I want to start this blog off first by saying that these second blogs on each book of the New Testament (all two of them) are among the most fun assignments that I have ever had to do. Whenever an assignment for a class becomes extremely fun, the product does not look like an assignment anymore. Instead it looks better because the grade is no longer what the student is focusing on. Let this paragraph be a disclaimer for this blog. I am not saying any of this for a grade. I anticipate that this blog will share what I have learned in my New Testament class but there is so much more. For example, the second Matthew blog is something I continue to struggle with. Mark’s second blog will not be an exception. It is more personal than the Matthew 2 blog.
God again reminded me of where I am struggling here at Colorado Christian University. It is not like I forget. No, that is not why God reminds me now. Instead He seems to make sure that I do not forget by reminding me many times a week. This is hard to share in the Internet where anybody could read it. I grew up in a church. I invested time and love into that church. Every Sunday I would be helping out somehow. I would be a greeter, a helper in Sunday School, or the person who changed the overheads during the music (back in the days of manually having to change slides…computers have since taken over that job…it is literally a click now). Yet during those years I felt left out of the Church. Long story short: I got hurt. I left Sunday church and swore that I would never return. One of the groups that I got hurt by most was my peers. Here I am this year living with Christian peers.
God has been amazing, however. The past year has been devoted to God healing the hurts that have been caused. I have discovered how deeply I am able to love my church in Idaho called The Crossing. I miss each member. The fact that I miss them is evidence of healing that God has already done.
But here I am living with peers. For me, they are the hardest group of Christians for me to hang out with. There is so much less privacy here. I do not know how many times I have been reading the Bible and spending time alone with God when somebody interrupts me. Well, my roommate has the right to come into our room. I cannot protest. I cannot move because my room is still the closest place of privacy I get here. I do not expect living here to become easy instantly. In fact, I bet it is going to be difficult for the whole time on Earth. However, there are things God wants to do in my life in the area of being among my peers.
In my New Testament class, we were all asked to look up Mark 4:35-41, where Jesus calms the sea and storm. It was read aloud and we were told to close our eyes and just allow words and phrases from the text to pop out at us. On the first read-through I picked out the phrase “Other boats were with him” (in verse 36). The phrase stuck out for me because there is only one boat in all the pictures I have ever seen about this story of Jesus. However, more than one boat was out on the sea, and that means that many people were afraid that day of perishing than just those in the boat with Jesus. There were other boats that Jesus was not in. How did they feel being stuck in the storm?
I think that stuck out because here at Colorado Christian University, I often feel that I am in one of those other boats. What are the people in the other boats supposed to do when the storm comes? They cannot just wake Jesus up because He is in another boat. Did they feel a little more like outcasts in the sense that God was not physically in their boats?
The second read-through a few more lines popped out at me. “evening”—it was coming to sundown. Dark seems to be emphasized here. Night is coming and storms already indicate a dark environment. Next, “The boat was already being swamped” (in verse 37). The disciples’ feet are wet. The boat(s) are not going to survive at the rate the storm was ravaging. These two ‘new’ passages added to my inventory of where I am spiritually right now. I am still feeling left out a bit here at CCU. I still am having a hard time living with the same type of people who have hurt me. However, one more phrase stuck out.
“Even the wind and the sea obey him” (in verse 41). Even in the spiritual world, the storms obey Jesus. The Church is made up of humans. Humans are not perfect. We all hurt one another. I have been told that so many times. Anytime I share that I had been hurt by a group of believers I am told again (side note: you can tell me that as much as you want, that does not help remove the pain of what happened). God is helping me. I am learning that Jesus is speaking “Peace” and it is my job to respond. I see my response as being able to do what Jesus did in that storm. Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel Church in Redding California, stated in that a person has peace in a storm that they can sleep in.
I believe that my calling on Earth includes keeping an eye out for people who have been hurt by a body of Christians. When I see a person who is hurt by a church, I have an understanding of how that feels. I also know that God is so much bigger than that pain they feel. I desire deeply to help others who are experiencing similar things that I have experienced. I pray that God helps me and gives me His words for those people. I pray that God.
As a Church, I think each of us needs to keep an eye out for those people. We are supposed to be united in such a way that nobody within the body gets hurt. However, we are also not perfect. I am praying hard for us to see when we hurt another human and recognize that God gets hurt when we hurt others.
