Hot Car Deaths

 Every year, in the hot summertime, children die because their parents forget that they are still in the automobile. The closed interiors of the vehicles quickly become like an oven in the hot sun.

Apparently, the adults somehow become hurried or distracted and momentarily and tragically forget about the children. Everyone understands that there was no intention to harm the child. But harm was still done.

There are other kinds of harm besides death. Death or physical injury are immediately obvious. Not so with emotional and spiritual cuts and wounds.

Not all emotional cuts and spiritual wounds are maliciously or even intentionally inflicted. The feeling of neglect or of being seen as a bother to their parents can cause painful lifelong wounds to a child. Anything, even church activities, which continually distract us from our children’s emotional and spiritual needs, can be harmful.  

Exodus 22:23; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 13:22, 22:6; Nehemiah 4:14; Psalms 82:4,127:3; Matthew 18:6,10; Luke 17:2, 22:36; Romans 12:18-19; Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; 1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Corinthians 12:14. 

What Did Jesus Eat?

 What did Jesus eat? Well, he was poor and he ate what was available. There was very little meat and no real refrigeration other than storing food in cooler places like caves.

Like everyone else, he ate what he could get and what was allowed under the Jewish definition of clean and unclean foods. Foods which were available included fish, birds, lamb, lentils, whole grains, vegetables, dates,  pomegranates, honey, olives and olive oil, grapes, wine, vinegar, figs, bread, cumin, barley, raisins, apples, almonds, pistachios, dates, dill, mint, cinnamon, cumin, and eggs. The only meat he is specifically mentioned as eating was fish, but he also ate lamb since he participated in Passover celebrations where lamb was the required meat. 

Vegetarianism and veganism are acceptable lifestyles for practicing Christians but Jesus did eat meat.

Exodus 12:8; Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 7:19; Luke 1:12, 2:41, 22:7-15, 24:41-43; John 2:13, 5:1, 21:9-14; Acts 10; Romans 14; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; Colossians 2:16-17

Book Comment: The Narcissist Next Door

 

I am going to recommend to you a book which, for several reasons, you might never otherwise read. The book is The Narcissist Next Door by Jeffrey Kluger. The reasons that some might object to reading this book include: the book is entirely secular, the concept of narcissism is not widely understood, the author is not a Christian, and the book contains some profanities and shocking statements.

The Narcissist Next Door concerns how the psychological condition known as narcissism is present in every level of civilization, in our governments, in every institution, in every business, and even in our own families. It is a self-centered type of personality and occurs in varying degrees of severity worldwide. Symptoms of the disorder include a feeling of grandiosity, an excessive need for attention and admiration, and an impaired ability to be empathetic. It is considered to be a psychiatric condition known as narcissistic personality disorder. The cause of the condition cannot be definitively stated but there are numerous suggestions: childhood parental neglect, childhood emotional or physical abuse, the person may crave the feeling of control generated by being able to abuse others who are too weak-willed to oppose them, the person may have a combination of narcissism and sociopathy with a total lack of normal emotions, the person also could have been the family’s golden child who never learned how to hear the word no.

You probably don’t think that you know any narcissists, but you do. They are around you every day, on television, singing the songs you hear on your car’s radio, one of your co-workers, they may be your political leaders, they may be a family member (particularly distressing), they may even be in your church. They may even be one of your deacons or your pastor or your priest.

Kluger points out that, in order to deal with narcissism, you first have to understand what is actually is. He explains what the arrogant narcissist is actually feeling, and gives examples of the narcissists living around us, going so far as to name the names of real people who are obvious narcissists.

Some of Kluger’s chapters are The Bastard in the Corner Office, The Peacock in the Oval Office, The Schmuck in the Next Cubicle, The Beast in Your Bed, and Death Row and Hollywood: Where the Narcissists Won.

One particularly awful type is the spiritual narcissist. These people with narcissist tendencies seem to be in almost every church. These are the persons who are sure that they are correct and who want everyone else to know it. They come across as overbearing, judgemental, and power-hungry. They assume that they are holy and spiritually knowledgeable and that everyone else falls short. This is the sin of Self, I am special. Hear the words I AM, one of the names of God.

