Old Testament
1. The boundaries of the Promised Land.
- Division of the land.
2. Chapter 35 of Numbers establishes a very important feature in Israel's legal justice system.
- The Old Testament system of justice relied more on restitution than on imprisonment. A person who was responsible for another's loss was to reimburse the value of the property destroyed.
- Murder and homicide were special cases with a distinct code to govern how they were to be judged.
- Justice in Israel was a community responsibility, as there were no police. Therefore the one with primary responsibility to execute a murderer was the one in the community most affected by that crime; a member of the murdered person's family. He, in this way, was not a murderer himself, but an executioner appointed by the Law to purify the holy community.
- At the same time this passage makes a distinction between intentional, hostile killing (murder) and what we would call accidental homicide.
- There were cities of refuge scattered throughout the land where a person committing accidental homicide could flee an overzealous relative whose motives might involve revenge, even if the death was accidental.
- They were required to stay here until the high priest who had heard the case died. By then the anger of the avenger might have died, and the accidental killer would receive the full protection of the law. Should he then be attacked by a family avenger, the avenger himself would be put to death.
New Testament
3. Not all who saw Jesus responded as Simon Peter and his friends. So Jesus moved on, to continue to show that His authority extended to healing the inner man as well as the outer.
4. Jesus heals the leper
- The leper recognizes Jesus' power, but was uncertain of His love. Hence the form of the statement, "if you are willing...." Jesus answered the implied doubt fully. He said, "I am willing." And then as Jesus spoke the healing word our Lord reached out and touched the hand of the leper. Remember that in those days, as well as now, lepers were untouchable. But Jesus touched him.
- Jesus' touch was not needed to heal the leprosy, but it was necessary to meet this man's deep, inner need for love. The touching of the leper healed his heart.
5. Jesus heals a paralyzed man
- Jesus once again speaks to the external (get up and walk) and internal (your sins are forgiven) needs of this man.
6. Jesus calls Levi (Matthew), a tax collector.
Psalm
7. "even the hard pathways overflow with abundance..."
Proverbs
8. "The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgment."
See you next post...
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew. Show all posts
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Exodus 39-40:38; Mark 1:1-28; Psalm 35:1-16; Proverbs 9:11-12 (New Living Translation)
Old Testament
1. The bible gives a lot of detai about the making of the Ark, Tabernacle, Tent, and clothing the priests.
- For many people this ranks right up there with reading the geneologies. I think we have so many specifics because God is establishing a culture with the children of Israel. And learning the details can lead us to understand the specifics of the will of God. For us Gentiles, these specific items and ornamentaions don't mean a lot. They are not part of our culture. But it's the ideas behind them that should strike a cord with us.
2. Each of the items mentioned has a specific meaning...for instance, pomegranates. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "pomegranates " For the same reason, pomegranates are a motif found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric on vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork.
3. The work is finished. Moses inspects it, and blesses the people.
4. The tabernacle is set up. And the Glory of the Lord fills it!
5. And the Lord led them---a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
New Testament
6. We have finished the Gospel of Matthew, and begin the Gospel of Mark today.
7. The Gospel of Mark, is anonympous, but was attributed to Mark, a disciple of Peter.
8. Overview of Mark - It narrates the life of Jesus from John the Baptist to the Ascension. It concentrates particularly on the last week of his life. It very quickly describes Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Christ (the Greek translation of Messiah), the Son of Man, and the Son of God.
9. Mark begins with John, the Baptist (or baptizer). John had strange habits camel hair clothes, eating honey and locusts, living and preaching in the wilderness.
10. Interestingly, John is regarded as a preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism and the Bahá'í Faith.
11. John is the messenger (or forerunner, or precursor) of Jesus' coming.
12. John recognizes Jesus, and states his unworthiness. He baptises Jesus nonetheless.
13. The Holy Spirit escends on Jesus and compels Him to go into the wilderness, where He is tempted by the devil for 40 days. The wild animals and angels took care of Him.
14. John gets arrseted.
15. Jesus calls His first disciples...Simon, and his brother Andrew...the brother James and John. (Remember James and John's mother from Matthew...trying to get them seats next to Jesus.)
16. Jesus casts out evil spirits. Amazingly, the evil spirits recognize jesus as "the Holy One sent from God," but the rest of the audience doesn't know who He is. This is, according to Mark, the beginning of Jesus' fame.
Psalm
17. “Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
Proverbs
18. "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life."
See you next post...
1. The bible gives a lot of detai about the making of the Ark, Tabernacle, Tent, and clothing the priests.
- For many people this ranks right up there with reading the geneologies. I think we have so many specifics because God is establishing a culture with the children of Israel. And learning the details can lead us to understand the specifics of the will of God. For us Gentiles, these specific items and ornamentaions don't mean a lot. They are not part of our culture. But it's the ideas behind them that should strike a cord with us.
2. Each of the items mentioned has a specific meaning...for instance, pomegranates. Jewish tradition teaches that the pomegranate is a symbol for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah. However, the actual number of seeds varies with individual fruits. The pomegranate is one of the few images which appear on ancient coins of Judea as a holy symbol, and today many Torah scrolls are stored while not in use with a pair of decorative hollow silver "pomegranates " For the same reason, pomegranates are a motif found in Christian religious decoration. They are often woven into the fabric on vestments and liturgical hangings or wrought in metalwork.
3. The work is finished. Moses inspects it, and blesses the people.
4. The tabernacle is set up. And the Glory of the Lord fills it!
5. And the Lord led them---a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
New Testament
6. We have finished the Gospel of Matthew, and begin the Gospel of Mark today.
7. The Gospel of Mark, is anonympous, but was attributed to Mark, a disciple of Peter.
8. Overview of Mark - It narrates the life of Jesus from John the Baptist to the Ascension. It concentrates particularly on the last week of his life. It very quickly describes Jesus as a heroic man of action, an exorcist, a healer and miracle worker. It calls him the Christ (the Greek translation of Messiah), the Son of Man, and the Son of God.
9. Mark begins with John, the Baptist (or baptizer). John had strange habits camel hair clothes, eating honey and locusts, living and preaching in the wilderness.
10. Interestingly, John is regarded as a preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by four religions: Christianity, Islam, Mandaeanism and the Bahá'í Faith.
11. John is the messenger (or forerunner, or precursor) of Jesus' coming.
12. John recognizes Jesus, and states his unworthiness. He baptises Jesus nonetheless.
13. The Holy Spirit escends on Jesus and compels Him to go into the wilderness, where He is tempted by the devil for 40 days. The wild animals and angels took care of Him.
14. John gets arrseted.
15. Jesus calls His first disciples...Simon, and his brother Andrew...the brother James and John. (Remember James and John's mother from Matthew...trying to get them seats next to Jesus.)
16. Jesus casts out evil spirits. Amazingly, the evil spirits recognize jesus as "the Holy One sent from God," but the rest of the audience doesn't know who He is. This is, according to Mark, the beginning of Jesus' fame.
Psalm
17. “Lord, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the helpless from the strong? Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”
Proverbs
18. "Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life."
See you next post...
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