Personal asides that are included in the commentary
What follows are personal anecdotes that are sprinkled through the commentary. I have not included many other wonderful experiences that have occurred during my walk with the Lord.
Bolt from the blue
When I was fairly young and poor, I was driving along Route 22 one sunny day in New Jersey on my way to work. In that time before the global positioning system and smart phones, I was trying to pick out a sign for a particular auto dealer among a large jungle of signs on a stretch of road just outside Newark. I had strained to find the dealer on several previous commutes but my brain could not sort the data fast enough, even though I slowed some, though too much of a slowdown would have been dangerous.
I needed a gas cap for my fuel tank and reasoned that a dealer would be most likely to have one that fit.
Having been frustrated previously, I asked God to please help me find this place.
As my car neared the area:
Boom! A lightning bolt suddenly struck a sign amid the jumble. Yes, it was a sign for the dealer.
I do not know that anyone else saw the bolt or thought much of it.
Wheeling around, I located the establishment, which was hidden from the road behind a screen of buildings and signs for other businesses.
When I went to buy the cap – it wasn't in stock!
And so I wound up getting one the next day from an auto parts store, which is where I should have gone in the first place.
On reflection, I could only think that this was a bit of humor on God's part. After all, he did answer my prayer!
Poor input
Yes, I suppose there was something to be gained from awareness of the sort of poison the early church was fighting. Yet, I breathed a sigh of relief when I ceased that line of study. Of course, I am not being critical of scholars whose job it is to analyze such materials. But again, the canonical gospels are very clearly much better reading, bringing spiritual refreshment, light and hope, unlike many of their early competitors.
Hide in plain sight?
A few years ago I became friendly with a fellow. A former computer programer in his fifties, he was out of work and on the dole. Though a very cheerful, friendly sort, when the subject of God would come up, he would demur, saying that that subject was something he did not know much about. Yet, his behavior, looked at objectively, was solid-gold Christian: always willing to help, to act the friend. Often he would chat with me about some little project or other that he was doing to help someone, which serendipitously might lead to small money-making gigs. He walked everywhere, often quite a few miles at a clip, and he was always busy, much like the Apostle Paul in the sense that he "redeemed the time." I suppose that what I am getting at is that Christ cannot really hide. He is proclaimed even by those who don't proclaim him!
Bad side effects
A hard-learned lesson about anger: As a younger man, I could not contain my rage against a particular group of people outside my family. Nevertheless, my boys heard my frequent outbursts and internalized some of that hurt, even though they well knew I loved them dearly. They paid a price for my intemperance in that regard.
An imprudent donation
Quite a few years ago, when I was the breadwinner of my little family, I gave someone $10 that I actually needed in order put gas in my car so that the next day I could get to work and back. Somehow I could sense that I did not have the Spirit in this. I was acting on my own, of my own will only. I don't know why, but I brushed past that intuition, thinking, "God will provide." Yes God will provide what I needed to do his will. But he had already provided that ten spot. My casting it aside was folly.
The next day I was very embarrassed. I had to call in sick. I learned a lesson. That lesson does not imply that stinginess is a good idea. Only that we should avoid putting God to the test improperly, even in rather small matters.
Thank God, nothing too terrible came of this lapse. And my little stumble did work for my good, as I obtained a deepening of my walk with God.
A strong rebuke
I was walking along in Nashville, Tennessee. I had a bit of money, not a lot. And lately, panhandlers had proved an annoyance, so that when a friendly young man approached me for a bit of money for coffee or some such on this fine morning, I demurred. Though remaining friendly, he was clearly disappointed; his need was real.
Just at that point a bearded fellow strolled across the parking lot and declared loudly: "He's done it again!" I think he repeated that assertion once or twice more.
In any case, I got his meaning immediately. God had provided us another day! It was a vast, incomprehensible gift to me and my needful brother and all the rest of us.
And yet, I am embarrassed to say, I did not give that young man any money. It took me quite a while to realize that God was pointing out that I receive so much from him and yet I was being outrageously cheap with my brother.
How to know when to give and when not to? I had the Spirit! That's who I should have relied on, rather than leaning to my own understanding.