You should not just ignore these spiritual narcissists, because they can poison a church. You should also not just attack or lecture them but you should handle the situation in the spirit of Christ. Never become defensive or hostile towards them, because that can interfere with your good judgement. An excellent approach is not to become part of the power struggle by gossiping and buzzing about the problem but, instead, to bring up the subject with trusted church leaders. Protect yourself by putting on the spiritual armor which the Holy Spirit has provided to you, the whole armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

1 Corinthians 7:15, 15:33; Luke 17:3-4; 1 Peter 4:8; Ephesians 3:14-19, 6:10-18.

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As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself. Read your Bible and to listen to what it says. Do not believe anything just because someone else told to believe it; let the Holy Spirit guide you to the truth.

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Information you will need to search for this book:

Kluger, Jeffrey, The Narcissist Next Door. Understanding the Monster in Your Family, in Your Office, in Your Bed – In Your World (New York: Riverhead Books, 2014)

The Wise Men

             Most modern Christmas nativity scenes depict the baby Jesus and his parents in the manger surrounded by barn animals, shepherds, angels, and Three Kings bearing expensive gifts. The problem is that this is not supported by the Bible.

            The shepherds were told by a choir of angels to visit the Βρέφος (baby, infant, unborn, newborn) Jesus in a φάτνῃ (a manger, crib, animal feeding trough). This happened probably on or near the night of the birth. Luke 2: 8-20.

            The magi Μάγος (wise man, magician, sorcerer, seer, teacher, sage, priest, astrologer; these men were probably Persians because they were from the East), who are not numbered and are not called kings, visited the Παιδίον (young child) in an Οικιαν (house). They were warned by an angel not to return to King Herod and went home by a different route. Enraged, Herod ordered the massacre of all boys in the Bethlehem region who were two years old and under kατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσεν παρὰ τῶν μάγων (according to the time frame he had learned from the magi). Because of Herod’s response, the visit may have been as late as two years after the birth. Matthew 2:1-18.

            There are many later additions to the Christmas story and tradition. Let the Bible speak for itself and listen to it.

Relatives of Jesus

 

6-4 BC/BCE: This is the probable range of dates for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Judea (modern Beit Lahm, West Bank). Matthew 2:1. Some believe that the Simeon who blessed the infant Jesus (Luke 2:25-35) was Shimon ben Hillel, the nasi of the Sanhedrin and a son of Rabbi Hillel. Shimon was the father of Rabbi Gamaliel and, since the family was descended from King David, they were all distant relatives of Jesus.  Acts 5:34-39, 22:3.

Book Comment: Yes Lord, I have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses

 

In his book, Yes Lord, I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses, James W. Moore, discusses the one real sin from which all other sins flow; idolatry of the self, and the numerous excuses we offer to God in our feeble attempts to explain why we are really OK and not to blame for our failures. We can convince ourselves, but not God, that we have good reasons for what we have done or what we are planning to do. Luke 14:15-24. The title of this book is a quotation of a line of dialogue from Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

ἁμαρτία (amartia: sin, missing the mark). Strong’s Greek Concordance says that this word derives from a (not) and meros (a part or a share of). The word is associated with archery and carries the idea of loss because of a failure to hit the mark, the target of the standard set by God.

Some of the sins discussed in this book include: talking a good game, half-heartedness, spiritual arrogance, deception, overreaction, hostility, and presumptuousness, all of which reduce down to the one sin, worship of self.

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As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself. Read your Bible and to listen to what it says. Do not believe anything just because someone else told to believe it; let the Holy Spirit guide you to the truth.

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Information you will need to search for this book: Moore, James W., Yes Lord, I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses (Nashville, Tn., Abingdon Press, 1991)

Who was Rufus?

 

 Rufus and Alexander are mentioned in Mark 15:21 as sons of Simon of Cyrene (near modern Shahhat Libya), who helped Jesus during his crucifixion ordeal by carrying his cross. Paul mentions this Rufus in Romans 16:13.

Acts 11:20 mentions that men of Cyrene preached the Gospel to the Greeks. Many now believe that this is a reference to Rufus, and possibly his brother Alexander, since The Seventy (or Seventy-two) Disciples sent out as preparatory teams before Jesus’ travels included Rufus, the Bishop of Thebes in Greece, and several other men from Cyrene. This is described in Luke 10:1, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. “

Bishop Solomon of Basra in the 13^th century Book of the Bee lists and groups together, among the Seventy, Rufus, Alexander, Simon the Cyrenian, their father, and Lucius the Cyrenian.

Book Comment: Conquer. Your Battle Plan for Spiritual Victory

 

In his book, Conquer. Your Battle Plan for Spiritual Victory, Michael Youssef says of the Devil, “… as Christians we find ourselves constantly at war with him. If that is not your experience of the Christian life, then something is wrong.”

Youssef asserts that the Devil exists but that obedience to the Lord pushes him away. You have many doors to your soul and you need to close those doors to prevent illegal entry. You must lock as many doors as you can. You do this by prayer and Bible study.

The Devil is a liar and deceitful, but he does not (cannot) break and enter. Like the famed fictional vampire Count Dracula, he can only enter if you invite him in. If you resist him in God’s name, he will run away. The battle is already won.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book: Youssef, Michael, Conquer. Your Battle Plan to Spiritual Victory (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2015)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Choosing a Charity to Support

             Charity in the Bible is presented as “love in action,” not as a means of earning salvation but as a result of having been given the gift of salvation.  There are thousands of charities and, as we are financially able, we may donate to one or to many as we see fit. One caveat: for a Christian, our main purpose should be to advance the kingdom. Any other purposes, even those which are obviously positive, are secondary. 

            ἕκαστος καθὼς προῄρηται τῇ καρδίᾳ, μὴ ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης· ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεός 2 Corinthians 9:7, in a literal translation into English would read something like this: Every/each as he has decided in heart, not out of grudging or out of forced need/necessity, cheerful indeed giver loves God. Read this verse in your own preferred Bible translation.

            Not all charities are ethical and some border on actual fraud. Some give very limited funds to the causes they espouse, instead using most of their money for “administrative expenses.” Others resort to questionable practices to raise funds. They may send you a set of address labels or some small gift to make you feel a sense of obligation to them.

The website shown below discusses donor’s hesitance to contribute to charities which violate the donor’s privacy by selling their names and contact information to third parties. There are actually companies which sell targeted mailing lists of persons known to have donated to similar charities. For example, a person could be targeted for their history of donating to charities dedicated to a particular political orientation, or to a specific religious group, or to animal rescue activities, or to anti- or pro-abortion groups, or to foster involvement in the arts, or to literacy programs, or to homeless or injured veteran’s activities, or to  advance children’s sports involvement, or to disaster relief organizations, or to charities which are medically oriented. There is an established charity for almost any imaginable purpose and you can safely assume that most of them are willing to sell the contact information of their donors and to buy targeted lists of prospective new donors. They, and hundreds of others, will flood you with sometimes very insistent requests for donations.  On https://smartasset.com you can also read this article, “The 50 Worst Charities in America.”

https://www.workplaceprivacyreport.com/2022/03/articles/online-privacy/not-for-profits-charities-might-attract-more-donors-with-improved-website-content-attention-to-privacy/

This is unethical and is presumptuous, as if you owe your money to their particular charity. It exhibits an extreme disrespect for their donors but is not illegal and at least some of the donated funds go to their stated causes.

Favor Christian charities as your first choices. Give to secular charities if you have even more to give. Research your chosen charity’s mission statement carefully to make sure that they actually provide the majority of their funds to their stated purpose.  Some charities explicitly state that they respect their donors and that they do not sell your personal information to others. God loves a cheerful giver but he also expects us to use our gift of discernment. Use your money wisely to advance the Kingdom.

A few Bible verses about charity: Deuteronomy 15:11; Proverbs 14:21, 19:17; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 5:42, 6:1-2, 19:21; Luke 6:38, 11:41, 12:33; John 3:17; Acts 9:36, 20:35; Hebrews 13:16; Romans 12:13; Colossians 3:14; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 John 3:17; James 2:15-16. 

Book Comment: A Survey of Old Testament Introduction

 

In his book, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Dr. Gleason L. Archer presents a conservative discussion pf Old Testament canonicity, historicity, information about the Semitic languages, known textual problems, the “specific difficulties” presented by each book, archaeological evidences, how the Hebrew/Aramaic manuscripts were prepared and transmitted to new generations, and the challenges which can be presented by higher criticism.

Gleason sees the Old Testament as the preparation and the New Testament as the completion of the Christian message. He points out that “It made a great deal of difference that Greek was precise in expressing time values, and that Hebrew laid chief emphasis upon mode of action rather than upon tense.”

The survey takes each book verse by verse and discusses historical, textual, and modern questions. The text assumes some level of knowledge about archaeology, the Hebrew language, the history of the Middle East, various approaches to biblical criticism, and tends to become a little technical on some points. It is obviously intended for beginning college or seminary level students but is not above the understanding of the interested layman. Pastors and academics will definitely find it useful.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book:

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Film Comment: Sinners (2025)

 

Sinners is a movie which is intended to be about racism, cultural oppression, colonialism, black culture, anti-religion, and anti-Christianity. As usual, I can make Christian observations about the film which are probably unintended by the director.

