The plight of so many people in distress moved Jesus deeply. He saw that he would need help in the spreading of the good news that the kingdom had arrived, that salvation was at hand.
Somehow, Jesus managed to evade the crowds and retreat to a mountain in order to pray without interruption. After a night of earnest prayer, he went among his adherents and picked twelve of them for special work. These of his messengers later became known as Apostles.
He chose Simon – the fellow he later named Rock – and Simon's brother Andrew. He also chose the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, whom he would later call Sons of Thunder [tc.1a].
The others were Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew the taxman, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, as well as Simon the Zealot, who had been a revolutionary against the Romans.
Jesus also chose Judah, who was from Kerioth in southern Judaea [tc.1].
They would soon be sent out to preach Jesus' message of repentance and salvation.
As he entered Capernaum one day, an army captain approached him.
"Sir, my dear boy is terribly ill," he said. "He is suffering a lot. I don't want him to die."
Jesus replied, "I will come now and heal him."
But the captain answered, "Sir, I am not worthy enough for you to come under my roof. All you need to do is give the order, and my boy will be healed. I am also a man under authority. I command soldiers: I say go, and one goes; come, and one comes; do this, and someone does it."
When Jesus heard those words, he marveled. He turned to his disciples and said, "I really mean it when I tell you that I have not found faith on that scale even among the Jews."
He added, "Now get this: Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the dark."
John relates a similar story:
Jesus came back through Cana, the place where he had turned water into wine. There he was approached by a man of high social rank who lived in Capernaum and who had heard that Jesus was in the area. (Capernaum is about 16.5 miles from Cana.)
The man pleaded with Jesus to go to Capernaum and heal the man's deathly ill son.
In response, Jesus said, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you won't believe."
The high-rank man said, "Sir, please come or my child will die."
Jesus replied, "Be on your way. Your son lives."
On hearing that, the man believed what Jesus had said — "Your son lives" — and went on his way.
And as the man was on the road, his servants met him with the news: "Your son lives."
The man asked when the child had begun to recover.
"Yesterday at the seventh hour [about 1 p.m.] the fever left him," came the reply.
That was when Jesus had said, "Your son lives," the father realized.
The man, along with his entire household, believed that Jesus was God's Anointed.
Somehow, Jesus managed to evade the crowds and retreat to a mountain in order to pray without interruption. After a night of earnest prayer, he went among his adherents and picked twelve of them for special work. These of his messengers later became known as Apostles.
He chose Simon – the fellow he later named Rock – and Simon's brother Andrew. He also chose the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, whom he would later call Sons of Thunder [tc.1a].
The others were Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew the taxman, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, as well as Simon the Zealot, who had been a revolutionary against the Romans.
Jesus also chose Judah, who was from Kerioth in southern Judaea [tc.1].
They would soon be sent out to preach Jesus' message of repentance and salvation.
If we believe that the Apostle John was the prime human force behind the Gospel According to John or The Book of Revelation, or both, then the nickname "son of thunder" fits well.
His brother James, another apostle, was martyred (Acts 12:1-3) by one of the Herods, Agrippa, who had gained Rome's confidence. Agrippa was hoping to placate Jerusalem's Jewish leaders, who represented both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. (James's execution in a.d. 44 was soon followed by Agrippa's sudden painful death during celebratory games he had sponsored in his capital of Tiberias.)
Why did Agrippa seize James? No doubt because his effective preaching had attracted the Jewish leadership's animosity. That is, reasonable people can suppose that James was martyred specifically because he was a "son of thunder."
The zeal of the two brothers is shown in Luke 9:54-56 when they inquired whether they should call for heaven to rain down fire on some dismissive Samaritans. Though their zeal for God and his servant, Jesus, was commendable, they had not yet really comprehended what Jesus was about.
That commendable boldness to serve God while trusting Jesus was again shown when they sought to have Jesus appoint them to top positions in the new kingdom, a kingdom which they had yet to appreciate for what it is and will be (Mark 10: 35-45). So again, "sons of thunder" seems appropriate.
We also note that the gospel writers and early churchmen often write Simon Peter in order to distinguish that apostle from the other Simon, who had been a militant nationalist before joining the Jesus group.
Further, it may be useful to know that in Greek, Rock is Petros, which in English becomes Peter. In Latin, it is Cephas (pronounced Kephas).
