This is Casey, one of my
Tonight Jenn Vue did it!!!!.
Many Jews of Jesus' day (and actually, the Greeks) thought of the Kingdom of God as largely a future identity/reality/location.
So when Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 announces that he, as King, is ALREADY bringing in the Kingdom,
this not only subverted expectations, but sounded crazy....and like he was claiming to bring the future into the present.
The Jews talked often about "this age" (earth/now) and "the age to come." (heaven/future).
"Age to come" was used in a way that it was virtually synonymous with "The Kingdom."
Scripture suggests that:
The "age to come" (the Kingdom)
has in large part already come (from the future/heaven)
into "this age"
(in the present/on the earth
by means of the earthy ministry of Jesus: King of the Kingdom.
Thus, Hebrews 6:4-8 offers that disciples ("tamidim") of Jesus have
"already (in this age) tasted the powers of the age to come."
In Jesus, in large part, the age to come has come.
The Future has visited the present,
Here are some articles that may help:
Thus today's video field trip..
Today's video on The Exodus and the "Dance Party on the Beach" is not online in any form (though you can buy it as episode 5 on this DVD). The points to remember are how this was the seminal/foundational/formative microcosmic event of (perhaps all) Scripture, in that:
1)It presents a pattern and prototype of any deliverance from bondage/slavery; and every "way out" (Ex-Odus)
from an old way/world to a new way/world. We had some good discussion about "in-between times" in our lives that we recognized (maybe only in retrospect) as pivotal and formative. Crossing the sea is often meant to call to mind crossing a barrier (remember the Jordan River video from Week One) into a while new world, creation or order; from allegiance to forbidden gods to The One God. Jesus is seen in Matthew as the New Moses in that just as Moses led God's people out of bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Pharoah) and an empire that infected them (Egypt), so Jesus leads God;s people out of spiritual bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Herod) and an empire that infected them (Rome). This is a classic intertexting/hyperlinking/parallelism.
2)It is really the first time God's people are formed/forged into a community; they have "been through stuff together" and are inevitably bonded and changed through a corporate experience. Thus:
3)Also, remember (for the test) the Jewish tradition that the Kingdom of God functionally, and for all practical purposes began (or landed in a foundational way on earth) when God's people there on the beach danced and sang, "The Lord is reigning" ( Exodus 15:18 )...remembering that "reigning" could be translated "King" or "Reigner". Thus, God's Kingship "began" when God's people publicly recognized it after seeing God in action in dramatic way as King. Vander Laan: "The Kingdom begins when God acts"
...Exodus 15:18:
to The Exodus and the "Dance Party on the Beach." This video, which we will draw from all semester is not online in any form (though you can buy it as episode 5 on this DVD). The points to remember are how this was the seminal/foundational/formative microcosmic event of (perhaps all) Scripture, in that:
1)It presents a pattern and prototype of any deliverance from bondage/slavery; and every "way out" (Ex-Odus)
from an old way/world to a new way/world. We had some good discussion about "in-between times" in our lives that we recognized (maybe only in retrospect) as pivotal and formative. Crossing the sea is often meant to call to mind crossing a barrier (remember the Jordan River video from Week One) into a while new world, creation or order; from allegiance to forbidden gods to The One God. Jesus is seen in Matthew as the New Moses in that just as Moses led God's people out of bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Pharoah, who is a hyperlink to Herod, see chapter 4 of H & Y textbook) and an empire that infected them (Egypt), so Jesus leads God's people out of spiritual bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Herod) and an empire that infected them (Rome). This is a classic intertexting/hyperlinking/parallelism.
2)It is really the first time God's people are formed/forged into a community; they have "been through stuff together" and are inevitably bonded and changed through a corporate experience. They have experienced "communitas" and "liminality" (both terms will be on exams) together.. Thus:
3)Also, remember (for the test) the Jewish tradition that the Kingdom of God functionally, and for all practical purposes, began (or landed in a foundational way on earth) when God's people there on the beach danced and sang, "The Lord is reigning" ( Exodus 15:18 )...remembering that "reigning" could be translated "King" or "Reigner". Thus, God's Kingship "began" when God's people publicly recognized it after seeing God in action in dramatic way as King. Vander Laan: "The Kingdom begins when God acts"
----------------------------
Jesus came to serve.
