They Cant Treat my King that Way!

As we see blasphemy and mockery of Christ in modern media, as Christians we find ourselves to be overly offended, which we should be. However, do we consider the offense we should take at the mockery of Jesus prior to his crucifixion? I know I never really think about it much, but reading the Biblical passage for today and Garland’s commentary on the passage has made it more clear to me the mockery that occurred. As the passage in chapter 15 of Mark goes, Jesus has been scourged and given over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. Prior to his execution, they throw robes on him and bow in mockery, and hit him with sticks and spit on him. Quite a gruesomely disturbing form of entertainment: to beat and spit and mock a man who was beaten within an inch of his life with leather, stones, bone, and metal. Garland says that the company of soldiers referred to in this passage was around 600. Just think, 600 over-powering, heartless men with nothing better to do than make fun of you. I never thought of the numbers being so great! I don’t like when 2 or 3 people make fun of me let alone 600! The humiliation our Savior endured; a humiliation of love for you and me. Truly Christ did suffer, but what a great conquest to rise again! Thank you, God.

Zach Pyron

Just in Acts and in the gospels?

While reading in dictionary of Jesus and the gospels it was talking about how often the crowd's were used in the bible. It brough up something that I have never thought about before the word crowd was only used in Acts and in the gospels. When they were referring to the crowd it often times meant pharisees or people of that nature. It again makes me think deeper about things and ask myself why isn't crowd mentioned other places. Did Jesus draw crowds more than any other person is that why? I know this is a small nit picky thing to blog about, but it's just another little thing that i have never thought about.

In God We Trust

In every time I have read the passage Mark 12:13-17 I have always come to the conclusion that it was about money and that we are required to pay taxes to our local government. When Dr. Foster made mention of the fact that the "graven image" was were some of the focus was placed I was confused. What did this mean, "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's"? I never really that about the fact that we are God's and we are created in His image for this passage. We are God's and we are to give all that we are to Him. The coinage says it all, "In God We Trust." Do we really believe and act upon that or do we still think the passage is only about what we owe to our government?

DO NOT RUN IN CHURCH

Maybe we should recover some of the sacredness of our Temples, i.e., church buildings. My son, Austin, who is two is not allowed to run in the sanctuary. He can run in the hall and in the fellowship center, but not in the place where we gather for corporate worship. Jesus would not let those carrying merchandise use the Temple mount as a short-cut, for that place is holy. Also, Jesus ran off those who were exploiting the poor and those robbers who found asylum on the Temple grounds. As I began to process the lecture, I began to ask myself if I really viewed the place I attended church as holy or just a building to keep the weather out. And why I did not let me son run in the sanctuary? Was this just because I did not want people talking bad about me as a parent, "Can you believe that Michael let Austin run through here?". I need to learn a deeper respect for those things that have been set apart for God's use. Not that my church building on Sunday morning is the only place that I can encounter God, but I should come there with this expectation and a reverent respect for that place. To often what happens on Sundays has been reduced to a social gathering of the saints, some feel good advice on some vague topic, and watching a choir perform. What would happen if when we gathered we came with fear and trembling, and the expectation that this place is truly the house of the Lord?

Two versions of the Faith of a Gentile Woman

Having read about the faith of the Syrophoenician woman in both Mark and Matthew, there are some subtle differences. In Mark, Jesus almost seems mean. It is a hard passage for me to understand. In Matthew (15) , however, Jesus almost seems like he is being sarcastic. This intrepretation may be incorrect, but I think it is at least plausible. a Canaanite woman comes and is crying out to Jesus to have mercy on her and heal her daughter. Jesus did not answer her. It almost seems like he is waiting for his disciples to do something. Finally, the disciples--get this--come and BEG him to send her away. Wow, aren't they compassionate. To me, Jesus' reply is almost sarcastic, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But the woman is persistant, even though Jesus seems to return all her comments with cutting remarks. It almost seems like he is mocking the thoughts of the disciples. Then he shows that faith is for ALL people. I could be wrong, but I found this point of view interesting.

The Fig Tree Dilema

The part in Mark where Jesus cursed the fig tree I had never understood until Dr. Foster elaborated on why Jesus despised the tree. You see if a fig tree has leaves it must bear fruit because that the way God made it. Before knowing this I thought Jesus could have cursed all of the fig trees in the area cause non of them would bear fruit if it was not the season for figs. However now I realise that if any leaves are on the tree, it must have some fruit, it just may not ripe. Maybe Jesus planned to eat the unripe fruit. Who knows ? We do know that Jesus said to the tree "may no one ever eat fruit from you again." Now I realise his frustration because off in the distance when he was approaching tree he thought beauty, it has leaves on it, so I can eat from it. Only to realise when he got closer that the tree was deceiving and he could not eat from it.

The uniqueness of God's death

I had always thought of Christ's crucifixion as unique; specifically in light of the spiritual significance. I understand that the spiritual significance impacted the historical uniqueness
of Jesus' death, but I had never taken into consideration that uniqueness outside of the specifically spiritually significant events, such as the resurrection.
The unique things of Jesus' death play into the spirituality. For example, Jesus was taken off the cross after his death. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels states that most convicts were left on the cross to be eaten my carrion. However, if Jesus had been left, as was customary the resurrection would have turned out quite differently, to say the least. The fact that Jesus legs were not broken, is also untypical, according to DJG. That, along with Simon carrying Jesus' cross near the end of the journey to the crucifixion cite, was also unusaul.
It is interesting how the small, unique events in Jesus crucifixion either, prepared for certain following event, or fulfilled prophecies concerning Jesus death.

Alex H.

a vague prediction

matthew 24. luke 21. mark 13. what do they mean? much of my previous influence (through my mid teens) on the interpretations of these came from a well known book series that shall be left unnamed, perhaps put behind me, if you will. i find that Jesus addresses the destruction of the temple here with the disciples, not the coming of a 7 year period preluded by rapture. to them, the end of the world would be the destruction of the temple.
Jesus gives several hints to when it wouldnt be, but not signs to the coming of the end. he mentions that men will falsely come in His name, wars will break out and earthquakes will come, but those are not signs of the end. Instead, he tells them to be ready at all times because no one knows when.
the most dynamic thing i find in this chapter is the coming of the Son of Man. that comes without warning and there is no way to determine when it will happen. i like how Garland points out that Jesus was certainly ambiguous for a reason. we are not meant to know when, just that it will happen and be ready for it, whenever that might be.

Christmas shopping or Worshipping God?

I thought about the Triumphal Entry a lot since Dr. Foster told us about how it wasn't anything special for the people to be celebrating while Jesus came in. It was a triumphal entry, but it was for all people coming into the city of Jerusalem. Jesus was special and deserved a New York City caliber parade but most of the people didn't know who He really was and is. I always heard that "it was a big rush" and it always seemed to be compared to the mall on Saturday before Christmas but Dr. Foster was right in saying we didn't understand the size of the people there. I now have a "better" grasp on how it was instead of my church play version of 12 people walking down the aisle as a crowd. This is a wall to wall on the streets affair, and it wasn't just for a day during rush hour, this had to be for days. People were camping everywhere, most there to truly worship the Lord God that provides. I love the crowds here. They are all happy, but the crowds for Christmas are bitter because they do not understand the meaning of why they are even shopping other than because someone else is buying me a present i must repay.

PARTY!!!!!!!! or NOT

The closer I look at the entry into Jerusalem by Jesus and the disciples before his death the more i come to realize how crazy and unbelieveable it probably was there at this time. What really makes me think about there being so many people in Jerusalem and the people just having a huge party is this, this was Jesus last stop as he would be crucified here. Was it planned all along for him to be crucified while there were so many people in Jerusalem or did it just happen that way. I seem to feel like it was meant to happen, either for the fact of more people being there and witnessing it or whatever it might be but, that has just been something that has been running through my mind. The people in a matter of hours went from party time to kill Jesus, was it meant to b e during this crazy time??????

Andy Miller

beelzewho???

So I suppose I will blog on the state of my research paper. I am exegeting Mark 3:20-30 and comparing Christ’s accusation of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul to his authority. I had always read this passage and not fully understood its meaning. Only after my studies have I understood fully that Christ was referring to Satan when he said that the strong man is bound. I also am concerned that the issue of honor/shame may be in use here. It may be a possibility that the Kingdom of God is now taking some of the honor that the Kingdom of Satan once had and that Jesus is the catalyst of that change. I still have much research to do to support/negate my theory and it may be the case that once I get further into my studies that I find that my hypothesis is completely incorrect. I believe this will be an exciting endeavor. I suppose that my thesis that was due in stage 2 has been changed as my research has matured. I guess that’s the point of doing papers in stages though huh?

-Steven

Critically Correct/Incorret

I never really thought much about the fact that there might be other valuable material out there for us to read concerning the area of religion, culture, and history other than the stuff that modern theologians have produced. The information that Dr. Foster shared our of 4 Ezra and Psalms of Solomon were amazing to me. I wondered though why, if so valuable, were they not put into the cannon. I found them to be such great help in the lecture. I do however understand that there are great works of literature out there that have been published like music and books that are very valuable for spiritual growth and these fit in that area. However, they are so historically and culturally right on that that even makes me question correctness or incorrectness with it all. I think that is good, because it is simply getting me to think and anything that makes me desire to think is GOOD!