“Son, you keep dancin’ with the Devil, one day, he’s gonna follow you home,” from a pastor father to Sammie, nicknamed Preacherboy, who is aching to become famous for his outstanding blues guitar and singing talent. Sammie hooks up with two morally fluid brothers who are opening a juke joint. This sets up a conflict when two white men and a woman show up that night wanting to join in the fun. The problem is that they are vampires.

One man about to be killed/turned into a vampire begins to loudly quote the Lord’s Prayer. All the vampires join in and help complete the quotation. This seems to be intended to show that Christianity has no power against evil.

A Christian response: the frightened man’s words were just that, words, and they did have no power. There is a difference between knowing and believing. The power is not in the words. They are not a Magick spell. God is not our genie in a bottle. The words have power only as they are used by the Holy Spirit.

The theologian, Martin Luther, noted that "The Devil can quote scripture to his own ends." Satan quoted Psalms 91:11-12 while tempting Jesus to misuse his authority (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus responded to Satan's attack by quoting scripture back to him, Matthew 4:7, which quotes Deuteronomy 6:16..

We Three Kings of Orient Are

 

 “We Three Kings” (original title: “Three Kings of Orient”) is a Christmas carol written in 1857 by John henry Hopkins, an Episcopal rector in Pennsylvania. It is based on Matthew 2:1.

The Bible never says that three kings visited Jesus in a manger on the night of his birth. John and Mark do not mention the incident at all because they talked about Jesus as an adult. Luke talks of the shepherds but not the magi. Only Matthew, in 2:1-16, relates the event, saying that during the time of Herod, who died in 4 BC/BCE, that magi “from the rising of the sun” (the east) arrived to see and worship the king of the Jews, whose star they had seen.

Several questions come to mind:

1.      Who were the magi and how many of them were there?

No one knows exactly who these men were but many later traditions say that they were possibly astrologers from a learned priestly Zoroastrian caste in Persia. They were not occultists but were considered to be masters of the then current understanding of science.                                                     

The idea that there were three wise men possibly derives from the fact that they brought three gifts: gold. Frankincense, and myrrh. Some Christian traditions say that there were twelve magi.

2.      What was the star?

No one really knows. Was it a supernaturally moving star that settled over Jesus’ location? (Matthew 2:9). Was it an otherwise unknown comet? Was it a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (7 BC/BCE) or of Saturn and Venus (6 BC/BCE)? Was it a transient astronomical event like a distant supernova? (The first historically documented supernova observation did not occur until 1006 AD/CE).

3.      Where did the magi visit Jesus?

The wise men came to see Jesus in a house “oikian” (οἰκίαν, Matthew 2:11), not in a manger “phatne” (φάτνῃ, Luke 2:7).

4.      How old was Jesus when the magi arrived?

Luke 2:1-16 describes how, on the night of Jesus’ birth, angels appeared to announce the birth to shepherds who ran to the stable to see the “brephos” (βρέφος). A “brephos” was an unborn child, newborn child, or an infant.

Matthew 2:1-18 relates that that the magi visited the “paidion” (παιδίον) in a house. A “paidion” is a young one, a little one, or a child.

After a message from God warned them about Herod the magi returned home by a different route. Matthew 2:16-18 tells how Herod, in a fit of anger, jealousy, and insecurity about losing his position as king of Judea, ordered what is now known as the massacre of the Innocents. All boys under two years old and younger living in the area in or near Bethlehem were to be slaughtered.

Matthew 2:13-16 tells how God warned Joseph of Herod’s evil plan to kill Jesus. Joseph left for Egypt with Jesus and Mary.

The Identity of Luke the Physician

 

Luke was probably from Antioch, Syria.  He was the writer of the Gospel of Luke and was a gentile Christian who never personally met Jesus. He became a Christian after Paul taught him about the gospel. Using his scientific approach learned as a physician, his two scriptural books, Luke [κατὰ Λουκᾶν; According (to) Luke] and The Acts of the Apostles [Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, Acts (of the) Apostles], are the result of his numerous interviews of surviving first-generation Christians. In Luke :1-4, he says that he has carefully investigated everything before recording it. 

He was with Paul on several journeys and was present when Paul met with James and the elders (Acts 21:17-20) in Jerusalem.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:6, mentions “more than 500 brothers” to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection and that most of them were still alive. The mention of 500 witnesses to the risen Jesus was meant as a challenge to people living at the time Paul wrote the passage to check it out if they wanted to. Luke’s careful investigation probably included interviews with many of the elders and many of the 500 brothers. Luke 34:33.

