Happy New Year Everyone! There are a couple of holidays to explore this month, but I will wait until we get closer to their actual observance before we talk about them.

Therefore, I thought we would pick up where Christmas left off with Christ's birth. The Bible is mostly silent upon Christ's childhood, but we do have a few clues. I thought we would explore those during this post.

When Jesus was 12 years of age, he accompanied his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover feast (Lk 2:41-42). He would have been nearly 13 since he was likely born in June and the Passover would have been in March or April. Due to the extra commotion of such a feast with the number of people that would attend, and the likelihood that the women and men may have traveled separately, it was not noticed until three days later that Jesus was not with the crowd that left Jerusalem as they headed back home (Lk 2:43-46). They found him still in the temple both answering and asking questions of the Jewish leaders about the scriptures, and the Jewish leaders were astonished with his answers (Lk 2:46-47). Since Jesus was there for three days, it is unlikely he was unescorted. To be in the temple for such a long time would imply someone with temple connections would have been his escort. There are extra Biblical sources that state Joseph of Arimathea was the great uncle of Jesus and, therefore, likely the one serving as his adult escort and mentor.[1] When questioned by his parents, Jesus said he “must be about his Father’s business” (Lk 2:49), implying God wanted him to do what he had been doing for the last three days. At the time, Mary and Joseph did not understand his meaning (Lk 2:50). Jesus, in obedience to his earthly parents, obeyed them and left with them (Lk 2:51). As Jesus grew, he continued to grow in wisdom and in the favor of both God and his fellowman (Lk 2:52).

There is nothing more in scripture about his childhood. However, there are hints that give us some clues. It would seem somewhat odd that if he was so in tune with what God wanted from him at the age of 12 he would be so unnoticed until he was close to 30 years of age. After all, as a devout Jewish man, he would be traveling to Jerusalem each year at Passover and perhaps for the other required feasts as well (Pentecost or Shavuot and Tabernacles or Sukkot; Dt 16:16-17). Also, it would seem odd that the people in his hometown of Nazareth would have had to question who he was when he spoke to them from the scriptures so intelligently (Mt 13:53-54) if he had grown up there and had been a part of their synagogue. He would not have gone unnoticed by the Jewish leaders at the temple or in his hometown. They knew Jesus’ family members quite well (Mt 13:55-58), so why did they not know Jesus that well? The people referred to Jesus as a carpenter’s son but not as a carpenter himself (Mt 13:55). Although, in Mark’s account the people referred to him as a carpenter (Mk 6:3), yet they were questioning their statement and Jesus’ identity. So, the question is where was he for these 18 years?

Collins and others propose that Jesus was with his great uncle Joseph of Arimathea during these 18 years.[2] Both Mark and Luke state this Joseph was a “counselor” (Mk 15:43; Lk 23:50). The Greek word used (bouleutes) could mean either a senator or a member of the Sanhedrin (or perhaps both). The Vulgate translates the term to be decurion, meaning an official, under Roman authority, who was in charge of metal mining; therefore, Joseph was likely a provincial Roman senator in charge of Rome's overseas mining interests.[3] That he was able to approach Pilate himself to obtain the body of Jesus (Mk 15:43-45; Lk 23:52) would indicate he was a very prominent man in the Roman world.[4] Also, since the bodies of criminals were usually disposed of in common pits unless the body was promptly claimed by a relative would indicate Joseph of Arimathea was a relative. Also, as Joseph of Arimathea’s job would need him to travel throughout the Roman world, Jesus being with him would also explain many of the traditions and texts that claim Jesus visited many parts of the world during this period of his life.[5]

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 [1]Steven M. Collins, Parthia: The Forgotten Ancient Superpower and its Role in Biblical History, (Royal Oak, MI: Bible Blessings, 2004), 152.

 [2] Ibid., 158.

 [3] John D. Keyser, “The Noble Joseph of Arimathea,” Keith Hunt, http://www.keithhunt.com/Joseph1.html (accessed 15-Sep-2012).

 [4] Collins, Parthia,. 159-160.