Disciples

I think one thing that has really clicked with me lately, is the fact that the disciples didn't really know that much about who Jesus was....it took them a while to comprehend his greatness. That seems odd to me since they were next to him constantly and experienced his miracles first hand. It seems that if you were around someone as great as that, you would understand a little more about him. I can't imagine what it would be like to be a disciple, or even be alive in Jesus' time. I am thankful that I can read about their experiences and accounts of Jesus time here on earth.

OJ...watch carefully, take notes.

It's interesting how many accounts there are of Jesus' trial. I counted 10 (counting the four Gospels as separate accounts.) That's fascinating to me. Maybe it shouldn't be, but I imagine that most trials in that area and that time didn't have more than one or two accounts, if any. Maybe that's incorrect, but it seems that the spotlights seem to be on this trial. Even more interesting, is how much noise came form that trial, considering how little, the accused actually spoke. He offered no resistance, no pleads for mercy, not even any logical arguments as to why he shouldn't be killed. Strange, that the man who had never lost an argument, even against some of the brightest minds of his culture, didn't offer a single point of argument when death faced him. Paul describes his death as voluntary in several of his writings (like Rom 4:25). Strange that the biggest trial, most talked-about trial in history contained an innocent convict who was willing to die...for the ones who were killing him.

Alex H.

Ya know, the Pharisees werent all that bad...neither was Hitler...

Dr. Foster (as did some of my sources in my paper) talked about the Pharisees building a hedge of protection around the Torah in order to protect it. Somehow, I understand the concept and respect them for aspiring to a higher standard of righteousness than the people of their community would lean to, but I also understand Christ’s frustration with them. They enforced their traditions and regulations because they were widely practiced. Because it became normative, they began to hold it higher than the Law that they were attempting to protect. Beyond that, they took their oral traditions in order to deny responsibility to the Law that they were protecting (see Corban). I hold Pharisees in some level of respect because I too think that we should all be held to the same standard of holiness that God has called us to, but I don’t believe that it should be achieved through undermining the very source of the holiness to which we aspire. Is it unbiblical to believe that all are held to the same standard even in such a relativistic world? Are we Pharisees (Holiness Police) in our day and age?

Zach Pyron

Forget The New Testament the Psudepigrapha works just fine.

Well I reckon thats a pretty good title anyway, even if what I have to say is useless. Monday's lecture that encompassed the Psudepigrapha was very interesting, I knew this literature was out there but I guess I thought that it was completely rubbish worthy. Sure some of the text is not relevant like from the Testament Of Judah the godless are condemned. Well I'm pretty sure I'm screwed then. Now I realise that some parts of the text can be very true and on the right track like in 4th Ezra when the Messsiah was to come from the lineage of David. Sure it already says this in our copy of the old testament today. So why couldn't the bloody pharisees see that it was Jesus. Above all this lecture combined with a lecture in world lit on The Koran have taught me not disgard any literature, if only to understand from another viewpoint what the Jews thought and even the way the Muslims think. So 2nd Temple Literature does have a use. As for the way my title reads I think we all can say that the New Testament is worthy of cover to cover completion.

1, 2, 3, or 4 How many?

As I did the reading in Mark 14:1-10, I remembered studying this passage in Bib. Interp. a few weeks ago. It's the passage where a woman came in with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, and broke the jar and poured it on Jesus' head. When we studied it, I personally never decided how many stories it was throughout the gospels. This story has never intrigued me as much as trying to figure out how many stories it really is. Studying this passage a little bit bit deeper was interesting to me. This passage really intrigues me and I am ready to go over it in class and reading this again has inspired me to study more commentaries.

OT Pseudepigrapha-false writings but purposeful

In last class, when we were learning about the OT pseudepigrapha i thought it was interesting how transmission of the OT actually was only beginning a little before the pseudepigrapha. It must have been hard to discern real from the truth. All these ideas were circulating and indoctrinating the people with something that was not the truth. I do believe that these texts though that proclaim a falsehood do serve a purpose. They illustrate the mindset of the people in their expectations for a messiah. If the messiah was expected to be as Jesus was how would things have been different. Would Jesus have been crucified? I can't help but be amazed at the way God uses everything for his purpose, the bad and the good.

Thoughts on the Messianic Expectation

I found the discussion of the Messianic expection and its origins fascinating. I had never really considered that the Jew's view of the messiah had developed over the years from ideas that were not particularly scriptural. Even more than this, I did not consider that the disciples themselves had the same view and most of the Jews. They don't seem quite so dense to me anymore. More and more, this class is making me learn the history behind the things I just accepted with no explanation. I had always assumed that the Jews just thought up their own idea of a Savior, and that Jesus clearly wasn't it. Only now do I realize that the reason for their disbelief goes much deeper. The readings from the OT pseudepigrapha were eyeopening. For some reason, I had this idea that the apocrypha was the "Catholic" part of the Bible. It's amazing that it has taken me untill my fourth semester at Williams for this light to finally begin to come on in my head.

Jesus

It is amazing to me the more and more I read in the Gospel of Mark, how much Jesus cares for the little man. As we talked in class the other day about the blind man in Mark 8:22, it clicked in my head that the Son of God, cares about little eons like myself. The other thing I find interesting about that story is the ignorance of the disciples. I can fully empithize with the disciples, because I am not always at my sharpest. However, I think if I saw a man named Jesus heal a blind man, that means restore his vision. I am pretty sure that I would fully believe in him. However, so many times I tell God that he can't do things and that he needs to leave it to me. (the human) I do not always trust God to take care of things for me. It seems like the disciples that I will proclaim Jesus in my words and in my prayer, but deny His ability in my daily life.

Reading all of the screw-ups of the disciples has actually been convicting to me. Alot of the mistakes that the disciples make, I make everyday. I deny God the room to do things in my life and through my life. Like the disciples I let my human reasoning get the best of me.

Jesus Must Be Having An Idendity Crisis

I had heard for a while now that the disciples weren't always the brightest characters. This is something I did not learn in Sunday School, however. I had always thought of the disciples as the people who knew what Jesus was all about almost as well as Jesus Himself. After really getting into the Gospel of Mark, though, I can see just how little the disciples actually did understand. Even Peter, one of the closest people to Jesus, did not totally get it. It just blows my mind to think that the disciples really didn't understand the messiahship of Jesus until after the Resurrection.
I imagine I would have been in the same boat as the disciples. Unlike the disciples before the Resurrection, I have the privilege of knowing how the story ends.

Mark

I have been reading Matthew recently and i guess i have just noticed a few differances between it and Mark. In my ignorant youth i thought that all the gospels were the same, some just told different stories that the others had failed to mention. but in comparing the two after studying Mark in depth i can feel a difference, in the author's style and intention and miss the trends of Mark. It is encouraging to know i am learning and that this class is helping me see God's word in new and even exciting ways.

Wars, Earthquakes, and Famines OH MY!!

In Mark 13:7-8 Jesus warns about what "things must happen," before the end. Garland put this into a good prospective when he implies that the point Jesus was trying to make was not so much the individual signs we should look for to herald the end, because famine, earthquakes, and wars are constantly happening somewhere. Besides these signal that the end is "still to come" so they are no sign that the end is upon us. Jesus was telling his disciples that chaos and evil will happen, and often, but God knows this and is still in control. I enjoyed the lovely metaphor of "birth pains" and though I have never had a child, I have watched enough movies and meet to many women that have to know that it is a painful and exhausting experience that only gets worse before it gets better. Some women are even willing to endure it more than once, so it must be either against their will or rather rewarding.
Despite what it might seem, these two verses are a comfort for the passage that follows about persecution. God is in control and like a mother in labor, it will hurt real bad and you'll probably scream a lot, but the reward is worth the wile.

Oh that's why they believe that.

I like all others often wondered where the Jews got their idea of Christ being this great king. I knew they all knew the scriptures and what I read never said he was going to overthrow the Roman government. I would think, "do they just not trust the old testament scriptures?" I was completely at a loss to figure out why on earth they believed these things about the Messiah, and treated Jesus so unfairly. It is almost as Dr. Foster answered every question that I had about this when he told us about the books in the Pseudapigripha. All the books said that he will come to judge the unrighteous and though John 3:17 says he did not come to condemn the world i can see in some instances it seems as though he did judge, not final judgement but did judge. He judged the Pharisees as hypocrites. They also spoke about preserving the ones that do believe basically and I think this is done through his death on the cross. Some of the Pseudipigripha books may have just been misinterpretted by the Jews. At any rate, Jesus did not come and set up a physical throne or over throw the roman government, though he has a thrown in every believer on this earth's heart and in 381 B.C. the roman empire is a christian nation. I believe he rules over that. My last question is what is the inspiration and authority of the pseudapigripha.

JESUS THE EXORCIST

In working on my paper for Life of Christ there has been alot I learned and alot that has really made me think about the things Jesus in dealing with exorcism. Jesus did so many things that made exorcist of his day just wonder what could possibly going on with this man that he can do such things as get demons to give their names to him without him having to even ask for them. What comes to my mind is what would we think if we were seeing this happen. People in our day would freak out but, even people who had seen exorcism in their days were jumping through themselves when Jesus would do this work. In my opinon I believe the things he did would have made a skeptic like most people had become of his day. It would be hard for me to see theses things and not wonder what was going on, and it scares me to think that I would think that. Because in the end the people that seen these miracles nailes him to the cross.

Andy Miller

What would I have done?

