Miracle or not a miracle that is the question

I can not imagine even for a moment how I would feel if I witnessed something like the untamed man in Mark 5 being healed and not ever turning back. When I worked at the Lord's Ranch there was a student who indeed had many people living on the inside and this student was very scary to talk to because you honestly had no idea who you where talking to at the moment. If I had seen this student be transformed I honestly don't know if I would have tried to explain it away like Dr. Foster was talking about in class when he was lecturing on the feeding of 5000. Miracles are hard to believe but they are supposed to be hard to believe right?, that is what makes them miracles.

While talking about ways that people attempt to explain the feeding of the 5000, I'm astounded at the hardness of people's hearts. To disregard something that yes, is unbelievable without faith, is understandable. But to attempt to explain that something with ideas that are even more ridiculous and hard to believe is something that baffles my mind. I guess this just really puts into perspective for me the hardness of some people's hearts.

Honor and Shame

I think Dr. Foster's point in class was that today society as a whole still looks at who you are, opposed to what you are and what you stand for. For instance, look at our little towns, who are the elected officials? Someone who is looked at as a "nobody", can become a "somebody", but it is more difficult than the American dream makes it out to be. As Americans we take pride in thinking that if you try hard enough you can achieve your goals, but realistically there are limits.

Divine Confusion

A few days ago I was watching PrimeTime on ABC and saw a segment on John of God. This man is a self proclaimed healer in Brazil that has been dubbed the “best miracle man next to Jesus.” ABC traveled to Brazil to meet John, and found a man using bizarre methods to heal the sick under the guidance of “channeled spirits of dead doctors.” I like to think of myself as somewhat open-minded but I thought that this was just ludicrous. Many of the people John so called healed remained sick, while others allegedly recovered from their injuries and ailments with haste. Now you may be wondering, “What does this have to do with the Gospel of Mark?” Glad you asked. Recently, we discussed in class the techniques that Jesus used in healing others. With some healings, Jesus utilized other materials such as dirt, spit, and powerful words. These confused the disciples because they were so prominent in usage by other healers. The program on John of God, made me wonder what I would think about Jesus if I was a Gentile or Jew back in those days. I wondered if I would laugh Him off, like I have done with some of the modern day faith healers. Would I say, “Oh, there is another explanation for this,” adhering to principles of science (archaic as it was)? Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to compare John of God or any other faith healers to Jesus, but merely examine the reaction of the disciples and onlookers through their eyes. I have a feeling that skepticism would be my companion at these meetings, and confusion would cloud my vision like the disciples, for it does now. Why did Jesus use these methods? He didn’t have to. I guess this is just another dynamic of Jesus’ character that is beyond my logic, although it is interesting to think about.

Get a heart and some strength

I can't believe I just had a in class discussion on poop and other gross fluids that come out of the body. What is this college coming to?! Anyway, I was really captivated by the way Jesus was saying he did not care what was going into them (or their lip service for that matter) but he cared about what was coming out of their hearts. I know that there are often times as a Christian that I will get so wrapped up in doing "tradition" or habits (i.e. song service in the morning worship) that I forget to give Jesus my heart. God dosn't care for what we are doing near as much as to why we are doing it.

I also enjoyed the 5000. Disciples ask Jesus to feed the people and Jesus responds "you do it!". Can you imagine what the disciples were thinking? Imagine asking God to do somthing only He can do and He says "You do it!". I think He actually does do that to us today although not quite so audibly. We ask God to lead people to Him but He turns to us and says you do it. Without knowing the rest of the disciple story this would seem harsh but if you look you will notice that Jesus who commanded them to feed the people empowered them to do it. He also empowers us as we go through this day to day life looking for people to lead to Him. So, next time God gives you an impossible task remember He is going to give you what is necassery to pull it off.