 [5] Ibid., 160-190.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

As was stated in the last post, there was an English translation of the Bible before the King James Bible, so why was that and how did the Bible come about anyway? Well, let’s explore. This will be an abbreviated version, but more information can be found at English Bible History.

Well . . . to begin we must go back a long way—to the time of Moses. Moses is the one who wrote the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch (around 1450 BC). Then over the next millennia we have the remainder of the Old Testament written. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew on scrolls. There were Hebrew scribes whose sole purpose was to transcribe the scripture from one scroll to another. They were so meticulous that if a mistake was made, even if one letter touched another, they would take out that part of the scroll and then take out the next portion of the scroll because that part had touched a mistake. Although that sounds like overkill, it shows the seriousness they took in making sure their transcriptions were accurate. It also shows how meticulous they would be to ensure they did not make a mistake. It is not a surprise then, that when the Dead Sea scrolls were found, what is in our current Bible today from Isaiah is identical in almost every detail to the scrolls found.

There are many writings, called the Apocrypha, which were usually kept with the Old Testament scriptures, but most Jews considered them more like popular writings, not really inspired scripture. What we know today as the 39 books of the Old Testament were considered the inspired scriptures.

In the New Testament when we read of the people talking about “the scriptures” they are referring to the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures considered inspired (not the Apocrypha). That is because what we now know as the New Testament was not part of the scriptures at that time in history. The New Testament books, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, and Jude, were completed by 95 AD. Since Greek was the language of the day, the New Testament was written in Greek. Again, these letters which became our scripture were written on scrolls.

We must thank Athanasius of Alexandria, who lived in the 4th century, for our current New Testament. He waged a spiritual war against those who, in his statements, wanted to dilute the gospel by trying to include non-inspired writings into the scriptures. While he agreed that many of them were worth reading, he did not feel they should be included in a combined cannon of scripture. He also fiercely fought against Arianism which taught Jesus Christ had a beginning and was not equal with God Himself. This doctrine almost caused a split within the Christian realm. This was the time of Emperor Constantine who wanted a united Christian church and thereby called together 1800 bishops (of which only 300 came—it seems Christian apathy is nothing new!) to Nicaea which has become known as the council of Nicaea. From this meeting came the official rejection of Arianism and the recognition of the 27 books of our present New Testament. Although the book of Revelation remained controversial until the 10th century! The downside was that Constantine instituted a more organized government of the church and became the foundation for the Roman Catholic Church. I say downside because this started a slippery slope where fewer and fewer people had more and more power and control which decreased the chance of having check and balances in place around how scripture should be interpreted. This is not about bashing on the Catholic Church. It is just a matter of history. The Protestants have some skeletons in their closet as well.

In 382, Jerome translated the Greek New Testament and Hebrew Old Testament into Latin, the official language of the organized church. This became known as the Latin Vulgate. He included the Apocrypha as well although he did denote these books were likely not inspired scripture. Over the next 100 years, the Bible was translated into over 500 languages. However, over the next 100 years, there was only one: the Latin Vulgate. The Roman Catholic Church had outlawed any other version of the Bible, and anyone caught with any other version could be executed. As with any institution, any time there is a human in power it can lead to corruption. Remember the saying, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. As is always the case, those in power must be extra vigilant of their responsibility before God.

Unfortunately, even the church was, and is, not immune to this problem. Since only the priests of the church were trained in Latin, the common people were totally dependent upon the church for interpretation of what the Bible said to them. Thereby, many corrupt practices were instituted by those in power to increase the wealth of the institutional church. This diluted the actual spiritual influence on the people. As the Roman Catholic Church influenced more and more civilizations, the institutional church forced morality outwardly rather than changing people inwardly and then allowing their believe in God to change them outwardly. This is how it was for most of the Dark and Middle Ages.