The last shall be first.
That's who is great in the Kingdom economy:
Jesus said in it yet another chiasm:
My Dack Rambo story? Click here to read all about it, and for the sequel click:
" I Deny the Resurrection and I am not straight."
(uh, better click that title and get the context!)
we apply some "Three Worlds" theory to Matthew 18 and the topic of "Who is great?"
A video on that chapter featuring Keltic Ken:
Related outtakes:
Of Historical World note:
2)How did Jesus treat tax collectors and sinners? In a centered set way. Tony Jones writes:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coffee shop prank
These were to remind us of how shocking, subversive, surprising Jesus' temple tantrum was.
Here's BSN 12 getting pranked. Click here
class discussion on Matthew 21 (Mark 11)
a)Van Der Laan:
b)FPU prof Tim Geddert:
--
INTERCALATION is a "sandwiching" technique. where a story/theme is told/repeated at the beginning and ened of a section, suggesting that if a different story appears in between, it too is related thematically. We looked at this outline of Mark 11:
CURSING OF FIG FREE
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE
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----------Apples, Oranges, Versititis
--
-----------------------------
Preview of next week's field trip:
Homework Help:If in red you can skip
KINGDOM:
The "core message of Jesus"?
The Kingdom (p 16, Kraybill)
KINGDOM:In light of the video above, and the Bible's use of the term,
The "core message of Jesus"?
The Kingdom (p 16, Kraybill)
KINGDOM:In light of the video above, and the Bible's use of the term,
- not realm, but reign
- not place , but person
- not race, but grace
- not just "then and there," but 'here and now" (Matt. 4:17, 6:10)
>>How does the Kingdom "come" from the "future"?:
Many Jews of Jesus' day (and actually, the Greeks) thought of the Kingdom of God as largely a future identity/reality/location.
So when Jesus, in Matthew 4:17 announces that he, as King, is ALREADY bringing in the Kingdom,
The Jews talked often about "this age" (earth/now) and "the age to come." (heaven/future).
"Age to come" was used in a way that it was virtually synonymous with "The Kingdom."
Scripture suggests that:
The "age to come" (the Kingdom)
has in large part already come (from the future/heaven)
into "this age"
(in the present/on the earth
by means of the earthy ministry of Jesus: King of the Kingdom.
Thus, Hebrews 6:4-8 offers that disciples ("tamidim") of Jesus have
"already (in this age) tasted the powers of the age to come."
In Jesus, in large part, the age to come has come.
The Future has visited the present,
Here are some articles that may help:
>>How does the Kingdom "come" from the " past"?:
In light of (and in spite of ) everything we just said there also WAS a sense in which the Jews believed that --in a limited but vital way--- the Kingdom had begun on earth.. at a specific Old Testament time and place... and worked "forwards" from there.Thus today's video field trip..
Today's video on The Exodus and the "Dance Party on the Beach" is not online in any form (though you can buy it as episode 5 on this DVD). The points to remember are how this was the seminal/foundational/formative microcosmic event of (perhaps all) Scripture, in that:
1)It presents a pattern and prototype of any deliverance from bondage/slavery; and every "way out" (Ex-Odus)
from an old way/world to a new way/world. We had some good discussion about "in-between times" in our lives that we recognized (maybe only in retrospect) as pivotal and formative. Crossing the sea is often meant to call to mind crossing a barrier (remember the Jordan River video from Week One) into a while new world, creation or order; from allegiance to forbidden gods to The One God. Jesus is seen in Matthew as the New Moses in that just as Moses led God's people out of bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Pharoah) and an empire that infected them (Egypt), so Jesus leads God;s people out of spiritual bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Herod) and an empire that infected them (Rome). This is a classic intertexting/hyperlinking/parallelism.