It's easy for me to look at the Pharisees and say, "How could they have been so blind? Why do they treat Jesus the way they do? What is wrong with them?" They were looking for the Messiah. Jesus did not fit the mold in their eyes. Jesus was not what they were expecting. Things didn't go down quite the way they wanted. I put myself in their shoes. If Jesus didn't meet my expectations of what the Messiah should be, how would I have been? How would I have treated Jesus? I hate to say it, but I can see myself being just as they were. Sometimes, even know, God does things that I don't expect. He even does things I don't necessarily like. It's these times I realize that His ways are above mine. I can't put Jesus in a box and limit Him. I just need to trust that all things work together for the good of those who love Him, and leave it at that, even if I don't understand...and even when He doesn't meet my expectations.

and Dumb

I did the reading about the comparison of blindness and deafness to spiritual matters. I had known those terms were used as analogies but I did not ever really think about it. Essentially, when someone was spiritually blind and deaf they were dumb. It meant that even though they were hearing the truth they could not understand. Even though they were seeing the truth they could not see it. I too am dumb sometimes. I hear people tell me things and I can see with my mind's eye that it is a bad idea but I just walk strait into it anyways. This analogy is so appropriate on so many levels. If we are blind then we need to find someone who is not to lead us ( no blind leading the blind spiritually or physically). If we can not hear, for whatever reason, we need to stop and watch carefully what is happening all around us. Sometimes I am so amazed by the wow factor of life and Gods role in it.

Like A News Room in Antioch

Despite the 2005 Life of Christ students telling me that I would enjoy the seminar I was kind of dreading it going into it. Friday nights are not meant for school after all. Well it turns out I did enjoy it. Working with everyone was a lot of fun and I think we all got along pretty well until the proof reading. Even that didn't get too out of hand. It was an interesting experience. I thought it would be impossible to get as much as we did, but we did it.
The project made me feel inadequate in my knowledge of scripture. I was afraid to look at my Bible when I got back. When I finally did and realized how much we missed, my feelings of inadequacy were confirmed. We missed A LOT of the sayings of Christ. But on the other hand, we also got A LOT of the sayings of Christ. It really makes you wonder how accurate the original Gospel writers were. It is still up to faith, however, and I am completely still assured in my faith in the accuracy of the Bible.

Class Project

I had heard all about previous projects and what the previous classes had to do for them. I felt like I came expecting it to be an incredibly hard 8 hours of my life. Once Toby had read off what we had to do as a class, I got relieved and excited at the same time. Dividing the project up into categories and trying to figure out what all Jesus said in the Bible was a challenge. It got a little chaotic to start out with, so I wondered if that would reflect the final product of the project.
I really enjoyed the things that my group personally got to work on through the project. The first thing my group got to work on was parables and kingdom of God. I felt that we got a lot done through those, however I think it always felt like we were still missing something, which we were. As the project went on, I worked on many other things - commissions, more parables, and the last supper. There was one other thing that I got to work on, or witness working on. It was the introduction and conlclusion letter. I enjoyed seeing the dynamics of the letter and how they were written. Overall, I came into the room dreading the project and ended up enjoying it for the most part.

Seminar

I was actually looking forward to the seminar. I was in Pauline last year and had an amazing experience at the similar last year. One of the coolest things was watching the group as a whole, intensify in their jobs as the night progressed. Seeing people's passion for the word was inspiring. Though there were times of tension in deciding what we should do, it was awesome to see the encouragement that was taking place between groups and between the editors and so forth.I knew going into this venture that I would again be reminded of how much I didn't know, but I was encouraged and to be able to reflect and see how much I have learned from my first year as a ministry major to now, and recognize the confidence it has given me in the Word. Thank you religion department!

There was one major issue that disturbed me though. As we were trying to recall all these "Sayings" I realized that "these are the words of my Savior, and I can hardly remember them!" it was easier to recall the stories and narrative, but was much more difficult to remember exactly what Jesus said... which saddened me.

Life of Christ Seminar

I wasn't sure what to expect when I walked into the Maddox at 3 pm on Friday. I had heard what other classes had done in the past. I have to say I was alittle nervous and wasn't sure how good I would do. When Dr. Foster gave us the assignment, I was at a lost of words. I had no clue on how to start a project like this. I mean Jesus said awhole of things. Me saying awhole of things sounds kinda dumb, but it was all I could think of. So to put this all in a format and to work as a "Church" was a difficult task. I was glad this was a class project, because immediately people started throwing out ideas and dividing Jesus' saying into catagories. This really help me to develop ideas and have a starting point. I loved the group I was in. Not only did we get our work done, but honestly I actually got to know people in my group who I didn't know anything about. I was very much impressed with the class as far as remember what Jesus said. I was amazed at how people were just quoting Jesus from memory. It encouraged me and made me realize that the minister majors at Williams know the bible. That was a big deal to me. I have only been a christian for three years and I honestly don't know all of Jesus' sayings as well as I should. So being in a group helped.
After we started working I started to remember Jesus' saying. I think my group work really well together. All of ours ideas and memorization came together to provide the parables for the project. I thought we came together pretty well as a class to put this project all together. I thought the way we spilt into groups and then came back as a whole class work well. We all got to voice our opinon and put our thoughts together. I thought the outline we choose was good and it seemed to flow pretty well. I thought maybe a few people tried to rule the project alittle to much, but it showed leadership on their part. So I can't really complain on that. All in all the project was kinda hard, but we came together as a class to present the sayings of Jesus' in a proper outline, that made sense and flowed. I learned alot, and again was amazed by my fellow class mates on their knowledge of the scriptures. The one thing I learned the most was that I need to improve my knowledge and memorization of scripture. The seminar was enjoyable and I would probably do it again.
Adam Godwin

...means Toby finish this

Sunday morning when I looked at the bulletin at church I couldn't help but laugh. It said "Blessed are the merciful for they will recieve mercy." The one that we couldn't remember was right there.

I was thoroughly challenged during the seminar. I thought that I was fairly literate with regards to the Gospels, but I honestly felt bad that I did not know enough Scripture to fill the stories. These are the words of Jesus, I should know them. The things that Dr. Foster said during our last group session resonated with me all weekend, and I have been challenged ever since to not say "It'll do" or "That's good enough."

I was also happy that I did know some Scripture and was able to contribute some to the discussions. I have been so wrapped up in learning about theology and how to apply it (while that is obviously extremely important) that I have failed to have a deeper relationship with God and read Scriptures enough to be able to use them without a copy of the text.

God humbled me Friday night.
-Steven

project

so i looked forward to the all night project from the time it was announced to when we actually started. the night actually exceeded my expectations. i learned so much in one night it is unbelievable. i found out that i know a lot about the gospels, yet i dont know a lot about the gospels. it really makes me upset with myself because in this nation im free to know them as well as i want to know them, but i dont. i now appreciate the gospels much more than i used to, because it was hard enough for me to remember the dialouge from the ones i had already read!
it did a lot for me spiritually, too. i developed a passion for the gosepls, wanting to read them and learn more. originally it was just to check back on the work, ill admit. but when i read i caught the passion and importance of the words of Christ more than i ever had before. i knew that the words of Jesus were and are important, but now they have taken me even more than they used to.

Life of Christ

I had only ever heard good things about the seminar for either Pauline or Life of Christ so I was pretty excited going into the event. I couldn’t wait to find out what we would be attempting to do for the next several hours. When I read the letter and found out that we would be compiling the sayings of Jesus, at first I thought, “Well at least we’re not writing a Gospel,” but then I thought, “Holy crap, I probably don’t know anything.” When it came to actually composing the sayings of Jesus my part really was that of either a starter as in an idea would flash and I would be able to get the ball rolling in the other members of my group or I would help with the details and pretty much everyone I worked with filled the same role so everyone was a nice complement to the other even though our knowledge of what Jesus said was left wanting.
I learned a few things out of this seminar and that is that I know more than I thought I did about the Bible but of course not as much as I should know and on those two facts Dr. Foster accomplished his goals. I also learned more about the group dynamic and enjoyed helping coordinate in some of the organizing. As a group when left to our own devices we do get kind of crazy and not all ideas are heard but I do think for the majority everyone who wanted had a good amount of input upon everything. In my perception everyone really worked to their limits by searching their brains for all of the information that they could and also by employing their “flexible attitude.” I’m sad that I probably won’t have another opportunity to participate in a seminar while I’m at Williams.

Toby

"This just in...'Life of Christ Seminar Renders Williams Students Knowledgeable'..."

Oh, the seminar! Oh, the Jesus we quoted! Oh, the Jesus we couldn’t remember to quote! It was an astounding seven hours of brainstorming, typing, and running back and forth to the editors. I felt like a news reporter: “I got the story we we’re needing!” “Hold the front page!” “Who’s doing the story on the Good Samaritan?” “Toby’s working on the Parable of the Ten Virgins!” I was astonished at what I could recall of the biblical accounts of what Christ said. Though, I don’t always focus on it, Jesus said many, MANY things. I never knew how much I remember of Jesus speaking: the parables, the “Sermon on Da’ Mount,” the account at the cross, and before Pilate; I found great joy that I was able to recall these things. As Dr. Foster told us at the end of class, “I want you to realize how much you know of the New Testament; I want you to realize how much you DON’T know of the New Testament; and I want you to understand how important it is.” I realize all three of these things.