The only major non-Catholic influence during this time was on the Scottish Isle of Ionia when a man by the name of Columba started a Bible College. Tradition has it that it may have had its beginning from the influence of Joseph of Arimathea. John Wycliffe was from this background and an Oxford professor who was a major force of the Reformation in the 1300’s whose purpose was to get the Bible back into the hands of the masses in their own native tongue. He had many English manuscripts produced from translations using the Latin Vulgate. One of his followers, John Hus, continued his work. However, the Roman Church had him burned at the stake in 1415 using Wycliffe’s translations as kindling for the fire! Huss stated that the Church would not be able to suppress this forever and would lose within 100 years.

Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1450’s and his first publication was the Latin version of the Bible. This paved the way for others to get Bibles to the masses more quickly. This invention became what allowed the Reformation to become so successful. In the 1490’s Thomas Linacre and John Colet, both Oxford professors taught themselves Greek so they could read the New Testament in its original language. They found many errors in the Latin Vulgate, but the Roman Catholic Church was still adamant that one could only read the Bible in Latin even though it was not its original language. Colet began translating directly from Greek into English and passing it out to the masses. His church service grew to 20,000 people! He barely escaped execution. Who you know has always seemed to matter!

Building on the experience of these two, Erasmus then had a Greek—Latin parallel Bible printed. However, this Latin translation was from the original Greek. This further highlighted the errors that had been propagated from the transcriptions made from the Latin Vulgate and pointed to the fact that one must constantly go back to the original language to prevent inaccuracies. However, the Roman Catholic Church was not sympathetic and refused to recognize this version of the Bible.

William Tyndale in England and Martin Luther in Germany were contemporaries with a similar mission in mind. True to Hus’ prophecy, it was about 100 years later, on Halloween in 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses of Contention on the church’s door in Wittenberg, Germany. Also, in 1517, the Roman Catholic Church had 7 families burned at the stake because they taught their children to recite the Lord’s Prayer in English rather than in Latin. Although Luther was almost martyred and later exiled, he was able to publish a German translation of Erasmus’ Greek-Latin New Testament into the most widely used German dialect in 1522 (later got the entire Bible published in German in 1530). Tyndale wanted to do the same; visited Luther in 1525 and by the end of that year was able to publish the Tyndale New Testament and at the same time eluding capture and execution.

The Bishop tried to burn them as fast as he could confiscate them, but they were so popular they spread everywhere and even found its way to King Henry VIII. While King Henry was not really that interested in the Christian cause, this did lead him to devise a plan of his own. Because the Pope would not allow him to divorce his wife and marry his mistress, he devised a plan to accomplish this with the church’s blessing. He married her anyway, removed England from the jurisdiction of Rome and made himself head of state and head of the church, which became known as the Anglican Church or Church of England. And, just for spite, he funded the printing of English Bibles.

However, when Queen “Bloody” Mary came to the English throne she was determined to return England under Roman Catholicism and began persecuting and executing Reformers by burning them at the stake. Many fled to Switzerland. The church in Geneva was sympathetic to the Reformers’ cause and the members put together an English scholarly translation that instituted chapters and verses in order to follow public reading better and many margin notes so families could train their families. The Geneva Bible was published in 1560 and became the first English study Bible. About this time the reign of England was now under Queen Elizabeth I who was now head of the Anglican Church. She was more tolerant to the printing of English Bibles and the Geneva Bible became the most popular.

By the 1580’s the Roman Catholic Church gave up the fight to prevent the printing of English Bibles and so printed one of their own. It was a translation of the Latin Vulgate and the Apocrypha which included the errors of the Latin Vulgate Erasmus has already pointed out.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth came King James I. The leaders of the Anglican Church did not like all the marginal notes in the Geneva Bible as they felt them too controversial. They wanted a version without all the marginal notes. Therefore, they approached the king to have another translation made which would remove all the scholarly notes that were in the Geneva Bible. The King James Version was published in 1611. However, it took decades for the King James Version to become accepted and more popular than the Geneva Bible. As stated in my last post, the Puritans used the Geneva Bible and not the King James Bible.

The first Bible printed in America was a copy of the King James Bible. It was printed by Robert Aitken in 1782 because there was an embargo on English goods coming into America, and he was commissioned by the United States Congress. Of note, it was not until 1880’s that the Apocrypha were not part of each and every printing of the Bible. The American Bible Society agreed to their removal in 1885.

