2/29: Rabbis, Trucker Frank and Timelines

 It's the class before midterms, and as you can see by the syllabus, we were scheduled to have a guest in class, Rabbi Adam J. Bermay.  He has had some health issues, so we will hopfully have him rebooked in a few weeks.   Ne praying for him...He is a great resource, as he is a Jewish rabbi...but unlike most Jews and rabbis, a believer in Jesus.(Remember "rabbi" is Jewish "teacher" and there were three levels of the title: Rab -informal, friendly, peer term; Rabbi, and  Rabboni- so elevated and distinguished  a term and title, it almost implies you are God/Messiah/Ultimate Teacher .Notice this is what Mary called Jesus after resurrection)

(found this online)

So we did something unique today..we had four members of class (including me..the least important member of the class.  Matthew  and Philliipians) draw and narrative theior "timeline" on the whiteboard.

It was  a great honor to be let in on your lives, stories and "timelines."

It reminded us that we never know what another person has been through.
And that though everyone's journey is unique, that in a  way we all haev a version of the same story.

Note what happened today (it always happens when classes do this): similar  patterns;  ups and downs emerge>>>

Also, we learned, by looking at a couple of photos of me from my :lost years that NO ONE had cooler hair than me in the 70s and 80s:

more

more

We also lsitenmed to Trucker Frank's journey/timeline:

Did you notive some interesting emphases on his story, rekated to class:

• "Kingdom of God is more about the  journey than the destination."
• He found epople outside  the bounded set of church who were verty spiritual and ":centered set".

Related, see:

Timelines and Testations: Jesus, Sexonomics and Facebook

--

REMINDER:

The exam is Friday, and if you want to come an hour early and/or stay an hour late, I will be in the classroom for that purpose.

The exam will require you to use your own paper, so probably a "Blue Book" (available in bookstore) is best.


If you missed our study session Monday, get with someone who was there..or just use all the extra help I gave you on the 

What's on the midterm?  tab at top of blog.

Prayers!

--

2/27: Mid-Term Review

As promised (per the syllabus), we spent the whole class reviewing for the mid term.
The exam is Friday, and if you want to come an hour early and/or stay an hour late, I will be in the classroom for that purpose.

The exam will require you to use your own paper, so probably a "Blue Book" (available in bookstore) is best.

Blessings!

2/22: Parable Presentation Prep/ Part 2 /XXX/Essenes/Communitas and Liminality

Today, we

-finish the intro to the parables on your Parable Presentation.
-Consider three chiasms which radically center the parables of chapter 13
-Consider the YOU vs. THEM of  he parables of chapter 13
-Go more in-depth with ESSENES
-Communitas and Liminality
-Possible Adventures

Opener: How is the Matrix a parable? Is it a straight/classic allegory, or a parabolic one where who represnts who may shift (see last Friday's "12 POINTS ABOUT PARABLES).

List at least two biblical characters that each Matrix character may represent:

• NEO
• TRINITY
• MORPHEUS
• CYPHER
• TANK
• DOZER
• SMITH

Who is the God/Jesus character?
Who are the God/Jesus characters?

 Fuidity of interpretation of characters in "the Matrix" ("Neo" is Jesus, but also a believer, and also everyman; "Morpheus" is John the Baptist, but also Peter; "Trinity" is obviously a Trinity/Godhead figure, but also the Holy Spirit, and also the Bride of Christ/Church; "Cypher" is Judas as well as Lucifer/Lu-Cypher etc.


NEO=an anagram for "THE ONE" (Messiah)
THOMAS ANDERSON=Doubting Thomas + Son of Man (literally "Son of Man"


Final scene, watch here, cf. Matthew 28:16-20





LAST TWO PARTIES (WE DID THE OTHER TWO ON FRIDAY)
Sadducees Party:

The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12-14, see whole chapter for context here
(see pages  in the BBC here)

• Note a radical recurrence of "little ones" and "one" in this section.
• Note a "little one" inclusio.
• Historical world of shepherds: dirty
• Subversive, counterintuitive, upside down, inversion to search for the one lost.
• (On the parable of the lost sheep..Rememeber Ed Silvoso's comment about pastors not being fired for the right reason: spending too much time with CHURCH MEMBERS.  One common reason: they were spending too much time with NON-MEMBERS).

How is the shepherd here helpful?:




Essenes Party

The Prodigal Son ,Luke 15: 11:32, see whole chapter for context here
 (see page 232-233 in the BBC here)

• Misnamed: Prodigal Father..Father is prodigal in his love/seeking
• ("prodigal"- lavish, excessive, extravagant, careless, was same main point
• One parable, three stories in this chapter...so all have same main point
• Historical world.  Ring=dad's credit card, Man running=shameful, effeminate

----------------------------------------------------------

see xxxchurch.com

Parables in Matthew are TRIPLE X:

Suggested Chiasms related to Matthew 13/Parables:

1)in a small subset of Matthew 13 (which may well be the very center of the whole book, thematically and chiastically (Below from Thomas Clarke)

"I first noted  chiasm by looking at the footnotes regarding Isaiah 6:10 in  NIV Study Bible. In the parallel verses from Matthew 13:15, see if you can identify the levels:

For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts …

Let us identify the nouns. They are as follows:
•
People
•
Heart
•
Ears
•
Eyes
•
Eyes
•
Ears
•
Hearts

Did you see the three levels of the chiasm? With the exception of the word “people,” they all have pairs. Did you see the center point? I sense that this verse is speaking about spiritual blindness. What about you?

Here then is the presentation of this first example of chiasm,

on chart on p. 28 here"

         (Thomas Clarke)

2)A chapter-wide chiasm:
  (Mark Bailey):

Sower and the Soils (vv. 1-9)

            Question by Disciples/Answer by Jesus (Understanding) (vv. 10-

                        17)

                        Interpretation of the Sower and the Soils (vv. 18—23)

                                    Tares (vv. 24—30)

                                    Mustard Seed (vv. 31—32)

                                    Leavening Process (v. 33)

                                                Fulfillment of Prophecy (vv. 34—35)

                                                Interpretation of the Tares (vv. 36—43)

                                    Hidden Treasure (v. 44)

                                    Pearl Merchant (vv. 45—46)

                                    Dragnet (vv. 47—48)

                        Interpretation of the Dragnet (vv. 49—50)

            Question by Jesus/Answer by the Disciples (Understanding) (v. 51)

Householder (v. 52)⁶

            Verses 13-17, a subsection of the entire structure, can be ar-

ranged as follows.