Another thing that I thought was great about it was the dynamic leadership that took place. Nearly everyone took a leadership roll to give input, to support the other groups, and to add to the body of the project. I saw some timid people speak about what they know of the biblical text. I saw the bold people take a back seat to allow some of the timid ones to lead. Also, I was astonished that I was able to step up and take the lead in some things. There were moments of frustration when everyone was shouting and nothing could get accomplished. Generally, the large groups were longer meetings than they should have been, but the small group sessions compensated for the time lost in large group. The people I worked with were very knowledgeable of the text and helpful. The project was definitely a team effort. No one stood out more than anyone else. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Too bad this is my last upper level New Testament class.

Zach Pyron

Seminar '07

Even though I dreaded the seminar, if for nothing else than the unknown and amount of time it would consume, I came away feeling good about it. My fears were releived when I found out that we were able to work as a team toward one goal. Although the goal was a difficult one, it was obtainable with the group working as one. As for myself, I deffinatly reached the goals of being surprised at how much I know about the text and was appauled at how much I lack in my knowledge of specifics.

It was encouraging to find out, not only how much I knew about the text from memory, but more so, how much my classmates knew as a unit. The group dynamic worked wonderfully; building off one another's ideas and even shortcomings. At times, I was sceptical whether we'd be able to get it done, we were able to formulate a good system that worked to emphasize everyone's abilisties and strengths. Over all, it was a good learning exercise and a great experience.

Yep!

Well, I must start out by saying I had a great time at the seminar. I was a little hesitant at first, but my hesitations quickly fell away when we began the project. This project allowed me to recall a lot of the scriptures I have read and allowed be to be an active participant in my groups success. I was amazed at how much I really knew about the Jesus' words in the Gospel's. On the flip side of that, it is amazing to know that I have been reading the Bible for the better part of my life and I still do not know as much as I would like to. However, this project reinforced to me the importance of knowing the Scripture and especially those little red letters that are so important.

This project was challenged the very way I view scripture and the importance I put behind learning the scripture. It also encouraged me to look at the sayings of Jesus and know the promises that he made and the hope that he gave for the future. This project renewed in me a drive to commit more scripture to memory and also learn the context behind that Scripture. This was a very good experience. It was encouraging to see such a big group of students with very different personalities working together for one cause. It would be cool if I could take Pauline and just do the project. ( in other words no paper or test.) It's all good.

Hidden in my Heart

I really enjoyed the seminar. At first I was excited because our task seemed much easier than the previous class’. Writing a whole gospel! When in actuality, I could remember a lot more narrative and general ideas of a gospel then the exact quotes of Jesus, which is much of what a gospel is. In the first few hours I was convicted of my lack of knowledge of Jesus’ words. Hide them in your heart, yeah right! I hid them alright. I hid them so well that I couldn’t even find them. Toward the end however I found myself realizing how much I really remembered and knew. This was because of the group. No saying was out of the mind of any one person. It was the product of several.
I think the group dynamic was just as imperative as what we learned about the scripture. We were a church. It is easy to sit back and judge a church. Their lack of speed and agreement in decision making, seemingly total chaos, tyrant leaders and quite objectors. Not that we had all these characteristics, but it really helped me understand why and how things get to be such a mess with such good people with good intentions. I also gained a better appreciation and knowledge of the gospels. They were oral records of memories. No wonder things that I think should be clarified or included are left out. Better to leave it out than be completely in left field.
All in all, I’d be happy to be locked in the Maddox with ya’ll anytime.

Gospel Project '07

I have to admit that, going into the project, I was less than thrilled about it. Taking eight hours away from my "me" time was not my idea of good fun. Coming away from it, I am a little ashamed at my hostile feelings toward the seminar. It was absolutely amazing! When I heard the assignment, at first I thought, "No problem," only to realize that I didn't know half as much about the Bible as I thought I did. It was amazing to me how much we all wound up compiling.

The lesson has also taught me to be less critical of my leaders--it's hard work! The hours seemed to race by after dinner (yummy...note the sarcasm). It was amazing to see all the teams pulling together. I was pretty proud at all we wound up compiling, then I opened the Bible the next day. We did a good job, but I was surprised at how much we missed. This seminar really taught me the value of having scripture memorized, of knowing it to the best of our ability. It also taught me a few things about how to work together with my brothers and sisters. I saw two sides of the spectrum: the one trying to be heard, and the one trying to lead. Both can be frustrating, and both can be fulfilling. It's amazing what can be learned at one little seminar!

Can You say, DUHHH!

I never thought that I would be doing something like what we did last Friday night. Can I tell the truth in this matter that when I left the LOC Conference I felt so dum. I too like some of my fellow class members went back to look at what was put on paper as the "Sayings of Jesus" and boy was I ashamed. I never knew that I was so unknowingly dum. Duhhh!
However I would like to talk about the conference itself. I have never known a time in my life that challenged me more. Spiritually, emotionally, and physically I was challenged and to do that goes back to our disciplines as Christians. Head, Hear, and Hands. I saw students do things that I was so proud to see young adults doing, and yes there where things that I was not proud of. The overwhelming consensus of the event was that it changed the way I look at knowing the Bible. I don't jack about the Bible, and that scares me. Pray for me as I desire to know more of the "Sayings of Jesus."

Peppee, what is a plethora?

I don't know if we're supposed to use names or not. I'm going to this one time. I like my honorable, honorary brother, Andy Bullington. Um, that's not really related to the seminar, sorry. OK, so I really enjoyed the seminar (Let me pull out my skirt and pom-poms.) It took us a while to get things into gear, I thought, but once people started working, most everybody was very productive. I thought our setup worked well. (By the way, Matt Duran...good job, you made a lot of contributions behind the scenes.)
It really shocked me when I read through Mark and a small bit of Luke later, how much we missed. Granted, there were a lot of things that we thought of and didn't have time or enough information to put it down, but we missed a ton! I mean, we scratched the surface. I think we did well, but there was a plethora (I love that word) of things Jesus said, that we didn't even think of. I had never been that thrilled with the Gospels, when I was growing up, but now that I realize how much Jesus says in those things I really feel an affinity for them.
I want to continue talking about the seminar, because I thought it was so cool. However, I'm gonna cut this one short. I really enjoyed it. More importantly I learned a lot about the sheer volume of our Savior's words; not just the amount of things that he said, but the depth and applicability.

Alex H.

L.O.C. Project

The Life of Christ seminar was different than I had anticipated. The beginning hours flew by extremely fast, and by the last two or so, I was ready to edit and go. I did enjoy the project becuase I realized exactly how much I knew from the Bible and exactly how little I knew. I enjoyed working with our small groups, and I think by splitting up we were able to accomplish a lot more. I noticed that our class has quite a few leaders, and that can be a great thing. It can also be stressful for the group as well. I know there were moments where it seemed as if 20 different opinions were in the room, but only 1 or 2 oculd be heard. I also know that we would have been a lot worse off had we not had those leaders step up. Overall, our class did a great job (in my opinion) on successfully carrying out the task at hand. I gained a great deal of insight about my fellow classmates, as well as my own knowledge of the Bible.
I enjoyed this project, but I do not think I would do it again if given the option. Eight hours was a long time, even though I do not believe the project could have been completed in less. I am very thankful for the experience and knowledge that I gained though.

Class Project

I really enjoyed last Friday's class project. Although it lasted quite a while, time flew by, and I even thought we could have used some more time to finish editing. (Oh well). There are several things that I learned about myself during those hours. Like Dr. Foster said, I learned that I knew more about the Bible than I thought I did, but I also learned how much I do NOT know about the Bible. An interesting observation that was made by our group was how much we knew about what "others" said, but not the words of Jesus. So I realized that I need to take heed of the words of my Savior.
Would I do this project again? Yes! I absolutely loved it overall. I really enjoyed our smaller group work. I enjoyed hearing other's thoughts on certain passages and gaining a little extra insight on certain topics. I did have a lot of fun in the small group, but there were also times where we were serious and had pretty good discussions. The large group setting was a little different. To be honest, sometimes maybe it was kind of frustrating and annoying. Just kidding. But seriously. It was just a little frustrating making decisions, which I guess is something people (I) will have to live with, because it happens...and that's fine. Anyway, like I said, overall, I absolutely loved this project and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

LOX Seminar

I really enjoyed the Seminar on Friday night. I must admit that I was worried because I knew that I would be late due to the EPE and I knew what the Pauline Seminar was like. Both seminars were very good, the LOX seminar was a bit more challenging though because we could not use any narrative. But I feel that we did a successful job. I was surprised at how much scripture I was able to remember and how much of a change it was from just a year ago trying to remember things about Paul. I enjoyed it and was happy with the success and the challenge which it still put on me to continue to learn scripture.
There are a few people who I would like to thank for stepping up during the seminar. The main leaders Toby and Matt Duran, you both did a great job of getting us to stay on track and to make sure that we kept a fire lit under our butts. Also to the Editors, Melanie, Alex, and Michael, we really appreciate the work that you did with organization and everything else you did. Also to everyone else that participated, you did a fantastic job, thank you. Finally, thank you to Dr. Foster for allowing us to be able to have this experience to challenge us and help us realize how much we do know and how much we don’t know.
Matt Justice

I'd Do It Again

This past week has been a stretch. There were many tests and projects. I do not think any one thing was too much it was just alot of one things. One thing I would not undo though was the Life of Christ project. I am kinda lame sometimes but I sincerely enjoyed it. I liked the fact that we were left on our own. It gave us a chance to watch the natural born leaders in action. I loved watching other people get uncomfortable. I think we could not have done any better than the small group idea that we came up with.
I could not believe how many close to exact quotes I had floating around unused in my mind. And I am even more suprised at how many parts of the scripture are just big blank spots in my mind. I could probably quote more from Tommy Boy than Jesus. I am very greatful for the different roles played by people. Although we were rarely a democracy, things still came out very nicely. I would definately do it again.