The apocryphal books are as follows (you can view them from The Official King James Bible Online):   

1 Esdras   

2 Esdras   

Tobit    

Judith   

Additions to Esther    

Wisdom of Solomon     

Ecclesiasticus    

Baruch    

Letter of Jeremiah    

Prayer of Azariah    

Susanna   

Bel and the Dragon    

Prayer of Manasseh    

1 Maccabees     

2 Maccabees     

The apocryphal books were not considered part of the canon of scripture by the Jews or the early church. Although printed in the Bibles prepared by the Reformers, they were printed between the Old and New Testament and always kept apart from the canon of scripture. They are interesting and have historical significance but have many teachings that are contrary to the inspired canon of scripture.

I hope you have found this brief history educational and explore further on your own. God Bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We have looked at the first two temptations of Christ: the first appealing to physical need and the second appealing to desire. Today we look at the third: the appeal to emotional need. Did Christ have emotional need? Let’s see what Scripture states: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me’” (Mt 4:8-9)

Well, at first glance we see that this is rather strange. Who is Satan that he could even offer such a promise? Could he really grant such a thing? After all, doesn’t God own everything? Yes and no. God created everything—absolutely. And He controls everything—absolutely. But Adam gave something away a long time ago. God offered Adam a theocratic kingdom—one where Adam ruled with God’s authority and control (Gn 1:28). However, because of Adam’s rebellion—yes it was rebellion—Adam relinquished his kingdom to Satan. After all, that is why we are all born into sin—into Satan’s kingdom. He is not called ‘Ruler of the Kingdom of the Air’ for no reason. We are there automatically. We must want to be in God’s kingdom and make that choice. That is why the stakes are so high. That is why Scripture states we are condemned already (Jn 3:17).

Therefore, Satan had the kingdom to offer. Why would Christ want it? That was the plan—to take back the kingdom Adam had relinquished. Satan has always wanted to rule the world and has made several attempts in the past and will do so in the future. However, one of the goals of Christ is to take back that kingdom before this world ends and show that Satan is not the ultimate ruler. That is one of the main purposes for Christ one day to establish his Millennial Kingdom. So, here, we see Satan was willing to give up all of that and ‘help’ Christ out—for a price of course. What was that price? To bow down and worship Satan. Would that be so bad? After all, Christ would not have to go to the cross, would not have to endure all the pain and suffering. And he would obtain the goal of taking back the Kingdom from Satan. But it was not a win-win scenario. There was too much at stake here. What would be ultimately lost? Sin would not be atoned; mankind would remain under Satan’s control; now even the Godhead would be under Satan. Unthinkable!

So what did Christ say? Jesus replied, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (Mt 4:10; Dt 6:13). Again, Christ did not ponder the request. Christ knew Satan was the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Satan, of course, always weaves in a few elements of truth to mask the lie. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the lie from the truth. That is why Christ did not ponder, did not try to weigh the pros and cons. He knew Satan’s tactics and knew they were not worth considering. Christ stuck to Scripture; true, undiluted Scripture. We should too. Let’s take notice. We need to take Scripture at its face value and know that it is from God Himself. Let’s not try to reason and make it fit our desires. Let’s do the right thing and make our needs, desires, and emotions fit into what Scripture tells us. Then the same will happen for us as it did for Christ: “Then the devil left him” (Mt 4:11). We can be overcomers just as Christ himself was that day.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We saw in the previous post that the first temptation Satan threw at Christ was around physical need and Christ responded that God’s will comes before His personal need. Now, Satan gets a little craftier: “Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up on their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” (Mt 4:5-6; Ps 91:11-12). You may be asking yourself, how is this a temptation? We stated that this second temptation was about desire. What was Christ’s desire? Well, we know that the message Christ would be preaching was the same message as that of John the Baptist: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17). What better way to get everyone’s attention? Remember, Jesus is not yet on the scene and on everyone’s radar. Satan is saying, “Make a grand entrance. That will get everyone’s attention.” Think about it. Here they are on the temple’s pinnacle. At this time of Jewish history, the temple is a remarkably busy place. What would the people do if they saw someone falling but then angels protecting him from hitting the ground? What would you do? Would that grab your attention? That is was Satan was saying: “Dazzle them! That will get their attention. They will then be dying to hear what you have to say.” After all, when you think about it, it does not sound like a bad plan, does it?