Jesus Identified a Different Social Status

I really enjoyed the lecture on social crystalization that existed in Antiquity. I am a history buff and enjoy looking at how cultures have transformed over the years. The lecture gave me a greater understanding of what is going on in the text of Mark. I have never looked at the conflicts between Jesus and the Pharisees in this manor. The idea that Jesus not only recognizes these social structures and uses them to emphasize his invitation to join into a new social structure as the children of God is fascinating. I would have thought that Jesus was trying to break down the social barriers of his day and create equality. I do not look at it that way after hearing Dr. Foster's explaination that he was fine with those social structures as long as everyone understood their place in the kingdom or family of God. I think we can look at this idea and learn from it today as well. Maybe we should not be caught up in trying to break down the social structures today and worry more about our place in God's Kingdom.

Jesus is God

In the feeding of the 5000, Jesus shows that he is God by miraculously multiplying the food. Also, this act shows the caring nature of God. I find it interesting how God made sure that we know Jesus is more powerful than Moses by allowing Jesus to have fish and bread and more than enough, while God only allowed the Israelites some mysterious manna stuff, which would only keep for a day. Even though it was God providing the food, God hinted that Jesus is God by providing better and more abundant food. And yet, the disciples don’t really understand. Jesus again shows the he is caring and that he is God when the disciples are stuck in the middle of the lake. Jesus shows that he is God by walking on water. Only God can do something like that so it is truly a miracle. Jesus cares about his disciples. They were scared so Jesus came and got them out of their situation. Moreover, the funny thing is, the disciples still do not understand. Jesus had just multiplied food and walked on water, acts that can only be done by God, yet the disciples still do not understand.

We will never understand!

I have recently been, mmm, disturbed by those who try to play off the miracles and come up with a "theory" as to why they happened. I believe that they are miracles, supernatural miracles that cannot be explained. We hear about different "human" ideas about the miracles that do nothing but take the God out of them. Garland wrote about a couple of rationalizations on page 257 that are rediculous. To think that Jesus went to a secret cave that he had previously hidden bread in is absurd. It is hard to imagine 5000+ people getting fed but none of us were there and it must be a faith assumption. If one says that it is not a faith assumption, then they are trying to rationalize the miracle. Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to explain away God that we make his stories and actions mere human achievements.

I Challenge you to a DUAL!!!!!

Okay, Monday was the third time I have listened to Dr. Foster's lecture on Honor and Shame and the relation between the two. And I give him much credit as I learn something new everytime. But the interesting part was the description of the challenges. I haven't seen him use that model, I have heard the model, but haven't seen the actual model.

The Bible is filled with these various examples, and even today in society you can see these examples being shown. Take for instance major corporations vs. mom and pop stores. In some circles of society, Corporations are seen as the jerks behind shutting down small business and driving many people out of jobs. You can go look on a elementary school playground and find the same thing as well.

It is an interesting thougt from every angle of society and can be seen in every culture in the world. There is always that drive to want to better than you are, and as another tought; maybe eqauls don't challenge as much because there is always that chance you will lose.

Anyways, that's just a thought.

Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? It's like rain...ok I'll stop now.

I have never considered one point concerning the passage in Mark 5 about the Gerasene demoniac. The fact that the Jew/pig herders weren't even the least concerned about the "naked-crazy-demon-possessed-guy" is strange to me. I don't understand this. They aren't afraid of him, but after Jesus heals the man and brings restoration to him, they become terrified of Jesus. They even want Him to leave. How could they not recognize this incident as being one that could only come from God? Do we behave in the same way at times? I think so! I have pondered this thought for the last couple of days and the only thing I can really say about it is.....Alanis Morresette rules!

Learning More

I used to read the stories about Jesus and here other people talk about them and that was good enough for me. Since I've been un this class I've learned to study the text more and dig deeper into what's going on at that time. Last Monday in class dr.Foster was talking about the demon possed man. Two things he said had never crossed my mind before. The first was uf these people were jewish why were they raising pigs. Pigs were considered to be anubclean animal. What were these people doing raising unclean animals? The secoened thing I've never thought about before was why did it not seem to bother them that they had a crazy naked man runnig around town if that would have been me I would have been a bit bothered. They were more bothered by the man being fully clothed. This is what I have learned this week, but I'm not through there's still more to learn and be challenged by

Sandwiching

I had never thought of the miracles and parables in the light of a spiritual sandwich, but it makes sense. We sandwich other things so people may understand them why not the scriptures. If you have something bad to tell someone when you sandwich it between to positives the person is able to digest the information without getting as depressed,hurt, or emotional about it. Then the fact that the girl was twelve years old and the women with the issue of blood had had the desease for twelve years was quite unique and a wonderful tie to Jesus work for any that knew the story of their lives. I have also been pondering the fact that Jesus said, "Taletacum." Jarius was a soldier, he had been in many lands, more than likely, and his daughter may have been born and raised in one of the aramaic lands. Maybe she could only speak aramaic.