7 hours of fun

You can ask almost anyone around me friday morning and noon that i was scared out of my mind of what we were going to have to do for this seminar. I knew i was going to get into this room of genius ministry students and not be able to participate due to my lack of knowledge. This is my greatest fear: to not know enough of the Bible. When we began our session and got organized i was beginning to feel better. When Andy Miller, Michael Carpenter, Bobby Dixon, Steven Price and I got together to remember all the Beatitudes and the sermon on the mount I was feeling better and better. Through out each stage of the night I became more and more comfortable. I believe that through this I realized I have more knowledge of the gospels than I thought that I did. However, I still feel like I need to memorize more instead of just having a general idea of what went on.

I really enjoyed being with my fellow classmates. Seeing different sides of each. Learning how much others know. I was blown away by the knowledge of a few of my classmates. This was one of the most blessing times of my life and I shall not forget it. I wish I could get my church to see if they could do something like this to learn how much we do and do not know about the Bible and through that be able to address those things that we do not know. This project helped me gain more knowledge of the Bible and my lack of knowledge of the Bible, develop leadership and team work skills, and have fun. Thank you Dr. Foster for having projects to assist me in knowing the scriptures better.

Seminar

The seminar really opened my eyes about alot of things in my life and in reading the Bible that i really had never thought about or even attempted before. One being as Dr. Foster had old how much i really don't know about the gospels and what Jesus said. It really hit me when my group was trying to remmember the beatitudes and we could not remmember all of them. You would think a person studying christian ministrys would be able to remmember the beatitudes but in no way shape or form coul i get my mind to produce every one of them. AS a christian it really challenged me and put a new goal in my life to actually be able to remmember what i read other than reading understanding but not being able to reproduce the actual text.

The other point which i think the whole class came to realize is how sometimes we as christians have to work as a team to accomplish a goal. If the whole class would not have worked together as a whole we would have never have completeed the project. Yes there intense moments that it seemed that everyone might get into knock down drag out brawl but, we worked out our differences and used everyones knowledge of the bible to get the most of this project that we possibly could. WE could have done better in my belief, I think we got under pressure and missed some simple stuff but that is expected no one is perfect. It was a great experience and i enjoyed working with every person in our class and at the same time i am glad it is over even though i had a good time.

LOX Seminar

The first question that comes to mind is, "How accurate are the sayings of Christ that are recorded in Scripture?" We know that the early church had not only the oral traditions about Christ, some eyewitness accounts when the Gospels were written, and not to mention influence of the Holy Spirit, but if the first century believer was anything like me (I tend to forget things) how accurate were the events of Christ's ministry remembered and recorded? We can also look at this question from another angle, "How much creative license did the Gospel writers take in composing their gospel?" Often in Mark, when viewed from a literary perspective, we can see that the way Mark tells the story is as important as what transpired (see Mark 8). Does this even matter in our relationship with Christ? On one hand it does because what we have recorded about Christ helps us to understand who he is, but on the other hand, it does not because no matter how the Gospels came together, we still serve the same Christ.

Overall I found the entire experience challenging and revealing. At times I felt that we might of substituted quantity over quality. Maybe if we would of focused on the sayings that we as group new well, the final product might of had even more substance to it. However, where we ended up was great. I believe we achieved our goals and we were all probably more surprised at what we did know rather than discouraged about what we did not know. My final conclusion, READ YOUR BIBLE AND READ IT WELL!

Feeding the 5000

I am particuarly interested in the feeding of the 5000 in Mark 6:30-44. I like the way that we disected it in class as relation to Christ's overall ministry. Compassion is something that we as Christians today often forget is so important. The simple fact that Christ was willing to talk to the crowds after being almost chased or stalked by throngs of people is amazing. He knew how importnat his message was and that it needed to be said. I also believe that he had compassion on the disciples, not only in this passage, but others by talking to them and explaining things to them separately in a private setting. It is almost as though he knew that his message of redemption was so extremely important that he was willing to do whatever he needed to explain it to those who truly wanted to understand and apply it.

-Steven

Cleansing of the Temple

The DJG reading this week was particularly insightful. Within the reading concerning the Temple cleansing, there was special attention given to "alternative views" that I found to be helpful in the study of the text (especially within Mark). The tradition view of the Temple cleansing is often seen as Jesus coming in and on the brink of swearing like a sailor, over turning tables and throwing things to "teach those sinners". Granted, there may be some truth to that, it is important to not just take what we know from tradition or face value. As the reading mentions, the Temple merchants did have a legitimate commerse. Their downfall however, and the reason Jesus acted as he did, was the lack of reverence and holiness within the Temple. Jesus did not just come to tear down the money-making, yet to restore holiness to the Temple. It is interesting to think aobut.

What Do You Think You're Doing, Mate?

Jesus sends the money exchangers out of the temple. After reading the cleansing of the temple in all of it's four gospel contexts I was surprised by how much they differ. What is said on page 820 of the DJG has helped me understand the slightly different messages of the same story. They can be put in these four categories: 1) It's a religious event intented to cleanse the Temple of impurities. 2) It is a messianic event intented to include the Gentiles in the scope of Temple activities. 3) It is a prophetic event intented to announce the destruction of the temple and it's eschatogicial restoration. 4) It is a politicial event intented to disrupt the wrongful activities of the Temple because they had become exploitative. I think you really need to read the contexts in the order of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John to understand how they differ and how Mark may have influenced the writings to come. The major point of the text I still got what I have always got; what Jesus did what in the Temple eventually led to the authorities challenging him and later his cruxifition. People still listened to this character because he had authority and he spoke with an incredible knowledge of the Torah.

Jesus have defiled hands?

I've been researching my topic for my paper and am excited that we are about to talk about my passage in class soon and i've read over and over about Mark 7 in which Christ is confronted about the actions or lack thereof the disciples take before eating. The Pharisees, doing their best to help all people remain pure, asked Jesus why his followers did not wash their hands ritually before they ate. At first reading this I always seem to want to make the pharisees the bad guy of the stories and fail to see their side. However as Dr. Foster said in class monday, the Pharisees were just doing their best to keep people from breaking the torah and the oral law of men. So as I study and research i still see the Pharisees as wrong, but trying to do their best to honor God. Maybe they weren't the hypocritical Jesse Jacksons of the day. They were more faithful toward God than most. All they did wrong was place too much authority on their oral law and traditions. Sometimes this may have led them to be away from truely worshipping God, but they were doing their best to remain pure.

Triumphal entry...on a Donkey?

In the Jesus videos (the scene depicting the triumphal entry), the man leading the colt exclaims, "I'VE GOT THE HOLIEST DONKEY IN THE WORLD!!!" This donkey was just a donkey, but it symbolized the humility of the Messiah entering as a king rather than as a boistrous king on a grand white horse.
This first day of the Passion week began Jesus' journey to the cross. This is Jesus' first public admittance and display as Messiah. And as he enters, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are shooting their confetti, throwing their rice, and throwing down palm branches shouting "Hosanna! Hosanna!" What would it have been like to be there? Better yet, how would Jesus have entered Jerusalem (or New York City for that matter) in modern day? In a Yugo? And would we have welcomed him as he entered? And would we have turned on him as he carried the cross to Golgotha?

Zach Pyron

Jesus the Healer, not the Entertainter Formally Known as the Healer

I really liked what the Dictionary said about the miracles and healings in the Gospel of John. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus' healings are a result of faith, and never a cause for someone to believe. John shows that Jesus' healings also produce faith. I liked this take, but there is also the problem of the healings being the the basis of one's belief and faith. Then the Dictionary made the comment that Jesus never healed on command. He wasn't a supernatural DVD that people could just hit play and he would preform. He healed truly out of compassion, wanting others to believe, and even to prove a point (Mark 3:1-6). Jesus did not conform to our human expectancies, just as he does not today. He did not heal every sick person, nor did he mean to.

"i just saw a pharisee!"

i believe that the spirit of the pharisee's did not die with the destruction of the temple. In our churches we see this displayed in some traditions that "must be done", similar to the ritual of washing hands. I have heard of churches who have argued to the point of splitting because of the people differed on the places the organ and piano should be in the church. for one the first churches didn't even have pianos or organs, so even less should we worry about position. i don't think jesus would be very welcomed in a church more concerned about a tradition than say the widows and orphaned, or the compassion of the gospel...

Be Healed!!!

I was reading in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels about Healing and the article not only discoursed over Jesus and healing but it also brought healing in a contemporary sense to light. The article stated that healing will be in every age of the church but it was specific as to where. The places in the world where Satan has always had a strong grasp on seems to be places where more healings are reported from. I think that God does you healing in order to help spread his kingdom and to me this makes a lot of sense. Our culture really doesn't understand the supernatural for the most part except in a fictional sense and therefore I think God works more subtly in our culture than in others. The reason why I think this is because people who we consider frauds and false are usually the ones hitting people on the heads and yelling "Be Healed!!!"