Luke may be the Lucius mentioned in Acts 13:1. Lucius in Romans 16:21 may also be the same man. Because they are named together in 2 Timothy 4:10-11, Titus and Luke may have been brothers. 2 Corinthians 8:18.

Render Unto Caesar

 

 

The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus into saying something that would either violate Jewish law and anger the Sanhedrin or would alarm the Roman authorities and cause a brutal response against him. Either situation would have served their purposes.

 

They asked a simple sounding but highly loaded question. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?

 

Jesus took a coin and asked whose image was on it. His answer was that Caesar has his place and God has his place. The authorities should be honored and obeyed, even those authorities with whom we personally disagree. Caesar’s image (Man) is on the coin; we are made in God’s image.

 

This passage means many things, many deep things, but it has temporal meaning also. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s would mean that we are expected to be good peaceful citizens who fulfil their civic responsibilities and who avail themselves of their civic privileges. Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his sentence directly to Caesar.

 

This blog post is for every Christian in whatever political system they find themselves to be, but, right now, it is especially relevant to Christians in the United States of America. The election for President of the United States will be held on Tuesday 5 November 2024.

 

This particular election is being hotly contested and polling data shows that it is so close that it is statistically impossible to predict which candidate will win.

 

A very disturbing truth is that, apparently, many American Christians find both of the major candidates to be objectionable and have decided not to vote. I would urge them to listen to Jesus and to Paul the Apostle in Romans 13:1-7. Paul said this, and meant it, about a government which ultimately executed him. This was not blind obedience to a government but was a statement that government authority is to be considered to be legitimate.

 

The only valid reason to disobey the government is if, in order to obey the government, we would have to dishonor our ultimate allegiance to the Lord. Not liking the candidate choices available to us in an election does not seem to rise to that level.

 

Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25; Acts 25:6-12.

The Rich Young Ruler Was a Pious Man

 

The rich young ruler was a pious man. He obviously was a highly observant Jew. He told Jesus, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth."

But, he was uneasily aware that something was missing in his life. He was relying on a works salvation instead of placing his faith in the Lord's grace.

"If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."

Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-30; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:21.

The Rich Young Ruler

 

A pious and righteous rich young ruler (possibly a Pharisee) ran up to Jesus and asked him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He claimed to have kept all the usual rules but still felt that something was missing. Jesus said that he should sell everything he had and give the money to the poor. The young man sadly walked away.

Christians understand that you cannot "do" anything to earn salvation. It is a gift of God's grace. So what was this incident about? Jesus gently showed the young ruler what was wrong.

Some Christians would say we should not own private property since Jesus said to sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. They may be misreading what Jesus was saying. You are not saved by giving up something.

In Exodus 20:17, notice that the property belongs to the neighbor, not the community or the government. Nowhere does Jesus condemn ownership of private property. What he was saying on several occasions is "own your property, do not let your property own you." Use your property to help the homeless and the poor, to glorify the Lord, and to advance his kingdom.

The young ruler's real problem was that he loved his wealth and his position more than he loved God.  Loving your position and wealth is really about yourself.  All sin reduces down to the one real sin: SELF. We should love ourselves, because we are infinitely valuable. God spent the most infinitely valuable thing in the universe, the blood of his son, to save us, but loving self more than loving God is the essence of sin.

When you don't like what he says to you, it is a sign that you need to hear it.

Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 18:18-30; Ephesians 2:8-9.

The Gospels

              Modern history can basically be described as two types. Geschicte, a German word meaning in English “story.” This is a factual recounting of what happened, giving dates, events, and provable facts.

The other type of history is described by the French word, histoire. This is an attempt to explain the meaning of things which have happened and why the events are important. There have been many different attempts to interpret history from widely varying viewpoints: religion, politics, feminism, LGBTQ interests, economics, military themes, and philosophy, are just a few.

All four of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) contain elements of both types of history to varying degrees. Mark and Luke are more historical while Matthew and John are more interpretive. All four are considered to be historical biographical narratives presented for theological treasons.

Unlike many modern biographies, none of the Gospels attempt to exhaustively tell us everything that Jesus ever did or said. John 20: 30-31 even tells us, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV

The gospels are all written to present their good news using different approaches and emphases. They want to tell us who Jesus was and what he did for us. They are theological documents.