Knowing the Truth...Living the Truth

I find it so interesting how time after time Jesus challenged everything the people of his time held so dear, especially the pharisees. I have dealt with this issue recently. I am constantly asking myself if I am challenging the things which common church members hold so dearly. I also wonder how I will react when someone challenges what I hold in great honor. I wonder sometimes about the knowledge the Pharisees had. For instance, time and again Jesus did things--he healed the sick, opened blind eyes, gave life to the dead--things only God could do. The pharisees knew this, yet they would try to explain the truth away. Well, Jesus must be possessed or something. Not really. I think the pharisees knew all along that Jesus was the messiah but for one reason or another could not accept him. Perhaps he acted too common, or didn't live up to their religious standards (even though he set a higher one), or maybe he wasn't the politically powerful leader who would lead a military revolt against Rome. Who knows? But for some reason the Pharisees chose not to believe what they knew to be truth. Which brings me to the point. There is a difference between knowing the truth and living the truth. Once again, we can make fun of the Pharisees for lack of believing, but for some reason I feel we are not too far off from their standpoint still today. I could be wrong, but I bet many of us don't truly want Jesus to be the absolute Lord of our lives because it will mean that we have to give up something we hold dear.

The Family

I found the concept of the family interesting. Not only in what was said about when Jesus was teaching and someone informed him that his family was outside. Jesus then responed and said his family was with him. But also the way the parents were viewed in those days. In America today it is hard to understand the way the parents were viewed. I found it interesting what Dr. Foster said about if our parents, wife, and children were in trouble who would you save? In America we would probally save our children but in those days the parents were more important.

Transfiguration

Motifs
I found this section of the reading of the Transfiguration to be most interesting to me. It is really unique and I have not even thought about some of them before. The first motif of the TRansfiguration is the brief lapse of time between Jesus' prediction about seeing the power of the kingdom and of the Transfiguartion. This time being six or eight days depending if you go with Matthew and Mark ( six-days) , or Luke ( eight-days). The article points out that it was probably on the seventh day that it actually happen,since after the sixth-day would be on the seventh day, and this comes from a comparsion with Exodus 24:16/
The second motif is the mountain that they went up to the mountain itself, which is thought to be Mount Sinai, but elsewhere in Scripture used as a place of revelation. Isaiah 40:9 talks about a high mountain, mountain in mentioned quite frequently in all three Synoptics, sixteen times in Matthew, eleven in Mark and twelve in Luke,and has great significance in Matthew. Then the third motif is the cloud that appers over their heads this is in comparison with the clould that led the Israelites in the desert again in the Exodus. BUt Isaiah refers to the cloud in the context of the future. So cloud here in this context could be referring to the Exodus or the Parousia, either way it still has great meaning.
The fourth and fifth motifs are the appearance of Moses and Elijah and the voice from Heaven itself. Moses was connected in Jewish thought to the with the future and the past since he was the paradigm for the eschatological prophet(Deuteronomy18:18), and Elijah was agruably and eschatological figure in Jewish reflection( Mal4:5-6). Each Synoptic gospel streses which person they think is of greater significance. The voice of heaven is an experience, expeciaaly for the inner circle of Disciples that are with Jesus, this voice of heaven is of the Law, according to Exodus 24, and here it speaks of Christ. Again a big point to proving Jesus is who He says He is. The voice compares Isaac with the Christ in a sense that they are both sacrificial in their love and purpose.
I have a clearer understanding of the pupose of the Transfiguration and it is awesome that it refers so much back to the OT days of the Exodus of the Jews. That makes it all the more important and all the more clear to understand the significance of Moses, Elijah, the cloud, and the mountain they all have their symbolic meanings, and they all work together to prove that Jesus really is the Son of God the Messiah