2)It is really the first time God's people are formed/forged into a community; they have "been through stuff together" and are inevitably bonded and changed through a corporate experience. Thus:
3)Also, remember (for the test) the Jewish tradition that the Kingdom of God functionally, and for all practical purposes began (or landed in a foundational way on earth) when God's people there on the beach danced and sang, "The Lord is reigning" ( Exodus 15:18 )...remembering that "reigning" could be translated "King" or "Reigner". Thus, God's Kingship "began" when God's people publicly recognized it after seeing God in action in dramatic way as King. Vander Laan: "The Kingdom begins when God acts"
...Exodus 15:18:
- "The Lord is reigning from this point onward."
- "The Lord is King from this point onward."
---
The key place for Israel; the seminal event, the central memory in the Jewish mind in Jesus' day, was
The dance party on the beach.
The very place the Kingdom began.
As a 'beach-head," if you will.
I'm glad no one has built a taco stand there..
Here it is..
The Jews believed that --in a limited but vital way--- the Kingdom had begun on earth.. at a specific Old Testament time and place... and worked "forwards" from there. Even though this "seminal event": (Van DerLaan's phrase) happened 1000+ years before Jesus, and no one alive in Jesus' day was there when it happened, it was as if they were. Common memory.
see also pp, 82-87 of H and Y textbook..
to The Exodus and the "Dance Party on the Beach." This video, which we will draw from all semester is not online in any form (though you can buy it as episode 5 on this DVD). The points to remember are how this was the seminal/foundational/formative microcosmic event of (perhaps all) Scripture, in that:
1)It presents a pattern and prototype of any deliverance from bondage/slavery; and every "way out" (Ex-Odus)
from an old way/world to a new way/world. We had some good discussion about "in-between times" in our lives that we recognized (maybe only in retrospect) as pivotal and formative. Crossing the sea is often meant to call to mind crossing a barrier (remember the Jordan River video from Week One) into a while new world, creation or order; from allegiance to forbidden gods to The One God. Jesus is seen in Matthew as the New Moses in that just as Moses led God's people out of bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Pharoah, who is a hyperlink to Herod, see chapter 4 of H & Y textbook) and an empire that infected them (Egypt), so Jesus leads God's people out of spiritual bondage to an oppressive ruler/"king" (Herod) and an empire that infected them (Rome). This is a classic intertexting/hyperlinking/parallelism.
2)It is really the first time God's people are formed/forged into a community; they have "been through stuff together" and are inevitably bonded and changed through a corporate experience. They have experienced "communitas" and "liminality" (both terms will be on exams) together.. Thus:
3)Also, remember (for the test) the Jewish tradition that the Kingdom of God functionally, and for all practical purposes, began (or landed in a foundational way on earth) when God's people there on the beach danced and sang, "The Lord is reigning" ( Exodus 15:18 )...remembering that "reigning" could be translated "King" or "Reigner". Thus, God's Kingship "began" when God's people publicly recognized it after seeing God in action in dramatic way as King. Vander Laan: "The Kingdom begins when God acts"
...Exodus 15:18:
- "The Lord is reigning from this point onward."
- "The Lord is King from this point onward."
This week';s "COMMUNITY" topic is Greatness
Jesus came to serve.
The last shall be first.
That's who is great in the Kingdom economy:
Jesus said in it yet another chiasm:
But those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted
(Matt 23:12)
ONE GREAT PERSON SURVEYS
" I Deny the Resurrection and I am not straight."
(uh, better click that title and get the context!)
we apply some "Three Worlds" theory to Matthew 18 and the topic of "Who is great?"
As we study, apply as many literary world symbols as you can
A video on that chapter featuring Keltic Ken:
Related outtakes:
KKKOf LITERARY WORLD note:
- -There is a hyperinked account in Matthew 16, there only Peter receives power to bind and loose, here all the disciples do. Remember 'ustedes va"?