Nothing to do with a Temple

I enjoyed Garland's last remarks about Mark 11: 22-25. Jesus is trying to get the point across to the disciples that the effectiveness of prayer has nothing to do with the temple. The jews at this time viewed the temple as a holy place. Jesus wants to get across to the disciples and people they when he dies on the cross, access to God is opened for all. Through death on the cross a true house of prayer is opened, that is not man-made and has no limitations. I think we could use this in our churchs today. I think we put to much importance on the fact that Jesus only works in the church or only answers prayer or moves if we are in a church. The temple of God, isn't a building but God himself. I think we need to realize God isn't only in church, but with us all the time. God can do whatever he wants and answer prayer even if you're not in a church. I think we lose focus on this sometimes, and put to much importance on a building, instead of God. I hope this makes sense.
Adam Godwin

Missing the Cross

I really liked what Garland had to say on the contempory significance of Mark 11:1-11. As Easter approaches this year I am already in anticipation. This year I plan on putting more of a focus on Good Friday that I have before. Personally I have never made a big deal about Good Friday. I remember hating having to go to church on that Friday night when I was younger. I didn't realize the significance of it. I think a lot of people are like that today. Palm Sunday and Easter are nice because we get to feel good, but we forget about Good Friday, the day our Savior died. In this passage the crowd is all excited because their "messiah" has come. The think that Jesus will be who they expect He is. They abandon him, however, when they realized that He didn't come for the reasons they thought. Jesus did not come to give us glory. He came so that we can give him glory for what He did on the cross.

Aaron Abbott

Garland-Mark 12:1-12

This story is so amazing to me now that I have realized what it means. I think the most interesting part of this story is 1.The father sending is father after everybody else has been killed and 2. the naivety of the renters. What was the father thinking, all his servants had been killed, why would he send his son? These mean obviously did not care about who or what came at them, they where going to deal with it. It makes me wonder if the father was giving these men the benefit of the doubt and if he wanted to give them another chance.(and another) What was he thinking? The second did the renters not think that something would happen to them for their actions. I mean come on, they have beaten and killed more then a couple of people. I don't get these guys. Then it all made sense. As I read this section in Garland I finally came to the realization of what this story meant. God's servants will be mocked and beat and even killed. However, God's judgement will come to those who do evil. I have had to realize that God is not this mystic figure, sitting on a throne eating grapes. He is a real God and a God of judgement and a God of consequences. This story as Garland says, " assures me that God will win even when it seems that he has lost." God is huge and powerful. And he is mostly definitely active.

I thought the question that Garland raised in his commentary on Mark 12:13-17 was interesting. It was almost a question of whether or not the Bible contradicts itself. We know the Bible says not to go against the governing authorities unless they are trying to make you do something deliberately against your relationship with God. In this text, some people would say that Jesus was going against this government. What Garland said really impacted me - "Jesus does not divide life into two realms, the sacred and the secular." No, the Bible does not contradict itself, and that statement that Garland made is so deep. Jesus did not divide the two. We can say this, Jesus did not divide the two realms not only in debating, but we also can see it in his ministry and who he ministers to.

take a number

i have never understood the conversation about dogs and bread between Jesus and the Greek woman until i read about it in Garland. i always thought that the conversation was literal and therefore made little sense. but knowing that it is a riddle (and the meaning of it) changes the text for me. there are still some difficulties in the text for me however. i have a hard time dealing with the fact that Jesus inserted a subtle insult in there by calling her a dog, what the jews called the gentiles. the woman is not bothered with the insult and knows that she is a dog, a gentile who has to wait for God to deal with the jews first. amazingly this does not bother her and she presses on, not taking no for an answer. she shows an incredible faith and a desire for Jesus, pusruing him no matter what might seem to stand in her way.

Did You Wash Your Hands?

With great difficulty I try to make sense of the traditions of the Pharisees. The ceremonial washing of hands, cups, pitchers, and copper pots (Mark 7:3-4). At a closer examination of the text and with Mark's overarching theme in his gospel, Who is Jesus?, I begin to emphasize with the Pharisees. For it seems that they are simply trying to live out their faith in the most practical way they know how and wondering why this one, who teaches as one with authority, does not follow the same prescribed rituals. When the psalmists writes, "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart..."(Ps 24:3-4 emphasis mine) I wonder where my hands have been today. Are my hands clean? So what exactly am I supposed to do? Garland comments that "the rabbis would say that when one eats, one approaches the throne of the almighty God, and one must wash one's hands and hold the wine in the right hand and the oil in the left. That is something one can do! And in doing it...one shall know that there are rules for guidance, and these rules stand for reverence and awe, for mindfulness and thoughtfulness, in God's presence" (280). The problem, however, is that the Pharisees had elevated the oral traditions concerning the law to the same status as the Law itself. They also did this at the expense of those who were on the "outside." We do the same thing. We have traditions and rituals to fill in the gaps for exactly what we should and should not do. When an outsider comes in we immediately begin to question why they do not wash their hands like we do. When we should be questioning why we attempt to approach the throne of God with our unclean hands. John in his revelation equated eating with being in the presence of Christ. "Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9). Are your hands clean? Or do you prescribe to the rituals of do's and do not's that have been equated with the Word of God even at the expense of others? Let us me ever mindful of the awe and holiness of God whom we serve and approach Him with clean hands, a pure heart, and as one who has not lifted up our soul to falsehood.

Quality over Quantity...

In Mark 12:41-44, Mark tells of when Jesus was observing how the people were putting money in the treasury. It says that many rich people were putting in large sums. Then the poor widow gives all that she has, although it's much less than what the others were giving. The point is she is the only one who made a sacrifice. What the rich people were giving was much more than what she was giving, yet she was giving all she could give. The rich people were not making a sacrifice. Like faith, what matters here is the quality of the gift, not the quantity. The widow put in all that she owned. I know that for me, personally, I need to give to Jesus sacrificially, not just what is convenient for me. Not just financially speaking, but everything...my talents He has given me, my time. To whom much is given, much is required. If the giving isn't sacrificial, it's worthless to Him.

Breaking an empty shell

I remember the first time I read about Jesus cursing the fig tree. It scared me. I thought, "What the heck? This isn't how Jesus is supposed to act! He's supposed to bless it and make it fruitful!" But nevertheless, Jesus did not uphold his normal standards of sheep-carrying, bread-making, kid-blessing healer. He was in the table-tossing, rebuking, fig-tree-cursing mood. I believe a lot of Christians have a problem dealing with the fig tree cursing passage, I would imagine because it's often looked at as standing on it's own and not in light of the passage sitting smack dab in the middle of it.
We walk into the temple courts on a sunny not-sabbath-day. The money changers are trading temple money for those who are unable, otherwise, to give offerings; people are everywhere. Figuratively speaking, it is a full and healthy tree, covered with bright leaves. Suddenly, you hear a noise. (This is not figurative.) A man is throwing tables around saying, "You guys have turned this place into a back-ally con-job. This is supposed to be a place where everyone can meet with God!" Jesus saw the same leafy fig tree, and the first thing he noticed was that it bore no fruit. (That was figurative, by the way...and literal in the next passage.)
Jesus taught everyone that this temple thing wasn't working out. He later taught that the temple was gonna be destroyed, referring to himself. He taught that he was the temple, that he was the only means to God now. This temple was no longer "It."
I had never thought about it before, but that concept really applies well to the literal destruction of the physical temple a few years later. Jews were still worshiping at the temple when they should have been worshiping through Jesus; I'm not saying that the temple was bad, but it was being used incorrectly. Oops! Romans just happened to come in and tear the temple down. What a shame. What-a-shame! I'm thinking the Jews thought God was pretty upset about it. Honestly, I doubt God was that bent out of shape about it; seeing as how his temple had already been destroyed, rebuilt and sucked up off of earth. This building was now just an empty shell.

Alex H

Examples We Set

Mark is an amazing read, and a difficult read. Many things cause my brow to furrow with concentration and confusion. A passage I read today, however, was quite clear. Mark 9:42 and following begins, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sn, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea." These seem like harsh words, but lets think about them. As young adults, we have great influence on youth and children that we come into contact with. Many of them are our students in small groups or Sunday school class. They look up to us. We can mentor them correctly, or lead them astray with our actions. What kind of example are we setting for those who look up to us? What about the way we act causes them to grow apart from God. Jesus says that if we lead one of his children astray, it would be better for us to have an extremely heavy weight tied around our neck, followed by being thrown into the sea. To put it simply: you ain't comin' back up. There is no air, your tortured lungs cry out, but you are trapped. You drown...you die. I have always been terrified of death by drowning. It's obviously not a quick and easy way to die...but Jesus says something worse is in store for those who lead his children astray....YIKES!
Jesus goes on to instruct us to get rid of whatever is causing us to sin, even if it is a painful separation. His description of where sinners wind up is vivid, "Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." Verse 49, however, bewilders me...any ideas?

People Suprise me sometimes

In studying the gospels and the exorcisms Jesus has been apart of i have learned alot about demons and exorcism as a whole. But, what blows my mind even more is how people in our day and age seem to not understand about demons. All the time people are wondering if demons are real or if they still exist, its almost like demons evaporated into thin after a certain point. I just dont understand why people can't grasp the concept of demons sometimes it absolutley blows my mind. While looking at exorcism books and papers for the class paper I have found out so much more abotu exorcism and demons than i had ever known, and i just hope i can use these things ot help people better understand about demons and exorcism.