The portrayal of Jesus’ view on kinship is quite a stunning one. Jesus has the audacity to compare his relationship with his blood relatives no greater than his relationship with the new Christians. This is almost like a Jehovah Witness type of view as they abandon their families who will not convert to their religion. What if we started putting our church families as high as our immediate family? I do not think the church would be able to maintain its reputation any longer because the world would attack the institution even worse than it already has. I think the church would gain a lot of bad media if they did decide to begin to put less emphasis on personal family and more emphasis on church family.

God's power is so amazing. Through Jesus, God does some pretty amazing things, like drive out demons. If I ever came into contact with a demon-possesed man I would probably be terrified and never attempt any kind of ministry for him. This kind of ministry was on Jesus' everyday to-do lists, though. And when it came down to it, he did it with grace and love.

I know that it was Jesus who broke my fall two weeks ago. If not for his plan for my life, I would probably be dead. Just as Jesus performed miracles two-thousand years ago, he continues today. I know this because I am one of his miracles.

Let's stand in the gap

While Dr. Foster was lecturing about the last class period, I couldn't help but think about a psychological case study one of my psychology friends told me about once. She told me that a study had been done to observe the difference in behaviors of children playing on a playground. These children came from two different cultures: one Asian and one American. The case study basically showed that the Asian children played closely together without straying away from the playground area which didn't have any set boundaries while the American children spread far apart and wanted to go outside of the playground area. Why? The children came from two radically different cultures. To truly understand these children's actions and thoughts, their respective cultures must be understood.

In class Dr. Foster has pointed out that the culture in which Jesus lived was radically different from our own egotistical culture. While having a few similarities, they are for the most part two different worlds. In order to correctly understand and know what Jesus taught and the life that He set before us as an example before He ascended back into heaven, one must understand the culture in which He taught and lived. I am amazed at how ignorant the western church in which we find ourselves is about the cultural context of the New Testament era. May we be the much needed interpreters who stand in the gap explaining these differences, allowing the western church to see the life of Christ, maybe for the first time, as it actually was. Maybe then they will be able to understand on a deeper level our living Savior and what He desires.

Hypocrisy

Today I was reading Matthew 23 about the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees. I was drawn to a passage in Garland that discussed Jesus' responses to the Pharisees about sinners, fasting, and the Sabbath in Mark. Garland's commentary was nearly as blistering as Jesus comments when he wrote, "It is no wonder that Jesus' attitude toward sinners, fasting , and the Sabbath was threatening to the pietists. It seems to leave little room for outward religious performance--their specialty. In taking these passages into our contemporary setting, we will find that the opposition has not changed. Many today will be no less upset if their sanctified prejudices and cherished customs are changed." Garland was not saying that people today or even in Jesus' day, that set aside a day to rest or worship God, were or are acting in hypocrisy, rather, if outward expressions of piety is all we have, then God sees us as hypocritical. And I don't believe it is an overstatement (in view of Matthew 23) to say that God is disgusted with hypocrisy. Today I had to question myself, "Was Sunday all I lived in the way of godliness this week?" Answer? Yes. Thus, in many ways I am a hypocrite, just like the Pharisees and scribes. WOE TO ME man of self indulgence and lawlessness!

I'll have a dead girl and sick woman sandwich please.

;) Recognized as E-mail of the weak stomach! What's in a title anyway? -02/16/2005

I found the intercalation with Jesus, Jarius' daughter, and the woman who had been bleeding to be quite interesting. Jesus, as soon as he's kicked out of Gerasene by the pigless freaked out swinesmen, goes back across the lake. When he gets there a man named Jarius comes up to him and says his daughter is dying. So, Jesus, being the Son of God and all, decides to go with him and heal her.