Matthew stresses the Jewishness of Jesus. He shows how Jesus is the long-awaited Jewish Messiah who fulfills the Hebrew scriptures.

Mark shows Jesus in fast, urgent, and determined action. He does what only God can do. He is the Christ, the suffering Son of God.

Mark repeatedly uses the phrase kai εὐθὺς “and immediately.” This phrase carries the idea of “without any delay or hesitation” or even of “suddenly.” Mark stresses the urgency of Jesus’ message to which we should respond immediately.

Luke was a physician and a detailed historian. He had a scientific approach to his writing, seeking out eyewitnesses to the events he related. He wanted to show how Jesus fit into God’s plan for history.

            John is the most overtly theological of the gospels. He presents Jesus as the pre-existent God revealing himself to man. He clearly states the purpose of his book in John 20:31. “ … these are written that you may believe^[a] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV

Cleopatra is almost modern

I am not sure who first noticed this so I cannot give attribution. The situation points to an important and seemingly contradictory fact. Though the events related in the Bible  seem to have taken place in great antiquity they can also be seen as having been quite recent,

Think about this set of facts. From the creation of the Great Pyramid of Giza to the life of Cleopatra VII there is a time span of roughly 2520 years. From the lifetime of Cleopatra until the invention of the i-phone is a span of about 2063 years.

Neither Khufu (aka: Cheops, ruled 2589 - 2566 BC), who built the Great Pyramid, or Cleopatra VII Philopator (ruled 51 - 30 BC) is mentioned in the Bible but they are not irrelevant to Bible history.  The Egyptians are prominent in the history of Israel and Cleopatra and her lovers were important in the military battles and intrigues which  led to their enemy, Gaius  Octavius (aka: Octavian),  becoming the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, Augustus.

Emperor Augustus seems to have unknowingly set into motion the events which led  to Jesus being born (Luke 2: 1-5}  in Bethlehem (Beit Lahm, West Bank)  rather than his hometown of Nazareth
(Natzrat, Israel).  Many Christians believe that this  was in fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy given in Micah 5:2.

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Cleopatra's great-great-great-great-great grandmother, also named Cleopatra,  is mentioned in 1 Maccabees 10:57-58,  part of the Apocrypha, which is not given biblical status by Protestants.

Jesus Spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek

The New Testament is written in Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire at the time.  It was the Greek language which helped spread the gospel across the then known world. Some, myself included, believe that God arranged events so that at the arrival of Jesus there was one essentially global empire with one universally understood language. Communications across the Empire were much faster across great distances than we today would imagine.

The languages of the subjugated peoples were still in use and the Jews spoke Aramaic among themselves. The sacred language in use in their synagogues was Hebrew and they considered it to be a great honor to speak and read before the congregation.  Jesus would have been conversant in both languages and he also read before the congregation. The Samaritan Woman at the Well would have been speaking Hebrew. (Luke 2: 39-52; John 4:4-26: Luke 4:16-21)  Some of Jesus' sayings  in the New Testament are presented in untranslated Aramaic. ("Talitha cumi" and "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!")

Many Jews probably spoke only Aramaic and Hebrew, but to function in the Roman environment it was very helpful to also speak and understand Greek. Jesus was able to talk to Pilate (John 18: 28-38) and the Roman soldiers  (Matthew 8: 5-13 ), answering them in Greek It is unlikely that Pilate or the centurions understood a single word of Aramaic.

Messianic Prophecies from the Old Testament: Today This Scripture Has Been Fulfilled in Your Hearing

Luke 4:16-28New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

        to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

    and recovery of sight to the blind,

        to let the oppressed go free,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” 24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers[a] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.

Footnotes:

Luke 4:27 The terms leper and leprosy can refer to several diseases

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

That the quoted text (from Isaiah 61:1-3) is a Messianic prophecy is evident because Jesus Himself used it in this way.

The scholars who insist that Jesus never identified Himself as the Messiah obviously never read this passage. Why else was the synagogue so quickly filled with rage? They understood exactly what He meant and they believed that He was speaking blasphemy.

Verse 28 says they “were fiiled” ἐπλήσθησαν  with rage. This is from the verb πλήθω I am filled (to the top; to full capacity. )  Strong categorizes the word ἐπλήσθησαν (e-plees-the-san) as V-AIP-3P (verb-aorist indicative passive- third person plural).

In English and many other languages, tense has primarily to do with time. In Koine Greek, tense has primarily to with the type of action. The aorist tense expresses action without any further definition. It carries the idea of sudden action. The people were suddenly filled with rage