["THE GOSPELS 199 See also: The Fall 30\u201335 \u25a0 The Flood 40\u201341 \u25a0 The Exodus 74\u201377 \u25a0 The Suffering of Job 146\u201347 \u25a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer 212\u201313 \u25a0 Demons and the Herd of Pigs 224\u201325 Satan, Jesus passes each test. His Satan confronts Jesus in the desert and tries to tempt Him. divinity is confirmed in Mark and Matthew\u2019s description of angels Satan tells Jesus Satan goads Satan bribes attending Jesus when Satan leaves. to turn stone Jesus into Jesus with the into bread to proving He whole world if He Fulfilling the prophecy is divine. will worship him. In all three Gospels, the temptation sate His hunger. of Christ occurs after He has been baptized by John, creating a Jesus refuses Jesus tells Satan Jesus says only sequence of birth, baptism, and because \u201cman not to put the God can be then temptation that culminates in does not live by Lord your God worshipped. His ministry. As in many passages bread alone.\u201d to the test. from the New Testament, the Gospel authors also allude to the Sustenance comes The divine is Jesus is loyal fulfillment of Isaiah\u2019s Messianic from the spirit. immutable. to God. prophecy through Jesus. Other echoes of the Old Testament Jesus resists material, spiritual, and political include the Fall, when Adam and temptation, as He will through His ministry. Eve are tempted to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil by the serpent (whom Christians later identify as Satan), and the significance of the number 40. Like Noah\u2019s flood, which destroys the world\u2019s sins, Jesus\u2019s fast lasts 40 days and 40 nights, and there are echoes of the Israelites\u2019 40-year wandering in the wilderness, when God sates their hunger with manna from heaven. \u25a0 Satan in the New Testament Throughout the Bible, from the for 18 years. In Revelation 20:2, writing of Job to the Gospels, Satan, \u201cwho leads the whole the figure of the satan (Hebrew world astray,\u201d is hurled to the for \u201cadversary\u201d) is portrayed earth and bound for 1,000 years. as an antagonistic being who, despite an existence predicated The belief in Satan as an on God's will, is intent on independent, evil figure who destroying His followers contrasts with God\u2019s goodness and discrediting Him. is known as \u201cdualism.\u201d The concept became popular among The \u201cdevil\u201d appears most medieval Christian sects such as often in the New Testament. In the Paulicians and the Cathars. Luke 22:3, Satan enters Judas Its origins may lie in the spread Iscariot, and in Luke 13:10\u201315, of Greek culture after Alexander Jesus cures a crippled woman the Great\u2019s conquest of the whom Satan \u201chas kept bound\u201d Phoenician Empire in 331 bce.","200 IN BRIEF \u201c\u201cJ\u2026FEOSLUILSWOSWIALILMDS,EE,\u201dND PASSAGE FYOORU POEUOTPTLOE\u201dFISH Mark 1:17 MARK 1:17, THE CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES THEME Jesus calls His disciples for ministry SETTING c.26\u201327 ce, Roman Judean countryside, beside the Sea of Galilee. KEY FIGURES Jesus The Messiah and Son of God at the start of His ministry in Galilee. The 11 \u201cgood\u201d disciples These include (Simon) Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew (Levi), and Simon the Zealot. Judas Iscariot The disciple who will betray Jesus. E arly in His ministry, Jesus selects 12 disciples. This is a step to securing His legacy and has huge significance: the 12 men He chooses will go on to spread the word of Jesus and build a new Israel: a new Church. In the Ancient Near East, the gathering of students, or \u201cdisciples,\u201d around a master teacher was an established practice. At the time, knowledge was largely imparted via the spoken word, and the more disciples that were amassed, the farther that word would spread. Jesus was aware of this, and the selection of as many as a dozen disciples gives an indication of the intended scale of His ministry. In Mark 1, Jesus is walking beside the Sea of Galilee one day, when He sees Simon (whom Jesus calls","THE GOSPELS 201 See also: Jesus Embraces a Tax Collector 242\u201343 \u25a0 Peter\u2019s Denial 256\u201357 \u25a0 The Great Commission 274\u201377 The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, by Jean Jouvenet (1644\u20131717), depicts Jesus recruiting Peter and Andrew, and filling their previously empty nets with fish. Peter) and his brother Andrew world to shame the wise; God chose Levi, who also goes by the name hauling in an empty net. Jesus the weak things of the world to of Matthew, and is the reputed walks up to the men and exhorts shame the strong.\u201d There may also author of the Gospel of that name. them to cast their net again. When be some significance in the fact Initially, this seems like an odd they draw the net in, it is brimming that fishermen have to be patient choice. As the Bible repeatedly with fish. \u201cFollow me \u2026 to fish in their work; Jesus knew that to demonstrates, tax collectors were for people,\u201d Jesus tells them (1:17). change the world as He intended particularly unpopular at the time; Without hesitating, the men leave would take great patience. Jesus\u2019s selection of Levi therefore their nets to go with Him to recruit earns Him disdain from the more disciples. Jesus then meets Courting controversy Pharisee teachers of the Law: \u201cWhy two more fishermen\u2014James and Jesus\u2019s choice of His remaining does He eat with tax collectors John\u2014in a boat with their father eight disciples is also significant. and sinners?\u201d (Mark 2:16). Jesus Zebedee and some hired men. Like First, He chooses a tax collector, responds: \u201cIt is not the healthy who Peter and Andrew, James and John need a doctor but those who are join Jesus as soon as He asks them. Disciples as learners sick. I have not come to call the The four fishermen become the first righteous, but sinners\u201d (2:17). of Jesus\u2019s 12 disciples. A \u201cdisciple\u201d is someone who adheres to the teachings of a Jesus next chooses the Zealot, Lowly profession master or instructor. In the New Simon. Again, the appointment is Just as it is symbolic that Jesus Testament, it is made clear on symbolic. After their experiences chooses 12 disciples\u2014to represent numerous occasions that Jesus in Egypt and in the wake of the the totality of the nation of Israel\u2014 is the ultimate master on earth. ceaseless invasions of their nation, it is also telling that He selects four It is upon Jesus that all authority the Jewish people had developed fishermen and, ultimately, possibly in heaven and on earth has an intense dislike of foreign rule. as many as six. Such an elevation been bestowed (Matthew 28:18); No group is still more active in \u276f\u276f of this relatively lowly profession it is to Jesus that every knee indicates that knowledge of God will bow (Philippians 2:10); it fury of God\u2019s wrath will be should not be confined to the is on account of Jesus that all executed (Revelation 19:15). It is learned or priestly classes. As the tribes of the earth will incumbent upon the 12 disciples stated in 1 Corinthians 1:27: \u201cGod mourn (Revelation 1:7); and that they learn to live like Jesus, chose the foolish things of the from Jesus that the absolute and to teach others to behave in the same way. Essentially, they should learn to become \u201clittle Christs,\u201d or \u201cChristians\u201d (Acts 26:28; 2 Corinthians 1:21). The four Gospels demonstrate what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. In particular, John classifies the role in three ways: worshipper (or learner\/follower), servant, and witness.","202 THE CALLING OF THE DISCIPLES encouraging resistance to foreign them were fishermen. The names Each of the Apostles in this gilded control and religion. As their name of the six are: Philip; Bartholomew, and painted alabaster representation implies, they are \u201czealous\u201d in also referred to as \u201cNathanael\u201d in (c.1450) from England holds his emblem asserting the ancestral traditions John and probably Philip\u2019s brother; and a colored scroll inscribed with of the nation of Israel and repelling Thomas, who went on to doubt the a sentence of the creed in Latin. the depredations of invaders and resurrection of Jesus, giving rise false gods. For many Zealots, the to the term \u201cDoubting Thomas\u201d; the silver he receives for the betrayal end objective was the overthrow another James (not the brother of of Jesus in the Temple and then of Rome itself. By appointing Peter, John); Thaddaeus, also known as hangs himself. Acts 1:18 states that as with Levi (Matthew), Jesus Judas; and Judas Iscariot, who he purchases a field with his blood appears to be courting controversy. eventually betrays Jesus. money, and then plunges headlong He condemns violence, yet also into a pit in the field and bursts paradoxically chooses a disciple These 12 disciples are also open. In any event, Judas Iscariot who supports it. The selection known as \u201cApostles\u201d in the Bible is dead by the time of Christ\u2019s of Simon the Zealot shows that and the two terms are employed resurrection. The disciples replace ideological orientation is no barrier interchangeably in the Gospels. Judas, by election, with Matthias. to admission to God\u2019s kingdom. Indeed, such was their importance to the spread of Christianity that New disciples The professions of the other the period in which they lived is The Christian teachings inspired six disciples are not specified by known as the \u201cApostolic Age.\u201d by the short life of Jesus were not the Gospel writers, but it seems just taught by 11 of the 12 original likely that at least two more of Martyrdom disciples and Matthias. Instead, Christian tradition maintains Eastern Christian tradition The things you have that all but one of the 12 disciples maintains that there were as many heard me say \u2026 entrust were martyred, with John alone as 70 Apostles during the time to reliable people who surviving into old age and dying of Jesus\u2019s ministry. A number of peacefully. However, only the other prominent figures, such as will also be qualified death of James\u2014fisherman and St. Paul (who was also martyred), to teach others. son of Zebedee\u2014is described in were also known as Apostles, 2 Timothy 2:2 the New Testament. There may even though they did not follow be a reason for this: according to Jesus during His earthly ministry. the 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon, early Christians The Apostles would become believed that among the original the foundations of the early Church. 12 disciples only James and Peter During the 1st century ce, they died for their faith in Jesus. established churches throughout the Mediterranean, as well as There are various reports of the across the Middle East, Africa, death of Judas Iscariot. Matthew and India, in spite of persecution, 27:5 records that he throws down","which continued into the 4th \u201capostolic succession\u201d\u2014claiming THE GOSPELS 203 century. The reputation of these to trace their roots back to the men, and the esteem in which they original 12 disciples. In practice, Fishing and were held, grew as the Church this means that bishops today the Ichthys spread through the world. are consecrated by older bishops, who in turn were consecrated Just as fishermen bear great Holy lineage by bishops before them, with symbolism in the New To this day, churches that are a chain stretching directly back Testament as \u201cfishers of men,\u201d believed to have been founded by to the 12 Apostles. so do fish themselves. The one of the Apostles are referred most famous reference to fish to as \u201capostolic sees,\u201d among Today, personal apostolic in the Gospels is the feeding which the Holy See of Rome is pre- succession is still a requirement of the 5,000 using just five eminent. Bishops throughout the for a bishop\u2019s ordination in many loaves of bread and two fish, Christian world have traditionally Christian denominations\u2014notably which is reported in all four claimed their authority via the Roman Catholic, Eastern (Matthew 14:13\u201321; Mark Orthodox, and Anglican churches. \u25a0 6:30\u201344; Luke 9:10\u201317; John 6:1\u201315). In Matthew 13:47\u201352, The Apostles of Jesus in the Parable of the Net, Jesus compares God\u2019s Final Thaddaeus James, son of Alphaeus Judas Judgment on who goes to Peter Iscariot heaven and who to hell to fishermen sorting out their Thomas catch, keeping the good fish and throwing the bad away. Simon Christ After His resurrection, Jesus the Zealot is offered grilled fish to eat in Luke 24:41\u201343. John James The many mentions of Matthew fish in the New Testament may explain why the ichthys Andrew Philip (Greek for \u201cfish\u201d), the elliptical shape ending in a fish tail, Bartholomew became a symbol of early The disciples closest to Jesus were Christianity. Deployed as Peter, James, and John. They spent a secret code by Christians the most time with Him and witnessed during times of persecution, more of His miracles. In any list of the the ichthys is sometimes Apostles, Peter is always first. seen etched into walls or in floor mosaics in early Christian basilicas. To this day, Christians incorporate the fish symbol in jewelry and clothing.","LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU MATTHEW 5:44, SERMON ON THE MOUNT","","206 SERMON ON THE MOUNT IN BRIEF N ews of Jesus and His The Roman Catholic Church of the preaching and healing Beatitudes stands on a hill overlooking PASSAGE ministry was beginning the Sea of Galilee in Israel. It was built Matthew 5:1\u20137:29 to spread far and wide. In addition to on the traditional site of Jesus\u2019s His band of 12 close disciples, large Sermon on the Mount. THEME crowds started to follow Jesus, The wisdom of God\u2019s eager to hear Him teach about the success are rejected as Jesus Kingdom Kingdom of God and to watch Him declares that those who appear perform miracles. to have been overlooked in their SETTING present life shall receive God\u2019s c.27\u201329 ce A mountainside Seeing an opportunity to reward in heaven. in Galilee. address the crowds one day, Jesus climbs up a mountainside and sits In Jesus\u2019s inverted vision KEY FIGURES down, adopting the typical position of the world, those who follow Jesus The Messiah and of an authoritative teacher, or rabbi. Him are to be \u201csalt\u201d and \u201clight,\u201d Son of God at the start of His The disciples and crowds gather bringing out God\u2019s flavor in the ministry in Galilee. around and Jesus begins to teach. world and shining God\u2019s light into Often known as the \u201cSermon on the the darkness. The purpose of the Disciples Jesus\u2019s close group Mount,\u201d His speech to the people positive attitudes and actions of of 12 followers. reads as His manifesto, announcing such people is that others \u201cmay how life will be in God\u2019s kingdom. see your good deeds and glorify Crowds People from Galilee, your Father in heaven\u201d (Matthew the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Jesus begins by turning usual 5:16). From just a little salt and \u201cbeyond the Jordan\u201d who have expectations upside down in a a little light, Jesus knows that God\u2019s begun to follow Jesus out of short passage known as \u201cthe kingdom can reach the world. curiosity and amazement. beatitudes.