On his way, all these people come up to him and one woman with a hemorrage, out of all the other people crowded around Jesus, must have had the most faith that if she could only touch Jesus that she would be healed and right she was. But was she really the only one that believed that she could be healed by just touching Jesus? I'm sure others thought that also because if not then why would they be surrounding him like that. How come, if the others had faith also, did Jesus recognize her touching him and not everyone else. I mean, Jesus could have said, "Alright, you and you and you just touched me." but he didn't, he said "who touched me?" I am sure that Jesus knew that it was the woman who had touched him, but why was she the only one Jesus said something about?

Then, while Jesus was talking, men from Jarius' place came and told Jarius that his daughter was dead. Then, Jesus just ignores them and tells the man to have faith. Jesus then goes into the house and raises the girl from the dead. This is also a very powerful demonstration of Jesus' power. In the earlier chapter, Jesus heals a demoniac. I would consider a demon possesed person to be about the furthest thing away from being "Spiritually" alive. When Jesus heals that man, he is saying that he can raise the spiritual dead. In this passage, Jesus is saying that he can also raise the "physically" dead also by only using words. I think that this is one of the most powerful miracles that Jesus performs in his ministry.

Kinship: a component of Honor

Kinship is just as much of a component of honor today as it was in Jesus' day. We seem to think that because we live in America we can be become anything we want no matter what family we come from. As Dr. Foster said in his lecture yesterday this is the American myth. America looks at what family you come from just as much as the society of Jesus' day did. If you are a Kennedy in America you can do anything, whether good or bad, and still be a leading figure in our government.

I now understand why Jesus was rejected by the people of His hometown. They did not see him as someone who was honorable. He was just some carpenter's son. They could not get past this aspect of who Jesus was. That was their culture though. If you were from the right family then you were honorable. It is sad to say that we still do this today.

Miracles of Jesus

Yesterday I was reading in Garland's commentary on Mark. Garland made reference to the healing of the deaf and mute man in chapter 7:31-37. I went back and read the scripture again and began to think about the different ways Jesus chose to heal people, and what might have caused him to use so many different and radical ways. In this healing he puts his fingers in the mans ears, then he spits and touches the mans tongue, looks towards heaven takes a deep breath and says "Ephphatha." For some he says your faith has made you well, on man he spits in dirt rubs the mud in the eye of the blind man, asks if he can see, which the man can only see partially, Jesus repeats the process and the man can see. Jesus with a word raises a girl from the dead. From a distance he heals the sick, and at a touch of his cloak he heals. I beleive by Jesus using several ways to heal rather than one particular way Jesus was showing the world that his power came from God, and that God could and would choose to work miracle how and when he chose to. Only God could talk to moses through a burning bush and the bush not be consumed. I find it interesting that the Blind, deaf, possesed, and the dead have more faith than do his family and his community. Just maybe their traditions blinded them from the truth, and caused them not to hear. I wounder what I would have done if someone came to heal me by putting their fingers in my ear, spitting and touching my tongue?

Christ stands His Ground

The Gerasene Demoniac has become one of my favorite stories. Its amazing to me to think how powerful and caring Christ is. Here's the deal, if a naked crazy man came running at me the last thing I would do is stick around, but Christ stands his ground as the demoniac approaches. Christ knew that this man needed help, that he had be plagued by these demons for a while and that no one could help him. Christ seeks out those that needs his help. The fact is that Christ came to the man where he was. In a land where Jews raise pigs and let a demoniac run wild in the cemetery. If Christ will come to someone like that then he most definitely will come to us.

Also, it is great to see the power of God at work. These demons thought that they could control him by calling out Christ name first. The only problem is that his plan failed and he was forced out of the mans body. Christ is powerful and we should never forget that, what he did for the demoniac he can to do for us.

Honor vs. Fame

After thinking about Dr. Foster's lecture about the components of honor in Jesus' society, I thought that the society of his day was so dramatically foreign that no comparison could truly be made to our Western culture. Tonight, however, I thought about comparing fame in our egocentric culture to honor in the dyadic culture of Jesus.