Led astray -- a bitSome years back, as a born-again Christian who attended a good Bible-studying church, I somehow fell into the error of saying the Hail Mary, often repeatedly. This occurred, I think, because of a misunderstanding of God's leading coupled with my good feeling for people of Roman Catholic tradition. Eventually God specifically told me about my mistake (and one or two others, as well). He did not hold it against me. Had I stayed firmly grounded in Scripture, however, I would not have made that error. Everything should be tested against Scripture.
I also heard that the Roman Catholic Church was "the wrong church," which should not be taken to mean that the Lord cannot reach people there. What he meant, I believe, is that the real church is not that particular organization but is rather the brotherhood and sisterhood of born-again believers, and that those churches that preach the doctrine that I have been conveying are the prime places for seeking the Lord.
But, I add a caution: I am quite sure that God led me to enroll my boys in a neighborhood Roman Catholic school when they were very young -- a decision I have never regretted. As things worked out, they were unable to continue their education there, an outcome that saddened me.
Another blind alley concerned the Shroud of Turin. Had I kept focused on Scripture, it is unlikely I could have accepted that hoax for so long
Personal note
I have never had an experience of the type that is often associated with the Spirit coming in power (in a visible way), such as being slain in the Spirit (made limp by the Spirit's infusion), speaking in tongues, touching people to bring healing, and other things mentioned by Paul and others in the NT.
I have from time to time told God that I am completely willing -- as best I am able -- to receive any spiritual gift he wants to give. Yet, I know that the Spirit often comes pouring through me. He does give me a "gift of tongues" in the sense that I sometimes am able to communicate about Jesus to others with a flow of ideas that I would have never thought of on my own.
In fact, even when I am not talking or writing about Jesus, but seemingly about mundane things, the Spirit still illuminates my mind so that I get a lot of help seeing things clearly. I am not here claiming to be some super saint. I mean that, back in my old godless days, my inner light was dark indeed!
So I feel that the main gift is the Spirit himself -- and friendship with the triune God.
And the fruit of the Spirit is love, both in emotion and behavior. God's love is with me always. What's better than that!?
As Paul said (ICor13), various spiritual gifts will eventually vanish (no longer needed), but not love. God's love, which we who have been reborn eternally share, never fades.
Nevertheless, any spiritual gift God might want to give me, I am willing to accept it -- even if such a gift makes me uncomfotable!
After all, God not only gives us gifts of the Spirit, he gives us -- perhaps by deputizing the devil -- problems, hassles, even persecution. We are to pick up our crosses daily and do as he shows. I admit to more than once ducking my cross and laying up in bed all day and night. But, then -- unless I am physically ill -- I am lacking in spirit and dodging Jesus. Instead of hearing, "That's the spirit!" I may hear, "Why are you listening to the wrong spirit?"
Faith
I recall driving on a lonely stretch of a two-lane Texas highway over rolling, but sparsely vegetated hills, on a very dark night. I could not see past the occasional car in front of me, because any opposing headlights were overwhelmed by the lights of the car in front of me. Texans in that area had a custom, I soon learned, of flashing their lights to signal the car behind that it was safe to pass. I had to absolutely trust the judgment of the driver ahead of me! I had to put faith in that driver's ability.
Just keep going
On a pleasant day some years ago, I was sitting near the end of a path alongside the stream in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Nearby was a place where the stream went under the adjacent road. I had taken a look and knew that around the bend the dirt came to an end. You couldn't reach the bank on the other side without wading through the water, something that would have not been all that easy.
As I sat reading, a fellow came up the path from behind and proceeded forward. I greeted him, but told him, "You can't get through there. It's washed out."
He kept going, however, but paused to say, intently, "I believe I can."
He then went around the bend, under the roadway and all I heard was -- silence. No splashing, or noise from wading. Nothing. I arose and went to take a look. He wasn't there!
I was startled. (See JN 6:21.)
Not long after that, I had to make my way from Washington to New Jersey for an important family function. So, being short of funds, I walked from D.C. to Baltimore, but then had the problem of getting across the harbor there. I tried hitchhiking, but was getting nowhere. I suppose my belief faltered and so I gave up and had my mother wire me bus fare. But, as I waited in the station, my wallet was picked from my pocket, with the thief long gone before I realized it was missing. By God's grace, I had enough in another pocket to cover fare back to D.C. and then to Philadelphia, as the fare from Baltimore north cost more than from D.C. north.