\u201d He announces a blessing on those who are aware A parallel with Moses of the powerlessness of their own Those listening to Jesus are lives; it is they, rather than the predominantly Jewish, brought strong and self-sufficient, who shall up to honor and obey the Law receive a place in God\u2019s kingdom. of Moses given centuries earlier. Conventional ideals of wealth and The Beatitudes those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, those who hunger The concept of bestowing a and thirst for righteousness, the blessing on those who faithfully pure in heart, the peacemakers, follow God\u2019s commandments is and the persecuted. Also, God\u2019s familiar from the Old Testament. benchmark for blessing is at However, at the beginning of odds with that of the earthly the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus world: people will not be delivers His idea of \u201cblessing\u201d measured in terms of their in a different way, through eight visible successes, but rather statements that are collectively by an awareness of their own known as the \u201cbeatitudes,\u201d a brokenness and dependence word deriving from the Latin on God for all things. for \u201cblessed\u201d (beatus). Some versions of the Bible Instead of saying \u201cyou translate \u201cblessed are\u201d as will be blessed if you do this,\u201d \u201chappy are,\u201d but Jesus\u2019s Jesus\u2019s beatitudes announce teaching remains the same: it that certain people will be is those who are least expecting blessed without condition\u2014 it who will find themselves specifically, the poor in spirit, recipients of God\u2019s favor.","THE GOSPELS 207 See also: The Ten Commandments 78\u201383 \u25a0 The Golden Rule 210\u201311 \u25a0 Parables of Jesus 214\u201315 There are several parallels in Other religious leaders at the time\u2014 In the Vatican\u2019s Sistine Chapel, this Jesus\u2019s Sermon on the Mount that in particular, the Pharisees\u2014 fresco of the Sermon on the Mount would not have been lost on His encouraged people to follow the law (c.1461) by Cosimo Rosselli is opposite audience, for it strongly echoes the down to its last letter. However, the artist\u2019s fresco of Moses receiving the giving of the Ten Commandments Jesus says that such rigid adherence Ten Commandments. to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus to Moses\u2019s Law is not sufficient to 20): just as Moses went up the guarantee people a place in God\u2019s and reconciliation. Lustful looks mountain and received God\u2019s kingdom: \u201cI tell you that unless your are to be considered as perilous as word, so Jesus here ascends a righteousness surpasses that of adultery, and marriage relationships mountainside and teaches with the Pharisees and the teachers should not be broken except in God\u2019s authority. of the Law, you will certainly not clear cases of unfaithfulness. enter the kingdom of heaven\u201d (5:20). Disciples should not merely keep Moses\u2019s Law showed the the oaths they have made to God, Israelites how to live as God\u2019s Instead, in the Sermon on the but rather be faithful to every word new community following their Mount, Jesus intensifies the that they speak. deliverance from slavery in Egypt. meaning of the Law by declaring Jesus is less concerned about that it is not enough simply to obey Exercising humility establishing a moral code for a God\u2019s commands outwardly; rather, Moses\u2019s law had sought to restrict defined earthly kingdom; instead, His Law must transform the desires overly harsh punishments by He presents a picture of life in and motivations of the heart of commending the principle of \u201ceye God\u2019s spiritual kingdom of heaven those who seek to obey Him. for eye, tooth for tooth\u201d (Leviticus that is accessible to all people at 24:20); but Jesus rejects the notion all times. To some in His audience, In a series of teachings that of giving \u201cas good as you get.\u201d it may have seemed that Jesus was take the form, \u201cYou have heard Instead, He tells His disciples to contradicting Moses. However, in that it was said \u2026 but I say to you,\u201d exercise restraint, never fighting a large section of the Sermon on Jesus takes some of the most back, but always praying for those the Mount, Jesus addresses this familiar commandments from who would seek to bring harm question directly: \u201cDo not think Moses\u2019s Law and broadens their to them. By loving their enemies, that I have come to abolish the application. His disciples must not they would be showing that they Law or the Prophets; I have not simply refrain from murder, but belonged with Jesus as children \u276f\u276f come to abolish them but to fulfill must avoid anger or ridiculing them\u201d (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is others, and prioritize forgiveness God\u2019s new Moses, instructing the crowds as they follow Him. Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48","208 SERMON ON THE MOUNT of God, since they would be Jesus teaches that God does not Can any one of you imitating Jesus\u2019s love for His listen to prayers because they are by worrying add a single enemies, as He would demonstrate loud and long, but because they are on the cross. offered in humble dependence on hour to your life? God. \u201cGo into your room, close the Matthew 6:27 Having asked His disciples to door, and pray to your Father \u2026 \u201cexceed\u201d the righteousness of the who sees what is done in secret\u201d God. They must be confident Pharisees, Jesus then warns them (6:6). In short, Jesus encourages that God\u2019s goodwill is all they not to become \u201cself-righteous,\u201d or His followers to look for God\u2019s favor need for their lives to flourish. smug: \u201cBe careful not to practice more than the applause of the Instead of being anxious about your acts of righteousness in front people around them. \u201cDo not store finding food and clothing, they of others to be seen by them\u201d up for yourselves treasures on Earth should focus on the life of God\u2019s (Matthew 6:1). They should not \u2026 but store up for yourselves kingdom. In much the same way, \u201ctrumpet\u201d their good works to treasures in heaven\u201d (6:19\u201320). His disciples should not spend the world, but rather be discreet, their lives looking for faults in confident that God sees what they One of the key themes in Jesus\u2019s other people, but rather leave all do. The same humility should be Sermon on the Mount is the faith judgment to God. At its heart, evident, He says, when people pray. that His disciples should have in this part of Jesus\u2019s teaching is emphasizing that God is good Teachings from Jesus\u2019s sermon and is to be trusted. If your right eye Believers must At the end of His sermon, Jesus causes you to stumble, give up things that reminds His listeners to practice stand in the way what He preaches: \u201cEveryone gouge it out and who hears these words of mine throw it away (5:29). of their faith. and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his When you give to the Do not practice house on the rock \u2026 and not the needy, do not let your left good deeds in order foolish man who built his house on sand\u201d (7:24\u201326). hand know what your to receive praise right hand is doing (6:3). or recognition. Revolutionary message Jesus\u2019s listeners are amazed Watch out for false The enemies of by His teaching, because they prophets. They come God often disguise recognize that He teaches with God\u2019s supreme authority, and not to you in sheep\u2019s themselves simply with human skill. When clothing (7:15). as friends. Jesus finishes teaching and comes down the mountainside, He is Enter through the It is easy to stray followed by large crowds (8:1). narrow gate. For wide from Christ\u2019s is the gate \u2026 that leads The Sermon on the Mount to destruction (7:13). instructions if you describes a world that has been don\u2019t live well. turned upside down by God\u2019s","THE GOSPELS 209 The sermon as a far- reaching influence From the earliest days of Christianity, Jesus\u2019s Sermon on the Mount has been considered central to His teaching, giving His followers a clear pattern for their lives. Church leaders and prominent thinkers point to the sermon when giving ethical guidance to Christians in such diverse areas as conflict resolution, personal relationships, wealth, and justice. Some groups, such as the Amish, are renowned for seeking to live simply in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount. The influence of the sermon reaches beyond the Christian Church. Some phrases have become idioms in wider usage, not least owing to influential literary figures such as Dante, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. \u201cDon\u2019t hide your light under a bushel,\u201d \u201csalt of the earth,\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019t throw your pearls before pigs\u201d all come from Jesus\u2019s teaching. Jesus warns against judging others presenting a picture of an ideal Ask and it will be in The Parable of the Mote and the life; He was saying that they could given to you; seek and Beam (c.1619) by Domenico Fetti. be part of this kingdom, if only The painting was one in a series of they would build their lives on you will find; knock 13 works illustrating the parables. the \u201crock\u201d that He was. and the door will be kingdom. It is a world in which the Jesus knew that not everyone opened to you ... weak and powerless are considered would accept this way of life. For everyone who to be God\u2019s treasured children, It was a \u201cnarrow gate\u201d for people a place where generosity and to enter, compared to the broad asks receives. forgiveness are valued more highly road of living as you please, but Matthew 7:7\u20138 than strength. Here, trust in God the narrow path would lead to matters more than any other virtue. God\u2019s blessing (7:13\u201314). The idea of such a world must have seemed an impossible utopia for Jesus\u2019s story continued to those listening to Jesus, yet they unfold. His death and resurrection recognized God\u2019s authority in became powerful reminders to Jesus\u2019s words. He was not simply Jesus\u2019s disciples and followers to teach and live by the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount. \u25a0","210 DTYOHOUETMOWDOOOTUHLTEDORHYSOAAVUSE LUKE 6:31, THE GOLDEN RULE IN BRIEF T he saying, \u201cDo to others Jesus preaches to His followers what you would have them in this stained-glass detail of one of PASSAGE do to you,\u201d has become the four scenes gifted to St. Leonard\u2019s Matthew 7:9\u201312; known as the Golden Rule, and Church in Charlecote, England, in the Luke 6:27\u201336 finds expression in the ethical code late 19th century. of most of the world\u2019s religions. In THEME the Bible, it is taught by Jesus as to refrain from doing what is wrong; Fulfilling the Jewish law part of the Sermon on the Plain in rather, those who would live by the Luke 6:31 and the Sermon on the Golden Rule must actively seek to SETTING Mount in Matthew 7:12, where do good to and for others, just as c.27\u201329 ce The Sermon on Jesus says that it \u201csums up the they would hope to be treated the Mount (in Matthew), a Law and Prophets.\u201d themselves. When Jesus claims mountainside in Galilee; the that this sums up all the Law and Sermon on the Plain (in Luke), The Golden Rule emphasizes Prophets, it is a reminder that God\u2019s a plain near Capernaum. the necessity of positive ethical commandments are not primarily behavior. It is not simply enough KEY FIGURES Jesus The Messiah and Son of God at the start of His ministry in Galilee. Jesus\u2019s disciples A group of Jewish men and women who travel with Jesus during His ministry. The 12 closest to Him are tasked with spreading the word about Him and His teachings after His death.","THE GOSPELS 211 See also: Sermon on the Mount 204\u201309 \u25a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer 212\u201313 \u25a0 The Good Samaritan 216\u201317 a list of dos and don\u2019ts, but rather a will be opened to you.\u201d Jesus makes Love the Lord your God blueprint for healthy relationships the point that good parents give with all your heart between people. Ethical behavior good gifts to their children, and requires us to treat every person would never think to serve up a and with all your soul and as equally valuable. stone rather than bread to eat, or with all your strength give a child a snake instead of a fish. and with all your mind. Emulating God Luke 10:26\u201327 Jesus\u2019s teaching contains a If human parents are like this, distinctive perspective on the Jesus says, then \u201chow much more The Golden Rule is sometimes Golden Rule. In Luke\u2019s version, will your Father in heaven give called the \u201cethic of reciprocity\u201d Jesus points out that if His good gifts to those who ask Him!\u201d when discussed outside of a disciples apply this rule only to (Matthew 7:11). Since God responds Christian context. This name has those who are already good to so readily to the needs of Jesus\u2019s sparked some debate: while, in a them, then they have missed the followers, blessing them with love philosophical context, the concept point. Following the Golden Rule despite their many failings, they is seen as a moral contract between will mean that they will seek to do in turn should willingly act for the two parties (one treats the other good even to their enemies, even good of others, regardless of what well, in expectation of this kindness though they might never treat them the response might be. being reciprocated) in the Golden with respect in return. By blessing Rule, the actual or presupposed others, even when they do not Basis of morality behavior of others has no bearing respond in a like manner, Jesus\u2019s It is important to remember that on how one should treat them. \u25a0 disciples show that they have truly the Golden Rule is positive in form. become children of God through Too often the negative form\u2014do their imitation of God\u2019s character. not do things to other people that you would not want done to you\u2014is In Matthew\u2019s account, Jesus used, which ensures that there is a gives the Golden Rule immediately minimum level of ethical behavior. after describing the willingness of However, Jesus\u2019s Golden Rule seeks God to listen to prayer: \u201cAsk and to guide His disciples in a life of it will be given to you; seek and kindness, generosity, and justice you will find; knock and the door that goes beyond strict moralism. The Golden Rule in other religions The Qur\u2019an tells Muslims to do good As a fundamental ethical idea, Mean says: \u201cDo not impose on to everyone, including wayfarers, the Golden Rule is found in many others what you yourself do \u201cneighbors who are strangers,\u201d of the world\u2019s religions and moral not desire\u201d (13.3). and slaves (Q:4:36). codes. However, different religions each approach the rule with a The Abrahamic religions are slightly different emphasis, and united by the use of the positive many Eastern religions take the form to express the Golden Rule. negative form. Buddhism says: Islam preaches that \u201cNone of \u201cHurt not others in ways that you believes until he wishes for you yourself would find hurtful his brother what he wishes for (Udana-Varga 5:18), while himself\u201d (Hadith-Nawawi 13), Hinduism says: \u201cDo not do to while Judaism\u2019s expression of others what would cause pain if the Golden Rule can be found in done to you\u201d (Mahabharata 5:1517). Leviticus 19:18, with the simple The Confucian Doctrine of the commandment to \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself.\u201d","212 ISTSHHHIOSOU,WLTDHYEPONRU,AY MATTHEW 6:9, THE LORD\u2019S PRAYER IN BRIEF C hristianity\u2019s most famous the Old Testament, however, is the prayer, which was taught idea of God as the Father as central PASSAGE to the discipes by Jesus as it is in Jesus\u2019s teachings. In Matthew 6:9\u201313 Himself, starts on a striking note: telling His followers to say \u201cOur Luke 11:2\u20134 \u201cOur Father.\u201d By opening what Father,\u201d He encourages them to became known as the Lord\u2019s Prayer approach God boldly, just as a child THEME with those two words, Jesus was would approach a parent whose Teaching on prayer encouraging His disciples to enter care, provision, and protection they into an extraordinary intimacy with otherwise take for granted. SETTING God\u2014similar to the one that He c.27\u201329 ce The Sermon on Himself enjoyed. Learning to pray the Mount (in Matthew), a In Luke\u2019s Gospel, Jesus gives the mountainside in Galilee. Luke The image of God as a loving prayer in response to a request from says only that Jesus teaches parent was not unknown in the one of the disciples: \u201cLord, teach the prayer \u201cin a certain place.\u201d Hebrew scriptures. As early as us to pray, just as John [the Baptist] Exodus 4, the Lord refers to Israel taught his disciples.\u201d Luke\u2019s version KEY FIGURES as His \u201cfirstborn son.\u201d Nowhere in Jesus The Messiah and Son of God during His ministry in Translations Archbishop of Canterbury, and Galilee and Judea. first published in 1549. This The oldest known English has survived with only a few Jesus\u2019s disciples A group of versions of the Lord\u2019s Prayer modifications as the traditional Jewish men and women who date from before 1000 ce. John form of the prayer in English, travel with Jesus during His Wycliffe, leader of the reformist which is still the most familiar ministry, and spread the word Lollard movement, translated it version for many people. about Him and His teachings into English (along with the rest after His death. of the Bible) in the 1380s, and The doxology (a short verse William Tyndale followed suit in praising God) at the end of the the 1520s and 1530s. After the prayer\u2014\u201cFor thine is the English Reformation, Tyndale\u2019s kingdom \u2026\u201d\u2014is not found in version of the Prayer was the Bible, but versions of it have included with a few changes in been used for hundreds of years, the new Church of England\u2019s particularly in the Eastern and Book of Common Prayer, Orthodox Church. In its present compiled by Thomas Cranmer, form, the doxology is mostly used by Protestants.","THE GOSPELS 213 See also: The Origin of Prayer 38\u201339 \u25a0 The Divinity of Jesus 190\u201393 \u25a0 Sermon on the Mount 204\u201309 \u25a0 Parables of Jesus 214\u201315 \u25a0 The Nature of Faith 236\u201341 The Lord\u2019s Prayer is the most perfect of prayers. \u2026 This prayer teaches us not only to ask for things, but also in what order we should desire them. Thomas Aquinas of the prayer is more pared down than Matthew\u2019s and includes just five petitions. In Matthew\u2019s Gospel, the prayer is the focal point of the Sermon on the Mount and includes the salutation and seven petitions familiar to Christians today. Different religious traditions had their distinctive prayers, and Jesus intended the Lord\u2019s Prayer to be for His followers to say. The early Christians recited it three times a day in the same way that Jews recite the 18 Benedictions. Seven petitions While the you-petitions concern Reciting the Lord\u2019s Prayer was The prayer has become central to God\u2019s desire for love and justice once a daily ritual in many Christian Christian liturgies, but it is also among people, in the we-petitions families, as shown in this illustration seen as a \u201cschool of prayer.\u201d The the believer grapples with the from Berlin, dating from around 1900. opening salutation stresses the challenges of living out that vision: person\u2019s membership in a family of the need for material and spiritual and it will be given to you; seek and fellow children of God: \u201cOur Father.\u201d sustenance, forgiveness, mercy, you will find; knock and the door Three so-called \u201cyou-petitions\u201d and the ability to persevere. will be opened to you \u2026\u201d Through follow\u2014hallowed be your name; the Lord\u2019s Prayer, Jesus repeatedly your kingdom come, your will be In both Matthew\u2019s and Luke\u2019s demonstrates His belief in making done on earth as it is in heaven\u2014 Gospels, the prayer is followed petitions to God, thus encouraging succeeded by four \u201cwe-petitions\u201d: shortly afterward by other famous people to pray. \u25a0 give us our daily bread; forgive us pronouncements of Jesus: \u201cAsk our trespasses; lead us not into temptation; and deliver us from evil.","214 EWTAHHREOSME, VHLEEERTARHAS MATTHEW 13:43, PARABLES OF JESUS IN BRIEF O ne of the many reasons A farmer sows his seeds in Marten the Bible is still so popular van Valckenborch\u2019s 1590 depiction of PASSAGE today is its use of story. the parable of the sower. The painting Matthew 13:1\u201353, As humans, we are captivated by also shows Jesus (in a boat) telling the Luke 8\u201320, Mark 4\u201313 the power of narrative, so skilled story to His followers. orators use stories to convey THEME concepts. Jesus is no exception. the situations in the stories and Teaching through stories He uses short, meaningful stories their own lives as servants of God. called \u201cparables\u201d to engage and They are sometimes called earthly SETTING teach His listeners. stories with heavenly meanings, as c.27\u201329 ce The Galilee region. Jesus uses common socio-cultural The word \u201cparable\u201d comes contexts, such as farming, to explain KEY FIGURES from the Greek parabole, meaning the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew Jesus The Messiah and Son \u201cplacing beside\u201d or \u201ccomparison,\u201d 13:3\u20138, for example, Jesus tells the of God during His ministry and refers to the fact that parables story of a farmer whose seed falls in Galilee and Judea. use extended analogies to explain variously on a path, rocky ground, God\u2019s teachings. Parables allow thorns, and good soil. Jesus\u2019s disciples A group readers to draw comparisons with of Jewish men and women who call Jesus their rabbi or teacher. They travel with Him during His ministry and preach about Him and His teachings after His death.","See also: The Good Samaritan 216\u201317 \u25a0 The Prodigal Son 218\u201321 \u25a0 THE GOSPELS 215 Workers in the Vineyard 223 The oral tradition Unsurprisingly, only the seeds on Jesus spoke all these the good soil yield abundant crops. things to the crowd in Before the Jewish and Jesus explains what the parable parables; he did not say Christian traditions existed signifies: the seed stands for the anything to them without in written form, they were truth of the kingdom, while the almost always passed down various soils represent the people using a parable. orally. The history, values, and hearing the truth (18\u201323). If people Matthew 13:3 folklore of these communities are not \u201cgood soil\u201d\u2014receptive to were verbally transmitted the word of God\u2014they will not from teacher to student in come to understand it. Only those familial or educational circles. who comprehend the word and let it Since the spoken word was transform their lives will bear fruit. the main form of education, students refined their listening Speaking in parables are not always so obvious. This is skills, while teachers sought Jesus uses everyday images, but the very nature of parables\u2014and to be riveting orators. They some fail to grasp the complex one of the reasons Jesus uses them. used rhetorical devices to help spiritual truths they communicate. He uses parables not just to convey structure their teachings and For instance, after Jesus tells them the truth to those who believe, but make them more memorable. several parables, the disciples ask to conceal it from those who harden Him to explain the story about the their hearts to Him. They will not Jesus learned and taught weeds in the field (13:36), which know the truth because \u201cthey in this method, which is why explains the existence of good hardly hear with their ears \u2026 they He often quoted the scriptures and evil people in the world. have closed their eyes\u201d (13:15). \u25a0 from memory and chose to teach with parables: they Once Jesus explains them, the were short, rich with meaning, stories make complete sense to and easy to remember. The the disciples. However, when Jesus number of parables recorded does not clarify their meaning, they in the Gospels\u2014decades after Jesus\u2019s death\u2014demonstrates their memorability and His skill as a rabbi and storyteller. Five main types of parable told by Jesus: Describing Describing the About love and Explaining Explaining Heaven lost being forgiveness the nature Judgment as in The redeemed of prayer Hidden as in The as in The as in The Day as Treasure Lost Sheep Unforgiving Unjust Judge in The (Matt 13:44). (Luke 18:1\u20138). Ten Virgins (Luke 15:1\u20137). Servant (Matt 25:1\u201313). (Matt 18:21\u201335). Jesus uses parables to teach several different religious lessons.","216 HPWIITMHYE, NHOENHETHOISMOAKW LUKE 10:33, THE GOOD SAMARITAN IN BRIEF T he Parable of the Good must also love your neighbor. Samaritan is one of several Jesus tells the expert that he has PASSAGE stories told by Jesus, and, found his answer, but when the Luke 10:25\u201337 like many parables, only appears expert is not satisfied, Jesus uses a in the Gospel of Luke. At the heart parable as a novel means of getting THEME of it is the Golden Rule\u2014that we him to seek the answer out himself. Charity to the unfortunate must treat others as we would expect to be treated ourselves. The story concerns a man who SETTING is going from Jerusalem to Jericho, c.27\u201329 ce The road from The story begins with \u201can when he is robbed and left for dead Jerusalem to Jericho during expert in the Law\u201d asking Jesus by the side of the road. A priest the time of Christ\u2019s ministry. how to inherit eternal life. When passes and does nothing. Then a Jesus asks the expert to consider Levite passes and does nothing. KEY FIGURES the Law, he begins by quoting Yet when a Samaritan comes past, Jesus The Messiah and Son Deuteronomy 6:5, which says to he stops, takes care of the man\u2019s of God during His ministry love the Lord with all your heart, wounds, and gives him food, before in Galilee. soul, and strength. The expert then paying for the man to stay in an inn. quotes Leviticus 19:18, that you Jesus ends the story by asking the Expert of the Law Possibly expert who is the better neighbor. a priest, who has studied the Torah. A story of Luke Although Matthew (22:34\u201340) The Good Samaritan and Mark (12:28\u201334) include the A traveler who shows Law expert\u2019s question, they do not compassion for a stranger. include this parable. Because of this omission, some scholars The stranger A man question the authenticity of the traveling the road to Jericho. story as a true parable of Christ. Nonetheless, the story gives the The stranger is helped onto the back of the Samaritan\u2019s horse, while other passers-by disappear into the distance, in this 1890 depiction by Vincent Van Gogh (after Eug\u00e8ne Delacroix).","THE GOSPELS 217 See also: The Golden Rule 210\u201311 \u25a0 Parables of Jesus 214\u201315 \u25a0 The Prodigal Son 218\u201321 \u25a0 Workers in the Vineyard 223 Early Christian allegorical reading of The Good Samaritan The traveler comes Adam comes down down from Jerusalem \u2026 from Eden \u2026 \u2026 falls because of thieves \u2026 \u2026 falls from grace Samaria because of evil spirits \u2026 Samaria is a region in modern \u2026 unaided by the passing \u2026 unaided by the Law of Israel that roughly equates to priest or the Levite \u2026 Moses or the prophets \u2026 the biblical Northern Kingdom of Israel. Samaria was also the \u2026 until the Samaritan \u2026 until Jesus anoints Adam name given to the city built in oils and bandages him \u2026 and brings salvation \u2026 the 9th century bce by King Omri, who declared it capital \u2026 takes him to the inn \u2026 takes him to the of the region. In 722 bce, and promises to return. Church and promises following the fall of the city the Second Coming. of Samaria to the Assyrian empire, many foreign groups reader an insight into the theology emphasizing the message of the (2 Kings 17:24) were moved of the author of Luke. Given that parable: to love your neighbor, into the land by the Assyrians, he was probably a Greek-speaking and enemy, as you love yourself. eventually forming what Gentile, the parable is a perfect would become known as analogy of Jesus extending His Road from Jerusalem Samaritans. These groups favor to non-Jews. Roads and pathways are \u201climinal\u201d were largely composed of spaces\u2014they signify a transition Gentiles, and for this reason, In particular, the positioning from one place to another. In a Judeans were wary of the of a non-Jew\u2014and Samaritan\u2014as literal sense, roads are ungoverned, Samaritans, who were not the protagonist of a parable would dangerous spaces. With Jerusalem viewed as ethnically or have shocked contemporary Jewish being a popular destination for religiously Jewish. Over time, audiences, due to a longstanding trade and pilgrimage, it would Samaritans came to be seen rivalry between the Jews and the come as no surprise to find bandits as unclean people, who lived Samaritans since the 5th century lying in wait. In the Bible, roads sinfully and worshipped at bce. In telling this parable, Jesus are often metaphorical, suggesting the altars of pagan gods. helps His audience to see the a pathway to wisdom, immorality, kindness in a figure they would goodness, or God. \u25a0 In the New Testament, traditionally consider an adversary, Jesus initially commands His disciples to avoid frequenting any Gentile or Samaritan city. Later, however, Jesus visits Samaritan areas, healing the sick, casting out demons, and showing compassion where others had not. It seems fitting, therefore, that the merciful man in this parable should be a Samaritan.","218 IN BRIEF HOWTAHENFAIDWYSSOIADBSUSERRFAOLSODTOUHS\u2026NETDR PASSAGE Luke 15:32 LUKE 15:32, THE PRODIGAL SON THEME God seeks out the lost SETTING c.27\u201329 ce The road to Jerusalem. KEY FIGURES Jesus The Messiah and Son of God during His ministry in Galilee. The father A farmer. The prodigal son The farmer\u2019s younger son. The older son The farmer\u2019s older son. O f all of the allegorical and moral tales that Jesus told during His ministry, the parable of the prodigal son is one of the most beloved and well-known. Widely regarded as one of the greatest short stories ever told, the tale offers profound insights on the human condition, and its essential message of repentance, forgiveness, and redemption has ensured its timeless popularity. Presumption and pigs The parable concerns a farmer with two sons, who will jointly inherit his land. Rather than wait until the death of his father, the younger son asks for his share of the family estate, and the father divides up his property accordingly. The son swaps the land he has been given for cash and sets off for an unnamed distant country It does not take long for him to spend all of his money\u2014leading to the moniker","THE GOSPELS 219 See also: Proverbs 148\u201351 \u25a0 The Prophet Micah 168\u201371 \u25a0 Call for Repentance 172 \u25a0 The Good Samaritan 216\u201317 of \u201cprodigal,\u201d meaning \u201crecklessly make me like one of your hired The youngest son extravagant.