- -The sheep parable hyperlinks to Luke 15, but with a different context
- Structurally, the last section of chapter 17 is connected
- Two inclusios place this section in the middle of a unit about taxes/rights and children. Implications---
Of Historical World note:
- What did you learn about a millstone from tonight's video clip?: Half the clip is below, and notes from complete video here:
-
Faith Lessons by Ray Vander Laan: The Weight of the World
“Gethsemane” means olive press. The film shows an image of an ancient olive press at Capernaum. The olive press symbolizes the crucifixion.There is a synagogue in Capernaum from the 3rd or 4th century, which is likely along the same plans as was used in the First Century.Jesus was asked to heal a centurion’s servant. The centurion had built the synagogue and was highly esteemed by the people.(Luke 7:2-5) There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”Jesus was amazed at the faith of the centurion.In Matthew 11, Jesus pronounces a curse on Capernaum for failing to repent.(Mat 11:20-23) Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.RVL: We’ve been taught the miracles of Jesus. Therefore, we will have no excuse. The most severe curses in the Bible are against those who knew better — not those who sinned in ignorance.
Olive oil was used for lubricant, for fuel, for lamps, for cleaning, as a preservative, and in cooking. Olive oil production was a major industry.A massive stone rolled over the olives to produce olive oil. The crushed olives were then placed in another container and a massive stone column crushed the rest of the oil out of them. The olives were repeatedly crushed to get all the oil out.Only the wealthy, typically the aristocrats, could afford the equipment needed to press the olives, and so they had control over local agriculture.The Messiah is the “annointed one,” which refers to annointing with oil — olive oil.Every few hundred years, an olive tree will stop bearing fruit and so must be cut down, and a new tree will grow from the stump.(Isa 11:1) A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.The Jews taught that the new “shoot” was the Messiah — the shoot or branch out of Jesse.Paul teaches that the Gentiles are grafted into the stump, meaning that out roots are Jewish.And if God will cut down the natural tree for not bearing fruit, what will he do with the grafted-in tree?“Nazareth” means shoot. Hence, Jesus is from “shoot” or “branch.”Parents of children brought children to be blessed by the rabbi Jesus. Jesus insisted that the children come.(Mat 18:2-6) He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.Children had no status in that culture. To become like a child was to give up status and rights.Jesus felt strongly about those without status, who are unimportant. These are the “little ones.” If we don’t care about the little ones, the unimportant, the unloved, we’ll be tossed into the Abyss with a millstone (from an olive press) tied around our necks.
The column or pillar of stone used to squeeze the last of the oil out of a crushed olive was a “geth semane.” After telling the disciples to take on the gates of hell, he led them to Jerusalem, and then he went to the Garden of the Olive Press. There he felt the weight of the olive pressed — to the point of sweating blood.The burden of carrying our sins was enormous. The “olives” are Jesus. The “weight” is us — we are the weight that squeezed the blood out of Jesus.
NOTE A RECURRENCE OF the phrase "little one."Watchthis (click)video, "Weight of the World," and be prepared to discuss what these two items are
Remember Jesus said a lost sheep was great, Wow.
Page 22 of Syllabus,Matthew 18 Outline
(by Greg Camp/Laura Roberts):
1 Question #1: Who is Greatest?
2-17 Responses (each are counter proposals):
2-10 Response #1: Children
2-4 Counter Proposal: Accept children
5-9 Threat: If cause scandal
10 Show of force: Angels protect
12-14 Response #2: Sheep
12-14 Counter Proposal: Search for the 1 of 100 who is lost
15-17 Response #3: Brother who sins (counter proposal)
15a Hypothetical situation: If sin
15-17 Answer: Attempt to get brother to be reconciled
17b If fail: Put him out and start over
18-20 Statement: What you bind or loose
21-22 Question #2: How far do we go in forgiveness?