His brother James, another apostle, was martyred (Acts 12:1-3) by one of the Herods, Agrippa, who had gained Rome's confidence. Agrippa was hoping to placate Jerusalem's Jewish leaders, who represented both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. (James's execution in a.d. 44 was soon followed by Agrippa's sudden painful death during celebratory games he had sponsored in his capital of Tiberias.)
Why did Agrippa seize James? No doubt because his effective preaching had attracted the Jewish leadership's animosity. That is, reasonable people can suppose that James was martyred specifically because he was a "son of thunder."
The zeal of the two brothers is shown in Luke 9:54-56 when they inquired whether they should call for heaven to rain down fire on some dismissive Samaritans. Though their zeal for God and his servant, Jesus, was commendable, they had not yet really comprehended what Jesus was about.
That commendable boldness to serve God while trusting Jesus was again shown when they sought to have Jesus appoint them to top positions in the new kingdom, a kingdom which they had yet to appreciate for what it is and will be (Mark 10: 35-45). So again, "sons of thunder" seems appropriate.
We also note that the gospel writers and early churchmen often write Simon Peter in order to distinguish that apostle from the other Simon, who had been a militant nationalist before joining the Jesus group.
Further, it may be useful to know that in Greek, Rock is Petros, which in English becomes Peter. In Latin, it is Cephas (pronounced Kephas).
As he entered Capernaum one day, an army captain approached him.
"Sir, my dear boy is terribly ill," he said. "He is suffering a lot. I don't want him to die."
Jesus replied, "I will come now and heal him."
But the captain answered, "Sir, I am not worthy enough for you to come under my roof. All you need to do is give the order, and my boy will be healed. I am also a man under authority. I command soldiers: I say go, and one goes; come, and one comes; do this, and someone does it."
The Roman officer was being respectful of Jewish concerns about associations with Gentiles.
When Jesus heard those words, he marveled. He turned to his disciples and said, "I really mean it when I tell you that I have not found faith on that scale even among the Jews."
He added, "Now get this: Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown outside into the dark."
John relates a similar story:
Jesus came back through Cana, the place where he had turned water into wine. There he was approached by a man of high social rank who lived in Capernaum and who had heard that Jesus was in the area. (Capernaum is about 16.5 miles from Cana.)
The man pleaded with Jesus to go to Capernaum and heal the man's deathly ill son.
In response, Jesus said, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you won't believe."
The high-rank man said, "Sir, please come or my child will die."
Jesus replied, "Be on your way. Your son lives."
On hearing that, the man believed what Jesus had said — "Your son lives" — and went on his way.
Here Jesus helped the man to believe before seeing the miracle. Here we have a continuing theme of Jesus: With God, believing is seeing and not the other way around, which is the world's way.
And as the man was on the road, his servants met him with the news: "Your son lives."
The man asked when the child had begun to recover.
"Yesterday at the seventh hour [about 1 p.m.] the fever left him," came the reply.
That was when Jesus had said, "Your son lives," the father realized.
The man, along with his entire household, believed that Jesus was God's Anointed.
One day Jesus went to the Galilean city of Nain, not very far from his hometown of Nazareth. He was trailed by his disciples and a big crowd.
As he drew near the city gate, a large funeral procession was taking place. The body was that of the only son of a widow. When Jesus saw her, he felt compassion and said, "Don't cry."
He then walked over and, as the pall-bearers stood still, touched the bier, saying, "Young man, I say to you: Get up." The youth immediately arose and started talking.
Jesus handed him over to his mother.
The witnesses were gripped with fear. They said words to the effect of: "A real prophet has come among us! God has arrived in Israel!"
Even down south in Judaea, word began to spread about this miracle worker.
Hearing from prison before his execution about the powerful wonders done by Jesus, John sent his men to question Jesus. "Are you the One to Come, or should we look for someone else?"
Jesus replied, "Go tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead arise and the poor receive wonderful news.
"And blessed is the person who doesn't find a reason to trip over me."
"What can I compare this generation to? It is like children sitting in the market squares, calling out to other children, 'We piped for you, but you did not dance. We wailed, but you did not mourn.'
"John came neither eating nor drinking, and he is accused of having a demon. So the son of man comes eating and drinking and he is called a glutton and a drunk, and someone who associates with the lowest of the low.
"But, even so, wisdom is proved by her children." [Or, as we might say today, "the proof is in the pudding."]
"Big trouble is on the way Chorazin! Big trouble is on the way Bethsaida! For if the powerful works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. I am telling you, Tyre and Sidon will have it easier on Judgment Day than you will.