Therefore I speak to them in parables

A. Because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do

     not hear, nor do they understand

            B. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled,

                 which says,

                        C. You will keep on hearing, but will not understand,

                                    D. And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

                                                E. For the heart of this people has become dull,

                                                            F. And with their ears they scarcely hear,

                                                                        G. And they have closed their eyes

                                                                        G.' Lest they should see with their eyes,

                                                            F.' And hear with their ears

                                                E.' And understand with their heart and return,

                                                     and I should heal them.

                                    D.' But blessed are your eyes, because they see;

                        C.' And your ears, because they hear.

            B.' For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men

A.' Desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what

      you hear, and did not hear it.⁷
-
3)SUGGESTED BOOK-WIDE CHIASM OF MATTHEW,see page 9 here,  (or below) a chiasm making chapter 13 the center of book:



A. Demonstration of Jesus' Qualifications as King (chaps. 1—4)
 B. Sermon on the Mount: Who Can Enter His Kingdom (chaps. 5—7)
    C. Miracles and Instruction (chaps 8—9)
        D. Instruction to 12: Authority/Message for Israel     (ch. 10)
           E. Opposition: Nation Rejects King        (ch 11—12)

                     F.  Kingdom Parables: K Postponed (chap. 13)

           E.' Opposition: Nation's Rejects King (chaps. 14—17)
        D.' Instruction to 12: Authority/ Message for  Church (c.18)
   C.' Miracles and Instruction (chaps. 19—23)
 B.' Olivet Discourse: When Kingdom Will Come (chaps. 24—25)
 A.' Demonstration of Jesus' Qualifications as King (chaps. 26—28)"32


Of course, the parables of chapter 13 (the whole section) become the center of a book-wide chiasm, in that they comprise the central teaching block of the five:

 --

SUBVERSIVE:

>>Why would Jesus not want to be understood?

Related
>>Why would Jesus so often say after healing someone to NOT tell?

(Four reasons? Will post some notes here later, after class discussion)



Pay attention to who he speaks to "inside" and "who "outside".
Might he be making a statement/acted parable by simply changing locations (similar to "The Other Side") about who is "in" and who 'out"


Other posts on parables:

• Which would you choose: Jesus or heaven?

• Good Samaritan misunderstood

• The Parable of the Ring Around the Collar"

• make your brain grow

• St Mike Nesmith on genius and madness

• Parables and Misundertaking

•  Animated Parables: Gaga Samaritan

 

 

--_______________________
Essenes

 1)Slideshow summary of the video, "THE TIME HAD FULLY COME"

Click part 1, and continue from there, or click chapters below.

Part 1: Qumran—The Site
Part 2: Dead Sea Scrolls
Part 3: Essenes
Part 4: Similarities to the Early Church
Part 5: God's Work in History
Part 6: Bringing Light to the Darkness


2)We watched "The  Way of the Essenes" video in class
(will add notes here later) 

Study guide HERE

Brief excerpt: 




Review of Essemes below.. from Van Der Lann, link:

Essenes

In 167 BC, the Jewish Hasmonaeans overthrew their Greek rulers and brought political independence to the Jews for the first time in nearly five hundred years.

Over time, the Hasmonaeans adopted the Hellenistic ways of their Greek predecessors. When they appointed an openly Hellenistic high priest, a group of devout Jews formed an opposition and became known as the Essenes.

The Essenes left Jerusalem and the temple in order to establish more holy ways of worshiping God. Although some Essenes lived in communities around Galilee and Judea, most studied and worshiped in the wilderness community of Qumran.

The Essenes believed they were called to isolate themselves from Hellenistic society, and they sought to create a new system of purity. They expected the Messiah?s coming shortly, and they wanted a community of devout Jews ready for his arrival.

The theme of light and darkness recurred throughout Essene writings. They saw themselves as sons of light, refusing to compromise with an evil world. And they believed their duty was to battle sons of darkness—those who embraced Hellenistic ways.
Instead of actively confronting the forces of darkness, the Essene community stayed in the wilderness, hoping their example would be enough to draw the sons of darkness toward the light. For about two hundred years, they carried on a quiet, almost ascetic way of life.

Similarities to the Early Church

Through the writings on the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars have learned a great deal about Essene philosophy and culture. They have also discovered remarkable similarities between the theological beliefs and practices of the Essenes and the early church.

The Essenes practiced a form of ritual cleansing by water, similar to baptism. And they also established a communal lifestyle with common ownership of possessions, much like the early church.

They believed they were living at the end of an age and expected two Messiahs—a priest messiah and a king messiah—to come imminently. The early church also thought of the Messiah as a perfect priest and king, but they recognized that these qualities were united in the one person of Jesus.

Many Essene terms were echoed by Jesus and the apostles as well. They believed in justification by faith and spoke about sons of light fighting an evil world. They thought of themselves as preparing the ?way of the Lord? by obeying his truths. And they called themselves the ?New Israel,? the same words Paul used to describe the church.
Just as God used the Romans? effective roads and communication system to spread the gospel, it seems that he used the Essene community to prepare for Jesus as well. Through their teachings and practices, God laid the groundwork for many concepts that Jesus and the early church would introduce to the world.

God's Work in History

We do not know if the Essenes recognized Jesus as their Messiah. But God clearly used them to create just the right setting for Jesus? ministry. The Essene community reminds us that God?s work in history rarely happens suddenly. His plans unfold gradually through history and the everyday lives of his people.
God still uses people and communities to bring about his salvation plan. But his tim

ing usually differs from our own. All too often, Christians sit back and wait for a dramatic change instead of pushing steadily forward with the truth. We must remember that God uses our everyday practices and beliefs as well.

As we try to impact an evil culture for God, Christians should seek patience. God?s workings in our life do not always happen at the pace we desire. But we can be confident that he is using us if we live in faithfulness to his calling.

Bringing Light to the Darkness

The Essenes recognized that spiritual light and spiritual darkness could not coexist, and they refused to compromise with the darkness. Christians today would do well to remember their message. We are in a serious battle between light and darkness, but we?re tempted to embrace the very evils we must confront.