First, kinship obviously plays a role in the fame of an American individual, much like kinship played a role in the honor of an individual of Jesus' time. As Dr. Foster said, the Rockfellers, the Kennedys, and the Bushes are set apart from the rest of us because of their kinship. Second, personal achievement applies in the same manner. If you achieve great things, you will gain fame. Third, wealth and power increase one's fame. Donald Trump is not famous for his physical appearance. We all know why he has a television show--because he is ridiculously rich and powerful. Fourth, embodiment of the values of the society also factors into the equation. The rich and famous embody the capitalistic values of America--do anything you can to get as much money and power as you can. This is why many famous people think nothing about morality in the conventional sense; they want to earn money. In society, the pursuit of financial gain is a primary value.

I know that this comparison is limited, but I think that the comparison is justifiable. Fame is potentially the Western equivalent of Eastern honor. If we think about this, possibly we will reduce our distance from the society of the time of Christ by eliminating some of the tensions between the West and the East. I realize that fundamentally the Western mindset is dramatically different from the Eastern mindset, but perhaps the expressions of each respective mindset are not that different from each other in form.

I am overwhelmed with the radicalness of Jesus. Jesus challenged everything first century Jews held dear. I find myself similar to the Pharisees, unwilling to surrender so quickly that which I hold dear. Even a teacher who attempts to take the spotlight off Paul and shed some light on the Pentateuch receives ridicule in our day. Would we be so eager to accept Jesus' claims if they really affected our beliefs? Our beliefs are so bound to Christ that we can never really feel the full force of His challenges. Our cultures acceptance of Christ's claims limits our ability to fully and honestly accept his call to follow. It is fun and socially acceptable to laugh at the foolishness of the Pharisees and the disciples, but they understood the cost. Following Christ in our culture comes with little, if any, cost. The Pharisees and disciples were not fools; they were truly challenged to abandon everything they held dear. Foolishness is attempting to follow Christ without counting the cost. If we have not counted the cost have we reacted any differently than the Pharisees?
In our day, it is exciting and socially acceptable for Christ to harass the Pharisees, but would we be so willing to accept someone who so radically asalts those we think of as spiritual leaders. We hold great esteem for those who challenge authority, but are we willing to surrender authority of our personal lives to Christ?

Kinship

Yesterday's discussion on kinship has really made me think. I have never really thought about how egocentric the western culture is. This really creates many obstacles in trying the understand the worldview of the people during the time of Christ. It is so hard for me to step back and see things from their persepective. I hate that our culture greatly affects the way that we interpret and understand scripture. I have been convinced that I need to strip away all my cultural beliefs in order to understand those of Jesus' day.

True disciples

Are we true disciples of Jesus? As Christians we say that we love him, and what he has to offer to us. We say this, but do we take up the cross and carry it the way we are suppost to. While reading through Garland I came upon the following statement: everyone desires to take part in his rejoicing, but few are willing to suffer anything for his sake. There are many who follow Jesus as far the breaking of bread, few as far as drinking the cup of suffering. As servents of Jesus we must be willing to go all the way even if it means death. If we love him the way that we say we do there must not be any conditions placed in front of this love. This is what makes us a true disciples.

The Family Rejection

I've recently been struggling with the passages on Jesus' family. As Mark does not discuss the birth of Jesus as Matthew and Luke do, having those accounts in mind as I read Mark presents a problem to me. Why would Jesus' family, especially his mother, try to stop what he was doing when they knew who he was?

As I went back and read the accounts of the foretelling of Jesus' birth to Joseph in Matthew and to Mary in Luke, I was surprised at what I read. Luke records the angel telling Mary, "...You are to name him Jesus...and [he] will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David." In the past, as I've read this passage, I just assumed Mary knew that Jesus would be the spiritual Messiah, but as I read it again looking for answers to my question, I realized she must have thought Jesus would be the political messiah just like everyone else believed. Yet Joseph was given an insight that Mary wasn't. In his dream, Joseph was told to name him Jesus "because he will save his people from their sins." Joseph, if he understood the message, should have known, though no one else did, who Jesus was.

When Jesus was ministering to people, his family caught wind of what he was doing and thought, "He is out of his mind." His mother and brothers came to talk to him, to take charge of him. They didn't understand what he was doing. And now I realize, they only understood, at the most, that Jesus was the political messiah. His miracles and the crowds following him didn't make sense to them.