"And as for Capernaum, what makes you think you're so high and mighty that you touch heaven? I have news for you: You're going straight to hell! If the miracles done in you were done in Sodom, that city would still be here today. But on Judgment Day, Sodom will have it easier than you will."
Jesus then turned his gaze to heaven and said, "Thank you, Father, who is in charge of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from all the smart people and instead revealed them to little children. That was your good will.
"Everything has been handed over to me by my Father – who no one knows except the son and anyone chosen by the son.
"Come to me, all you who labor, and are heavily weighed down, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn about me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and I will give you rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The message of salvation is very specific in a story from Luke.
A Pharisee once invited Jesus to dinner. During dinner, a city woman came in with a container of ointment. Standing behind Jesus near his feet (in those days people often reclined while eating a meal), she began weeping so much that her tears made his feet wet. So she wiped the tears off his feet with her hair, and even kissed his feet. Then she rubbed the ointment on his feet.
The host, looking on, became doubtful. He thought to himself, "If this man were a real prophet, would he not have known that this woman who is touching him is a sinner?"
As he drew near the city gate, a large funeral procession was taking place. The body was that of the only son of a widow. When Jesus saw her, he felt compassion and said, "Don't cry."
He then walked over and, as the pall-bearers stood still, touched the bier, saying, "Young man, I say to you: Get up." The youth immediately arose and started talking.
Jesus handed him over to his mother.
The witnesses were gripped with fear. They said words to the effect of: "A real prophet has come among us! God has arrived in Israel!"
Even down south in Judaea, word began to spread about this miracle worker.
Hearing from prison before his execution about the powerful wonders done by Jesus, John sent his men to question Jesus. "Are you the One to Come, or should we look for someone else?"
Jesus replied, "Go tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead arise and the poor receive wonderful news.
"And blessed is the person who doesn't find a reason to trip over me."
We can conjecture that John had preconceived ideas of what the Messiah should be like. Miracles were all very well, but what about the great hero who becomes king and overthrows the Gentiles? The full revelation of Jesus' mission of salvation had not yet occurred. So even though John initially may have thought that Jesus was God's Anointed, he began to have doubts while in prison. We can surmise that he might have been wondering, "If Jesus is the Messiah, why doesn't he save me from Herod's prison?"
In talking about John, the culminating personality of the Old Israel, Jesus began thinking about how people respond to his message. You can't win with this bunch, was his thought.
In talking about John, the culminating personality of the Old Israel, Jesus began thinking about how people respond to his message. You can't win with this bunch, was his thought.
"What can I compare this generation to? It is like children sitting in the market squares, calling out to other children, 'We piped for you, but you did not dance. We wailed, but you did not mourn.'
"John came neither eating nor drinking, and he is accused of having a demon. So the son of man comes eating and drinking and he is called a glutton and a drunk, and someone who associates with the lowest of the low.
"But, even so, wisdom is proved by her children." [Or, as we might say today, "the proof is in the pudding."]
In a number of places where Jesus uses the word generation, we may strongly suspect that he is referring to those born of women but not of the Spirit. Most experts have assumed he was thinking of the standard idea of a human generation as a group that is separated from the parent group by about 25 years. But, if we consider what Jesus said to Nicodemus and the woman at the well, we can reckon that, by generation, he means the Old Man, the spiritually dead, the Lost who don't know what they are doing or thinking.
We can see a foreshadowing of this insight in the fact that neither Moses nor any Israeli adults who had been alive 40 years previously – except Joshua and Caleb – were permitted to enter Canaan, which had been promised to Israel's offspring. That group that had to remain in the desert represents the Old Man, the Old Generation, in this case not only physically but spiritually.
That is, the unregenerate man, weighed down by human sin, aspires to become something else as he repents and seeks God's mercy. Before God transforms him, he is still the "old man." Similarly, the Old Israel had to reach its nadir before the New Israel could dawn.
It was John's task to persuade any Jew he could persuade to come to the point of facing his or her own overwhelming need so that the road was clear for the message of salvation, a message which would not become altogether revealed until after Jesus' resurrection – though even before Jesus' death, anyone who decided to trust him would be saved!
But, without repentance – an admission of guilt and a decision to turn toward God under the guidance of Jesus – there is no salvation.
The miracles he had done, along with his teaching, should have been enough to spur repentance. But instead, residents of major Galilean towns were often unimpressed.