The demons got it

I was reviewing for the test and saw the demonic cry vs. human question chart. I am jealous and that is rediculous. There are demon posessed people that know more about the spirit relm than I do. They can see as clear as day who God is and the works of the Holy Spirit. Nature itself obeys the words of Jesus and God without a moments hesitation. Yet, I struggle everyday to get it. I am no better than the disciples who in the presence of Jesus asked "who is this?" and "what is this?" I hear about miracles all the time and have record of them all throughout scripture and I still have and audulterous heart. If I would just listen and obey like the demons did my life would be at perfect peace. I would not feel the need to know or understand everything because I would know that the "Son of the Most High God" was there with purpose. I love Marks portrayal of Jesus dealing with absolute authority with simplicity. I only wish I got it like the demons did.

Who Jesus Is

January 24, 2007

In this weeks reading of Garland, I learn a few new things. I thought it was very interesting that every demon that Jesus dealt with seemed knew who he was. They knew Jesus was the son of God and they knew the power he had. They seemed to know that God was there to remove the demons from the person possessed. Most of the people at that time didn't know who Jesus was. They didn't know he was the son of God and had the same authority that God had. Most of the rulers and authories at this time didn't think Jesus could perform miracles because he wasn't God. But as we know Jesus is God and has the power to perform miracles. Though the demons seemed to be aware of what Jesus could do and who he was. I also thought it was neat that in one case of Jesus dealing with men possessed by a demon, that he moved the demon into a pig. I had never heard or read this before. It was neat to know he transfered the demon from the men and put it in a pig.Adam Godwin

Discipleship

Feb13, 2007

In Mark 8:34-9:1, Jesus gives the demands of discipleship for the disciples. I think these verses also are meant for us as christ followers. These are the things we must do to be disciples of Christ. The first is we must deny ourselves. Garland goes into full detail of the true meaning of denying one's self. It's not part-time work, but work to be lived out. We must deny everything, and put Jesus first. Deny our will, but let God's will be done. Second is to take up our cross. To carry the cross means to put your life on the line. Garland states it as "to be willing to join the ranks of the despised and doomed" Taking up the cross is known as "self-sacrifice" Thirdly Jesus tells them to follow his ways, not their own ways. Garland explains this by saying that Jesus doesn't want the disciples to simple be at awe of Jesus' work. He wants them to follow out and live as Jesus. Through reading this I better understand Jesus' view on discipleship through the book of Mark.Adam Godwin

Take a Bath

After reading about demons and unclean spirits it made me think of what all that cleaning that needs to take place in the lives of those who feel they already know the God that cleans to the core. I myself need to be reminded that I too was unclean and full of evil spirits. Forgive me and make me clean that I may be a follower that can rightly show the healing that has truly cleansed me.

What is really a Parable?

The discussion on class on Monday about parables and what they really are and how they are interpretted normally really intrigued me. I had to leave early and i was upset that i had to leave early because I was really enjoying the discussion. Normally parables are interpreted as a typical earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Dr. Foster with using the Greek text it was some type of comparison to an earthly story. I enjoyed the discussion on The sower and its interpretation. Dr. Foster told us to look how it is normally interpreted and how really it has several different meanings that are never pointed out like getting a closer look at the sower, and Listening and hearing. I really enjoyed taking a different look at parables and learning how to interpret them.

In the Name of Jesus...

In our culture demons are not seen as a reality, in movies they are depicted as fictional, but I was raised believing that they are real. In my home my father taught me to be conscience of the "world not of flesh and blood". This really helps me now in recognizing the reality that in our daily battles we do wage war on two planes, the physical and the spiritual. In Mark 5, Jesus shows that he has the ultimate power over the enemy, and as Christians, we do to. To many times we fail to take advantage of the power of Christ, not that we should be consumed by that thought as some... (Mr. Ben Hen). But that in our weakness he is strong enough to fight our battles.

I call call shotgun! aka Jesus' right side

I have always loved Mark 10:32-45. It is like James and John are calling shotgun in heaven. The common phrase "salvation is not earned" is true, but not all saved will be on equal ground. Garland pointed out how Jesus did not consign the disciples to last place, but told them how to be first. I think that is pretty neat. However, then comes the cup part...
The cup was a metaphor for internal baptism, and was a reference to several OT passages. Being first doesn’t come easy. You can't try to be first, or then your motivation will be like that of the pagans. You must serve because of love.
What I always wondered was who gets the left and right seats, because "it is for those who have already been prepared" so someone gets them. John? Paul? Dr. Foster? jk
It's a neat thought.

Wash your hands before supper!

In Mark 7, the Pharisees approach Jesus with the issue of ceremonial hand-washing before eating. They asked Jesus why his disciples weren’t following their Jewish traditions. Their claim was that God ordained this tradition for the sake of moral purity along with all the other cleanliness laws. Garland suggests that the Pharisees were seeking for Jesus and his disciples to remain in their pious traditions. They were afraid of losing their circle of influence, and Jesus was threatening just that. But Jesus understood that purity was not held in matters of practice but of the heart. He knew that the Pharisees were only washing their hands because they were in the habit of doing it and only did it for the sake of doing it. However, Jesus later explained to his disciples that purity is determined by what comes out rather than what goes in. We often wash our hands just because we are accustomed to doing it. We pray at meals because we just do. We go to church because it’s a habit. What is the real reason for those things made a practice in the first place?

Zach Pyron

Sorry, no catchy title today

I am particualrly interested in the text of Mark 3:20-30 in which Christ is accused of being Beelzebub. It is so easy to sit back today, 2000 years later and ask how in the world the characters did not know who Christ was. If we look at the text from the perspective of Christ's accusers I believe it is not difficult to understand why they doubted the diety of Christ. Let's face it, he was a bit weird. I mean healing people with his own authority and getting demons to tell him their name, come on who wouldn't be a bit freaked out?! I never thought of the impact of the uniqueness of Christ's ministry in corrolation to the other prophets, scribes, priests etc that were the norm of that time. I have to admit that I am encouraged that Jesus did not conform to the legalistic ministry of the early Jews and I'm sure he had fun ticking them off in the process at times.

-Steven

Please Jesus Leave!

In Mark 5:1-20, the story is told of The Demoniac man. Even though I find the whole story very entertaining something made me focus on one verse this time through. Verse 17 "Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region". The people seem afraid but what of, he just healed the most possesed man of the era. The pigs and the demons died in the lake. Why did they urge Jesus to leave was it because he had let the demons go into the pigs and now they are out of pocket the pigs that probably allow these families to eat. Is it possible they were just afraid of Jesus and what he had done, was beyond comprehension.

Blind Disciples

I found it very interesting the section in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels on Blindness. After I read Mark 6:14- 9:1, I found it very interesting how the disciples still were not getting it. They were with Jesus when he healed a deaf and mute man, then Jesus feeds the four thousand. After that Jesus warns them to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod and the disciples think that he is just talking about bread. Following that Jesus heals a blind man and Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ. Right after that Peter rebukes Christ for Predicting his own death. They just did not get it. They had personal one on one relationship with Christ everyday but yet they could not comprehend the things that Christ was trying to teach them. But like this section in DJG says it was not until after Christ death that they finally realized and understood what he had been teaching them.

Good Ole' Faith Healin'

I found it quite interesting in the DJG reading concerning Jesus' healing how many facets of the idea of "healing" there are concerning Jesus' ministry. Taking a look at the different types of healings as well as their meanings and uses provides great insight as to the impact that they had on not only the people that experienced them, but those around them also. It turns out to be quite critical to look at the healings of Jesus because it was such a large part of his ministry. Plus, the fact that there are several types of healings within Jesus' ministry helps show not only the variety of people and situations he helped, but also his willingness to change everyone's heart adn life in whatever way they needed.

Jesus Didn't Get Lazy

Taking this class has been such a joy. I love being absorbed in and analyzing the life of Christ with such detail. I keep thinking about something that is completely obvious...Jesus was sought out everywhere he went, right? Well, Jesus had quite a bit on his plate. I mean, he was sent here to save the lost, make disciples, and he preformed miracles to heal and prove he was who he said he was. The entire time he did this, he was surrounded by people wanting to see and/or touch him. He definitely had a lot to deal with. He knew his time was limited, he had the worst pain of all to bear, and he didn't deserve one bit of it because he is perfect. During the time on earth, Jesus was fully aware of the events to come...and he went through it all anyway. He endured the pain. When tempted by Satan, Jesus was victorious. I realize this is a concept we were taught in Sunday school, but when I stop to re-think the mission Jesus set out to accomplish, I am in complete awe. My Jesus is perfect. My Jesus is strong. My Jesus endured humiliation and pain on that cross for not only me, but for everyone. I am more than thankful, but I also feel ashamed for those times that I fail and give him less than my best. I know I'm going to mess up, but that doesn't excuse anything. It is easy for me to slack off in my devotions and give myself excuses. I'm constantly surrounded by the "right" things...I go to church. I go to a Christian school. I hang out with Christian people. But quess what? That doesn't cut it. I have to give my best DAILY. The truth is, I get lazy sometimes. Jesus was never lazy in his ministry. I need to remember that the next time I want to slack off. He's the one I am to model my lifestyle after...