23-35 Response #1: Parable of the forgiving king/unforgiving servant
----------------Read verses 15-17 and then ask yourself:
"What did it mean in their historical world to treat people like
"tax collectors and sinners?"
"What did it mean in their historical world to treat people like
Two answers
1)Don't allow them in your bounded set.
2)How did Jesus treat tax collectors and sinners? In a centered set way. Tony Jones writes:
but because anyone, including Trucker Frank, can speak freely in this church, my seminary-trained eyes were opened to find a truth in the Bible that had previously eluded me.”...That truth emerged in a discussion of Matthew 18's "treat the unrepentant brother like a tax collector or sinner.":"And how did Jesus treat tax collectors and pagans?" Frank asked aloud, pausing, "as of for a punchline he'd been waiting all his life to deliver,"....., "He welcomed them!""
Coffee shop prank
These were to remind us of how shocking, subversive, surprising Jesus' temple tantrum was.
Here's BSN 12 getting pranked. Click here
---
--
==
class discussion on Matthew 21 (Mark 11)
Three Acted Parables about Nationalism)
especially focusing on the temple tantrum..
Note, the chapter started with "Palm Sunday":
--
we watched the "Lamb of God" video and discussed how it was actually a nationalistic misunderstanding. If Jesus showed up personally in your church Sunday, would you wave the American flag at him, and ask him to run for president? 
Note, the chapter started with "Palm Sunday":
--
we watched the "Lamb of God" video and discussed how it was actually a nationalistic misunderstanding. If Jesus showed up personally in your church Sunday, would you wave the American flag at him, and ask him to run for president? 
a)Van Der Laan:
Jesus on his way to Jerusalem
On the Sunday before Passover, Jesus came out of the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives (just as the prophecy said the Messiah would come).
People spread cloaks and branches on the road before him. Then the disciples ?began, joyfully, to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen? (Luke 19:37). The crowd began shouting, "Hosanna" a slogan of the ultra-nationalistic Zealots, which meant, "Please save us! Give us freedom! We?re sick of these Romans!"
The Palm Branches
The people also waved palm branches, a symbol that had once been placed on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free. Thus the palm branches were not a symbol of peace and love, as Christians usually assume; they were a symbol of Jewish nationalism, an expression of the people?s desire for political freedom __LINK to full article
b)FPU prof Tim Geddert:
Palm Sunday is a day of pomp and pageantry. Many church sanctuaries are decorated with palm fronds. I’ve even been in a church that literally sent a donkey down the aisle with a Jesus-figure on it. We cheer with the crowds—shout our hosannas—praising God exuberantly as Jesus the king enters the royal city.
But if Matthew, the gospel writer, attended one of our Palm Sunday services, I fear he would respond in dismay, “Don’t you get it?” We call Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem “The Triumphal Entry,” and just like the Jerusalem crowds, we fail to notice that Jesus is holding back tears.
Jesus did not intend for this to be a victory march into Jerusalem, a political rally to muster popular support or a publicity stunt for some worthy project. Jesus was staging a protest—a protest against the empire-building ways of the world.
LINK: full article :Parade Or Protest March
 |
| Some revolutionaries from all nations overlooking the Temple Mount, on our 2004 trip |
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the money changers were in the Gentile courts of the temple..Jesus' action opened up the plaza so that Gentiles could pray." -Kraybill, Upside Down Kingdom, p. 151.
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the money changers were in the Gentile courts of the temple..Jesus' action opened up the plaza so that Gentiles could pray." -Kraybill, Upside Down Kingdom, p. 151.
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--
FOR ALL THE NATIONS: BY RAY VANDER LAAN:
Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke of the Temple as a house of prayer for all the nations? (Isa. 56:7). The Temple represented his presence among his people, and he wanted all believers to have access to him.
Even during the Old Testament era, God spoke specifically about allowing non-Jewish people to his Temple: ?And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord ? these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer? (Isa. 56:7).