I arrived in Philadelphia flat broke, with 60 miles still to go. But I was able to walk up Route 1 as far as Princeton. Once there I was cold and tired, but, led by the Spirit, I mentioned my plight to a kindly woman who was about to board the bus I needed to take. She gave me money for my fare, which permitted me to get the rest of the way home.
God provides
As a young husband and father during a severe recession, I was having a tough time paying for baby formula, diapers, groceries, rent, etc. But I was confident in God, as he had carried us through some real difficulties.
One day I brought home my meager paycheck only to find that a significant expense had accosted us. I told my wife to pay it. Though she agreed to do so, she was quite worried. She could see we only had enough to last until Tuesday. "How are we going to get through the week?" she fretted.
Yet I was cheerful, telling her that as the expense was an honest one, God would provide. Don't even worry about it, I told her.
As a matter of fact, in the following week I even forgot about the fact that we were just about out of grocery money.
Then, out of the blue, my mother rapped at our door. She gave me a money order that I had sent her years before while in the Army. She had filed it away and forgotten about it. Hence, it was now worth $78 and change. At that time, $78 was more than enough to meet our deficit for the week.
I was jubilant, because God had provided -- without me worrying at all.
I wish I could say I have always been that trusting. Many years later, single now and living in somewhat straitened circumstances, a homeless friend asked to borrow $20. I was better situated than him, driving a car and having a roof over my head. So of course I lent him the twenty. BUT, I was worried about some expense that was coming up on Friday and I admonished him to be sure to return that money by then.
When I ran into him, he was hyped up with anxiety, as he wanted to be sure to return the money, which he did. Yet, later in the day, something came up -- I don't recall exactly what -- that out of the blue put a twenty in my hand! The point? God provided. I never needed to put the arm on my friend to pay me back, and God made sure I got that message.
Another story
I was hitch-hiking across America in 1991, when I arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, without a penny in my pocket. I was walking along Interstate 80 in 90-degree-plus heat when I noticed that one of my feet was hurting. I took my shoe off and saw a nail peeking through the heel's inner sole. As those old shoes were the only thing between the bottom of my feet and blazing hot gravel and asphalt, I was in quite a bind. But I recalled noticing on the roadside a piece of old automobile carpet and near it an old rusty razor blade. Picking up that little blade, I sat down and cut two pieces from the carpet, using them to line my shoes. Man, were those shoes comfortable! I wore those carpet-lined shoes for another year. Jehovah jireh!
A personal aside
When my boys were quite young, we were on the boardwalk at the beach. I was amused by the five-year-old and seven-year-old cheerfully showing off their biceps to each other. As I chuckled I could sense God's presence as he let me know that that is how he views many human vanities. Silly pride. Fine for children, but not really suitable for men. Many things by which people compare each other are just as silly, if not sillier. But, even worse, in our own strength we are all mucking around in the moral pigpen. Thank God that Jesus has cleaned us up.
Not my hand on the wheel
I recall that a few years back I was practicing a rather mild form of asceticism, following with little variation the same routine over the course of a year. Then one day, I found myself blocked by a rather assertive, but unpleasant, person. There was nothing for it, but to flee. I was compelled by circumstances to break my pattern and do something different. It was at that point that the Lord kindly told me that I had reached the limit of that particular ascetic choice and needed a change. The unpleasant person had been sent by God in order to redirect my steps. God had approved my self-imposed regimen; he likes acts of faith. Yet, he would not let me go too far and corrected me -- the point of this anecdote being that Christians must beware willfulness even in self-denial (but Jesus saves us from our missteps).
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Appendix D: Jesus' purity vs. original sin
As we know from the extreme example of abused children themselves becoming abusive to others, sin is contagious. In fact, sin spreads very much like physical disease. The domino effect is so pervasive that no one avoids it during the course of his or her life.