Help Me To See

As I tried to figure out which miracle passage to do my paper over I noticed some interesting things in the text. My decision for a passage came to between the blind man at Bethsaida or blind Bartimaeus. While looking at these two passages I realised how nicely they fit into the bigger picture of what was going on.
The first of the passages is the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26). This blind man is healed in two stages. After the first stage he can see, but not clearly. This passage comes right before Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, but then shows he has no idea what it means for Jesus to be the Christ. Just like the blind man, Peter could see that Jesus was the Christ, but could not see clearly because he didn't know what this meant.
The second of the passages is blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). It is the second and last time a blind man is healed in the book of Mark. Barimaeus' sight is completely healed and then he follows Jesus on the road to Jerusalem. This comes right after Jesus teaches on what it means to be a disciple. It seems that Mark once again was making a bigger point with this miracle story.
Was it just coincidence that these miracles happen just as Jesus is trying to get his audience to understand something or is the providence of God (Jesus Himself) at work here? I'll take the latter.

the demoniac

i am simply blown away by this text. mark 5:1-20 tells a beautiful story of a man who was posessed by Legion. the amazing thing about it is the demon's reaction. he honors Jesus by telling him his name and aknowledging his power over him as the Son of the Most High God. in contrast, when the man goes back to the town the people recognize him as the former demoniac and ask Jesus to leave. their fear of Jesus and his power is so great that they dont want anything to do with him. however, the one who experienced that power does want Jesus around but he does not stay for his sake. i just cannot help but wonder where we lost that fear. i am guilty of looking at Jesus as the sunday school poster sort of man who holds a toddler up in the air and smiles. while that is a part Jesus' personality, i think i should (and so should everyone else) remember the Jesus that got on the edge and scared people with his power. he drove demons out of a man who could not be controlled by anyone else! someone like that SHOULD be feared, yet like the man healed in this text, embraced into one's life as well.

The Rich Young Ruler

The rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-22, wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. He certainly asked the right man. The commands that Jesus mentioned in vs 19, had been kept from the rich young ruler's youth. In vs. 21, it gets tougher for the rich young ruler. Jesus told him to sell whatever he had and give to the poor...and "Come, take up the cross, and follow me." The rich young ruler, a few moments ago so eager, was now heartbroken, and went away grieved. He had to choose between self and self-denial, and he chose self. Had he been poor, I wonder if he would have made the same decision. I don't think he would have. He had so many possessions, he couldn't give them all up to follow Jesus. There seems to be a lot of people in the church that have an easy Christianity. It's casual, comfortable, and there are no hardships in Christianity. Many people are "getting saved" thinking they can continue their old lifestyle. Charles Poole says this: "If we 'get people saved' with the sweet-Jesus gospel that dangles before them the carrot of comfort and success, when do we pull back the carrot to reveal the cross?" Good question. However, compared to the burdens of sin and self....Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light.

A Headless, Resurrected Baptist is Travelling the Countryside

Mark 6:14-29 is the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. I've been thinking about how Mark ever received wind of what Herod was thinking about Jesus. How did Mark manage to hear about Herod's beheading of John the Baptist? The transmission of the Gospel to its original writer is a mystery but at the same time an extremely interesting avenue to proceed with only pure speculation to decide the outcome. Mark could have either drawn from Peter if Peter was who Mark used as a source or Mark could have drawn from oral tradition, not that it would be that old of a tradition. Somebody at the palace had to tell the story and it would just be interesting to know about that person or persons. Were they some palace guard who was just eavesdropping, was it an attendant of Herod, or was it even just bragging from Herodias or her daughter. However it was told and made its way to Mark who placed it in his Gospel. I find it fascinating the subject material of the Gospels I just wish we knew where exactly it came from. Mainly just because I find that interesting.

What were they thinking?

What could the disciple have been thinking when they seen Jesus walking on water. The text says they thought he was a ghost which is understandable. They were in the middle of a lake and they something walking on the water, how unbelievable would that be. Then Jesus walks up to the boat and is tells them to not be afraid its is just me. To me after Jesus had walked on water, not to mention he had just fed five thousand people with almost nothing, how could the disciples not venture to guess at who he was. I just try to imagine what i would think if i was in a boat in a pretty good wind storm and all of a sudden I look out and see ahuman figure walking over waves on the water toward the boat. I believe i would have ran and hid or started throwing things in the boat at him. It just blows my mind that Jesus just walked on the water to get to the boat and what could possibly runing through the disciples minds.

Andy

You want me to do what? With a what?

As I read in Mark 8(and so on) this week, I kept tripping over verse 34-9:1. It amazes me how I can go through life on idle with verses like this in the bible. "To deny myself" is probally the hardest task for me in this text. If I would deny myself more, I would be able to take up the cross and follow the Lord better. But it seems as though I can not keep tripping over my own self and my own self-centered ambitions. I know that I am not ashamed of God, however looking at my day to day actions I can see were God is not the topic of many of my coversations. I do not make it a habit to "include" God in everything I do. I often feel like Peter, not standing up for Christ and denying his very words. However, through this text I have realized that through prayer and practice, I can better serve the Lord and "Take up his Cross.""

"The Word of God Was Like Little Bitty Seeds"

Do you remember that song from children's church? Even with the interpretation of that parable being provided in Mark, I still struggle with understanding what it means, but I at least have the basics. For some reason, until Dr. Foster mentioned it in class, I assumed those listening knew what the parables of Jesus meant. I don't know why I thought that, but I did. If Jesus pretty much called the disciples clueless, then I'm in the same boat with them. I listened intently as Dr. Foster read the parable, struggling to block the meaning I know it to have out of my mind. I found it impossible to understand. I get the meaning because of the interpretations provided, not because I am a holy genius. I wonder how those listening came to understand and believe. Was it Jesus' authority, his works, the work of the Spirit? This revelation has provoked my decision to read all the gospels during my quiet times and to read them like it is my first time to read them...not knowing what will happen next, wowed by Christ's power, and thirsty to find out what will happen. I am putting myself in the disciples' place and am finding myself amazed by the things I find!
--Melanie

Amazing

The story of the Geresane Demoniac is amazing. I wanted to hear everything I could about that story. To think that such a crazy person exhisted is wild. I can not imagine such people that could not be restrained even by chains.Dr. Foster was right that Mark did a brilliant job in telling that story. It is interesting that we as christians use the broken chains analogy to describe God's power."The Lord can break those chains that bind you!" My thinking changed though, even a demoniac could break the chains. I serve the God that could heal even a man that was not bound by chains. He harnest an even greater power that is beyond an analogy, that changes lives! Jesus is amazing!

The Kingdom of God is like...

"How could they of missed it?" we often ask of the 12 disciples. "The kingdom of God is near," Jesus announced after being baptized in the Jordan River by John. Yet, they all missed it. Are we too in the same boat (Mark 4:35-41)? In the kingdom parables found in Mark 4:21-34, Jesus compares God's kingdom to the ordinary, a lamp, a measuring cup, a man who scatters seed on the ground, and a mustard seed. Garland warns of a pitfall that we should be careful of when interpreting these parables. "We too quickly identify the kingdom of God with our own human aspirations and institutions that 'reach unto heaven' and 'make us a name' (182). We become so wrapped up in the latest church trends and mass movements that we miss the kingdom of God. I am not putting down either of these, but to often I can get caught up in all the hype and all along I miss the kingdom of God at work in the world through the plain and ordinary. I do not find myself very often thinking of the Kingdom of God being like a tiny seed that simply grows into a shrub. Again Garland writes, "The spectacular exercise of power is not always a sign of real strength. God's reign, as Jesus pictures it, is not some massive juggernaut that mows down everything in its path. The sign's pointing to God' s reign appear to be incredibly humble even when it grows into a large shrub..."(184). I have been reminded that Jesus humbled himself and took on the form of a servant to usher in the kingdom and that in the ordinary I too can see the kingdom. May we all be a little more humble as servants of the Kingdom of God

Putting Off the Inevitable

Why did Jesus take so long to actually reach the pinnacle of his ministry. The Pinnacle, of course, being his crucifixion. Why did Jesus wait so long to actually sacrifice himself. If hypotheses about the length of his minstry being three years is correct, then he had plenty of opportunities to get in trouble and reach the cross. A large part of Mark's record of Jesus' ministry includes Jesus' telling everybody to keep his identity a secret.
I understand that we've talked about this already, but Jesus tried to keep himself a secret because he didn't want to die before he was ready. What was it, that he needed to get ready? Did he need to prepare himself, the disciples? Did he need to land the date right?
I think one possible answer can be seen in Peter's confession of Jesus' identity. Jesus asks the disciples who the people claim him to be. They say that the people mostly think of him as a prophet. He asks them who they think he is. Peter steps up and says, "You're Christ." Very good, Peter. Now the Christ is gonna suffer and die. Peter is taken aback by this and rebukes the very guy he just claimed to be the Christ.
Peter had come further than anyone else, in pinning down Jesus and what he was about. Peter was the first to acknowledge Jesus in that way. However, even with that knowledge, Peter still didn't understand Jesus' real mission.
If Jesus had started his minstry and made a quick name for himself and quickly been crucified, nobody would have understood what he was doing. Jesus waited, and elongated his ministry in order to teach the disciples what he was doing and why he was there. A shorter ministry would have left the world debating Jesus' purpose with no real substantial evidence to point to salvation. He needed his followers to understand why he needed to die, in order for them to tell the world what Jesus' sacrifice meant.

Alex H