Unfortunately, the Essenes? isolated wilderness community did not give them the best opportunity to confront the ?sons of darkness.? Fearing the temptations of a pagan culture, they lived in isolation. And instead of bringing their beliefs to a dark world, they kept their light hidden in the wilderness.

Rather than abandoning secular culture, God calls his people to bring the light of truth to those living in darkness. We are called to live holy, but not isolated, lives.
Jesus once said that, ?Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God? (John 3:20—21).

Our Rabbi understood that people living in darkness do not willingly go to the light. As Christians today, we must bring truth to every part of our culture, even those areas that seem most hopeless and dim. Whereas the Essenes remained hidden in the desert, we must bring God?s love to the crossroads of our world.

Will you obey and honor God while living among people who want little to do with him?

                 -Van Der Laan

--
INTRO TO COMMUNITAS/LIMINALITY::
COMMUNITAS?:
Definition here
Short application to church here.
Video below



What does this "Council of Elrond" scene from "Lord of the Rings" have to do with the our theme?
Well, for one, "you need people of intelligence on this sort ofmission....quest....thing.":



That's communitas..

Alan Hirsch discussed fear of failure at Catalyst’s second lab. Here is what he said:
Victor Turner is a cultural anthropologist that studied the rituals and rites of passage for young African boys into manhood. The ordeal the boys would endure through their rite of passage created a bond deeper that community. It created communitas (takes community to the next level and allows the whole of the community to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passage).
Journeys of adventure can change you significantly.
One of the most profound sense of communitas in the US was 9/11.
In the Bible, when David was in the cave with his band of warriors, communitas was created. When Moses and the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, communitas was created. The exile formed communitas. Jesus and the 12 disciples were a journey of communitas, so was the group of 70.
The Church in the west is in big, big trouble. The Church is fine in the east. The early church and the Chinese church grew exponentially (BOOM!) despite their persecution. Mission is risky. If you create a community that avoids all risk, the people are stifled.
In trying to reach men particularly, we can learn from this. We can journey together. C.S. Lewis says, “Women are face-to-face creatures, and men are side-by-side creatures.” There is something about a bonding experience that we can learn from, experiences like Habitat for Humanity.
Creating artificial environments at church do not prepare people to cope with the rest of the week. Middle class has an obsession with safety and security. The problem is that we undermine our ability to engage the real world. No wonder we form religious enclaves. We easily forget the good things that God has done for us when we are in a safe zone.
Take some journeys. You can change the world.  LINK

--------------
2)LIMINALITY:

• Definition: Liminality
• article: Forty Years in a Narrow Space

Liminality/liminal space:
Also: 

The terminology comes from Victor Turner’s study of rites of passage - the process by which members of a group make the transition from one social status to another. ‘Liminality’, as Hirsch explains it, refers to periods of seclusion from the group and ordeal - for example, the trial by nature that young boys must go through out in the bush before re-entering the village as men. ‘Communitas’ is the intensified, unstructured and egalitarian form of community that develops in liminal situations. It is found in the early church and in churches that are suffering persecution. The Hirschian argument is that this condition should be normative for the missionary people of God.
The question, of course, is whether it is possible to live in a perpetual state of liminality. The exodus and the exile were unsettling and formative experiences, but they were spasms in the history of the people of God, thresholds, transitions in and out of a state of being settled - and ideallysecure and prosperous - in the land. LINK

2/17: Prep for Parable Presentations

After we took quiz 5,
we
1)Prepped for our Parable Presentations due next Fri
2)had some helpful conversation for our first "Friday Freshman Seminar"
--

1)HERE"S WHAT WE"LL DO IN CLASS 2/24 for your Parable Presentations assignments (You do not have to work ahead and prepare for this, but if your party would like to, it would be useful.  Note:  info below was previously given on the bottom of the 2/10 post, but we have gave even more help today).

>)Sit  at the table marked by your party name.

>>>From 11-11:11:30


For the first fifteen minutes read, as a group, the parable assigned to you.  Discuss it, use some "three worlds theory" to decide what you think the main point is.   Consider the literary context: what comes before/after the parable, etc.  Take into consideration any info from the "historical world" you may be aware of; you might want to peek at what the Bible Background Commentary has to say about yout parable (linked below, and one is in class to be shared).

(Note: you are not reading as if you were a member of your "party" this time)

Sadducees Party
The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12-14, see whole chapter for context here
(see pages  in the BBC here)

Pharisees Party
The Good Samaritan  Luke 10:25-37, see whole chapter for context here
(see pages 217-218 in the BBC here)


Zealots Party

The Friend at Midnight, Luke 11:1-13, see whole chapter for context here
 (see page 218-220 in the BBC here)
Essenes Party
The Prodigal Son ,Luke 15: 11:32, see whole chapter for context here
 (see page 232-233 in the BBC here)





For the last fifteen minutes , discuss and prepare to act out (in NO MORE THAN 3 MINUTES) a modern-day version of the parable: a modern-day situation, modern-day characters. In other words, if Jesus were telling this parable to us today, how might he get his point across to our world?  [NOTE: there is a difference between simply changing a few elements to set the same story in modern terms, and using a different story to communicate the same message.  The point of this activity is the latter.]

Remember, Stein offers these three possible reasons Jesus teaches in parables:

1.       To conceal his teaching from those “outside”

2.       To illustrate and reveal his message to his followers

3.       To disarm his listeners—they force a response somehow, leave you wrestling, are provocative

,,
>>>From 11:30-12;00

Three minute  presentations in class!  Read the parable to the class, and then give your presentation .
------
Do you remember how this video of Ignatius that we  watched today
is a parable?


It is snealy, subversive.....terrible (Erin's word) on purpose......and a parable.
Partly because it is inductive, subversive, a "loud fart," and has one primary point.  What is it?

12 POINTS ABOUT PARABLES:
(NOTE: WE COVERED THREE OF THESE ON THE  2/10 post).

1.Story or word-picture about the KINGDOM.
2. a comparison or contrast between two things that have "nothing in common," and asking what they have in common.
literal meaning of Greek word "parable": Taking two things that have nothing in common and asking "What do they have in common?"  A creative comparison told in story form.  Thus the point is often "hidden" or "unobvious" at first..

A parable is a succinct story, or word-picture/picture in words.. in prose or verse, that illustrates a lesson. It is a type of analogy.^[1].