We can see a foreshadowing of this insight in the fact that neither Moses nor any Israeli adults who had been alive 40 years previously – except Joshua and Caleb – were permitted to enter Canaan, which had been promised to Israel's offspring. That group that had to remain in the desert represents the Old Man, the Old Generation, in this case not only physically but spiritually.
That is, the unregenerate man, weighed down by human sin, aspires to become something else as he repents and seeks God's mercy. Before God transforms him, he is still the "old man." Similarly, the Old Israel had to reach its nadir before the New Israel could dawn.
It was John's task to persuade any Jew he could persuade to come to the point of facing his or her own overwhelming need so that the road was clear for the message of salvation, a message which would not become altogether revealed until after Jesus' resurrection – though even before Jesus' death, anyone who decided to trust him would be saved!
But, without repentance – an admission of guilt and a decision to turn toward God under the guidance of Jesus – there is no salvation.
The miracles he had done, along with his teaching, should have been enough to spur repentance. But instead, residents of major Galilean towns were often unimpressed.
"Big trouble is on the way Chorazin! Big trouble is on the way Bethsaida! For if the powerful works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. I am telling you, Tyre and Sidon will have it easier on Judgment Day than you will.
"And as for Capernaum, what makes you think you're so high and mighty that you touch heaven? I have news for you: You're going straight to hell! If the miracles done in you were done in Sodom, that city would still be here today. But on Judgment Day, Sodom will have it easier than you will."
Jesus then turned his gaze to heaven and said, "Thank you, Father, who is in charge of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from all the smart people and instead revealed them to little children. That was your good will.
"Everything has been handed over to me by my Father – who no one knows except the son and anyone chosen by the son.
"Come to me, all you who labor, and are heavily weighed down, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn about me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and I will give you rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
That saying of Jesus IS the gospel!
The message of salvation is very specific in a story from Luke.
A Pharisee once invited Jesus to dinner. During dinner, a city woman came in with a container of ointment. Standing behind Jesus near his feet (in those days people often reclined while eating a meal), she began weeping so much that her tears made his feet wet. So she wiped the tears off his feet with her hair, and even kissed his feet. Then she rubbed the ointment on his feet.
The host, looking on, became doubtful. He thought to himself, "If this man were a real prophet, would he not have known that this woman who is touching him is a sinner?"
"Sinners" faced social ostracism to the point that they weren't even supposed to touch respectable Jews.
Jesus spoke up. "Simon, I have something to say to you."
Simon answered, "Rabbi, please speak."
Jesus said, "A certain lender had two debtors. One owed him 500 denarii; the other owed 50. Neither of them could pay, and so he forgave the debt of both people. Which of the two will love him the most?"
Simon replied, "I suppose it would be the one who was forgiven the most."
"Right you are," said Jesus.
Turning to the woman, Jesus continued, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house and you neglected to give me any water for my feet. But she has wet them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss but she, since I've been here, hasn't stopped kissing my feet. You neglected to give me some ointment for my head, but she has anointed my feet with her tears.
"So this is what I tell you: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little also loves little."
Jesus turned to the woman. "Your sins are forgiven."
Others at the dinner were wondering, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
"Your faith has saved you," Jesus assured the woman. "Go in peace."
Jesus spoke up. "Simon, I have something to say to you."
Simon answered, "Rabbi, please speak."
Jesus said, "A certain lender had two debtors. One owed him 500 denarii; the other owed 50. Neither of them could pay, and so he forgave the debt of both people. Which of the two will love him the most?"
Simon replied, "I suppose it would be the one who was forgiven the most."
"Right you are," said Jesus.
Turning to the woman, Jesus continued, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house and you neglected to give me any water for my feet. But she has wet them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss but she, since I've been here, hasn't stopped kissing my feet. You neglected to give me some ointment for my head, but she has anointed my feet with her tears.
"So this is what I tell you: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little also loves little."
Jesus turned to the woman. "Your sins are forgiven."
Others at the dinner were wondering, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"
"Your faith has saved you," Jesus assured the woman. "Go in peace."
In these words of Jesus, we see the teaching of forgiveness of sin by, or under the authority of, Jesus, coupled with the teaching that a person's humble trust in Jesus leads to that person being made right with God.
[tc.2]
Next Page: Section 13
https://secretpath108.blogspot.com/2021/01/salt-should-be-salty-here-are-some.html
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