Yet, I suggest, sin is also transmitted via spirits, and in particular via the spirits of people during the sex act. This theory has had many adherents, from Augustine (354-430), to Ambrose (340-397) to Barth (1886-1968), though it has fallen into disfavor in modern times. Yet I do not mean to say that sex during marriage is not ordained by God. On the other hand, pair-bond marriage is for the fallen, not the risen who are admitted to paradise, as we see from MT 22.
Similarly, when Martha was grieving over her brother Lazarus's death, Jesus says that those who trust him will never die, not that they will die and be resurrected. They already have life, whatever the condition of the body.
Recall that Jesus told us that if a person even looks at another person with lust, the heart is stained by sin. Yes, I realize that such feelings are natural -- in this fallen world. During the sex act the male at least is experiencing some sort of intensity, and perhaps the female. At the point of conception, the soul is imparted to the new being. Whatever sin is staining each person may also stamp the new creation.
In fact, in some cases "lower" souls enter humanity this way; or possibly one of the biological parents already has a "lower" soul, thus tending to unconsciously "believe" a lower soul into existence. I am referring here to the souls of the "children of perdition" who, though human, are not truly made after the image of God. These are the tares that will be sifted out and destroyed when the time comes. They were never meant to be.
But even for those not born as tares, the imprint of sin is passed from one generation to the next in the human race.
These observations lead us to realize why Jesus was born of a virgin. The natural seed of Adam was spiritually tainted. Jesus, as the new Adam, must begin life without taint. His mother Mary, pure in heart, did not experience lust during the act of conception. She was a meek vessel. The Holy Spirit assured that conception was indeed immaculate. Thus, a new beginning for humanity could occur, with a man who was born with no sin becoming a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (IS 53:3). In this conception, we have the Son of God becoming a son of humanity (Son of Man). God mercifully made his utterly innocent son into sin for our sakes. By taking the sin of humanity upon himself, he actually became a cesspool of sin on the cross. The "man of sorrows" was a "man of sin" for our sakes.
Of course, we may wonder: how is it that Mary was not tainted by the sin of Adam? But the point is that Mary experienced no carnal desire during a sex act, because there was no sex act. She did transmit her human nature to her son. Another point is that "God does not look upon sin" (paraphrase of HAB 1:13 and of Paul's theology), so that whatever problems she may have had God overlooked, declining to see them as sinful. All this is speculation. The issue is that it was necessary, for our sakes, that a sinless man come into our fallen world so as to pay off the devil by submitting to a total injustice.
Christ's sacrifice would have been worthless had he not been utterly blameless. Sin cannot save. Sin cannot heal. Sin can only make you sick and kill you. By suffering the outrageous injustice of judicial murder, Jesus was able to renew and revive humanity.
Yes, he was a man born of the Spirit. But his and the Father's gift to us is that we can also be born of the Spirit with no taint of sin. On account of Jesus, God does not look upon the "old man of sin" -- our animalistic or carnal nature. So when the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit to remake our lowly spirits into a new creation, there is no sin during the process of being born again! We are now in with the In Crowd. No worries.
Though a born-again person should put Jesus first in his or her life, we all know that one may be truly born again and yet unable to tolerate the idea of not marrying. Jesus leaves the believer free to decide. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (JN 8:36).
In I COR 7, we observe that it is Paul's personal opinion that if one partner in a marriage is born again but the other not, the other partner is nevertheless sanctified. God honors the marriage. That doesn't mean the non-believing partner will be saved; maybe not. In any case, we see that if God did not bless the marriage bond on behalf of the born-again partner, the children would be, according to Paul, "unclean." Implicitly, this suggests that children receive the imprint of the sin of parents who have yet to avail themselves of God's gracious forgiveness.
Plus, would not any siblings born in the usual way be tainted with sex-transmitted original sin?
But the fact is that the gospels refer to Jesus' brothers and sisters, including James, the brother of Jesus, who led the Jerusalem church after the resurrection. The standard answer is that these were cousins or close neighbors who had grown up with him. So the conclusion is that we do not know whether Mary gave birth to other children by Joseph. I would say that I do not see a strong theological reason for denying that she bore other children.
Yet, I suggest, sin is also transmitted via spirits, and in particular via the spirits of people during the sex act. This theory has had many adherents, from Augustine (354-430), to Ambrose (340-397) to Barth (1886-1968), though it has fallen into disfavor in modern times. Yet I do not mean to say that sex during marriage is not ordained by God. On the other hand, pair-bond marriage is for the fallen, not the risen who are admitted to paradise, as we see from MT 22.
MT 22: 23-33
Notice that Jesus is implying that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were already resurrected. The "day" of resurrection is Jesus himself.23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.
Similarly, when Martha was grieving over her brother Lazarus's death, Jesus says that those who trust him will never die, not that they will die and be resurrected. They already have life, whatever the condition of the body.
JN 11::24-26
In order for God to ransom us from our terrible captivity and from the grim fate of death, it was necessary that a deadly injustice be done to a sinless person. Who would God choose for that role other than someone with whom he was on very intimate terms? And yet no man who had Adam's spiritual seed in him could qualify. Why? Because sin is transmitted during the sex act between two people.24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Recall that Jesus told us that if a person even looks at another person with lust, the heart is stained by sin. Yes, I realize that such feelings are natural -- in this fallen world. During the sex act the male at least is experiencing some sort of intensity, and perhaps the female. At the point of conception, the soul is imparted to the new being. Whatever sin is staining each person may also stamp the new creation.
In fact, in some cases "lower" souls enter humanity this way; or possibly one of the biological parents already has a "lower" soul, thus tending to unconsciously "believe" a lower soul into existence. I am referring here to the souls of the "children of perdition" who, though human, are not truly made after the image of God. These are the tares that will be sifted out and destroyed when the time comes. They were never meant to be.
But even for those not born as tares, the imprint of sin is passed from one generation to the next in the human race.
These observations lead us to realize why Jesus was born of a virgin. The natural seed of Adam was spiritually tainted. Jesus, as the new Adam, must begin life without taint. His mother Mary, pure in heart, did not experience lust during the act of conception. She was a meek vessel. The Holy Spirit assured that conception was indeed immaculate. Thus, a new beginning for humanity could occur, with a man who was born with no sin becoming a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (IS 53:3). In this conception, we have the Son of God becoming a son of humanity (Son of Man). God mercifully made his utterly innocent son into sin for our sakes. By taking the sin of humanity upon himself, he actually became a cesspool of sin on the cross. The "man of sorrows" was a "man of sin" for our sakes.
Of course, we may wonder: how is it that Mary was not tainted by the sin of Adam? But the point is that Mary experienced no carnal desire during a sex act, because there was no sex act. She did transmit her human nature to her son. Another point is that "God does not look upon sin" (paraphrase of HAB 1:13 and of Paul's theology), so that whatever problems she may have had God overlooked, declining to see them as sinful. All this is speculation. The issue is that it was necessary, for our sakes, that a sinless man come into our fallen world so as to pay off the devil by submitting to a total injustice.
Christ's sacrifice would have been worthless had he not been utterly blameless. Sin cannot save. Sin cannot heal. Sin can only make you sick and kill you. By suffering the outrageous injustice of judicial murder, Jesus was able to renew and revive humanity.
Yes, he was a man born of the Spirit. But his and the Father's gift to us is that we can also be born of the Spirit with no taint of sin. On account of Jesus, God does not look upon the "old man of sin" -- our animalistic or carnal nature. So when the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit to remake our lowly spirits into a new creation, there is no sin during the process of being born again! We are now in with the In Crowd. No worries.
Though a born-again person should put Jesus first in his or her life, we all know that one may be truly born again and yet unable to tolerate the idea of not marrying. Jesus leaves the believer free to decide. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (JN 8:36).
In I COR 7, we observe that it is Paul's personal opinion that if one partner in a marriage is born again but the other not, the other partner is nevertheless sanctified. God honors the marriage. That doesn't mean the non-believing partner will be saved; maybe not. In any case, we see that if God did not bless the marriage bond on behalf of the born-again partner, the children would be, according to Paul, "unclean." Implicitly, this suggests that children receive the imprint of the sin of parents who have yet to avail themselves of God's gracious forgiveness.
MT 19:3-11
We can understand why some Christian thinkers concluded that Mary must have remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus. As the "Mother of God," they thought it inappropriate that she would have ever had carnal relations. And certainly one can point to NT references in which Jesus indicates that paradise's pleasures are better than sex, which is why people who have been deprived of sex have nothing to worry about.3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?ICOR 7:1-16
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
Plus, would not any siblings born in the usual way be tainted with sex-transmitted original sin?
But the fact is that the gospels refer to Jesus' brothers and sisters, including James, the brother of Jesus, who led the Jerusalem church after the resurrection. The standard answer is that these were cousins or close neighbors who had grown up with him. So the conclusion is that we do not know whether Mary gave birth to other children by Joseph. I would say that I do not see a strong theological reason for denying that she bore other children.
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Appendix C: Why speak in parables?
Accompanies the commentary on MT 7:6
Table of Content and Links
https://newziondays.blogspot.com/2020/01/content-of-commentary-on-sermon-on-mount.html
Please see Notes to Readers here:
https://zioncallingyou.blogspot.com/2019/12/on-writing-of-sermon-draft-3-include.html
Draft 5
Table of Content and Links
https://newziondays.blogspot.com/2020/01/content-of-commentary-on-sermon-on-mount.html
Please see Notes to Readers here:
https://zioncallingyou.blogspot.com/2019/12/on-writing-of-sermon-draft-3-include.html
The "pearls before swine" saying fits with Jesus telling the disciples that he teaches in parables -- dark sayings -- so that only some will understand. The parables make sense to the disciples, perhaps with explanation, because they are earnestly seeking the things of God. But others, with no such interest, will blow off such teaching as "crazy talk" and go their way, as we see when many followers turned away from Jesus when he told them he was the bread of life and they should consume him (JN 6:44-66).
Not everyone is ready to receive God's kingdom. Some never will be. So a "strong delusion" is sent to them, blinding them to the way out.
MK doesn't explain why some people must be excluded, but notes it. MT seems to have amplified MK, quoting Isaiah to establish what Jesus was saying. Possibly the additional information attributed to Jesus came from an independent source because the amplification tells the truth about the difference between the born-again believer and the unregenerate disbeliever. The born-again person has everything already, and he is going to get a lot more. The person not born again has nothing, and, if he doesn't turn to God. will lose what he has.
According to MT, many are not selected to receive the gospel because they are too hard-hearted. God can't get through to them right now, and perhaps does not even try -- although the call still goes out to them, but, again, they cannot really hear it.
It makes sense that metaphorical teaching stories reach only those who are interested. This "hide in plain sight" aspect actually protects those who are not ready to awaken, and allows them to slumber on. The use of "dark sayings" is akin to Moses wearing a veil to shield the people from the shekinah glory radiating from his face (EXODUS 34:34-35), a point made by the apostle in 2 COR (see below).
The Purpose of Jesus' Parables
Not everyone is ready to receive God's kingdom. Some never will be. So a "strong delusion" is sent to them, blinding them to the way out.
MK doesn't explain why some people must be excluded, but notes it. MT seems to have amplified MK, quoting Isaiah to establish what Jesus was saying. Possibly the additional information attributed to Jesus came from an independent source because the amplification tells the truth about the difference between the born-again believer and the unregenerate disbeliever. The born-again person has everything already, and he is going to get a lot more. The person not born again has nothing, and, if he doesn't turn to God. will lose what he has.
According to MT, many are not selected to receive the gospel because they are too hard-hearted. God can't get through to them right now, and perhaps does not even try -- although the call still goes out to them, but, again, they cannot really hear it.
It makes sense that metaphorical teaching stories reach only those who are interested. This "hide in plain sight" aspect actually protects those who are not ready to awaken, and allows them to slumber on. The use of "dark sayings" is akin to Moses wearing a veil to shield the people from the shekinah glory radiating from his face (EXODUS 34:34-35), a point made by the apostle in 2 COR (see below).
ISAIAH 6:9-10
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.2 COR 3:12-18
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The Purpose of Jesus' Parables
MK 4:10-12
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
MT 13:10-16
10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
JN 6:44-66 (with some verses skipped)
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Draft 5
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