..The word "parable" comes from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy",^[3] ...often comparaing two items that seem incongrous, disparate, and have nothing to do with each other... Christian parables have recently been studied as extended metaphors,^[5] ..
Unlike the situation with a simile, a parable's parallel meaning is unspoken and implicit, though not ordinarily secret...The New Testament parables are thought by scholars such as John P. Meier to have been inspired by mashalim, a form of

3) "a .loud fart in the salon of spirituality."
This is a quote from Eugene Peterson helps us get how offensive Jesus' parables were to religious folk:

"gnostics delight in secrecy. They are prototypical insiders. They think that access to the eternal is by password and that they know the password. They love insider talk and esoteric lore. They elaborate complex myths that account for the descent of our spiritual selves into this messy world of materiality, and then map the complicated return route. They are fond of diagrams and the enlightened teachers who explain them. Their sensitive spirits are grieved by having to live surrounded by common people with their sexual leers and stupid banana-peel jokes and vulgar groveling in the pigsty of animal appetite. Gnostics who go to church involuntarily pinch their noses on entering the pew, nervously apprehensive that an insensitive usher will seat a greasy sinner next to them. They are however enabled to endure by the considerable compensation of being ‘in the know’ (gnostic means ‘the one who knows’). It is a good feeling to know that you are a cut above the common herd, superior to almost everyone you meet on the street or sit beside in church.
It is inevitable that gnostics will boycott the creation theater and avoid its language as much as possible, for metaphor is an affront to their gossamer immaterialities and inner-ring whispers, a loud fart in the salon of spirituality.” (Answering God, 75-76)

4) stories that sizzle:
Kraybill, from your Upside Down Kingdom textbook:

"the parables sizzle into the minds of the religious heavyweights: 
your attitude is the opposite of God's"  p. 158
------------------

5. The  one primary point
                                     of a parable
is
                                          a parable has
      one primary point"
(Note that is a chiasm!).

Parables may have allegorical components, but are not usually allegories.  Press and push for the ONE PRIMARY POINT>

6. Having said that..they are also  a multiplex, multifaceted   matrix...and can be entered (not exited) anywhere

7. Parables often have a God (or Jesus) figure, but watch out, it might be a surprising, subversive, "unobvious" character

8. Though they are not allegories, they may have have allegorical components..but with sign-ificant  (note the word "sign" in significant.  Remember why this is important? )shift in who represents who


9)Stein offers these three possible reasons Jesus teaches in parables:

1.       To conceal his teaching from those “outside”

2.       To illustrate and reveal his message to his followers

3.       To disarm his listeners—they force a response somehow, leave you wrestling, are provocative

10.IRONY!

11.Look for open-ended endings  (Does the older brother in The Prodical Son ever repent? etc) and clliffhangers that force you to participate in the story, consider alternate endings, and repond yourself.

12.  LOL. Since the last point was "open-ended endings," for this 12th, and endng post, I'll leave it opened ended...................

--

We spent a few minutes on the parables that the Pharisees and Zealots will be presenting.
(Next class we'll do the same for the other two parties):

Pharisees: GOOD SAMARITAN:
-See p, 161-167 of Upside Down book to get the "historical world" of Samaritans
-Who is the surprising Jesus figure in this story?  Of course, the Samaritan is one, but the surprising one is that guy left for dead (as Jesus was).
We so often  miss ( see "Parables and Misundertaking") 
the point and punch of parables..

Good article in the new Biblical Archaeology by Amy-Jill Levine (emphasis mine):

In the parable, the priest and Levite signal not a concern for ritual purity; rather, in good storytelling fashion, these first two figures anticipate the third: the hero. Jews in the first century (and today) typically are either priests or Levites or Israelites. Thus the expected third figure, the hero, would be an Israelite. The parable shocks us when the third figure is not an Israelite, but a Samaritan.

But numerous interpreters, missing the full import of the shock, describe the Samaritan as the outcast. This approach, while prompting compelling sermons, is the fourth anachronism. Samaritans were not outcasts at the time of Jesus; they were enemies.

In the chapter before the parable (Luke 9:51–56) Luke depicts Samaritans as refusing Jesus hospitality; the apostles James and John suggest retaliation: “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (Luke 9:54). John 4:9 states, “Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.” The Jewish historian Josephus reports that during the governorship of Cumanus, Samaritans killed “a great many” Galilean pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem (Antiquities 20.118–136). The first-century Jewish person hearing this parable might well think: There is no such thing as a “good Samaritan.” But unless that acknowledgment is made, and help from the Samaritan is accepted, the person in the ditch will die.

The parable offers another vision, a vision of life rather than death. It evokes 2 Chronicles 28, which recounts how the prophet Oded convinced the Samaritans to aid their Judean captives. It insists that enemies can prove to be neighbors, that compassion has no boundaries, and that judging people on the basis of their religion or ethnicity will leave us dying in a ditch.  link

See also this article:

Levine: Good Samaritan parable teaches compassion for the enemy 

And this video version:

Amy-Jill Levine: Dangers on the Road to Jericho from Chautauqua Institution on FORA.tv
----
See a great, hilarious  section by Capon:\

The defining character – the one to whom the other three respond by being non-neighbour or neighbour – is the man who fell among thieves. The actual Christ-figure in the story, therefore, is yet another loser, yet another down-and-outer who, by just lying there in his lostness and proximity to death, is in fact the closest thing to Jesus in the parable.

That runs counter, of course, to the better part of two thousand years’ worth of interpretation, but I shall insist on it. This parable, like so many of Jesus’ most telling ones, has been egregiously misnamed. It is not primarily about the Samaritan but about the man on the ground. This means, incidentally, that Good Samaritan Hospitals have been likewise misnamed. It is the suffering, dying patients in such institutions who look most like Jesus in his redeeming work, not the doctors with their authoritarian stethoscopes around their necks. Accordingly, it would have been much less misleading to have named them Man-Who-Fell-Among-Thieves Hospitals...{as if the doctors would stand for that} (p. 210ff, Kingdom, grace, judgment: paradox, outrage, and vindication in the parables of Jesus)

P.S:Animated Parables: Gaga Samaritan
The GaGa Samaritan from ilovepinatas on Vimeo.

----
Zealots: FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT:
That the God figure is a crabby old guy, it reminds us that parable have ONE point, and not to trip up when God characters act...well, ungodly.  Press for the ONE main point

More:

• see pp, 221-226 of Capon here
• see this

2/15: Mid Term Contest/ Four More Emphases of chapters 8-10

:

SHHH! The entire mid-term is posted somewhere on this website.  The first person to find it and tell me where it is by posting in the comments below (before 11:30 amWed) wins a cool prize.

