:57 & Ezek 16:25).
Both were highly commended for following duty over personal passion. Even though both of these ladies did what would be unacceptable in our day as well as their own, their devotion was to unwritten custom (Tamar) and written law (Ruth) in their own day. Their devotion shows us that there was a hierarchy of ethics / morality, that is, some morals were more important than others. In fact, some morals could be sacrificed to serve other more important moral duties.
Tamar pretended to be a prostitute in order to get pregnant by her father-in-law - an act that almost caused her the death penalty. Ruth went to Boaz by night which almost caused them both scandalous reputations. But in the end both were commended for their devotion to duty.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Genealogy and Politics
Jesus' genealogy is loaded with politics. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus was descended from both David and Abraham. He tells us that there were 14 generations from Abraham to David and then 14 from David to Jesus. The second part of Jesus' genealogy follows a long line of kings that descended from the greatest of all of Israel's, King David who conquered kingdoms and established Israel as the leading country of it's day.
God promised David a dynasty that would never end, but by 586 B.C. it did just that, his dynasty ended, no more kings ruled over Israel. David's descendants were still counted, they just didn't rule anymore. So by Jesus' day, people were expecting a new king from David's blood line that would renew the political and judicial dynasty of King David.
The genealogy in Matthew introduces us to that king.
God promised David a dynasty that would never end, but by 586 B.C. it did just that, his dynasty ended, no more kings ruled over Israel. David's descendants were still counted, they just didn't rule anymore. So by Jesus' day, people were expecting a new king from David's blood line that would renew the political and judicial dynasty of King David.
The genealogy in Matthew introduces us to that king.
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