The Church could learn a lot about discipleship from Mark. The most important thing within that is that we all fall short but God constantly stands by us and helps us. Each time the disciples failed they were forgiven.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Mark Blog 1
According to Craig S. Keener, the early Church gives authorship of Mark to Peter’s companion John Mark. However some scholars, as stated in the intro to Mark in the NISB, say that “modern scholars have generally been hesitant to link the Gospel of Mark to Peter on internal grounds, since Peter comes in for such heavy criticism in the narrative” (Tolbert 1802). Of course, the introduction goes on to say that the same evidence is used to defend the claim that Mark wrote the gospel.
Mark was written around 64 AD while the Romans were persecuting the church. The NISB says that Mark was probably written after Peter’s death while Nero persecuted the Church (Tolbert 1802). While the audience of Mark were probably Roman Christians, the place of writing is debated some people say that Mark was written in Galilee and others say that it was written in Alexandria while others say it was written in Rome (Keener 132). Mark’s audience was probably non-Jewish Christians who lived outside of Palestine.
The genre of Mark is a debated topic. Craig S. Keener states that the gospels are ancient biographies while the NISB states that it is probably a “novelistic biography.” At the same time, the NISB states
The Gospel of Mark is above all else an apocalyptic story, promising those presently in suffering and degradation that the much desired end is coming when all of God’s enemies, human and demonic, will be defeated and the present cruel world of suffering for God’s chosen will be no more (Tolbert 1801).
However before Christ returns the Gospel of Mark is “Jesus’ own example of how to live faithfully through these harrowing final moments” (Tolbert 1801).
Possibly the reason that Mark was written was to encourage the persecuted Church. Mark, unlike Greek tragedies has a happy ending which would have helped the church remember that God is faithful. Mark was trying to emphasize that following Jesus could involve suffering. Because Mark seems to show the failures of the disciples, it may also have been written to remind Christians that God would “still work with them patiently to help them get to that level of commitment” (Keener 133). The message of Mark is the “messianic secret” (Keener 133). Mark implies that the cross is where “Jesus is finally ‘coronated’” (Keener 133).
For me, one of the most interesting moments while reading Mark this time came from Mark 7:24-30 which is the story about the Gentile woman who asked Jesus to help her daughter, who had an unclean spirit. It caught my eye for a few different reasons. The first is that she and I are both Gentiles. The fact that I am a Gentile has been on my mind a lot lately. I suppose that I am trying to determine once again my identity in Christ. This first point is difficult for me to make because I am not sure if I completely understand it myself. The second reason this passage caught my eyes was because of her faith. She believed that the Jewish rabbi would be able to help her daughter. She recognized Jesus’ authority over evil spirits. How could she have known that he could have and would have helped her? This reminds me of Matthew 16:17 when Jesus tells Peter that God revealed to Peter the ‘Messiahship’ of Jesus and that no human could have revealed that to Peter. I think a similar thing took place in the woman’s heart. Craig S. Keener states “she indicates her faith that only the smallest fraction of his power is necessary to heal her daughter” (Keener 154). I thought that was interesting because it is true that only the pinky finger of God is needed to do anything and this woman recognizes that.
The other part of Mark that stuck out to me was in Mark 12:28-34 where a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers that the most important commandment is to love God with all heart, soul, mind and strength and second is to love neighbors. This reading was the first time that I ever realized that the scribe who asked Jesus the question seemed to recognize Jesus’ authority from God. I smiled this time around when Jesus said, “‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”
Tolbert, Mary Ann. “The Gospel According to Mark.” Pages 1801-1803 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. “Mark,” Pages 132-184 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Mark was written around 64 AD while the Romans were persecuting the church. The NISB says that Mark was probably written after Peter’s death while Nero persecuted the Church (Tolbert 1802). While the audience of Mark were probably Roman Christians, the place of writing is debated some people say that Mark was written in Galilee and others say that it was written in Alexandria while others say it was written in Rome (Keener 132). Mark’s audience was probably non-Jewish Christians who lived outside of Palestine.
The genre of Mark is a debated topic. Craig S. Keener states that the gospels are ancient biographies while the NISB states that it is probably a “novelistic biography.” At the same time, the NISB states
The Gospel of Mark is above all else an apocalyptic story, promising those presently in suffering and degradation that the much desired end is coming when all of God’s enemies, human and demonic, will be defeated and the present cruel world of suffering for God’s chosen will be no more (Tolbert 1801).
However before Christ returns the Gospel of Mark is “Jesus’ own example of how to live faithfully through these harrowing final moments” (Tolbert 1801).
Possibly the reason that Mark was written was to encourage the persecuted Church. Mark, unlike Greek tragedies has a happy ending which would have helped the church remember that God is faithful. Mark was trying to emphasize that following Jesus could involve suffering. Because Mark seems to show the failures of the disciples, it may also have been written to remind Christians that God would “still work with them patiently to help them get to that level of commitment” (Keener 133). The message of Mark is the “messianic secret” (Keener 133). Mark implies that the cross is where “Jesus is finally ‘coronated’” (Keener 133).
For me, one of the most interesting moments while reading Mark this time came from Mark 7:24-30 which is the story about the Gentile woman who asked Jesus to help her daughter, who had an unclean spirit. It caught my eye for a few different reasons. The first is that she and I are both Gentiles. The fact that I am a Gentile has been on my mind a lot lately. I suppose that I am trying to determine once again my identity in Christ. This first point is difficult for me to make because I am not sure if I completely understand it myself. The second reason this passage caught my eyes was because of her faith. She believed that the Jewish rabbi would be able to help her daughter. She recognized Jesus’ authority over evil spirits. How could she have known that he could have and would have helped her? This reminds me of Matthew 16:17 when Jesus tells Peter that God revealed to Peter the ‘Messiahship’ of Jesus and that no human could have revealed that to Peter. I think a similar thing took place in the woman’s heart. Craig S. Keener states “she indicates her faith that only the smallest fraction of his power is necessary to heal her daughter” (Keener 154). I thought that was interesting because it is true that only the pinky finger of God is needed to do anything and this woman recognizes that.
The other part of Mark that stuck out to me was in Mark 12:28-34 where a scribe asks Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers that the most important commandment is to love God with all heart, soul, mind and strength and second is to love neighbors. This reading was the first time that I ever realized that the scribe who asked Jesus the question seemed to recognize Jesus’ authority from God. I smiled this time around when Jesus said, “‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”
Tolbert, Mary Ann. “The Gospel According to Mark.” Pages 1801-1803 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. “Mark,” Pages 132-184 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Matthew Blog 2
What purpose does Matthew serve today for the Church as a whole and Christians individually? I think that if you were to ask Christians that today they would probably direct you to Chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. They may even narrow their answer to only include the Beatitudes. While they would be right I feel that they would be missing a second part of the larger picture.
Jesus came to Earth to bring glory to the Father and to become the sacrifice for the sins of all who accept Him as their lamb. He taught everyone how to be a disciple from the inside out. Not only should we not murder, but we also should not think angry thoughts against other people. Not only should we not commit adultery, but we also should not lust after another human ever. Jesus told us that we are blessed when we are persecuted, when we are poor in spirit, when we are meek, when we mourn, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when we are merciful, when we are peacemakers, and when we are pure in heart.
Sometimes I feel that the action of the Sermon on the Mount is lost to readers today. I speak only with the understanding of what the American Church is and what other Churches around the world are. We here in America are not nearly as persecuted as Christians are in other parts of the world. We claim that we would take a bullet for Christ. After all He said that those who lose their life for the sake of Christ will gain their life (Matthew 10:39).
Years ago a phrase was spoken throughout the country that Christians loved to ask. “What would Jesus do?” Well, according to Matthew, Jesus forgave all who came to Him with a repentant heart. Jesus healed all who believed. Jesus ate with sinners. Jesus touched a dead girl and a leper. Jesus lived the Sermon on the Mount greater than most of us even try.
I feel ashamed when I try to measure up to even one aspect of Jesus’ life here. How many times in Matthew does it say something like “and Jesus had compassion on them…” even though He was constantly surrounded by people. He found time to get away from everyone so that He could be with God alone. His patience was abnormally high (or is ours abnormally low?). Can any of us honestly say that we always help another person out when we can? I go to Fatboys, a homeless ministry offered through Colorado Christian University. Part of me feels like I have helped out afterwards. A single meal is helpful, but a single meal is just a single meal. The main feeling I have when I see a person who is curled up in the rain is pain. Crowds of people just ignore them. I have been that person ignoring them before. So what would Jesus do there? I have a feeling that He would sit beside the person and listen. In the act of listening Jesus would show the gospel. You know that phrase, “There is something different about you. What is it?” Jesus would have been asked that a lot. How many times have you been asked that? For me, never.
Sure, I act differently. I go to church and I pray. I do not get drunk and I do not seek intimate romantic relationships. I do not use vulgar words in daily speech. I try to be honest even when it is tough. However, I cannot help but wonder, what do I do?
What can the Church learn from Matthew? What can I learn from Matthew? The answer is a lot. We can learn how to put God first. We can learn how to pray. We can learn how to live the Sermon on the Mount. We can learn what the Great Commission really means.