Next week or so, I will add links to class posts
and textbooks to make finding the answers more accessible.  If at least one person wants me to post that info this week, say so in the comments section below (before 11:30 am Wed) and I'll do it (:



 --


Some fun practice on reading text messages:

-------------
We'll take a short VALENTINE"S DAY campus field trip  (if not too rainy)to focus on the idea of "historical world."

We;ll watch "The Rabbi: Gamla" video.  Watch for these concepts, which will show up on exams:
-Who is Jesus in matthew?  A rabbi.
-What does it mean to be a rabbi?
-What movement was born in Gamla?
-Who are the Zealots?

-Who is Jesus (the rabbi) to the Zealots?  (compare/contrast?
-What is a synagogue?
-What are components of synagogue meetings?
-What is significant about the bleeding woman reaching for Jesus' prayer shawl?

-What are zitzit?
-Why are they knotted five times?

Here is a slideshow of the video.  Just click part 1, and click the rest from there:

Part 1: Gamla 
Part 2: The Zealots 
Part 3: The Rabbi 
Part 4: The Rabbi in the Synagogue 
Part 5: The Tassels 
Part 6: The Rabbi?s Way 
Part 7: Following Our Rabbi

==
The five teaching blocks/sermons we  have highlighted much seem to all be preceded by a section with a theme similar to the sermon that ends that section.  You can see how Hauer/Young label each section by checking a key passage in their book (pp. 269-272).  My titles are slightly different:

  

 

 Last Friday we looked at some key emphases of this "Deepened Discipleship" section ("THE OTHER SIDE" AND "TPH")

Today we look at three more:

1)The first shift; Foreign woman with chutzpah

2)The second  shift: right-handed power

3)Titles

 4)Ten Mighty Deeds

--

1)

"Jesus is healed of his racism by the Canaanite woman." That is a shocking, obviously overstated statement from "Jesus Freak" by Sarah Miles, p. 18)

Here's the text message:

Matthew 15:21-28 :

The Syrophoenician Woman 

²¹ Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[a]at us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began ^[b]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He answered and said, “It is not ^[c]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord; ^[d]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed ^[e]at once.

Obviously chapter 15 comes a bit later than our focus today (chapters 8-10), but it really is the logical (illogical to some) conclusion of all of Jesus' adventures in healing/miracles in ch. 8-10.

>>>1)Jesus "reluctance" to heal this Cannaanite/Syrophenician/Greek (Read "Gentile" or "Foreign") woman becomes a huge shift.  Did he come "Only for...Israel?"

See:

• Jesus' strange comment to the Cannanite woman

• Why does he call her that?

  Matthew 15 Commentary - A Canaanite Woman's Faith

   

Ironically, the Gentile shows Jewish "Chutzpah".
Short Van Der Laan audio about "chutzpah"..click here

From "Jesus Liked a Little Chutzpah":

A surefire way to immerse yourself in the culture of Israel is to take a public bus in Jerusalem. Because of the bumper-to-bumper traffic, everybody, rich and poor, rides the “Egged” buses around town.\

Ethiopian Jews wrapped in swaths of white fabric sit next to wizened Russian babushkas. A college-age girl in army fatigues chats on a cell phone. Little boys in black suits clamber up the huge steps, side curls and tassels bouncing in the breeze. Their long-skirted, head-scarved mother follows closely behind.

One afternoon when I was riding downtown, I got an even stronger taste of the culture. A grey-haired, matronly retiree climbed aboard and plunked herself into an empty seat halfway back. She hadn’t, however, paid any fare—she had just shuffled past the driver, feigning ignorance. Believe it or not, Jesus actually liked this kind of boldness.

Craning to make eye contact in his mirror, the driver called back to her over the crowd. “Eifo geveret?” (Where to, ma’am?) At first she stared out the window, pretending not to notice.

“Eiyyyfo, geveret?” The whole bus looked on.

Finally, she barked back a gruff response, completely impenitent. A flurry of indecipherable Hebrew filled the air, the gist of which was obvious: either buy a ticket or get off.
But the woman was immovable—glued to her seat, adamant. The driver threw up his hands at her, the universal (and widely used) Israeli gesture of annoyance and disgust.
The bus didn’t move either. Right in the middle of Nevi’im Street, a major artery with only a single drivable lane, the driver shifted into park, snapped open a newspaper, and sat back to read the headlines. Blocks and blocks of traffic snaked to a standstill behind us. After what seemed forever, the woman slowly rose and exited the side doors.
Half of Jerusalem came to a stop for this lady. That’s what you call chutzpah—utter nerve, sheer audacity that borders on obnoxiousness. Both the woman and the bus driver knew how to push the boundaries of propriety for their purposes!

If you grew up as a small-town Midwesterner like me, you’d find this behavior nearly unimaginable. I come from the land of “Minnesota Nice,” where we’d rather die than violate our code of mild-mannered courteousness. For me, the bus ride was a cultural journey to the ends of the earth. We’re not in Minnesota anymore, Toto.

But an attitude of chutzpah (HOOTS-pah
 /ˈhʊtspə/) ) has been part of Middle Eastern culture since ancient times. If you were one of Jesus’ first-century disciples, you’d be quite familiar with this kind of behavior.

Consider, for instance, the Syrophoenician woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer after pleading with Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:25-30). Jesus and his weary disciples had taken cover in a house in Tyre, hoping to evade the crowds, but her continual pounding at the door threatened to expose their hideout.

Exasperated, the disciples could tolerate her no longer, imploring Jesus, “Send her away! She keeps shouting at us!” But the distraught young mother pushed right past them, bowing before Jesus himself. Surprisingly, he rebuffed her too, like the Israeli bus driver: “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” His mission, at that point, was only to the Jews. But the desperate woman boldly contradicted the greatly esteemed rabbi. “Yes, but even the puppies eat the crumbs at the children’s feet!”

Unlike the lady on the bus, this woman’s tenacious, brazen nerve won out. Jesus healed her daughter and congratulated her for her chutzpah.

        Believe it or not, Jesus actually liked this kind of boldness.