I understand that Mark's intention was not why Jesus' family rejected him, but to redefine family lines. Still, I couldn't get past what, to me, was an inconsistency. Now I see that what I saw as inconsistent, was my misunderstanding of Scripture. Again, I had based my recollection of Scripture on my own understanding of who Jesus was before reading the Scripture, rather than reading the Scripture with the idea that I'm learning who Jesus is for the first time.

Bethsaida

I enjoyed the story of the healing of the blind man from Bethsaida. I thought it was interesting that Jesus led the blind man away from the village and after spitting into his eyes, he was only partially healed. Jesus repeated the process and the man is completely healed. The process of regaining his sight is described as: He opened his eyes wide, his sight was restored, and he can see all things clearly. Jesus, then sends him to his house and orders him not to go back to the village. The disciples were said to "see" what Jesus is saying only in part, so the blind man came to see in part then fully. Later, the disciples were able to see.

"Bethsaida" means "House of grace". This is were the invalids would wait their turn to step into the troubled waters which where to possess healing virtue. It was believed that angels stirred the water and at the time of stirring, healing was released to those who could rush into the pool.

When I was in Israel, I visited Bethsaida and saw the pool. It is also believed to be the former site of the home of the parents of the Virgin Mary.

Incomprehension or disbelief?

In our reading for this week we read the DJG on discipleship. In this reading the writer makes critical statements about the disciples' lack of comprehension. While their lack of comprehension can't be denied by any sensible reader, I'm not altogether comfortable with coming down on them. Things always look simpler, cleaner, more exacting from the outside looking in. To borrow from the old adage, "Hindsight is 20/20."
However, what I would like to make comment on today is a particular statement made by the writer on p. 184. He said, "This incomprehension eventually leads Judas to bretray Him [Christ], the disciples to forsake Him and Peter to deny Him." I have a problem with this statement. I have already stated my position on coming down hard on the disciples They were "living in" the story that we are now "looking in" having the full historical, cultural, economical, and political view that they were very likely, very much unaware of. Some would argue they should have, or could have, been aware but were too lazy, uncommitted, undevoted, lacking in faith, etc.. I think such an argument is little more than idealistic arrogance. Maybe the historical, cultural, economic, and political gurus of the day had such insights, but these guys were fishermen, tax collectors, common men, am harets (sorry about the spelling). To suggest that Judas betrayed Christ, the disciples forsook Him, and Peter denied Him, all based on "not getting the big picture," I think is short-sighted to say the least! One must consider so many more factors involved in each of the situations listed by the writer. This post doesn't near afford such space.
Nevertheless, my quick (excessively annotated) arguement against the writer's statement is this. Today there are those in the church who have been there for many years. They have walked with the Lord in a relationship equally as long. Yet everyday, there are those among us who betray Jesus in our behavior, who forsake Him when in the public eye, and who deny Him in the locker rooms of our schools, bathrooms of work places, beauty shops of small towns, and many other places humans gather to "pass the trash" of verbal refuse. We as Christians find ourselves in these situations often, and often fail to honor Christ among those who would probably ridicule us, make fun of us, or simply become uncomfortable around us. Yet, we as Christians of 2005 have the privilege of seeing and understanding the "big picture" the disciples "lived in." We literally have millions of writings about it, analyzing it from every angle imaginable. Yet, comprehension doesn't prevent us from making the same foolish mistakes the disciples made. In full view of the truth of the hook we, on far too many occassions, gape our mouths open to consume the worm of acceptance, lust, and ease anyway! Why?
I don't think its a matter of "getting it." I think we "get the big picture" fine, I'm not so sure we fully believe it! Do we really believe that God is the "rewarded of those who diligently seek Him" and that He actually said "be ye holy because I am holy" and that we should "love righteousness and hate iniquity?" The apostle Paul (who may have actually qualified as one of the gurus mentioned above) demonstrated a comprehension that appeared to be greater than many Christians of his day and yet in the strong years of his ministry once asked, "heal me of my unbelief!" If the apostle Paul struggled with having an ironclad, airtight, waterproof, never wavering belief.................................