But what did Christ say? “Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Mt 4:7; Dt 6:16). Did you catch that? Jesus gave Satan a double whammy. First, Christ said Satan should not even be testing him. Why? Because of the second point: Jesus Christ is Satan’s Lord and God. In other words, “Who are you, Satan, to be giving your Lord and God advice?” Smack. Ouch! Door in the face! Christ was saying God’s way is always best and anyone else’s way—catch that: anyone else’s way—should not be followed. Jesus made up His mind He would follow the way of God the Father. Only His way is the right way. It is just amazing to me how Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter so quickly—and decisively.

What about us? Do we do that? Or are we more like Eve. We ponder the temptation. We weigh it like it has equal merit to what God has already told us. No, Christ discarded it like day-old bread. He wasn’t going to do anything second rate. He was going to do it the right way – the best way. Let’s take notes on this one! But how can we know God’s way? We need to study Scripture. Just because we get quoted Scripture to us does not mean someone is telling us the right thing to do. Jesus knew Satan was taking Scripture out of context. Jesus quoted Scripture to put the conversation back on task. We need to study so we can discern Scripture correctly (2Tm 2:15). Christ gave us the example. Let’s follow.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The first temptation that Satan presented to Jesus was, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Mt 4:3). Was that a real temptation? Well, let me ask you, if you had not eaten for 40 days and nights would that have been a temptation for you? So, as usual Satan takes the cheap shot first. Interesting how he appealed to his human side at the same time as his godly side. Satan appealed to his physical need of hunger but stated that his godly side could satisfy his human need. Of course Christ could have done that. Would that have been wrong? I don’t think the action itself is the real problem. The real problem is the first word: if. Satan is in a very subtle way asking Jesus to prove himself. Satan did not say, “Jesus you are the Son of God. You are able to satisfy your physical need of hunger. You can make these stones become bread.” No, Satan said, “If you are the Son of God…” That is a big difference. One is acting on who Jesus is. The other is proving who Jesus is. Jesus does not have to prove Himself to anyone.

So, what was Jesus’ response? “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Mt 4:4; Dt 8:3). Was this a satisfactory response? Jesus was stating that his physical need is not more important than God’s purpose. Just because Jesus could do something was not enough for Him to fulfill it. Satan was saying, “Use your power to your own advantage. After all, who is going to know?”

Now, do you let your physical needs dictate your obedience? I know when I get really hungry I get irritable and impatient. That is when my guard is down, and I am probably less inclined to focus on how I could be a positive witness. I can become a little rude and get upset with people more easily. If I have just eaten, I am more likely to be more patient with people and a little more understanding. How about you? Does that sound like you as well? But Jesus stayed focused on the purpose God had for Him to accomplish. Feel like you have just been served a piece of humble pie. You can get your piece after I get mine!

Therefore, although a simple question, it hits us all at our very core. This shows how Jesus is to be our model. His response is not the typical response but was the correct response. No wonder we are told that Jesus should be our model. Next time, we will see how the bar is raised but Jesus rises to the challenge.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The Bible states that Jesus Christ was tempted in every way as were we (Hb 4:15). Can someone who is both 100% God and 100% man be tempted as are we? Although the three temptations that are recorded which Satan presented to Christ after his 40-day fast may not be the only temptations that he faced, these are the ones we have the most detail about. Therefore, we should explore those and see what we can glean from what is presented in Scripture.

First, we should note that these three temptations are similar in type to how Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan appealed to physical need, pride and/or desire, and emotional need. That is, she saw that the fruit on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was good for food (physical need), pleasing to the eye (desire), and good for making one wise (emotional need). Satan did the same with Christ. However, we know that Eve failed miserably but Christ was successful. We will examine the difference in how each responded to their temptation.