Jesus came to Earth to bring glory to the Father and to become the sacrifice for the sins of all who accept Him as their lamb. He taught everyone how to be a disciple from the inside out. Not only should we not murder, but we also should not think angry thoughts against other people. Not only should we not commit adultery, but we also should not lust after another human ever. Jesus told us that we are blessed when we are persecuted, when we are poor in spirit, when we are meek, when we mourn, when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, when we are merciful, when we are peacemakers, and when we are pure in heart.
Sometimes I feel that the action of the Sermon on the Mount is lost to readers today. I speak only with the understanding of what the American Church is and what other Churches around the world are. We here in America are not nearly as persecuted as Christians are in other parts of the world. We claim that we would take a bullet for Christ. After all He said that those who lose their life for the sake of Christ will gain their life (Matthew 10:39).
Years ago a phrase was spoken throughout the country that Christians loved to ask. “What would Jesus do?” Well, according to Matthew, Jesus forgave all who came to Him with a repentant heart. Jesus healed all who believed. Jesus ate with sinners. Jesus touched a dead girl and a leper. Jesus lived the Sermon on the Mount greater than most of us even try.
I feel ashamed when I try to measure up to even one aspect of Jesus’ life here. How many times in Matthew does it say something like “and Jesus had compassion on them…” even though He was constantly surrounded by people. He found time to get away from everyone so that He could be with God alone. His patience was abnormally high (or is ours abnormally low?). Can any of us honestly say that we always help another person out when we can? I go to Fatboys, a homeless ministry offered through Colorado Christian University. Part of me feels like I have helped out afterwards. A single meal is helpful, but a single meal is just a single meal. The main feeling I have when I see a person who is curled up in the rain is pain. Crowds of people just ignore them. I have been that person ignoring them before. So what would Jesus do there? I have a feeling that He would sit beside the person and listen. In the act of listening Jesus would show the gospel. You know that phrase, “There is something different about you. What is it?” Jesus would have been asked that a lot. How many times have you been asked that? For me, never.
Sure, I act differently. I go to church and I pray. I do not get drunk and I do not seek intimate romantic relationships. I do not use vulgar words in daily speech. I try to be honest even when it is tough. However, I cannot help but wonder, what do I do?
What can the Church learn from Matthew? What can I learn from Matthew? The answer is a lot. We can learn how to put God first. We can learn how to pray. We can learn how to live the Sermon on the Mount. We can learn what the Great Commission really means.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Matthew Blog 1
The authorship is traditionally credited to Matthew, one of the disciples of Jesus. However there are debates to the book’s authorship. The NISB suggests that the name was chosen because it means “Gift of God,” which is the point of the gospel. Matthew also looks like the words for “disciple” and “learn” in the Greek language. The IRSB states that “Matthew represents the gospel’s ideal reader as a disciple who learns from the story of Jesus” (Carter, 1745). The Early Church, on the other hand, tended to believe that Matthew wrote the book.
The time and place of the book of Matthew was written is also debated. Some think that Matthew was written during 50-60 A.D. While others believe that the book was written after the temple’s destruction in 70 A.D. The Early Church believed that Matthew was the first of the four gospels and that it was written around 50-60 A.D. The place that Matthew was written probably Syria, specifically Antioch or Galilee.
Matthew is an ancient biography which did not rely on being chronological like biographies of today. Instead they focused more on selected parts of the person’s life that they were writing about. Matthew can be seen as if it were written in “topographical order” (Keener, 45). In his commentary, Craig S. Keener, observes that there are five topics within the book of Matthew and they are: ethics of the kingdom, mission of the kingdom, presence of the kingdom, church discipline and forgiveness, and future of the kingdom (Keener 45).
The purpose of Matthew is to speak directly to Jewish-Christians who at the time were struggling with the Pharisaic members of Judaism. At the same time Matthew also has a discipleship message that goes beyond the Jewish community. The most important purpose of Matthew is to establish Jesus as the Son of God and as the Messiah. The first chapter of Matthew sets Jesus up as the son of David and the son of Abraham in verse one and then as the Messiah in verse 16.
Matthew’s message was probably used as a “training manual for new Christians (Keener, 45). The way Jesus acted throughout the book is the way the church is supposed to act as well. The way Jesus teaches, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7, is the way that his followers are supposed to be. Matthew reveals Jesus as fulfilling Jewish Scriptures. Jesus is the hope for the Jewish readers and also for the Gentiles.
Prior to this reading of Matthew I never saw the parallel between Moses and Jesus as the New Moses. This new understanding of the text opened up many revelatory moments. The first of these was in Matthew 2:16 which says “When Herod learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who was two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men” (NISB). I had never noticed that, like Moses, Jesus escaped the wrath of an angry ruler. Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness and the temptation he encountered parallels with Moses and the Israelites. Also, Moses prayed to God and God provided Manna, quail, and water for the Israelites during their time in the wilderness. Again I am reminded of Moses in chapters five through seven. My favorite “aha” moment was when my mind made the connection between Moses going up the mountain to receive the law and Jesus going up the mountain to give the law refined to the listeners. Jesus also fed thousands with only a small amount of food.
Another thought-provoking moment for me was in Matthew 9:20-12. Jesus is walking to the home of a leader of a synagogue because the man’s daughter had died. The verses say, “Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak for she said to herself, ‘If only I touch his cloak, I will be made well.’ And instantly the woman was made well” (NISB). The part that made me think was what the commentary said, “In an act of scandalous faith, she touches Jesus’ garment…” (Keener, 71). The word “scandalous” struck me in a strong way. I mean, it really was scandalous faith because she was considered unclean because of the hemorrhaging. Walking through the crowds would have made everyone around her unclean according to the Torah. Yet her faith was the thing that drove her. “If only I touch his cloak…” was her thought. She had the faith to be healed and the faith to act. Because of her faith in action, she was healed.
Works Cited:
Carter, Warren. “The Gospel According to Matthew.” Pages 1745-47 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. “Matthew,” Pages 43-131 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993
The time and place of the book of Matthew was written is also debated. Some think that Matthew was written during 50-60 A.D. While others believe that the book was written after the temple’s destruction in 70 A.D. The Early Church believed that Matthew was the first of the four gospels and that it was written around 50-60 A.D. The place that Matthew was written probably Syria, specifically Antioch or Galilee.
Matthew is an ancient biography which did not rely on being chronological like biographies of today. Instead they focused more on selected parts of the person’s life that they were writing about. Matthew can be seen as if it were written in “topographical order” (Keener, 45). In his commentary, Craig S. Keener, observes that there are five topics within the book of Matthew and they are: ethics of the kingdom, mission of the kingdom, presence of the kingdom, church discipline and forgiveness, and future of the kingdom (Keener 45).
The purpose of Matthew is to speak directly to Jewish-Christians who at the time were struggling with the Pharisaic members of Judaism. At the same time Matthew also has a discipleship message that goes beyond the Jewish community. The most important purpose of Matthew is to establish Jesus as the Son of God and as the Messiah. The first chapter of Matthew sets Jesus up as the son of David and the son of Abraham in verse one and then as the Messiah in verse 16.
Matthew’s message was probably used as a “training manual for new Christians (Keener, 45). The way Jesus acted throughout the book is the way the church is supposed to act as well. The way Jesus teaches, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5-7, is the way that his followers are supposed to be. Matthew reveals Jesus as fulfilling Jewish Scriptures. Jesus is the hope for the Jewish readers and also for the Gentiles.
Prior to this reading of Matthew I never saw the parallel between Moses and Jesus as the New Moses. This new understanding of the text opened up many revelatory moments. The first of these was in Matthew 2:16 which says “When Herod learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who was two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men” (NISB). I had never noticed that, like Moses, Jesus escaped the wrath of an angry ruler. Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness and the temptation he encountered parallels with Moses and the Israelites. Also, Moses prayed to God and God provided Manna, quail, and water for the Israelites during their time in the wilderness. Again I am reminded of Moses in chapters five through seven. My favorite “aha” moment was when my mind made the connection between Moses going up the mountain to receive the law and Jesus going up the mountain to give the law refined to the listeners. Jesus also fed thousands with only a small amount of food.
Another thought-provoking moment for me was in Matthew 9:20-12. Jesus is walking to the home of a leader of a synagogue because the man’s daughter had died. The verses say, “Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak for she said to herself, ‘If only I touch his cloak, I will be made well.’ And instantly the woman was made well” (NISB). The part that made me think was what the commentary said, “In an act of scandalous faith, she touches Jesus’ garment…” (Keener, 71). The word “scandalous” struck me in a strong way. I mean, it really was scandalous faith because she was considered unclean because of the hemorrhaging. Walking through the crowds would have made everyone around her unclean according to the Torah. Yet her faith was the thing that drove her. “If only I touch his cloak…” was her thought. She had the faith to be healed and the faith to act. Because of her faith in action, she was healed.
Works Cited:
Carter, Warren. “The Gospel According to Matthew.” Pages 1745-47 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. “Matthew,” Pages 43-131 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993
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