Unfortunately, the Temple authorities of Jesus? day forgot God?s desire for all people to worship freely at the Temple. Moneychangers had settled into the Gentile court, along with those who sold sacrificial animals and other religious merchandise. Their activities probably disrupted the Gentiles trying to worship there.
When Jesus entered the Temple area, he cleared the court of these moneychangers and vendors. Today, we often attribute his anger to the fact that they turned the temple area into a business enterprise. But Jesus was probably angry for another reason as well.
As he drove out the vendors, Jesus quoted the passage from Isaiah, ?Is it not written: ?My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations??? The vendors had been inconsiderate of Gentile believers. Their willingness to disrupt Gentile worship and prayers reflected a callous attitude of indifference toward the spiritual needs of Gentiles.
Through his anger and actions, Jesus reminded everyone nearby that God cared for Jew and Gentile alike. He showed his followers that God?s Temple was to be a holy place of prayer and worship for all believers. - Van Der Laan
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TEMPLE TANTRUMEven during the Old Testament era, God spoke specifically about allowing non-Jewish people to his Temple: ?And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord ? these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer? (Isa. 56:7).
Unfortunately, the Temple authorities of Jesus? day forgot God?s desire for all people to worship freely at the Temple. Moneychangers had settled into the Gentile court, along with those who sold sacrificial animals and other religious merchandise. Their activities probably disrupted the Gentiles trying to worship there.
When Jesus entered the Temple area, he cleared the court of these moneychangers and vendors. Today, we often attribute his anger to the fact that they turned the temple area into a business enterprise. But Jesus was probably angry for another reason as well.
As he drove out the vendors, Jesus quoted the passage from Isaiah, ?Is it not written: ?My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations??? The vendors had been inconsiderate of Gentile believers. Their willingness to disrupt Gentile worship and prayers reflected a callous attitude of indifference toward the spiritual needs of Gentiles.
Through his anger and actions, Jesus reminded everyone nearby that God cared for Jew and Gentile alike. He showed his followers that God?s Temple was to be a holy place of prayer and worship for all believers. - Van Der Laan
---
INTERCALATION is a "sandwiching" technique. where a story/theme is told/repeated at the beginning and ened of a section, suggesting that if a different story appears in between, it too is related thematically. We looked at this outline of Mark 11:
CURSING OF FIG FREE
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE
We discussed how the cursing of the fig tree was Jesus' commentary of nationalism/racism/prejudice, because fig trees are often a symbol of national Israel. That the fig tree cursing story is "cut in two" by the inserting/"intercalating" of the temple cleansing, suggested that Jesus action in the temple was also commentary on prejuidice...which become more obvious when we realize the moneychangers and dovesellers are set up in the "court of the Gentiles," which kept the temple from being a "house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS (GENTILES).
This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.
double paste: Often, two Scriptures/texts are combined into a new one. Ex. : Jesus says “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The first clause (before the comma) is from Isaiah 56:6-8, and the second is from Jeremiah 7:11
--
This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.
double paste: Often, two Scriptures/texts are combined into a new one. Ex. : Jesus says “My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of thieves.” The first clause (before the comma) is from Isaiah 56:6-8, and the second is from Jeremiah 7:11
--
SOREQ
Temple Warning Inscription:
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was surrounded by a fence (balustrade) with a sign (soreq) that was about 5 ft. [1.5 m.] high. On this fence were mounted inscriptions in Latin and Greek forbidding Gentiles from entering the temple area proper.
One complete inscription was found in Jerusalem and is now on display on the second floor of the “Archaeological Museum” in Istanbul.
The Greek text has been translated: “Foreigners must not enter inside the balustrade or into the forecourt around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” Compare the accusation against Paul found in Acts 21:28 and Paul’s comments in Ephesians 2:14—“the dividing wall.”
Translation from Elwell, Walter A., and Yarbrough, Robert W., eds. Readings from the First–Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study. Encountering Biblical Studies, general editor and New Testament editor Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998, p. 83. Click Here
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Three thought experiments.