LINK: Jesus Liked a Little Chutzpah

You'll remember the Feeding of the 5000, and then the 4000 (on the other side) found in this section showed Jesus becoming very cross-cultural...the 4000 were likely GENTILES on the "wrong" side..

>>>>2)Robert Farrar Capon  (In 

"Kingdom, grace, judgment: paradox, outrage, and vindication in the parables")

also sees the Feeding of 500 as a huge shift in the gospel, both as a literary division:

______________

...and in Jesus' thinking...

 away from "right handed" power to :left handed"

 FIRST, A TEST FOR LEFT-HANDEDNESS:

Get together with a group of friends and have a go at the following exercises. Remember that each task must be carried out instantly and without thinking about it.

1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?
2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?
4. Wink at and imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?
5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?
6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?
8. Tilt your head to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?
9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (when the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?

                     (LINK)

CAPON...on Jesus LEFT-HANDEDNESS..What does he mean?

In the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus' reluctance about signs becomes manifest (p. 14)...it is pivotal (oage 21, 22)

 After 5000 are fed, the crowds attempt to get Jesus/tempt Jesus to operate in right-handed power (28)...This is a major shift in his thinking toward moving only in left-handed power (55)

Note: John's gospel does not mention Jesus' Three Testations...thus this whole "right-handed" testation is his TTP version of them

“But Jesus will save the world by dying for it – undergoing ghastly, unimaginable suffering. He will not be a charismatic, convincing political leader. He will not be an incomparable warrior. He will not rule by winning, but will win by losing. He will be, to the contrary, the eerie example of what Isaiah had seen in the Suffering Servant centuries before (Isaiah 53:2-3)” (H. King Oehmig, Synthesis 4/6/03). 

 

"Unfortunately (right-hand power) has a whopping limitation. If you take the view that one of the chief objects in life is to remain in loving relationships with other people, straight-line power becomes useless. Oh, admittedly, you can snatch your baby boy away from the edge of a cliff and not have a broken relationship on your hands. But just try interfering with his plans for the season when he is twenty, and see what happens, especially if his chosen plans play havoc with your own. Suppose he makes unauthorized use of your car, and you use a little straight-line verbal power to scare him out of doing it again. Well and good. But suppose further that he does it again anyway—and again and again and again. What do you do next if you are committed to straight-line power? You raise your voice a little more nastily each time till you can’t shout any louder. And then you beat him (if you are stronger than he is) until you can’t beat any harder. Then you chain him to a radiator till… But you see the point. At some very early crux in that difficult, personal relationship, the whole thing will be destroyed unless you—who on any reasonable view, should be allowed to use straight-line power—simply refuse to use it; unless, in other words, you decide that instead of dishing out justifiable pain and punishment, you are willing, quite foolishly, to take a beating yourself.” (Capon, page 18-19)  

“Every one of us would rather chose the right-handed logicalities of theology over the left-handed mystery of faith. Any day of the week—and twice on Sundays, often enough—we will labor with might and main to take the only thing that can save anyone and reduce it to a set of theological club rules designed to exclude almost every one.” 

 The Messiah was not going to save the world by miraculous, Band-Aid interventions: a storm calmed here, a crowd fed there, a mother-in-law cured back down the road. Rather it was going to be saved by means of a deeper, darker, left-handed mystery, at the center of which lay His own death.

"The Messiah was not going to save the world by miraculous, Band-Aid interventions"-Capon

There are two kinds of power in the world. Robert Capon call them right and left handed power. Capon carefully shows in his book, The Parables of the Kingdom, that Jesus talked in parables so that our right brains could grasp what our left-brains can never. He says that the gospel is a gospel of left-handed power, the power of weakness, submitting, and obedience. He says that God used  right-handed power in the olden days, when we were still young in our development,  but that since the incarnation, God pretty much sticks to the non-interventive approach. According to Capon the whole thing turned at the feeding of the multitude. Jesus had been doing miraculous signs out of compassion, but then he realized that he was in danger of being misunderstood as a provider of right-handed power. When Peter suggests that he understands who Jesus is, meaning that he wants him to be the provider and protector extraordinaire, Jesus says, "Get out of my face, you Satan."  It is when we think we understand what God is up to, especially when this knowledge is linked to right-handed power that we are in the most danger.  link

Read the whole section of Capon  here.

So how do you see the connection between Jesus' two shifts (toward nonIsraelites and left-handed power)?

 -----

--

J

 

 --

3) TITLES:
We haven't looked much at the "titles" of Jesus yet.  See Hauer and Young pages 251ff.

And we note that some of these titles  really kick in in this chapter 8-10 section: Son of Man and Son of God particularly.   It would" seem" obvious that these two titles are opposite in meaning: Jesus as human and God, respectively....but a study of the literary/historical world reveals that "Son of Man" was often used as a messianic connotations (and in a sense could mean "God" or "Son of God"..see especially Daniel 7:

NT Wright 

NT Wright 

Check out this chart ,and note re: each title:

• where in the gospel 
• how often  
• and on whose lips
• where they cluster
• inclusios etc.

click chart(and then click again once on a new page) to enlarge

-Son of God                         (7x..or 8, if you count 3:17)

-Son of the Living God         (once, hmm)

-Son of Man                         (29x.....and all by one person!)

-Son of David                      (9x)

>>Click to read the context of each time each title occurs:

• Son of God
• Son of the Living God
• Son of Man
• Son of David
• Son of Abraham
• Son of Adam

To get more info on the titles, and a sense of how they are used in other biblical books, see this.

 --

4)Ten Mighty Deeds

 In all JCC classes, we call these "mighty deeds"  In this article below, you'll see David Bauer calls them "mighy acts"/  What's interesting is Matthew calls them this, and not "miracles" (as some other writers do, or "signs" as (John's gospel does.)  This is on one sense a "drop-down box," but also is on purpose.  Any thoughts on why?

And what do the deeds witness to?  How is Jesus able to do these deeds?  What are they "signs" of/to?