\u201d At the same time, servants\u201d (Luke 15:18\u201319). Having leaves his family, an however, famine strikes the land. practiced his apology, he journeys act that symbolizes The prodigal son, reduced to home to beg forgiveness from his penury, is forced to hire himself out unwitting father and brother. a turning away to a local farmer, who puts him to from God. work looking after his pigs. In his Healing the rift He lives a miserable state, he longs to eat the When his father spots the prodigal same food that the pigs are eating. son in the distance, he does not feel profligate life of The choice of pigs is deliberate. the urge to rebuke him for his sinful behavior. According to Mosaic Law, swine misdeeds. Instead, he is filled with Famine strikes the are classed as unclean. Eating and compassion for his long-lost child. nation, echoing his even touching them is forbidden The father runs hastily to greet his spiritual drought. (Leviticus 11:7\u20138). The fact that the returning son, embraces him, and He returns home, prodigal son is contemplating seals the reconciliation with a kiss. like a sinner returning eating pig slops is therefore a highly significant demonstration of his The prodigal son only gets as far to God. hunger, desperation, and moral as the end of the second sentence depths to which he has fallen. of his prepared speech before his father interrupts him. He tells his Faced with poverty, the prodigal servants to bring him the best robe son is finally made to confront his they can find and clothe his son sinful actions. He recognizes how with it. Similarly, they are told to greedy he has been and decides put a ring on one of his fingers and to return to his father and beg for sandals on his feet. Following \u276f\u276f forgiveness. He even rehearses the plea of contrition that he will use The Prodigal Son depicted as a in order to win his father\u2019s favor. swineherd in 1608, by the Flemish \u201cFather, I have sinned against master David Vinckboons, and printed heaven and you,\u201d he says. \u201cI am no by Claes Jansz Visscher. The protagonist longer worthy to be called your son; looks enviously at the pigs\u2019 food. His story shows it is never too late to repent and be forgiven.","220 THE PRODIGAL SON The Return of the Prodigal Son by Bartolom\u00e9 Esteban Murillo (1618\u20131682), painted sometime around 1667\u20131670. The riches of the father contrast with the son\u2019s dirty feet and ragged clothes. this, the celebrations begin with celebrate \u2026 [your brother] was father for years with little to no the slaughter of a fattened calf\u2014a dead and is alive again; he was acknowledgment, his resentment lavish expense\u2014followed by lost and is found\u201d (Luke 15:28\u201331). is understandable. This sense of feasting, singing, and dancing. identification with the plight of the When engaging with the elder brother only heightens the Undeserved welcome parable of the prodigal son for the power of the parable\u2019s conclusion. Meanwhile, the prodigal son\u2019s older first time, it is easy or even natural brother, who has spent the day to identify with the helpless rage While the older brother has been laboring in his father\u2019s fields, hears exhibited by the elder son. His open and honest in his assertions, the music as he approaches home. belief that he has suffered an his self-righteous and self-centered A servant tells him why his father injustice is certainly not unfounded attitude is condemned by Jesus. In has ordered such rejoicing. and, having worked hard for his the older brother\u2019s fury at the lack of recognition that his father has When he learns the reason for given to his good deeds, or works, the celebrations, the older brother he is unable to exhibit the grace of becomes infuriated. He refuses to his father and welcome his brother join the party, despite his father\u2019s home. What is more, the older pleadings. He tells his father that brother cannot share in his father\u2019s while he, the elder brother has gratitude that the prodigal son has worked tirelessly and obediently for owned up to his mistakes and his father for many years, he has sought out forgiveness. We never never been rewarded. In contrast, he learn whether the older brother says, \u201cwhen this son of yours who repents for his behavior. has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the Lost but redeemed fattened calf for him!\u201d (Luke 15:30) In the Bible, important principles are However, his father does not see it often repeated for emphasis. This is this way. \u201cMy son,\u201d he says, \u201cyou exemplified by Luke 15, which, in are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we have to Familial relationships and inheritance In the ancient world, land was the oldest would get 40 percent a family\u2019s most important asset. of the estate and the others For this reason, laws evolved 20 percent each. Daughters did that governed the rights of not inherit, but were provided inheritance. Though the Bible with a dowry that went to their varies in what it says these laws husband\u2019s family when they stipulate\u2014probably because the married. They could only inherit texts setting them out were their father\u2019s estate if there were written at different times\u2014it is no sons to do so. clear that a man\u2019s principal heirs were sons born to him by his Contrarily, the New Testament wife or wives. As stated in focuses on spiritual, rather than Deuteronomy 21, the eldest son physical, inheritance. Indeed, in inherits a double share. So if, for Luke 12:13\u201321, Jesus specifically example, there were four sons, states that life \u201cdoes not consist of an abundance of possessions.\u201d","addition to the prodigal son, His father saw him and THE GOSPELS 221 contains two other parables linked was filled with compassion by a common theme\u2014the lost sheep for him; he ran to his son, Lost and found and the lost coin. In the first of these parables, Jesus is not worried threw his arms around As well as the three parables about the sheep that are safe\u2014all him, and kissed him. in Luke 15, the notion of 99 of them; he is concerned about things that are \u201clost\u201d and the one sheep that is lost. The point Luke 15:20 \u201cfound\u201d features elsewhere is reiterated in the second parable, in the Bible, such as Luke about a lost coin which, when The father figure represents God 19:10 and Psalm 119. In Psalm rediscovered, becomes all the more Himself. Despite having been 119 in particular, the idea is treasured. Throughout these first wronged by his son\u2019s actions, highly relevant. This acrostic two parables, Jesus repeatedly he loves him and welcomes him poem is a prayer to God, which states the possibility of forgiveness home with open arms\u2014just as tells Him: \u201cI have strayed like and redemption, saying: \u201cthere is God, throughout the Bible, forgives a lost sheep. Seek your servant, rejoicing in the presence of the His people for their misdeeds for I have not forgotten your angels of God over one sinner on the basis of His grace. The commands\u201d (Psalm 119:176). who repents\u201d (15:10). message of the Prodigal Son is clear. It is the people who are lost Isaiah 41:10 sums up God\u2019s In the parable of the prodigal that need to be shown God\u2019s mercy reaction to all such pleas from son, this message is taken further, and forgiveness the most, so that the lost who pray for guidance: with the lost being contrasted they may be found again. \u201cSo do not fear for I am with against the faithful. The prodigal you; do not be dismayed, for I son represents any person who Context of Luke am your God. I will strengthen has\u2014one way or another, through Though Luke was not present with you and help you; I will uphold greed or negligence\u2014strayed from Jesus at the time of His ministry\u2014 you with my strong right God. His older brother represents in all likelihood, he did not convert hand.\u201d Solomon, the son of the loyal believers who, basking until after the resurrection\u2014it is King David, also preaches in their self-righteousness, may notable that his Gospel account is about the need to trust in be blind to the sin of their own the only one to include the parable God, and to do so fully, arrogance; his presence in the story of the prodigal son. While the \u201cwith all your heart and lean reminds those who hear it that the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, not on your understanding\u201d grace of God is above petty human Mark, and Luke are broadly similar (Proverbs 3:5). He goes on to notions of justice and fairness. in content, the Gospel of Luke in say that if you acknowledge particular addresses a specific God \u201cin all your ways\u201d and When he came to his challenge often put to Jesus\u2014that \u201csubmit to him,\u201d then God will senses, he said, \u2018How in associating with sinners, He \u201cmake your paths straight\u201d many of my father\u2019s hired Himself is acting sinfully. It is (Proverbs 3:6). According to servants have food to therefore perhaps not surprising Solomon, by following the spare, and here I am that Luke alone would focus on word of God and obeying His a tale that encourages forgiveness will, His people will be guided starving to death!\u2019 of the wayward sinner, regardless of through life and not become Luke 15:17 any transgressions in his past.\u25a0 \u201clost\u201d or sinful.","222 DEFTRAHUROETTMYKHAIWNNCGHDOSOLTLMOAEFXDCETOTSH?E MATTHEW 17:27, THE TEMPLE TAX IN BRIEF I n addition to the taxes that Peter finds a coin in the mouth of a were imposed on the people fish on the shores of Lake Capernaum, PASSAGE of Judea by Rome, a voluntary in a 17th-century Dutch engraving Matthew 17:27 Temple tax was levied on Jewish by Salomon Savery after a painting by males over the age of 20 to pay Peter Paul Rubens. THEME for sacrifices and incense in the God\u2019s provision Temple. In Matthew 17, the Apostle that is imposed on the house of describes Jesus and His disciples God. Yet Jesus instructs Peter to SETTING arriving in Capernaum, where Peter fish for the coin, explaining it must c.27\u201329 ce Capernaum is confronted by the collectors of be done \u201cso that we may not offend\u201d at the Sea of Galilee. the Temple tax. When the officials the tax collectors (Matthew 17:27). ask Peter if His master pays the KEY FIGURES tax, Peter affirms that He does. Jesus\u2019s actions suggest that it Jesus The Messiah and Son is sometimes necessary to comply of God during His ministry A little later, Jesus challenges with the views of others in order in Galilee. Peter, asking if taxes are paid by to keep the peace. However, they the children of the \u201ckings of the do not pay from their own pockets: Peter A fisherman by trade earth\u201d (Matthew 17:25). In response, the miracle of the coin in the fish\u2019s and one of Jesus\u2019s most Peter grants that taxes are not paid mouth shows God\u2019s generosity and favored disciples. by the children of kings. Then, in a His capacity to lovingly provide for miraculous twist, Jesus tells Peter both His Son and His people. \u25a0 Tax collectors State officials to catch a fish and open its mouth. generally disliked for their There he will find a four-drachma corrupt practices. coin with which he is to pay both his own tax and Jesus\u2019s. The tax is paid When Jesus speaks of the children of kings, He casts Himself and His disciples as sons of God who are therefore exempt from the taxation See also: A Child in the Temple 188 \u25a0 Jesus Embraces a Tax Collector 242\u201343 \u25a0 Cleansing the Temple 244\u201345","THE GOSPELS 223 FBSIEORFSTIHTRESWTLI,ALASLNTBDWETLIHLAELST MATTHEW 20:16, WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD IN BRIEF T he parable of the workers owner goes out again four times\u2014 in the vineyard is one that at 9 am, midday, 3 pm, and 5 pm. PASSAGE many readers with modern Each time he leaves, he encounters Matthew 20:16 notions of fairness struggle to more men doing nothing and offers accept. However, it functions very them work in his vineyard too, THEME well as a demonstration of how God which Jesus says represents \u201cthe God operates through deals with people on the basis of kingdom of heaven\u201d (Matthew 20:1). unending grace grace, rather than works. When evening comes, the SETTING In the parable, a landowner goes landowner gathers the workers. He c.27\u201329 ce The region out early one morning to recruit pays all of them the same amount\u2014 of Galilee. workers. He agrees to pay each of one denarius each. The men who the laborers a denarius for the day. worked longer hours are outraged. KEY FIGURES Later in the day, the vineyard The landowner, however, brushes Jesus The Messiah and Son away their objections, saying that of God during His ministry he is generous and has the right to in Galilee. use his money as he sees fit. The landowner Owner of These who were hired last \u2026 