- -Think if I offered you a drivers license, claiming i had authority to issue it
- -Think if someone destroyed all bank records and evidence of any debt you have owe
- -Think what would happen if you pointed at something, hoping your dog would look at it.
Now watch this short and important video for explanations...Temple as SIGN-post.
"If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done.' (Mark 11:23). If you want to be charismatic about it, you can pretend this refers to the mountain of your circumstances--but that is taking the passage out of context. Jesus was not referring to the mountain of circumstances. When he referred to 'this mountain,' I believe (based in part on Zech 4:6-9) that he was looking at the Temple Mount, and indicating that "the mountain on which the temple sits is going to be removed, referring to its destruction by the Romans..
Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say, We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”
"The word about the mountain being cast into the sea.....spoken in Jerusalem, would naturallly refer to the Temple mount. The saying is not simply a miscellaneous comment on how prayer and faith can do such things as curse fig trees. It is a very specific word of judgement: the Temple mountain is, figuratively speaking, to be taken up and cast into the sea."
-N,T. Wright, "Jesus and the Victory of God," p.422
see also:
=
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was surrounded by a fence (balustrade) with a sign (soreq) that was about 5 ft. [1.5 m.] high. On this fence were mounted inscriptions in Latin and Greek forbidding Gentiles from entering the temple area proper.One complete inscription was found in Jerusalem and is now on display on the second floor of the “Archaeological Museum” in Istanbul.The Greek text has been translated: “Foreigners must not enter inside the balustrade or into the forecourt around the sanctuary. Whoever is caught will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” Compare the accusation against Paul found in Acts 21:28 and Paul’s comments in Ephesians 2:14—“the dividing wall.”Translation from Elwell, Walter A., and Yarbrough, Robert W., eds. Readings from the First–Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study. Encountering Biblical Studies, general editor and New Testament editor Walter A. Elwell. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998, p. 83. Click Here
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Three thought experiments.- -Think if I offered you a drivers license, claiming i had authority to issue it
- -Think if someone destroyed all bank records and evidence of any debt you have owe
- -Think what would happen if you pointed at something, hoping your dog would look at it.
"If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done.' (Mark 11:23). If you want to be charismatic about it, you can pretend this refers to the mountain of your circumstances--but that is taking the passage out of context. Jesus was not referring to the mountain of circumstances. When he referred to 'this mountain,' I believe (based in part on Zech 4:6-9) that he was looking at the Temple Mount, and indicating that "the mountain on which the temple sits is going to be removed, referring to its destruction by the Romans..
Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say, We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”
Much of what Jesus said was intended to clue people in to the fact that the religous system of the day would be overthrown, but we miss much if it because we Americanize it, making it say what we want it to say, We turn the parables into fables or moral stories instead of living prophecies that pertain as much to us as to the audience that first heard them."
-Steve Gray, "When The KIngdom Comes," p..31
“Indeed, read in its immediate context, Jesus’ subsequent instruction to the disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain..’ can refer only to the mountain on which the temple is built!... For him, the time of the temple is no more.”
"The word about the mountain being cast into the sea.....spoken in Jerusalem, would naturallly refer to the Temple mount. The saying is not simply a miscellaneous comment on how prayer and faith can do such things as curse fig trees. It is a very specific word of judgement: the Temple mountain is, figuratively speaking, to be taken up and cast into the sea."
-N,T. Wright, "Jesus and the Victory of God," p.422
see also:
So Jesus is intertexting and double pasting two Scriptures and making a new one.
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----------Apples, Oranges, Versititis
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We often take "culture" for granted, as it is simply the way we (one or more person) thinks and feels.
(Note: we didn't say "race"...and we are defining "culture" broadly. So, all marriages are cross-cultural, even if both persons are of the same race, as everyone thinks/feels differently, and has different "cultural" preferences.
It's easy to assume our cultural identity or preference is the "best" or "right" way (as in a bounded set that everyone should be in)....or the way everyone else sees/interprets things.
"We don't see things as they are,
we see things as we are."