 

See this below from FPU faculty Greg Camp/Laura Roberts:

It is time to consider one aspect of Jesus’ public ministry: the wonders & mighty deeds. This section in chapters 8-9 of Matthew comes immediately after the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7.  Traditionally, these acts have been called “miracles,” which potentially predisposes the reader toward a particular understanding that is not necessarily represented in the gospel.  Mark calls them “deeds of power.”  Luke calls them “deeds of power” and “paradoxes.”  John calls them “signs.”  Matthew calls them “wonders” and “mighty deeds.”  Each gospel differs in the number of stories they tell.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all have around 20, John only 7.  All have some which are unique to their gospel and some which appear in others.  As we learned this morning, each gospel is different.  Even in talking about the same event, the writers will emphasize different things.  By Matthew’s characteristic description of these actions as “wonders” or “mighty deeds,” one question to keep in mind is cui bono? or for whose benefit?  On one level, Jesus is serving and ministering to people.  On another level, throughout the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is constantly locked in a power struggle.  With whom is the conflict in these chapters?

Discussion: LOOK AT PAGE 9 at this link.

1.   What kind of mighty deed?

a.    Healing. Most are healings of physical disability (in all gospels around half of miracles are healings!)  The ailments are permanent and limiting; these are not healings of a common cold.

b.   Exorcisms.

c.    Resuscitations. (Explain not a resurrection, keep same body and will die again.)

d.    Other, misc., ‘nature’

2.   What is the context for the mighty deed?

A quick survey of settings should show there is no predictable place, person, or situation.

3.   How does Jesus perform the mighty deeds? (method)

Jesus’ method is difficult to categorize - sometimes touches, sometimes not, sometimes because asked, sometimes he seeks out, sometimes because of faith, (sometimes faith seems to result, but usually not in Matthew or other Synoptics). Jesus’ method is not formulaic. In thinking of healings and exorcisms today we often seem concerned over having the right formula, saying the right words. But there is no one formula or method that Jesus uses. At points it is hard to categorize or generalize about the mighty deeds, but Jesus has this enigmatic quality in general, so no real surprise.

4.   What is the response? (limit to recorded response in text)

a.    Varied

General reactions of the crowd are amazement, wonder, fear and glorifying God. Response of persons healed is to tell everyone they can find, even when Jesus has told them not to do so. After Jesus turns the water to wine John records “and his disciples believed in him.” What does this mean? Some of the mighty deeds involve demons, and upon their immediate recognition of Jesus as the Holy One of God Jesus silences them. The Pharisees, either when they see or hear about the mighty deeds, are incensed and counsel against him.

b.    Raise questions about who Jesus is (his identity)

What they reveal about his identity is that he has power from God—that is how he explains how he can do what he is doing, and that is why he is such a problem for the religious leaders (doing things only God or the power of God can do). Be careful, mighty deeds do NOT reveal Jesus’ divinity. Other people in the Bible do miracles and they are not divine (Moses, Elijah). And many would say mighty deeds and wonders happen today, but the person who God uses to make them happen is not thought divine, but is simply thought to have God’s power, being used by God.

5.   Why does Jesus perform this mighty deed? (Limit to purpose recorded in text, if any)

Jesus’ motivation is often left unassigned. We draw our own conclusions. Jesus responds to people who come to him and ask for healing, either verbally or by virtue of their being where he is. People are always bringing the sick and possessed to Jesus. It is NOT to draw crowds. Mighty deeds do bring the attention of the public, but this cannot be the primary reason, if it is a reason at all, because Jesus does some in private, silences some recipients, refuses to do them on command. The feeding of the 5000 happens because the crowd has gathered while listening to his teaching, not because he was doing mighty deeds. In general, Jesus does not seem overly concerned with PR. The relationship between faith and mighty deeds is complicated. That Jesus did these solely to generate faith is not an adequate answer when we look at these stories in Matthew—more often faith is a precondition rather than a result (in Synoptics).

6.  What does Matthew emphasize in the stories of Jesus’ “mighty deeds”?    

It is best to try to make sense of purpose in the broader context of each Gospel. Jesus’ mighty deeds are closely connected to the kingdom of heaven and to Jesus’ teaching/proclamation in Matthew. We mostly see Jesus teaching/preaching and doing mighty deeds together. They are presented as a manifestation of the kingdom. The kingdom is present in Jesus’ words and deeds. Faith is usually a precondition (vs. result) for miracles in the Synoptics. The connection between faith and struggle appears frequently in these stories. Faith is demonstrated when one who is seeking a mighty deed encounters a barrier and overcomes it.

                 

Earlier in this course, the case was made that the miracles are connected with the first temptation that addresses whether the definition of wholeness in God’s kingdom is limited to physical well-being. The miracle narratives demonstrate clearly that Jesus responds to physical needs and that these are important. But it is also important to note that these accounts move beyond being limited to physical well-being to a fuller-orbed sense of wholeness (restored hand, can work; leper can be around people). Also, these reflect the limits of the Roman peace, the realities of malnutrition, difficult working settings which may lead to injury, no’ social services’ etc.

Why does Matthew tell us miracle stories about Jesus?

a. Jesus’ miracles are closely connected to Jesus’ teaching/proclamation in Matthew. We see Jesus teaching/preaching and doing miracles together mostly (summary statements that Jesus taught, preached, healed in 4.23-25, 9.35-38).

b. Faith is usually a precondition (vs. result) for miracles in Mt. 

c. Mt’s concern to show Jesus as fulfilling scripture is evident in the way he handles the miracle stories. Jesus’ healing ministry is underscored in Mt’s gospel (4.23; 9.35; 10.1, 7-8;  12.15-16; 14.14; 15.30; 10.2; 21.14-15), as healing is one of the most striking aspects of the prophcied messiah’s ministry.  Mt identifies specific prophecies as fulfilled via miracle in his gospel:  Mt 1:22-23 explains the virgin conception fulfills Is 7.14.  Mt 8.17 explains Jesus’ exorcisms and healings fulfill Is 53.4.  Jesus’ miracles in Mt 11.5 correspond to the miracles described in Is 29.18-19, 35.4-5, 61.1.

d. Miracles show God’s power and God’s kingdom

They show that Jesus is God’s anointed, that he has been anointed with God’s power/Spirit.

Jesus’miracles are one mode of God's assertion of the power of the kingdom.  The kingdom in fullness still future, but has become reality in J's words and works. 

What is striking about Jesus as a miracle worker is its de-emphasis.  It is debatable that we ever see Jesus perform a mighty deed to demonstrate his power for his own sake.  Miracles are performed for the restoration of the person and to the glory of God, rather than as proof of anything.  Jesus miracles are in fact generally recognized as glorifying God not Jesus, just as Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God not of himself.  The deeds are signs of the in-breaking of the kingdom, it is true, but they are not the only or "best" sign.  Striking is the restraint of the gospel writers in recording the miracles.  There is little made of them (they simply describe them and go on), and so one must conclude that while these deeds were one aspect of Jesus' ministry they were not its essence or climax.  The miracles are done as a sign of the kingdom of God breaking in, the reality of God's kingly rule present.