Interpreting the tale the vineyard and the purveyor you have made \u2026 equal The story of the workers in the of God\u2019s grace. to us who have borne the vineyard shows us that God\u2019s grace burden of the work and can supersede human logic. One The workers The employees the heat of the day. interpretation of the parable is that of the landowner gathered Matthew 20:12 those who turn to God late in life from the marketplace. are just as worthy of salvation as those who have always believed. Other theologians go further, presenting the first laborers as Jews, and the latecomers as Gentiles\u2014both equally deserving of God\u2019s love and salvation. \u25a0 See also: Parables of Jesus 214\u201315 \u25a0 The Good Samaritan 216\u201317 \u25a0 The Prodigal Son 218\u201321","224 LMWEYEGNIAOARNME,EFMOIASRNY MARK 5:9, DEMONS AND THE HERD OF PIGS IN BRIEF O ften referred to as the out of His boat, a man possessed by Miracle of the Gadarene a demon, a demoniac, comes down PASSAGE Swine, the miracle of the from some tombs to meet Him. The Mark 5:1\u201320 demons and the herd of pigs man is so strong that he cannot be Luke 8:26\u201339 demonstrates the total authority bound, breaking his chains and Matthew 8:28\u201334 of Jesus over the spiritual realm. cutting himself with stones, while crying out at the top of his voice. THEME The story is recounted in three Jesus\u2019s authority over of the Gospels\u2014Mark 5:1\u201320, Luke Jesus heals the demoniac in this the spiritual realm 8:26\u201339, and Matthew 8:28\u201334\u2014 6th-century mosaic from the Basilica but the fullest account is in Mark. of Sant\u2019Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, SETTING Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee Italy. The drowning pigs are depicted c.27\u201329 ce Gerasene shores with His followers and arrives in the next to the possessed man. of the Sea of Galilee. land of the Gerasenes. As He gets KEY FIGURES Jesus The Messiah and Son of God at the height of His ministry in Galilee. The demoniac An immensely strong demon-possessed man who lives in tombs near the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Pig-keepers The unfortunate herdsmen who see their pigs drown and inform the local people of Jesus\u2019s miracle.","THE GOSPELS 225 See also: The Raising of Lazarus 226\u201327 \u25a0 Feeding the 5,000 228\u201331 \u25a0 Healing of the Beggar 284\u201387 \u25a0 The Final Judgment 316\u201321 Jesus approaches the man and A Canaanite calls for the demon to come out of woman\u2019s daughter. Him. The demon replies: \u201cWhat do Matthew 15:21\u201328 you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God\u2019s name, don\u2019t torture me!\u201d (Mark 5:7) Jesus asks for the name of the demon, who tells Him it is \u201cLegion, for we are many.\u201d Unclean and unwanted A boy. A mute man. The demons plead with Jesus not Mark 9:17\u201329 Matthew 9:32\u201334 to send them away, but rather to send them into the bodies of a large Subjects of herd of pigs grazing nearby. When exorcism Jesus grants the demons their wish, the pigs hurtle down the A man in the synagogue A blind and mute man. steep hillside into the lake and are at Capernaum. Matthew 12:22\u201332 drowned, demonstrating Jesus\u2019s Luke 4:35 dominion over spiritual creatures. The traditional interpretation of pig-keepers. Thus, the miracle is The pig-keepers are angry at the this story is that, in casting out the a judgment on the townsmen\u2019s loss of their property and when the demons and condemning the pigs, concern for their pigs over the local people hear about the carnage, Jesus prioritized the soul of the possessed man. The tale may they remonstrate with Jesus and man. Medieval scholar St. Thomas also have symbolic meaning. ask Him to leave. As He climbs Aquinas argued that Jesus acted Judaism regards pigs as unclean, back into His boat, however, Jesus to save the demoniac\u2019s soul rather and therefore the herd might be a is hailed by the cured demoniac. than his body or the property of the good place to bury impure spirits. \u25a0 The man begs Jesus to let him travel with Him, but Jesus refuses, telling the man to go home to his own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for him. Demonic Possession demon acts externally against its victim. This can involve According to French Benedictine unexplained lesions, epileptic monk Antoine Augustin Calmet, seizures, and facial deformation. writing in the 18th century, in the Bible there are two forms of In the Old Testament, evil demonic attack\u2014\u201cpossession\u201d spirits are mentioned in 1 and \u201cobsession.\u201d The former Samuel, 1 Kings, and Job. There usually involves the internal is a greater number of demonic \u201cownership\u201d of the individual attacks in the New Testament. by an evil spirit. This manifests However, Calmet notes that in the form of physical agitation, what seemed to be demons may a furious temper, speaking in have often represented little tongues, and uttering blasphemy. more than simple maladies \u201cObsession\u201d occurs when the that could not be explained by contemporary physicians.","226 CWTHAHMEOEMHOAANUDTDIED JOHN 11:44, THE RAISING OF LAZARUS IN BRIEF T he Book of John is full of signs and wonders that are PASSAGE seen as proof that Jesus John 11:1\u201357 was not simply a prophet but the Son of God. When compared to the THEME Synoptic Gospels\u2014the books of Resurrection through Matthew, Mark, and Luke\u2014the Christ Book of John contains few parables, with more emphasis placed on the SETTING miracles that Jesus performs. c.29\u201333 ce Bethany, south of Jerusalem. A plea for help Friedrich Overbeck\u2019s 1882 painting One of the most well known of these Raising of Lazarus was born out of the KEY FIGURES miracles is the story of Lazarus, a Nazarene movement of 19th-century Jesus The Messiah and the name which means \u201cGod helped,\u201d Rome. Art from this movement was Son of God. and possibly foreshadows the dominated by religious subjects. events that occur in the story. Mary and Martha Two of Lazarus and his sisters Mary and through faith in God any obstacle Jesus\u2019s followers and friends. Martha\u2014close friends of Jesus\u2014 can be surpassed, including death live in the town of Bethany. When itself\u2014a theme emphasized in the Lazarus The brother of Mary Lazarus becomes deathly ill, his story of Lazarus. and Martha, and one of Jesus\u2019s sisters send word to Jesus, asking closest friends. for His return so that He may Jesus wept heal their brother. Jesus and His By the time Jesus returns to Disciples The 12 Apostles disciples are about one day\u2019s travel Bethany, Lazarus has already been chosen by Jesus at the away, but when word reaches them, dead for four days. On His arrival, beginning of His ministry. the disciples do not want Jesus to Jesus greets Martha, saying \u201cyour go to Bethany due to rising hostility brother will rise again\u201d (John 11:23). toward Him in nearby Jerusalem. Jesus then calls Mary to meet Him, and when He sees her grief, Jesus However, Jesus rebukes them, weeps alongside her. saying \u201cA man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world\u2019s light\u201d (John 11:9). In this way, Jesus shows His disciples that","See also: Demons and the Herds of Pigs 224\u201325 \u25a0 Jesus Anointed THE GOSPELS 227 at Bethany 246\u201347 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201371 Healing the sick Jesus asks Mary to take Him to the Did I not tell you that if tomb of Lazarus and she obliges. you believed, you would The curing of illnesses and When He ask the crowd to roll away casting out of demons were the stone from the front of the tomb, see the glory of God? often considered one and the Martha initially objects, expressing John 11:40 same in ancient Near Eastern fear that the corpse will smell, but thought. In fact, many ancient then acquiesces. In a loud voice, people believed that demons Jesus shouts \u201cLazarus, come out!\u201d were the root cause of any (John 11:43). Immediately, Lazarus given illness. For example, in rises and exits the tomb. Babylon, the god Marduk was called upon to cure common Purpose of the miracle to discuss the figure of Jesus and, ailments such as headaches or In one of the many miracles that ultimately, have faith in the power toothaches through exorcism. Jesus performs, He resurrects of Christ above and beyond death. Lazarus for the purpose of proving With this in mind, it is no that He is the Messiah. Jesus However, the importance of the surprise that over the course states this when Martha asks Him story of Lazarus extends further. of His ministry, Jesus would to return to Bethany: He says that it When Martha and Mary send word heal those with more serious will be done \u201cso that God\u2019s son may to Jesus that Lazarus is dying, their ailments in order to show His be glorified through it\u201d (John 11:4). message reads \u201cLord, the one you holiness. In the Bible, demonic love is sick\u201d (John 11:3) and Jesus\u2019s possession is sometimes When Jesus approaches the compassion is clearly visible from described in similar terms tomb, the doubtful crowd suggests His interactions with Mary. More to what we regard as mental that if He were truly the Son of God, than simply a display of divinity, illness today. One such He would have healed Lazarus the story of Lazarus shows an example comes in Mark 5, before his death. Jesus then prays emotional depth in Jesus, which when Jesus exorcizes multiple to God, telling Him that He is acts as a powerful reminder that, demons from a man in Gerasa. enacting the resurrection out loud like God, Jesus feels profound love for the benefit of the crowd, so that and compassion for His people. \u25a0 In ancient times many of they may see the glory of God. those who were sick, such as These details suggest that the lepers, were cast out of society primary purpose of raising Lazarus out of fear and hatred. Jesus is to inspire the watching audience focused on these individuals during His mission and, in doing so, taught His followers that nobody is beyond Christ\u2019s redemption if they have faith. The \u201cseven signs\u201d proving that Jesus is the Christ form the structural backbone of the Book of John. These miracles become increasingly more impressive as the Gospel goes on. 2:1\u201311 5:1\u201329 6:16\u201324 11:1\u201344 Turns water to wine Heals on the Sabbath Walks on water Raises the dead The seven signs of Christ in the Book of John 4:46\u201353 6:1\u201314 9:1\u201312 Heals the sick Feeds the 5,000 Heals the blind","228 IN BRIEF FUTAAIHPNNSEDDTHOF,TTIHAHHVEKEEEILATNLOVWGOEOAONKVEEDS, PASSAGE Matthew 14:13\u201321 LUKE 9:16, FEEDING THE 5,000 Mark 6:31\u201344 Luke 9:12\u201317 John 6:1\u201314 THEME God satisfies material and spiritual hunger SETTING c.27\u201329 ce Bethsaida. KEY FIGURES Jesus The Messiah and Son of God during the height of His ministry in Galilee. The 12 disciples Jesus\u2019s chosen followers, who help Him to heal the sick and feed the multitude. The crowd Mainly Jewish residents of the settlements near the town of Bethsaida. T he feeding of the 5,000\u2014 also known as the Miracle of the Five Loaves and Two Fish\u2014is one of the most celebrated moments in the Bible. In fact, it is the only miracle, other than the resurrection, to appear in all four of the Gospels, which underlines its significance. God\u2019s compassion and limitless ability to satisfy both physical and spiritual hunger are shown here at their greatest. Although this miracle is most often referred to as \u201cthe feeding of the 5,000,\u201d the number of people present could have been far greater. Matthew 14:21 estimates the number of men alone at \u201cabout five thousand,\u201d and goes on to say that","THE GOSPELS 229 See also: The Origin of Prayer 38\u201339 \u25a0 The Lord\u2019s Prayer 212\u201313 \u25a0 The Last Supper 236\u201341 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201371 women and children were there, remote place near the town of The Feeding of the Five Thousand is too. Some Bible scholars believe Bethsaida, likely located on the depicted by Flemish Renaissance artist there may have been as many as River Jordan just north of the Sea Joachim Patinir. The painting, from the 20,000 people fed in total. of Galilee. However, the crowds Monasterio de El Escorial, Spain, has Jesus seeks solitude find out where He is, and they leave the Sea of Galilee in the background. According to Luke\u2019s Gospel, upon their towns and villages to follow hearing that John the Baptist has Him there. Despite His desire for The disciples explain that this is been killed, Jesus withdraws to a solitude, when Jesus sees the large impossible, as they only have five crowd of people gathering around loaves of bread and two fish with They do not need to Him, He feels compassion for which to feed the thousands. go away. You give them them. He speaks to them about the kingdom of God and begins Jesus instructs the disciples to something to eat. to heal those who are sick. make the crowd sit down in groups Matthew 14:16 of about 50 people. He takes the Feeding the multitude loaves and fish, looks up to heaven, Late in the afternoon, all 12 of the and gives thanks. He then breaks disciples approach Him, and remind the loaves and fish into pieces and Him of their remote location. They hands them to the disciples, who suggest that He send the people then feed everyone at the gathering away to the surrounding settlements until they are all satisfied. There are so they can find food and lodging even 12 basketfuls of broken bread for the night. Jesus instead tells His left over at the end of the meal. disciples to give the hungry people something to eat where they stand. The miracle that Jesus has just performed is symbolic of God\u2019s endless love and compassion for \u276f\u276f","230 FEEDING THE 5,000 His people. From an impossibly disciples in the New Testament. small amount of food, an enormous The five pieces of bread that Jesus Bread as a symbol crowd is fed. The fact that they is handed could represent the of life are in such a remote setting shows Pentateuch of the Torah: Genesis, the wide reach of God\u2019s love, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Bread is mentioned throughout suggesting that no matter where Deuteronomy. Jesus takes these the Bible. While this was one is, God\u2019s love can still be felt. five loaves and multiplies them into one of the most important something more, in the same way foods of ancient times, it Giving thanks to heaven that He takes the Mosaic Law from also has a symbolic status as The sustenance that God provides the Torah and builds upon it. a manifestation of human life can be thought of as both physical itself. Nowhere is this idea and spiritual. Although the story This is not the only way in which underlined more thematically focuses on the necessary physical the feeding of the 5,000 refers back than in the Miracle of the nourishment the bread provides, to the Old Testament. In John 6, Five Loaves and Two Fish. this is also a symbolic gesture of Jesus explains the miracle of the Shortly after performing His compassion. Many Christians multiplication of the loaves with miracle, Jesus states, \u201cI am interpret this miracle as proof a sermon that draws direct the bread of life. Whoever that if they remain faithful and parallels between God providing comes to me will never go grateful to God, He will provide for the multitudes at Bethsaida hungry\u201d (John 6:35). them with everything they need, and His provisions for the Israelites both physically and spiritually. during their time in the wilderness. The breaking of loaves of The 12 baskets of leftover bread Jesus closes this sermon with a bread to feed the multitudes exemplify the endless nature of difficult teaching that foreshadows also foreshadows Jesus\u2019s same God\u2019s love for His people, and the Last Supper: \u201cI am the living action during the last meal He serve as an illustration of why bread that came down from heaven. shares with His disciples. It is He deserves their worship. Whoever eats this bread will live during this event that Jesus forever\u201d (6:51). establishes that the bread It is also noteworthy that in and His flesh are one and the three of the Gospels\u2014Matthew, Feeding the Gentiles same, at least symbolically. Mark, and Luke\u2014Jesus does not This is not the only miracle recorded hand the food out Himself; instead, in which Jesus and His disciples As well as providing the He gives the bread and fish to the feed the multitudes. Both Matthew people with sustenance, bread disciples to distribute to the crowd. and Mark describe two versions of also represents a connection This not only suggests that anybody what is seemingly the same miracle. to Jesus. Its multiplication and can deliver the message of God\u2019s While Matthew 14 tells the story distribution in this miracle love, but also teaches the importance of the feeding of the 5,000, which shows Jesus\u2019s desire to satisfy of faith in God. It is implied that occurs after the death of John the the people\u2019s hunger, and also unless the disciples have faith in to spread the word of God. Jesus and God, the bread and fish The Lord Almighty will will run out. It is not simply enough prepare a feast of rich Bakers check the quality of the to ask for something and to be matza bread at a handmade matza grateful in receiving it: one must food for all peoples. factory in Kfar Chabad, Israel. have total faith that God wants to Isaiah 25:6 and will provide for His people. Five loaves of bread Numbers often carry a symbolic significance in the Bible, and this miracle is no exception. Not only are there 12 baskets of leftover food, recalling the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament and the 12","I [the Lord] will bless both the numbers cited and the THE GOSPELS 231 [Israel] with abundant audiences are important. While provisions; her poor I the crowd at Bethsaida was Jesus as the king will satisfy with food. predominantly Jewish, scholars of the Jews Psalms 132:13\u201315 suggest that those gathered in the \u201cfeeding of the 4,000\u201d were more Since the prophet Isaiah, the likely to be Gentiles. This feeding Jewish people had waited for of the multitudes, therefore, was a king from the line of David proof that God would provide for to deliver them from their all people, Jews and Gentiles. enemies and preside over an era of economic prosperity Baptist, Matthew 15 goes on to Doubting disciples and international influence. describe Jesus and the disciples It is notable that when Jesus tells feeding a crowd in a region of the His disciples in the Gerasenes that Throughout His ministry, Gerasenes, near the Decapolis, a He plans to feed the multitude, they Jesus, a descendant of David, cluster of ten allied cities east of express doubts. They ask Him proves Himself to be this very the Sea of Galilee. The narrative is \u201cwhere could we get enough bread savior. He preaches the word similar to that in Matthew 14, except in this remote place to feed such of God to the multitudes, heals for two key details: the numbers and a crowd?\u201d (Matthew 15:33). They the sick, and provides them the type of people who were fed. either do not quite believe He will with food. Not concerned work in this \u201cremote place\u201d or they with earthly kingdoms, Jesus Some Bible scholars have have forgotten how Jesus recently performs acts that show Him questioned why the Gospel writers performed this very miracle for the to be divine, leading many would include two such similar 5,000 gathered at Bethsaida. Some who hear Him to accept Him miracles so close together in their scholars have taken this skepticism as the promised Messiah. The accounts of Jesus\u2019s life. However, to show that the disciples are, at crowds that gather to listen to this point, still learning: they do not Him speak are testament to yet possess an unwavering faith His growing support among in the power of God to do what, both Jews and Gentiles. to humans, seems impossible. \u25a0 Jesus\u2019s following, of course, eventually becomes so great Featured in Feeding of Feeding of that enemies of His decide Matthew\/Mark the 5,000 the 4,000 that He poses too much of a Featured in threat. As Jesus undergoes Luke\/John Yes Yes questioning at His trial, it is Yes no wonder that Pilate refers to Location Bethsaida No Him as the \u201cking of the Jews,\u201d Jews Near the Decapolis, a title that also appears on the The people Five loaves and in the Gerasenes cross on which He is crucified. being fed two fish Gentiles Number of loaves\/ Twelve baskets\u2019 worth Seven loaves and fish before miracle several fish Remaining food Seven baskets\u2019 worth after miracle","232 IBTTAEIKSAEFIRC. DAOIOUDNR\u2019ATGE! MATTHEW 14:27, JESUS WALKS ON WATER IN BRIEF J esus walking on the waters the disciples and, for the first time of the Sea of Galilee is one of in the Bible, they begin to worship PASSAGE the most significant miracles Jesus, exclaiming, \u201cTruly you are Matthew 14:27 recorded in the New Testament. the Son of God\u201d (Matthew 14:33). It follows on from another miracle\u2014 THEME feeding 5,000 people with five A stormy sea God\u2019s sovereignty over loaves of bread and two fish\u2014and The scene takes place in the Sea all things is succeeded by Jesus\u2019s retreat up of Galilee in the lower part of the a mountain to pray. The sight of Jordan valley. At 13 miles (21km) SETTING Jesus walking on water astounds long and 8 miles (13km) wide, it is c.26\u201327 ce The Sea of Galilee. Israel\u2019s largest freshwater lake. It Jesus and the is also prone to sudden storms, as KEY FIGURES Sea of Galilee the disciples discover to their cost. Jesus The Messiah and Son of God during His ministry River Jordan Bethsaida One evening, the disciples go in Galilee and Judea. down to the lake, get into their boat, 1 5 4 and set off for Capernaum. They Peter One of Jesus\u2019s inner soon find themselves struggling to circle of disciples, who later Capernaum make headway against a powerful denies knowing Him. Peter headwind. Even though most are was one of several disciples Magdala 2 3 experienced fishermen, they who were originally fishermen. 6 become exhausted after hours of Sea of Galilee straining on their oars in the face Disciples Jesus\u2019s close group of the gathering storm. of 12 followers, who often Tiberias witness His miracles. It is at this moment\u2014probably in the early hours of the morning\u2014 River Jordan 4. Feeding the 5,000 that Jesus comes to the disciples\u2019 5. Jesus Walks on rescue. He approaches them in a Key totally unexpected way, by walking 1. The Sermon Water on the turbulent waters as if they 6. Feeding the 4,000 are as stable as solid rock. on the Mount 2. Calming the The disciples are confused. They see something or someone Storm coming toward them, but they do 3. Demons and not realize who or what it is. Rather, the Herd of Pigs","See also: Demons and the Herd of Pigs 224\u201325 \u25a0 Feeding the 5,000 228\u201331 \u25a0 THE GOSPELS 233 Peter\u2019s Denial 256\u201357 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201369 Flawed faith they are terrified, because they Jesus walks on the water toward believe the figure is an apparition. the helpless disciples. Despite Peter Although Peter steps out onto Jesus calls out to them to calm questioning Jesus\u2019s identity and the water, his faith is not them down, but Peter asks Jesus betraying his faith in the process, strong enough to overcome to command him to come. When Jesus saves His servants. his fear. This is not the only Jesus calls for Peter, Peter climbs time Peter loses faith in Jesus. out of the boat and starts walking The Gospel writers vary slightly in As Jesus accurately predicts on the water toward Jesus. When the way they tell the story of this on the Mount of Olives Peter\u2019s faith wavers, he begins to particular miracle. According to immediately after the Last sink, but Jesus rescues him. Matthew 14, Peter walks on the Supper, \u201cthis night, before the water in response to Jesus\u2019s one- rooster crows, you will disown Immediately Jesus word command, \u201cCome,\u201d before Me three times\u201d (Matthew 26: reached out his hand his faith fails him. The focus of the 69\u201375). Fear and frailty usurp and caught him. \u201cYou story as told in Mark 6:47\u201351 and Peter\u2019s faith\u2014but he learns of little faith,\u201d He said, John 6:16\u201321 differs from that of from these moments to go \u201cwhy did you doubt?\u201d Matthew: in those Gospels, only on to become a pillar of the Jesus is shown to walk on water. early Christian Church. Matthew 14:31 His three denials of Christ Messages in the miracle are counterbalanced by his There are two important points to three declarations of love note in this particular miracle. One after Jesus\u2019s resurrection. is the lesson the disciples learn when Jesus comes to save them There are many examples from the stormy waters. The of flawed faith in the Bible. message is universal: Jesus will The prophet Jonah fails to always be there for His followers at go to the Ninevites and tell the times when He is needed the them to repent. Instead, he flees through fear and because he does not think they deserve to be forgiven (Jonah 1:1\u20133). Just as Jesus rescues Peter, Jonah is forgiven by God. In renewed faith there is redemption\u2014these stories show that it is never too late to return to God. most. Jesus helps the disciples to go safely to their destination, and they hail Him as the Son of God. It is also significant that Jesus is shown as having the power to walk on water. In the Old Testament, this ability is described as being unique to God. Genesis 6\u20137 and 9 and Exodus 14:21 and 15:8 all state clearly that only God has power over the seas. This fact is also confirmed by Job 9:8, which states: \u201cHe alone \u2026 treads on the waves of the sea.\u201d Jesus's ability to walk on water is therefore proof of His close relationship to God. \u25a0","234 HCTAHSILSOEWFTSAHHUCEINTES,ESABAHNESODCNLAHIEMGISELHITKE MATTHEW 17:2, THE TRANSFIGURATION IN BRIEF M ark, Matthew, and Luke\u2014 the stinging reply: \u201cGet behind me, the so-called Synoptic Satan!\u201d\u2014\u201cSatan\u201d here meaning PASSAGE Gospels\u2014all tell the story simply an adversary of the Lord\u2014 Matthew 17:1\u201313; of the Transfiguration. This event \u201cYour thoughts are not thoughts Mark 9:2\u201313; Luke 9:28\u201336 follows two outbursts by Peter, one from God but from men\u201d (Mark 8:33). of Jesus\u2019s favored disciples. In the THEME first, Peter makes a bold statement Shining glory Jesus is affirmed by God about Jesus\u2019s identity: \u201cYou are the Six days after Jesus\u2019s rebuke, Christ, the son of the living God\u201d according to Mark and Matthew, SETTING (Matthew 16:15). After the second, or eight days in Luke, Jesus takes c.27\u201329 ce Mount Tabor. in which Peter objects to Jesus\u2019s His closest disciples\u2014Peter and intimations that He will suffer the brothers James and John\u2014up KEY FIGURES rejection and be killed, Jesus issues a high mountain. A tradition dating Jesus The Messiah and Son from the 4th century ce identifies it of God during His ministry. as Mount Tabor in Lower Galilee, but mounts Carmel and Horeb are Peter Together with James other candidates. There, the and John, a member of Jesus\u2019s astonished disciples witness an inner circle of three disciples. extraordinary metamorphosis. Jesus\u2019s clothes become dazzling James and John Sons of white\u2014\u201cno one on earth could Zebedee. Originally fishermen clean them so white\u201d (Mark 9:3)\u2014 on the Sea of Galilee. while His face shines like the sun. Moses Israel\u2019s liberator and With Him are two other figures, lawgiver, who led the people whom the disciples identify as out of slavery in Egypt. Moses and Elijah. The disciples are terrified and, as ever, it is Peter who Elijah A prophet active in the speaks. He suggests erecting three reign of King Ahab of Israel in the 9th century bce. The Transfiguration of Christ (1516\u20131520), by Raphael, sets the transfiguration against a story of the Apostles, who, unlike Christ, are only human, failing to rid a boy of demons.","GOSPELS 235 See also: The Baptism of Jesus 194\u201397 \u25a0 The Crucifixion 258\u201365 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201371 \u25a0 The Great Commission 274\u201377 The Five Milestones the heavenly and earthly realms, The new Elijah of Jesus\u2019s Ministry allowing the disciples to glimpse Jesus in His glory as the Christ, According to the Hebrew Baptism the son of the living God. Bible, the prophet Elijah did not die in the usual sense. Transfiguration In the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh Instead, he was taken up into reveals himself in a cloud on a heaven in a blazing chariot of Crucifixion mountaintop to both Moses and fire. This gave rise to a belief Elijah. The cloud that descends that he would come back one Resurrection upon this mountain conveys the day to prepare the way for the same divine presence, known in Messiah. Indeed, the very last Ascension rabbinic literature as the Skekinah. verses of the Old Testament The words uttered by God from the make this prediction. \u201cSee, shelters to worship in: one each for cloud are similar to those spoken I will send you the prophet Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. However, at Jesus\u2019s baptism: \u201cThis is my Son, Elijah before that great and as he speaks, a cloud envelops whom I love\u201d (Matthew 3:17). dreadful day of the Lord them and the voice of God comes comes,\u201d the prophet Malachi forth: \u201cThis is my much loved Son. God now adds a command: proclaims in Yahweh\u2019s name. Listen to Him!\u201d (Mark 9:7). After \u201cListen to Him!\u201d Luke\u2019s Gospel tells this, everything returns to normal. us more about what this refers to. Descending the mountain When the disciples look around, In Luke\u2019s version of events, Jesus, after the Transfiguration, there is no one there but Jesus. Moses, and Elijah speak with Jesus the three disciples ask Jesus concerning His \u201cdeparture, which about this prophecy. His reply He is about to bring to fulfillment is that it has already been at Jerusalem.\u201d In other words, they fulfilled in the person of John are discussing the suffering and the Baptist: \u201cBut I tell you, death Jesus had recently warned Elijah has already come, and His disciples about. The use of they did not recognize him \u2026 the word \u201cdeparture\u201d\u2014exodus in In the same way, the Son of Greek\u2014draws a deliberate parallel Man is going to suffer at their to the Old Testament. Just as hands\u201d (Matthew 17:12). John Moses had freed the Israelites from the Baptist suffered and died Egypt, the suffering of Jesus would at the hands of Herod Antipas, deliver the people from their sins. \u25a0 and Jesus says again that He will suffer the same fate. Divine revelation We did not follow In fulfilling God\u2019s plans for The Transfiguration has been seen cleverly devised stories \u2026 redemption and restoration, by some theologians as a blueprint the way of glory and the way for how to respond to the glory of we were eyewitnesses of suffering are inseparable. God. While the disciples\u2019 first of His majesty. response is to fear it, they learn to 2 Peter 1:16\u201318 listen and believe, reassured by the touch of their friend, Jesus, who says, \u201cDo not be afraid.\u201d For a moment, it seems, some kind of partition is drawn back between","FTOHREGOWD SOORLOLVDED, TAHNATDHEOGNAVLEYHISS OONNE JOHN 3:16, THE NATURE OF FAITH","","238 THE NATURE OF FAITH IN BRIEF refers to an event that happened The Brazen Serpent, a sculpture by during the wilderness wanderings Giovanni Fantoni, in Madaba, Jordan, PASSAGE of the Israelites; He describes how commemorates the bronze snake John 3:3\u201321 God judged the Israelites\u2019 bitter erected by Moses, which Jesus draws attitude toward Him by sending on to illustrate His teaching on faith. THEME venomous snakes into their camp. The nature of faith When Moses cried out to God, he have eternal life.\u201d John\u2019s Gospel was instructed to make a bronze goes on to say that God\u2019s love is SETTING serpent and lift it up where the for everyone, but can only be c.27\u201329 ce Roman Palestine. people could see it. The snakebites experienced through faith in Jesus. of those who gazed upon the snake Although Jesus had come to save KEY FIGURES were healed. Jesus compares the world, not condemn it, escaping Jesus The Messiah and Himself to the snake, saying God\u2019s Final Judgment depends Son of God, who requires that He must also be lifted up upon having faith in Jesus first. that people believe in Him (a reference to the crucifixion), so According to John, those who in order to be saved. that whoever believes would have do not believe in Jesus stand eternal life in Him (3:14\u201315). condemned already (3:17\u201318). Nicodemus A Jewish leader and teacher who came to Faith in Christ The result of believing in Jesus question Jesus. After Jesus\u2019s Having acknowledged the promise is to enjoy eternal life instead of death, he brings myrrh and of eternal life, Jesus begins to divine judgment. Such faith aloes to embalm His body broach the topic of faith, which is involves trust in Jesus and belief with strips of linen. the major precondition for salvation. that His death and resurrection is In what is perhaps the most famous sufficient for salvation. Paul teaches D ifferent religious leaders statement in the Bible (John 3:16), that when a person has such faith, come to test Jesus as He Jesus tells Nicodemus that God affirmation through words and grows in popularity as a loved the world so much, \u201cHe gave deeds should be the result. Writing teacher. Some listen to His public His one and only Son, that whoever in Romans 10:9\u201310, Paul states, \u201cIf preaching; others examine Him in believes in Him shall not perish but you declare with your mouth, \u2018Jesus more private settings. One leader, a is Lord,\u2019 and believe in your heart Pharisee named Nicodemus, comes to Jesus with questions. A member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling religious council, Nicodemus is an important teacher in his own right. Nicodemus does not understand what Jesus means when He says that people must be born again to see the kingdom of God, and Jesus tells him he should not be surprised by the statement, if he is truly a teacher of Israel. Jesus says, \u201cI have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?\u201d (John 3:12). Jesus then","See also: Ruth and Naomi 108\u201309 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201371 \u25a0 Fruits of the THE GOSPELS 239 Spirit 300 \u25a0 Salvation Through Faith 301 \u25a0 Faith and Works 312 St. Augustine that God raised him from the dead, Ask God \u2026 and it will be you will be saved. For it is with given to you \u2026 but when Augustine (396\u2013430 ce), the your heart that you believe and you ask, you must believe Bishop of Hippo, an ancient are justified, and it is with your and not doubt, because the port on the coast of Roman mouth that you profess your faith one who doubts is like a North Africa, advised that in and are saved.\u201d studying the Bible, one ought wave of the sea, blown not seek to understand in Walking by faith and tossed by the wind. order to believe, but rather Christianity is defined by the believe in order to understand. tenet that those who believe in James 1:6 Augustine\u2019s counsel was Jesus\u2019s crucifixion and resurrection intended to produce humility. receive life, and those who do meaning: a Christian\u2019s life should It is too easy, he seemed to not face condemnation. Though be guided by trusting God\u2019s say, to dismiss the parts of this idea may serve to alienate non- judgment, not by one\u2019s own. the Bible that are difficult to Christians, its purpose is to convey understand as incoherent or the gravity of the call to faith and the The source of faith to say that the logic is fatally urgency of believing in Jesus. The Bible most often uses the word flawed. Belief, on the other \u201cfaith\u201d to describe people believing hand, perseveres in study and This faith in Christ initiates some assertion or trusting in God often finds flashes of insight. the Christian life, but also drives or Jesus. People are commanded to it forward. In his second letter to believe statements and to believe Augustine, who had the Corinthians, Paul writes that that Jesus has done or said things. previously studied the Bible Christians should live by faith, not For this reason, it would be easy as a pagan teacher of rhetoric by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This to conclude that faith is a purely and a student of Platonic did not mean that Paul understood human response to propositions philosophy, argued that there faith as being irrational or contrary or persons. Yet the Bible speaks of was a connection between to evidence, or that the contrast God as the One who produces faith faith and reason. He came between faith and sight should in people. It is not an instrument of to believe that even the best mean that faith is blind. Some human will, adapted to accomplish thinkers in the world made versions of the Bible translate the human purposes. Instead, it is a mistakes, due to their human phrase as \u201cwalk by faith, not by gift of God that accomplishes God\u2019s nature. Faith, he argued, was sight,\u201d which may illuminate Paul\u2019s purposes in those who receive it. illuminating, and allowed a Paul held that belief in Christ was philosopher to see the truth Faith is a living, daring something that God granted to of scripture more clearly. confidence in God\u2019s grace, people (Philippians 1:29). so sure and certain that a Augustine was an important The idea of faith as God\u2019s gift scholar in the early Church and man could stake his life also appears in Ephesians 2:8\u20139, a contemporary of St. Jerome. on it a thousand times. where people are saved through This painting (c.1480) by Sandro faith that is \u201cnot from yourselves, Botticelli shows him in his study. Martin Luther it is the gift of God.\u201d The gift of \u276f\u276f","240 THE NATURE OF FAITH Fra Angelico\u2019s Entombment (c.1438\u20131443) shows Nicodemus (behind), the Virgin Mary, and John attending the dead Christ. Belief in His death and resurrection are cornerstones of faith. faith is understood to come by people in the Bible became some of describes faith as being more hearing the Word of God, which its most powerful examples of faith\u2014 than merely an affirmation that summons forth faith in a person\u2019s for example, in the Old Testament something is true. Faith is also heart, just as God\u2019s first words in story of Ruth, who demonstrates about entrusting oneself to God the Bible, \u201cLet there be light,\u201d faithfulness to both God and or Jesus. Here there is a personal summoned light into existence Naomi; or in the conversion of Paul, aspect to faith: one has \u201cfaith in\u201d at the beginning of creation. a Pharisee who had previously and or \u201cbelieves in\u201d Jesus. zealously persecuted Christians, Understanding God as the in the New Testament. Trust or entrusting one\u2019s self to creator of faith in human beings God is perhaps the most essential means that there is not an Characteristics of faith characteristic of faith in the Bible. insurmountable barrier to the Hebrews 11 defines faith as One acknowledges the truth of production of faith in flawed people. \u201cconfidence in what we hope for what God has said because Indeed, some of the least likely and assurance about what we do one trusts the God who said it. not see\u201d; this definition summarizes The biblical words for faith, such Never be afraid to trust the cumulative examples of faith as aman (Hebrew for \u201cbelieve, trust, an unknown future in the Old Testament. However, be faithful\u201d), emunah (Hebrew for to a known God. faith is more complicated than this. \u201ccertainty, faithfulness, trust\u201d), and Corrie ten Boom According to the Bible, faith has pistis (Greek for \u201cbelieve, trust, be many characteristics. faithful\u201d), also convey the idea of Holocaust rescuer (1892\u20131993) fidelity, which points to persistent One of the most obvious is that adherence to God or God\u2019s will over it gives assent to the truth of a time. Christians, therefore, must statement. The New Testament not only trust in God, but continue speaks of having \u201cfaith that \u2026\u201d to trust in Him even when their and exhorts people to \u201cbelieve that faith is tested. The wavering of a \u2026\u201d more than 20 times, with most person or people\u2019s faith in God can examples relating to statements have dire consequences, as the about Jesus. Yet the Bible I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. C. S. Lewis Author, Oxford professor (1898\u20131963)","Israelites find in the example given by my deeds. You believe that THE GOSPELS 241 by Jesus: God sends snakes into there is one God \u2026 Even the the camp of the Israelites because demons believe that\u2014and shudder\u201d Darkness and light they do not have faith that God and (James 2:18\u201319). James writes that Moses are guiding them on the it is not enough for Christians to In John 3, Nicodemus comes best path through the desert. believe in God, but they should to Jesus in the night. This also show this belief through otherwise minor detail is part Active faith their actions\u2014just as, in the Old of a larger theme in John\u2019s The Bible therefore stresses the Testament, Abraham showed his Gospel and one that originates importance of an enduring and faith through his willingness to at the very start of the Bible: obedient faith. Having faith that sacrifice his son, Isaac. \u201cLet there be light\u201d (Genesis God knows best\u2014because He is 1:3). John describes Jesus as all-knowing and all-loving\u2014is key Paul takes the idea of active the Light, and those who do to ensuring obedience to His laws, faith even further in his letter to not believe in Him as being and throughout the Bible a lack of the Romans, when he tells them in darkness. Although the adherence to God\u2019s will usually that \u201cwhoever has doubts is light of faith was available correlates with a loss of faith. condemned if they eat, because to all who encountered Jesus their eating is not from faith; and or His teaching, people still While assenting to true everything that does not come rejected the light. They loved statements, and even trusting in from faith is sin\u201d (Romans 14:23). the darkness that hid and God are salient features of faith enabled their wicked deeds, in the Bible, the active nature of While reason and experience while hating the light that faith (faithfulness) is significant. can challenge a Christian\u2019s faith, exposed them. The epistle of James, in particular, they can also vindicate it. Faith deals with the question of whether produces the good, loving deeds Jesus identified Himself or not the faith in God that saves that comprise a life lived in Christ, as the \u201clight of the world\u201d is mere assent or is naturally active, standing with hope and charity and commanded His followers producing good works. James as one of the three theological not to walk in darkness. The writes \u201cShow me your faith without virtues identified by Paul in his imagery of light and dark is deeds, and I will show you my faith letter to the Thessalonians also present in the miracle (1 Thessalonians 1:3). \u25a0 of healing the man who had been blind from birth, and Pe1n(7Ai:t3ce0tn,s3t4) (AMsastte9n:t2i9n)g Facets of faith the betrayal, arrest, and Protestants crucifixion of Jesus, when (1EPnetd1u:r6i-n7)g Facets T(rGuesnti1n5g:6) identify eight foreboding shadow prevails. of faith characteristics of Yet the triumph of the light faith that come up was also evident on the again and again in morning of the resurrection, the Old and New and in each person who came Testaments, from to have faith in Jesus. the stories of the patriarchs to the teachings of the Apostles. O(bRoeymi 1n:g5) (JWasor2k:2i6n)g G(iPvheiln1:b2y9)God L(oGvalin5:g6)","242 FCTOOARMSETAHVTEEOTSSHOEENEKLOOFASNMTDAN LUKE 19:10, JESUS EMBRACES A TAX COLLECTOR IN BRIEF T hroughout the Gospels, suggests to the people of Jericho Jesus is the obvious that he extorts additional funds PASSAGE protagonist. However, for personal gain. They therefore Luke 19:1\u201310 in the Gospel of Luke, there are deem him a sinner. several other figures who become THEME unexpected heroes: notably those A second chance God\u2019s kingdom is for all who were previously considered Zacchaeus makes up for in riches \u201cunclean,\u201d sinners, or otherwise what he lacks in stature\u2014he is SETTING socially unacceptable. so short that he cannot see Jesus c.27\u201329 ce Jericho. above the crowds when He comes Luke 19 describes one such into town. Consequently, Zacchaeus KEY FIGURES outcast by the name of Zacchaeus. climbs a sycamore-fig tree to get Jesus The Messiah and He is a chief tax collector in Jericho, a better view. Of all the people Son of God at the height viewed by many in the Judean assembled, Jesus notices Zacchaeus. of His ministry. community as a traitorous enemy, He calls to him by name, beckons seizing money from his own people him down from the tree, and Zacchaeus A rich tax to fill the Roman coffers. Zacchaeus proclaims \u201cI must stay at your collector, whose salvation is also a rich tax collector, which house today\u201d (Luke 19:5). is proclaimed by Jesus after he gives up half of his riches While the people of Jericho to the poor and defrauded. complain that Jesus has chosen to be the guest of a sinner, Zacchaeus eagerly welcomes Jesus into his home. Zacchaeus then says he will give half of his possessions to the poor, and that, if he has ever cheated anyone, he will pay them back fourfold. His newfound generosity toward the poor is Jesus spies Zacchaeus (in red) watching from a sycamore tree as He enters the city of Jericho in this 1908 illustration by English artist William Brassey Hole.","THE GOSPELS 243 See also: The Temple Tax 222 \u25a0 Workers in the Vineyard 223 \u25a0 Cleansing the Temple 244\u201345 \u25a0 Faith and Works 312\u201313 \u25a0 Holiness 314\u201315 evidence of his salvation\u2014as Jesus The Pharisee and the tax collector says, \u201cthe Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost\u201d (19:10). The Pharisee and the tax collector go to the Temple to pray. Unlikely redemption The Pharisee pridefully The tax collector humbly Zacchaeus\u2019s story is particularly thanks God that he is not says \u201cGod, have mercy on noteworthy because of another tale \u201clike this tax collector\u201d that precedes it. In Luke 18, a rich me, a sinner\u201d (18:13). ruler queries Jesus about what he (Luke 18:11). must do to gain eternal life. Despite the man\u2019s adherence to Jewish Jesus says \u201cI tell you that [the tax collector], rather than teachings, he does not meet the the other, went home justified before God\u201d (18:14). final criteria that Jesus requires\u2014 that he give the proceeds from the Those who exalt themselves will sale of his belongings to the poor be humbled, and those who humble and follow Him. Jesus tells him that it is extremely difficult for the themselves will be exalted. wealthy to enter the kingdom of God: it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom. However, Zacchaeus\u2019s example shows it is not impossible: he gives up more than half of his total wealth because he has been made righteous by Jesus. This turn of events exemplifies the power of Jesus\u2019s ministry: He transforms the sinner, loves the rejected, and saves the lost\u2014showing that no one is ever fully \u201clost.\u201d \u25a0 Roman taxation resisted Roman occupation and This 2nd century ce relief from taxation, which led to revolts a Roman mausoleum depicts a tax The Roman Empire, like all and subsequent military collector making an entry in a ledger. empires, levied taxes so it could interventions. Eventually, in grow and thrive\u2014its subsumed 70 ce, the Romans invaded nations bore the financial weight Jerusalem and destroyed of Rome\u2019s imperialism. Judeans the Temple, resulting in the who lived in Palestine had a displacement of many Jews into particular distaste for new other parts of the empire. These Roman taxes, because they events would resonate with already paid local and religious readers of New Testament stories taxes. While Roman taxes of Jesus\u2019s interactions with tax brought roads, aqueducts, and collectors (Luke 19) and others other societal needs to the area, who question Him about His political and religious tensions opinions on the empire and its still rose. Some Jewish factions compulsory tributes (Luke 20).","244 HOTAHENFEDSTIHCROEAVTTEMATRBOETLNRUEEERSYDNCETDHHEANCGOEIRNSS JOHN 2:15, CLEANSING THE TEMPLE IN BRIEF J esus chasing money house into a market!\u201d (John 2:16). changers and merchant Many people remember only the PASSAGE priests from the Temple in compassionate, \u201cturn the other Matthew 21:12\u201317; Mark Jerusalem is described in all four cheek\u201d descriptions of Jesus; 11:15\u201319; Luke 19:45\u201348; Gospels. Often referred to as the however, Jesus is angry here. John 2:13\u201316 cleansing of the Temple because John\u2019s narrative states that Jesus Jesus expelled corrupt, \u201cimpure\u201d \u201cmade a whip out of cords and THEME priests, the event shows Jesus drove all from the Temple courts, Challenging corruption fulfilling prophecies of Isaiah (56:7) both sheep and cattle\u201d (2:15). in the old religion and Zechariah (14:21). This and other accounts SETTING When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, describe Jesus \u201cdriving out\u201d the c.27\u201329 ce The Temple it is the height of the Passover priests and money lenders\u2014in courtyard in Jerusalem, pilgrimage season, a time when the Greek, the same word is used before Jesus is crucified. Jews would travel en masse to the for Jesus cleansing the Temple as city to visit the Temple. Priests KEY FIGURES would often sell offerings to the Jesus The Messiah and Son pilgrims to be sacrificed in their of God, who is filled with anger name, as only priests could at the corruption He finds in approach the Temple\u2019s innermost His Father\u2019s Temple. altars. Such transactions typically took place outside the Temple Temple merchants Priests walls. However, when Jesus goes who sold offerings to Jewish inside, He sees money changers, pilgrims visiting the Temple, as well as priests selling sheep, capitalizing on the fact that cattle, and doves. they could not enter the Temple\u2019s innermost altars. Anger of Jesus Jesus sees this as corruption. The priests are profiting from the Jesus drives out the corrupt in faithful and not allowing them this 19th-century oil painting by clear access to God. He proceeds Danish artist Carl Heinrich Bloch. to overturn the priests\u2019 tables and Jesus is shown holding the whip call them a den of robbers. He tells above His head, ready to strike. them: \u201cStop turning my Father\u2019s","See also: A Child in the Temple 188 \u25a0 The Temple Tax 222 \u25a0 THE GOSPELS 245 Betrayal in the Garden 254\u201355 \u25a0 The Crucifixion 258\u201365 Palm Sunday is used elsewhere in the Gospel crucified by the Romans for trying when He expels demons. The power to incite a riot and that His actions Jesus enters Jerusalem on of Jesus\u2019s command alone is enough in the Temple would have been a day now known as Palm to force the corrupt to leave His viewed as those of a rebellious Sunday, and does so by Father\u2019s Temple. Jewish leader. humble means, on the back of a donkey. This fulfills the Jesus\u2019s motives Some Christians see Jesus\u2019s prophecy of Zechariah, that In the 1st century ce, there were actions as evidence of Him looking the king would come in riding a number of sectarian groups toward a reformation and split a donkey. As Jesus enters the unhappy with the administration from traditional Judaism. Others city, people gather to greet of the Temple. One such group was see His actions as working to fulfill Him. The crowds spread the Essenes, some of whom had Mosaic Law and institute a new their cloaks and branches exiled themselves to the Dead Sea. covenant. According to this from palm trees to cover Jesus\u2019s anger in the Temple has interpretation, Jesus is not a rebel: the ground, and proclaim led some to suggest that He may He is exercising responsibility and Hosanna\u2014the imperative form have been a member of the Essenes, authority as an heir to King David of the Hebrew word meaning but there is little evidence of this. to order the service of the priests \u201csave\u201d\u2014as a form of praise. Some historians believe Jesus was and ensure the purity of their The crowd also quotes Psalm obedience to the Mosaic Law. \u25a0 118, proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of David coming Solomon builds the Temple (10th century bce) as in the name of the Lord. a house of prayer for all nations (1 Kings 6\u20137) \u2026 Although it takes place \u2026 Babylon destroys the Temple (587 bce), which at a different time of year, had become a focus of Israelite pride \u2026 Palm Sunday is reminiscent of the Jewish holiday of \u2026 Ezra rebuilds the Temple (c.520\u201315 bce), Sukkot. During this festival, evoking humble worship from the people \u2026 Jews weave together pieces of palms and wave them \u2026 After Herod\u2019s renovation (19 bce\u201363 ce), the Temple in each of the four cardinal again becomes a focus of nationalistic pride \u2026 directions. The palm frond is also a symbol of life and Jesus cleanses the Temple for all nations. resurrection, and a symbol for the Assyrian Tree of Life. Some scholars believe that the palm fronds of Palm Sunday could therefore signify that Jesus will die in Jerusalem, but soon also be resurrected.","246 STAHHBIEENAHGUATTSOIFDMUOLENE MARK 14:6, JESUS ANOINTED AT BETHANY IN BRIEF onto His head from an alabaster jar. A woman anoints Jesus with nard The perfume is nard\u2014an expensive as He dines with friends in Bethany, PASSAGE oil imported from India. Following in this illumination from the Codex Matthew 26:6\u201313; Mark its use in this symbolic act of de Predis by 15th-century Italian 14:3\u20139; John 12:1\u20138 anointing, Jesus foretells His miniaturist Cristoforo de Predis. coming death to His disciples THEME and to the other guests that are defends the woman and tells her Foretelling Jesus\u2019s death assembled in the house. accusers to leave her alone. He argues that the poor will always SETTING Afterward, the woman is be there, and the disciples can c.29 ce The village of Bethany, rebuked by some of those present\u2014 help them at any time. near Jerusalem. disciples and others\u2014who accuse her of wasting perfume that could Jesus then adds that He will KEY FIGURES have been sold \u201cfor more than a not be with His discipes for much Jesus The Son of God, in the year\u2019s wages\u201d (Mark 14:5), raising longer and explains this to the last days of His earthly life. money to be given to the poor. assembled company: \u201cShe poured However, Jesus immediately perfume on My body beforehand The woman Possibly Mary of Bethany, who anoints Jesus. Judas The disciple who later betrays Jesus. I n the last week of His life, Jesus has a moving encounter in Bethany. Two days before Passover, He is reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany, near Jerusalem, where He is staying. Unexpectedly, a woman enters Simon\u2019s home. Uninvited, and unprompted, she comes to Jesus and pours perfume","THE GOSPELS 247 See also: The Raising of Lazarus 226\u201327 \u25a0 The Last Supper 248\u201353 \u25a0 Betrayal in the Garden 254\u201355 \u25a0 The Crucifixion 258\u201365 \u25a0 The Empty Tomb 268\u201371 to prepare for My burial\u201d (Mark reference Mary she is generally The poor you 14:8). None of the Gospel authors portrayed as a good and devoted will always have with tell us how the disciples responded servant of Jesus. you, and you can help to Jesus\u2019s claim. Jesus portrays Mary\u2019s actions them any time you Mary of Bethany as a sign that she knows what is want. But you will not In the version of this scene in coming: she, unlike the disciples, always have me. She John\u2019s Gospel, the anointing takes accepts His imminent death. The did what she could. place at a dinner held in Jesus\u2019s Gospels give no other clues to her honor in Bethany. Here, Mary, the motives, although some scholars Mark 14:7 sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus had propose it was to show gratitude previously resurrected from the to Jesus for raising her brother implied, wanted the money for dead (John 11:1), anoints Jesus. from the dead. Whatever Mary\u2019s himself (John 12:6). The story According to John, she pours oil reasons, Jesus asks the disciples closes with Judas going to the over His feet and then wipes them to remember her act: \u201cwherever chief priests, who offer him money with her hair (John 12:3), filling the this gospel is preached \u2026 what in exchange for handing Jesus to house with perfume. This action she has done will also be told, in them. Scholars have long debated would have been doubly shocking, memory of her\u201d (Matthew 26:13). the correlation between the events given that it was against custom at Bethany and Judas\u2019s subsequent for Jewish women to let down Preface to betrayal betrayal. It is not clear if Jesus\u2019s their hair when in public. When Mary anoints Jesus, the foretelling of His own demise is disciples are taken aback, not a trigger for Judas\u2019s actions. \u25a0 John\u2019s description echoes by the scale of her devotion, but another Gospel event (Luke 7:36\u2013 rather her extravagance. As John 50), in which a \u201csinful woman\u201d notes, the nard cost 300 denarii, weeps at Jesus\u2019s feet, before or a year\u2019s wages (a laborer at the drying His feet with her hair and time would earn one denarius per anointing them. While Mary of day). John\u2019s Gospel attributes the Bethany is sometimes incorrectly objection about wasting money to confused with this sinful woman, just one disciple\u2014Judas Iscariot, in all the biblical accounts that the group\u2019s treasurer, who, it is Anointing for burial anointed a rock in Genesis 28:18, A pharaoh is anointed by gods to designate a place, Bethel, as Horus and Thoth in this bas relief In the ancient world, anointing the house of God. from the Temple of Horus and Sobek corpses for burial was a common in Kom Ombo, Upper Egypt. practice. This symbolic act These oils were also used as consisted of pouring aromatic a form of medicine for centuries oil over a person\u2019s head, feet, by many different cultures. They or entire body. The effect of were thought to have special the ritual was to designate its properties that could drive out object as belonging to God. It demons that were believed to did not matter whether the cause disease. To this day, consecration took place when European kings and queens are the person\u2014or creature\u2014 sanctified with oil in ceremonies was alive, or after their death. involving a divine blessing. When Sometimes, even inanimate Jesus is anointed in Bethany, this objects were anointed in the simple act represents a symbolic Bible\u2014Jacob, for example, preparation for His death and an affirmation of His holiness.","BTHOIS DISYMY, WHICH IS GIVEN FOR YOU LUKE 22:19, THE LAST SUPPER"]
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