I think if we really think about the temptations that come our way, they will tend to fall into these three categories. If we look at how each responded to these temptations maybe that will help us to be more successful. Odds are, we will tend to fall on the side of Eve more often; yet, we can potentially have more successes if we know the tactics Satan is using.

The other thing to note is that although the category of temptation may be similar between the two (and among us), we will see that the actual temptations were tailored for each individual. Satan knows each person has different weaknesses. Therefore, what is a temptation to one person has absolutely no effect on another. I think that is another game Satan plays with us and sets a snare for us. Many times we see someone fall big time due to a certain temptation and we think, “Wow, he sure is weak,” and this sets us up to fall into our pride. Satan then gets a double run with a single hit. We need to be on guard for such things. We need to remember that everyone is struggling with something. Just because it is not the same as you, does not make it any less “big” for the person struggling with it.

This is a reminder that we should bear one another’s burdens and lift each other up – both with encouragement and with prayer. We can all be more effective if we feel and know we are not struggling alone. Let’s be the biggest advocate for our fellow Christians as we can be.

Next time we will look at the first temptation Satan extended to Christ and appealed to his physical need.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In my last two posts, we saw that Jesus’ teachings were somewhat radical to traditional Jewish thinking and that Jesus raised the letter of the Law to the original intent of the spirit of the Law. Today, we’ll explore that Jesus’ teachings also exposed the error of their training.

The Sadducees believed in neither angels nor in a future resurrection because they believed these were not mentioned in the Law of Moses. The Law, or the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, the Pentateuch, did not use the word angel or resurrection; therefore, the Sadducees felt they were being purer to scripture by not believing in these concepts. What is translated as angel in our Bible has the meaning of messenger.

Also, these Jewish leaders prided themselves of their living their lives on the subtlety of scripture meaning. Jesus takes this element of their pride to show the fallacy of their thought process.

In Matthew, it tells us, “That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven since all of them were married to her?’ Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry not be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.”

This was sort of a one up to their subtlety. In a way, Jesus was saying that if you value subtlety of scripture so much and want to live by that so you can show how devoted you are, then you need to also study the spiritual aspects of the scriptures and not just the physical acts of obedience. Again, this angered these Jewish leaders rather than them admitting to their error. They had overlooked this subtlety: the tense of the passage of scripture implicated the reality Moses believing in the concept of resurrection when they taught Moses did not believe in that doctrine. They were embarrassed and rather than admitting the brilliance of what Jesus taught, they dug more deeply and became entrenched in their jealously and hatred for him because he had embarrassed them in front of those who they believed thought them superior.

However, this was consistent with many of Christ’s teachings, which were paradoxical. In Luke, Christ stated, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” At first glance, this requires a double take, but with thought it makes sense. Christ is saying that if we want to do as we want in this current life without Him, we have no eternal life, but if we give up our life by trusting in Him for our life, then we will have eternal life to look forward to when this life is over.

In Mark, Christ stated, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” Again, this sounds strange at first. However, Jesus is stating that our eternal greatness will be determined by how much we served others and were concerned about other’s eternal future.

Many of Jesus’ parables had paradoxical teachings. He told his disciples that “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables.” Again, this sounds strange. If he was trying to teach them, why would Jesus say this? In other words, those who wanted to understand Jesus would be able to do so and would glean more and more from his teachings. However, those who were there for the food His miracles provided would receive no benefit and even that would be taken from them.

But how new were Jesus’ teachings? Paradoxical? Yes, with their current thinking but not if one really studied the prophets of old:

The psalmist Asaph stated, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old.” (Ps 78:2)

The prophet Samuel stated, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” (1Sa 15:22)

The prophet Joel stated, “Rend your heart and not your garments.” (Jl 2:13)

Therefore, Jesus was proclaiming similar concepts that previous prophets had proclaimed but still the Jewish leaders were not listening, just as their forefathers had not listened previously. However, Jesus is perhaps more emphatic than past prophets because the ultimate choice was now before them. The one to whom the previous prophets spoke was now standing before them in their midst and so their last chance was now being presented to them.