Jesus' miracles show God's power and God's kingdom.  How, in relationship to the 4 kinds of miracles we've identified in the gospels? 

i. resurrections show God's power over life and death.             

            ii. healings and exorcisms show God's power as well, and beyond that are unquestionably tied to the coming of the kingdom.  Isaiah talks about coming age of healing when kingdom comes in fullness all will have full healing.  Jesus heals some but not all--genuine manifestation of kingdom, of power of God, but not fullness.  J's mighty works aimed at restoration and release: leper was unclean, unable to mingle. body is healed but person also restored to fellowship with people. (J's table fellowship restores those who are outcast) woman with flow of blood is ritually unclean, cut off from all that is important in Judaism.  Demoniac is unable to relate, uncontainable.  Exorcism restores him to a state of mind which allows him to relate to people, relate to the community.  The kinds of cures in J's healing miracles  are restorative.  They heal conditions which were debilitating, limiting, marginalizing.  People are often made whole in a way that allows them back into the community, so that they are no longer unclean or no longer have to beg but may work and contribute.  The healings and exorcisms reveal the kingdom as an whole, inclusive community.

iii. The last category, of "misc" miracles is where the teaching connection is the most clear I think.  There is symbolic meaning in Jesus' miracles too--they are signs which reveal something about who Jesus is (the one who brings the kingdom) and about the shape of the kingdom itself.  These misc miracles have an "object lesson" quality I think.  Feeding of 5000, J is bread of life.  There is this symbolic thing in the miracles too, the place where the teaching of the kingdom is most visibly a part of what the miracles are accomplishing--Jesus teaching in word and deed, sometimes in these mighty miraculous works.

-by Camp/Roberts

--

In thinking about  living selflessly like Jesus did...

fill in this blank:
The Scripture suggests that Jesus was able to do miracles, and have 


supernatural knowledge, because he was ___________.

If you answered "God" ...
and not 'human"...read on:
--------------------------------------------


Some theologians call this "Spirit Christology" or "kenosis",  whether or not  this proposed theology is consistently true. If it is, it would almost move this question into the realm of "essential" doctrines, because it then provides the very key to how we are to live in relation to daily Christian life, walking in the power and possibilities of the Spirit; doing the "greater works than Jesus" that Jesus flatly and unapologetically predicted we would do. Now, not every proponent of "Spirit Christology" or "kenosis theology" is biblical or orthodox, so hear me when I say that I know I don't agree with everyone using these categories. The basic argument would be this; to put it bluntly, as one preacher did for shock value:

"Jesus did nothing on earth as God! "

Wow, better unpack that! Now, that statement doesn't have to imply He was not God.. He was, is and always will be fully God in my Book! It's just that He didn't. during His earthly ministry, anyway..do anything out of His innate, inherent and intrinsic Godhood. He voluntarily surrendered the rights to use and access His God hood's attributes... such as omniscience, or power to do mighty miracles. Several
Scriptures come into play: John 5:19 and 30 offer that Jesus did nothing in and of Himself, but only did what the Father and Spirit told/led/empowered Him to do. Philippians 2:6-11 asserts that Jesus didn't take advantage of, or even access of the rights and power of His Godhood, which would be "robbery," and a violation of the whole point of His incarnation; His coming to earth. Instead of functioning out of His eternal power and prerogative as Almighty God, He "emptied Himself". A by-product of this, is as Hebrews affirms "Jesus know every temptation we have endured by His own experience" (2:18 and 4:15). I also love to shock congregations by asking "When Jesus did miracles on earth, how was He able to do those miracles?" Well-trained evangelicals of course automatically answer, "Because He was God!" When actually, that may be the wrong answer all together. Of course He was God, no debate. But the only Scriptural answer to "How did He do those miracles?" is "in the power of the Spirit". And witness Matt. 12:28: He cast out demons; not because He was God and could do so, but as a human "by the power of the Spirit." Thus, that is the "key" key, crucial catch, and ancient but overlooked secret as to how we, mere humans, are to do the same works He did, even greater. (Jesus said that, not me. Blame Him: John 14:12) 

Answer: We do them through "checking in" with the same Father Jesus checked in with while on earth; and trusting,...radically; to the point where the supernatural almost becomes natural and norm... the same Spirit Jesus trusted. (Note Jesus, a few sentences later, suggests that is His secret, and ours. He simply passes the torch to us, but not without the sharing the same equipping Holy Spirit: verses 16-17).Such deep trust and dependency doesn't make us Jesus, of course, but they do position us to trust the timing and voice of the Father, and prompting and power of the Spirit, as radically as Jesus did...with similar and "even greater" results! If JESUS never did anything in and of Himself (John 5:19 and 30), who do we think WE are?

When Jesus asked, in Mark 5:30, "Who touched me?," did He mean it, or was this a test? If "Spirit Christology" is true, one could answer the former, without sacrificing an iota of essential, foundational evangelical theology. When Jesus said even He (Matthew 24:36) did not know the day or hour of His return, was that a lie?. No, and this "lack of knowledge" on the part of a member of the all-knowing Trinity poses no problem. I would propose that He knows now, but He chose not to know on earth. This was all part of His modeling a complete self-emptying. This, though, is core to my third question:" How consistent and complete is this theology.? Did Jesus ever do anything 'on earth as God', even though He was God? And Lord, is this profound truth so profound that to miss it allows us to miss the 'normal' life you have intended for us?"

Whatever the ultimate answer to this question the Lord would give me, the bottom line question I keep hearing in the meantime. and "real time" is haunting: "Have I yet trusted as completely and recklessly as I could in the leading of the Father and the power of the Sprit? I almost don't even care if I do a greater work or not, I just want to be found faithful, and be an answer to Jesus' wild and waiting prophecy of John 14:12. 

I love Dwight Edwards' penetrating, "must-be- wrestled- with" self-questions :

1. What have I done recently that could not be duplicated by an unbeliever, no matter how hard they tried?

2.What blatant evidence of the supernatural God has leaked out of my life?

Questions indeed!