-Anaïs Nin
"Gaithers on Crack: a conversation on cultural preferences":
(Note: we didn't say "race"...and we are defining "culture" broadly. So, all marriages are cross-cultural, even if both persons are of the same race, as everyone thinks/feels differently, and has different "cultural" preferences.
It's easy to assume our cultural identity or preference is the "best" or "right" way (as in a bounded set that everyone should be in)....or the way everyone else sees/interprets things.
"We don't see things as they are,
we see things as we are."
-Anaïs Nin
"Gaithers on Crack: a conversation on cultural preferences":
Wright:
For many centuries mapmakers put Jerusalem at the middle of the earth. That corresponds to what most Jews in the first century believed about the city, and particularly about the Temple. It was the heart of everything, the holiest spot on earth. It was the focal point of the holy land. Its decoration symbolized the larger creation, the world we read about in Genesis 1. It wasn’t, as sacred buildings have been in some other traditions, a retreat from the world. It was a bridgehead into the world. It was the sign that the creator God was claiming the whole world, claiming it back for himself, establishing his domain in the middle of it.
It was, in particular, the place where God himself had promised to come and live. This was where God’s glory, his tabernacling presence, his Shekinah, had come to rest. That’s what the Bible had said, and some fortunate, though frightened, individuals had glimpsed it and lived to tell the tale. But God lived, by definition, in heaven. Nobody, however, supposed that God lived most of the time in heaven, a long way away, and then, as though for an occasional holiday or royal visitation, went to live in the Temple in Jerusalem instead.
Somehow, in a way most modern people find extraordinary to the point of being almost unbelievable, the Temple was not only the center of the world. It was the place where heaven and earth met. This isn’t, then, just a way of saying, “Well, the Jews were very attached to their land and their capital city.” It was the vital expression of a worldview in which “heaven” and “earth” are not far apart, as most people today assume, but actually overlap and interlock.
And Jesus, had been going about saying that this God, Israel’s God, was right now becoming king, was taking charge, was establishing his long-awaited saving and healing rule on earth as in heaven. Heaven and earth were being joined up — but no longer in the Temple in Jerusalem. The joining place was visible where the healings were taking place, where the party was going on (remember the angels celebrating in heaven and people joining in on earth?), where forgiveness was happening. In other words, the joining place, the overlapping circle, was taking place where Jesus was and in what he was doing. Jesus was, as it were, a walking Temple. A living, breathing place-where-Israel’s-God-was-living.
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Preview of next week's field trip:
Homework Help:If in red you can skip
Week
4
Topic: Community Theme 4: Living in Many
Communities: Prophecy and Wisdom
Three Worlds of Philemon
Preparation Reading:
Fee and Stuart, ch 10: “The Prophets:
Enforcing the Covenant in Israel”
Article in class Bible, “Amos” (pp. 1282-1283)
Bible: Amos (entire
book)
Fee and Stuart, ch 12: “Wisdom: Then and
Now”
Bible:
Proverbs 10 – 15, Ecclesiastes 1-6
Finish Radical Loving Care: Part Two
(all chapters)
Grimsrud, ch 5, “Prophetic Existence:
Covenant and Conversion”
Grimsrud, ch 6, “God Remains Committed to
Healing”
Grimsrud, ch 7, “The Message of the Old Testament
Preparation
Assignments
1) Radical Loving Care Assignment: Your
choice of a or b.
a) Study Questions:
Part One: ch 1, “Opening
Challenge,” pg. 193
Part One, ch 4, “Sacred
Encounters, Sacred Work,” p. 194
Part One, ch 9, “The
Not-So-Surprising Outcomes of the Healing Hospital,” p. 195
Part Two, ch 4, “The
Sacred Encounter in Practice,” p. 197
OR
b)
Write a typed 2-3 page summary and response to the book.
2) Complete “The Historical World” worksheet
for Philemon (attached to this syllabus).
This worksheet and the worksheet from Week 5 prepare you for the final
paper.
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