How are we doing? Do we just take Biblical teaching just because that is what we have always heard? Or are we willing to open our minds to the center truth of what God’s Word is trying to tell us. Let’s study with prayer for God’s understand and a mind open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit and a desire to comprehend our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In my last post, we saw that Jesus stressed the spirit of the Law rather than just the letter of the Law. He did not shy away from making things awkward with the Jewish leaders of this important nuance. However, this turned to not be a true nuance but a very contentious matter. This week we will see another aspect of this that also made the Jewish leaders at odds with Jesus.

Jesus exposed the error of their thinking process. In Matthew 5, Jesus stated that keeping the Law was a heart matter and not a matter of ritual. He stated that although Moses commanded one to not commit adultery, this even meant that if anyone lusted after another woman other than his wife he was still guilty of breaking the command just as if they had actually committed the act.

Later, in Matthew 15, Jesus stated that “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him unclean, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him unclean,” because these things come from one’s heart. There is no hedge that one can put around one’s thought process, or not very easily. This teaching from Jesus angered the Jewish leaders because for them to accept this it would mean that everything they had been doing and all their superiority in leading such dedicated lives of devotion to the Law of Moses based upon deeds was all wrong and their righteousness was indeed “as filthy rags” as stated by Isaiah (Is 64:6). They just could not accept this.

When one is faced with actual truth, there is usually two polar opposite responses. One either realizes the error of their ways and embraces the truth, or the person vehemently opposes what is being stated and rejects the truth presented. Unfortunately, the Jewish leaders responded the latter way.

Do we not do the same thing? We have our traditions that we do and like. However, sometimes we cannot even give a reason for the tradition even when we do stop to think why. The original intent is lost. Yet when someone points out the true original intent, we get mad because that does not now fit with our preconceived ideas as to why we have the tradition. Or perhaps the tradition has morphed into something not recognized by the original intent. I think this is more likely what happened here. The Jewish leaders had focused so long on the obedience component of the Law, they no longer stopped to think of the original intent of the obedience. Therefore, the obedience became the focal point rather than the intent of the Law one’s obedience was portraying. Sometimes, we, too, need to stop and look at why we do what we do and see if God has a lesson for us that is not at first obvious. God can teach us new things from old things if we stop long enough to hear what He is teaching.

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While it is true that the Jewish leaders of the day thought Jesus' teachings were radical, they were not as radical as people think. Many Old Testament prophets also preached similarly. However, Jesus did create quite a stir wherever he went. Why? Well, Jesus exposed the spirit of the Law rather than the letter of the Law. The Jewish leaders were overly concerned about people breaking the Law of Moses, so over time many self-imposed regulations were placed upon everyone to form a “hedge of protection around the Law.” As usual, although efforts have a good original intent, over time they lose their original purpose. The same was true here. Over time, these man-made, self-imposed, regulations became as binding as the Law itself and even equal in authority. They taught the more observant one was of these laws to the smallest detail, then the more spiritual, the more righteous, one became. Many of the Jewish leaders would tithe not only what the Law required but also tithed from the very spices they obtained. Of course, any time one’s goodness is tied to actions, pride can take hold and make one feel superior to others. Jesus criticized the Jewish leaders for this attitude they had against others. He told them they neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness—the spirit of the law. It was not that they should not do the things they were doing, but they should not neglect the weightier matters of the Law.

However, can we be too critical? Don't we do the same? Aren't we sometimes very legalistic and miss the true spiritual meaning of what we are trying to do? Let's start doing what Jesus did. Let's look at what Scripture is saying in spirit and not just in deed. Jesus raised the Law to a higher plane to show we can only achieve this by allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us. This keeps us humble. If we think we are doing well, then we probably are not; we are really relying on ourselves. It is only through Christ that all things are possible. Let's learn this lesson of what Jesus was teaching for ourselves and become all we can be in Him.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens