17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Importance of Forgiving Others
Matthew 5:17-20
Sermon
Archbishop’s Easter Message, read the headlines for one newspaper on Easter Monday, 1986, followed by a sub-heading in larger print, "Runcie applauds forgiving vicar." The reporter, Clifford Longley, wrote, "The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, yesterday bestowed an Easter absolution on the perpetrators of the recent horrific incident in a west London vicarage." Longley was referring to the attack upon a Church of England clergyman, his daughter, and her boy friend that occurred in the middle of Lent. The vicar received a fractured skull, the other young man was badly beaten, and the vicar’s daughter was raped. When the vicar recovered and preached his first sermon, he called upon his congregation to forgive the people who had done this terrible act, just as he had done. That’s why the Archbishop of Canterbury had spoken about the vicar in his sermon; he was preaching about forgiveness, in general, and showing his hearers how the Easter message, specifically, applies to life today.
The purpose of Jesus’ mission two thousand years ago was to bring about reconciliation between God and his people and between all people on the earth. He began his ministry by proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." And now, in his Sermon on the Mount, our Lord adds a warning, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." One could get the impression that reconciliation with God depends upon the good works which people do in their daily lives, couldn’t one? It sounds as though Jesus is making it almost impossible for ordinary people to become reconciled to God and enter into the kingdom, doesn’t it? Who could surpass the "righteousness of the Pharisees"? They tried to obey every detail of God’s Law. How could anyone improve upon the religious life of the Pharisees? Heaven - and reconciliation with God - are out of the reach of most of us, aren’t they?
And, of course, there is no way that we can earn our way into the kingdom of God, no matter how much good we do or how dedicated we may be to Christ and his church here on earth. Our sin separates us from the Father, and only Jesus could do anything about that; there is no way that we can gain our own forgiveness of sins. That’s why the Cross was necessary; the sinless Son of God had to offer himself to God as a sacrifice for sin and, thereby, attain forgiveness - salvation - and deliverance from the consequences of sin. "The Road to Reconciliation," as someone has called Jesus’ death on Calvary, is the only way that we can get into the kingdom of heaven. We must never forget that old hymn:
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
of heaven, and let us in.
One mighty act by Jesus - not a thousand good deeds on our part - gains us access to "the mercy seat." And Jesus doesn’t want us to forget it: "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees" means something quite different than it seems to mean, doesn’t it? It has to do with forgiving those who have wronged us, bestowing upon them the gift that can never be earned or deserved - forgiveness - because forgiveness is always a gift of grace from God to us and from each of us to one another. What, then, was Jesus getting at when he said, "Unless your righteousness ..."?
For one thing, it is necessary that we comprehend that forgiveness is God’s gift of love and grace in Jesus Christ - and never forget this central truth of the Christian faith. It is God’s way - the only way open to him - of restoring us to communion with himself; he gave Jesus Christ to suffering and death out of love. He reconciled us to himself in Christ and saved us from sin and death; he has restored us to what we were in the beginning, people who were made in the "image of God." Gustav Wingren tells us that reconciliation has to do with restoration of fallen humanity to a state of grace: "Salvation means that the human being again becomes truly human."
It took another act of creation - a new creation in Jesus’ death and resurrection - to accomplish that restoration to grace, and that was done by God - on our behalf - in his gift to, and for, the world, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Jesus also wants us to remember that, when we have accepted his gift of grace, forgiveness, that we must pass that gift along to all people who have done us harm or hurt. "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us" is a petition of prayer that we had better back up with deeds that are the consequence of being forgiven by God, because we forfeit God’s gift of forgiveness and reconciliation if we, in our turn, fail to forgive those who have wronged us in any way. But that’s so hard to do, isn’t it? And it is such a rare occurrence, even in the Christian community. That’s why Archbishop Runcie grounded his sermon in his use of the story about the London vicar, his daughter, and their friend: "We have seen a fine and impressive example of this quiet Easter faith (that we have been forgiven by God in Jesus’ death and resurrection) shining through personal tragedy in a Christian congregation," and he adds, "Such heroic healing power could hardly fail to move the most determined cynic." The Archbishop may or may not be correct in his conclusion about the impact of this event on cynics and unbelievers, but he surely is right in calling this an "impressive example of ... quiet Easter faith." They have God’s gift, and they keep it by passing forgiveness on to others who like ourselves do not deserve it. The gift - forgiveness - must be bestowed on others by those who claim they have received it - or reconciliation with God and entrance into the kingdom are forfeited.
But, you and I often object, Jesus lived in a different era and in a totally different kind of world than we live in. Injustice and violence and all kinds of terrorism constantly threaten our well-being and our very existence. How can we forgive the terrorist who plants a bomb under the seat of an airliner and blows four people to their deaths? How can we say to Kurt Waldheim, who after serving as Secretary General of the United Nations for ten years is now accused of being a Nazi war criminal (if the accusations are true), "We forgive you"? How can we offer forgiveness to someone who has cheated or hurt us and, perhaps, has done us irreparable harm? Everywhere in the world, Dr. Runcie claims, "we are confronted by the dark demonic dimension of human nature which can cause the most resilient spirit to quiver and quake. As we watch or read the news we are constantly sickened by the sights or first-hand accounts of violence against women and children, against whole groups of people who are labeled and despised. The sickness is in the hearts and minds of men and children." So, we say of such people, "They don’t deserve to belong to the human race." And we refuse to forgive them. And, too, we place ourselves in jeopardy of losing God’s precious gift in Christ - forgiveness and reconciliation and heaven itself - when we do this sort of thing.
Stanley Spencer, the Scottish painter who died a quarter of a century ago, makes us realize that we would rather judge and condemn other persons rather than forgive them. Despite the fact that he could hardly be numbered among those who confess that Christ is Lord (he never affiliated himself with any denomination or communion), he spent much of his life painting scenes from the Passion of Jesus Christ. He did them in a style that is reminiscent of Gaugin - large, exaggerated, rather primitive types of people. Late in his career, he was accused of painting obscene scenes and, accordingly, was refused membership in The Royal Academy (of art). And his second wife, Priscilla, made it impossible for him to obtain a divorce, which made it impossible for him to remarry his first wife Hilda, whom he really seemed to love. One of his last paintings about Jesus’ Passion demonstrates that he never forgave The Royal Academy, the man who had betrayed him to the Academy, the common people who criticized his work and accepted his "condemnation," and Priscilla. In "Christ Delivered to the People," Spencer shows his hatred and his refusal to forgive these people by making them the enemies of Jesus Christ in this painting. He believed that he was betrayed as Christ was, but he could not say, with Christ, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"Christ Delivered to the People" has Christ in the center of the painting, being shoved and pulled toward Calvary by a variety of people. Judas Iscariot, soldiers, common people, even two children pull on his clothing. Pilate sits in a corner of the picture, wearing a fool’s cap, washing his hands before a servant, who is meant to represent the common people. Pilate stands for The Royal Academy. Judas is given a face that could only be that of the man who had betrayed him. He gave the hairdo of Priscilla to a woman who stands to the side of the procession and seems to be affirming what is happening to him. He pictures the eleven disciples shrinking away in the background, just as he believed that his painter-friends and colleagues had abandoned him, too. "Christ Delivered to the People" is a kind of self-portrait, simply because it seems to reveal the character of Spencer and his refusal - to his dying day - to forgive the people whom he counted as his enemies. And isn’t that a picture of us, too, at our worst? "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees" by sharing the gift of forgiveness with others, "you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." There’s a bit of Spencer’s unforgiving spirit in us, too, isn’t there?
Does this mean that, to be counted among the forgiven because we forgive those who hurt and harm us, that we are to turn our backs on all forms of evil in the world and let evil have its way? Are we simply to say to thieves and robbers, terrorists and murderers, as well as all those other people who prove to be our enemies by what they do to us, "we forgive you, no matter what you may have done - or will do to people," as though sin and evil are of no consequence? Christians must be the foes of all kinds of vicious assaults, every form of violence, callous cruelty, persecution, poverty, and powerlessness, according to Archbishop Runcie - and, of course, according to Jesus, too!
Another current headline next to the article about Runcie’s sermon, reads, "Soldier shot at ceremony (in Ireland)," while the next two columns are introduced by this headline: "Police hunt death squad Libyans." In both cases, those who perpetrated deeds of terrorism are being sought out; if arrested, they will be tried and, if convicted, punished for their evil deeds. Such procedures are necessary and must be supported by Christians, if there is to be any semblance of peace and harmony in the world. Innocent people have to be protected from those who would do them harm.
But the workings of legal machinery don’t eliminate the need for offering forgiveness to the people who have wronged us or others. We can, and must, say, with King Arthur to Guenivere, "Lo, I forgive thee, as the eternal God forgives." And we must mean it! That’s exactly what the vicar in London did, because the people who had attacked him, his daughter, and the young man - and robbed them, too - had been apprehended and were facing trial when he preached his "forgiveness" sermon.
"Are we losing the war on violence?" That’s a question that is being seriously asked. It must be faced head on in our times. It has been said that "Everybody knows that society is getting more and more violent, and that individual acts of violence have almost doubled in ten years, crime has been described as 'a growth industry' " by one law officer. Christians, it is being said more and more, must participate in the restoration of a sick society, not merely by calling for legal measures to counter crime, but by participating actively in projects that rescue and renew people who are being oppressed. We can find ways to support the blacks and Indian minorities who are being persecuted in South Africa; pressure upon politicians to develop economic sanctions against South Africa is one way to participate in this battle for the liberation of persecuted people. We may have to engage in direct confrontation of evil when we see it, but remember that this might put us - one way or another - alongside Christ on the Cross. Forgiveness, if we get to the roots of evil in our world. may be quite costly should we dare to follow Christ in helping others and healing the wounds of people in the world.
Just a few waeks ago, my wife, daughter, granddaughter, and I visited a couple of people in Edinburgh, Scotland, whom we (not including my granddaughter) had not seen for 21 years. Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Been moved to Edinburgh from South Africa 22 years ago; we became acquainted with them immediately upon their arrival and, through my wife’s gift for communicating with people, have kept up the friendship that began when we met them. They were forced to leave South Africa, despite the fact that Dr. Been came from a prominent family in Rostenberg; Joe’s father was one of the founding fathers of the town (two of his physician brothers and one brother who is a dentist still live there). Clarice Been was an active member of the Black Sash. She also allowed her black servant’s husband to live on their compound; she entertained Indians living in South Africa in her home. The Beens had a lovely home. It was only five years old when life became unbearable for them. In the belief that they had done all they could do at that time, and also to protect their four children from recriminations by the authorities and other people, they sold their home; Dr. Been gave up his practice, and they moved to Edinburgh. There they had to start all over again - and they did so gladly. Joe and Clarica Been are Jewish, but the sacrifices they have made for the downtrodden of South Africa are worthy of any Christian saint. Carrying the cross of Christ into a world of violence and hatred, so as to correct the wrongs and heal the wounds of those who have been victimized in various ways, can be a costly business.
The human thing (which is really the inhuman thing) to do when we have been wronged by others is to get even with them. But Christ has established a different pattern for our lives: forgiveness, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, you will certainly not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Our business as Christians, whatever shape the details of Christian discipleship may assume, is to forgive others as we have been forgiven and reconciled to God in Jesus Christ. "Though Christianity had to be concerned with opposing social injustices, its main message was this forgiveness, offered through Christ," Dr. Runcie declared to his congregation and the world. This part of the Sermon on the Mount is connected to Calvary, "the Mount of Forgiveness and Reconciliation," where God worked out our salvation in Jesus Christ. And we dare never forget it, so that we may retain the precious gift - reconciliation with God - which he has obtained for us all.
CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio,
Jesus did not come to “abolish the Law or the Prophets” but to “fulfill them” (5:17). He is not opposed to the Old Testament, but came to work out the spirit of it and bring it to completion. Jesus doesn’t just interpret the Old Testam…
The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The body of the Sermon on the Mount begins by highlighting the disposition of Jesus and his followers in relation to the Old Testament law, or torah (5:17–48). Jesus affirms his mission to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament Scriptures) rather than abolish them. He warns his followers against breaking or influencingothers to break any of the torah’s commands (5:19). In fact, their torah observance (“righteousness,” Greek dikaiosynē), understood as an expression of covenantal loyalty, must surpass the covenant adherence of the Pharisees and teachers of the law (5:20;cf. 15:6; 23:1–4 for the latter’s lack of obedience). As 5:21–48 makes clear, it is Jesus’s interpretation and explanation of the torah that must guide his followers.
The often-termed “antitheses” of Matthew (“You have heard that it was said,... but I tell you...”; 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43) reflect Jesus’s interpretation and intensification—rather than contradiction—of six Old Testament commands or cases. In each case, the expectation for Jesus’s followers is more stringent than its Old Testament counterpart (a surpassing righteousness; 5:20). This intensification fits the Jewish, rabbinic practice of “making a fence” around the torah in order to minimize the possibility of transgression (Mishnah Avot 1:1).
The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
Big Idea: Jesus explains his role as fulfiller and consummate teacher of the Torah (Old Testament law) and expects his disciples to live in covenantal obedience to his expression of the Torah, culminating in the call to love even one’s enemies.
Understanding the Text
This passage begins the body of the Sermon on the Mount and introduces Matthew’s extensive emphasis on the law. In the title sentence (5:17) Jesus claims to fulfill rather than abolish the Law and the Prophets and then calls his kingdom followers to obey the commands of the Torah. Their righteousness should surpass even that of Jewish leaders. In Matthew 5:21–48 Jesus illustrates how this complete covenant loyalty is to be accomplished. Across his Gospel, Matthew will continue to highlight Jesus as fulfillment of the Torah, and even its embodiment (11:2–19; 12:1–13; 15:1–20; 19:1–26; 22:34–40; 23:23). The importance of covenant obedience from his followers, often framed as doing the will of God, is also thematic (7:12, 24–27; 12:50; 19:16–26; 21:28–32; 28:19–20).
Interpretive Insights
5:17 the Law and the Prophets. “The Law” (Torah) refers to divine instructions to Israel for living in covenant relationship with Yahweh and with one another. Recent scholarship has clarified the relationships of first-century Judaism to the Torah. Rather than viewing first-century Judaism as consumed by attempts to earn God’s favor through Torah obedience, it is more accurate to note that Jews throughout Israel’s history understood themselves to be chosen by Yahweh, having experienced redemption from Egypt (Exod. 14) followed by reception of the Torah to guide them in proper allegiance to Yahweh (Exod. 19–24). Obedience to the Torah was not a means of earning their redemption; it was the means of expressing loyalty to the God who had redeemed them.
This basic portrait makes sense of Matthew’s positive view of the Torah and Jesus’ exhortations to his followers to obey it. The contrast in the six areas of Torah discussed in 5:21–48 is not between the Torah and Jesus’ teachings but between one way of understanding the Torah and Jesus’ own interpretation of it. Jesus’ interpretive lens, which draws on the Old Testament prophetic tradition (“Law and Prophets” here [see also 7:12; 22:40]), views Torah prescriptions through the core values of love, mercy, justice, and loyalty (see 5:43–48; 9:13; 12:7; 22:34–40; 23:23).1
I have come ... to fulfill them. Jesus challenges the notion that he abolishes the Torah, an action that he denounces for his followers in 5:18–19. Instead, he claims to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Matthew defines this claim first by showing Jesus to be the consummate interpreter of the Torah (5:17–48). Second, Matthew will narrate that Jesus himself honors and obeys the Torah (e.g., 8:4; 12:7; 15:1–20; 19:3–9, 16–19; 22:34–40). Finally, Matthew shapes his Christology to include Jesus as Wisdom, the embodiment of God’s will as revealed in the Torah and his own teaching on it (11:2–19, 28–30).
5:19 whoever practices ... these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The beatitudes have opened the sermon with an emphasis on God’s kingdom arriving. With the move to Torah instruction, Matthew’s Jesus deftly combines the two primary motifs of the sermon: kingdom and covenant loyalty. As such, the Sermon on the Mount “provides a vision of how discipleship ought to look as God comes to make all things right.”2
5:20 unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Here Matthew uses the term dikaiosyne (“righteousness”) to express all that God requires of Israel, and so all that Jesus requires of his followers as he announces the kingdom. The “righteousness” of Jesus’ followers must surpass the righteousness of those most known for their Torah obedience, the Pharisees and teachers of the law. The Pharisees often were admired for their careful adherence to the Torah. They worked to keep in their everyday life the purity laws required for participation at the temple. In this way, their practices were often more strict than practices of other Jewish sects. In Matthew, however, the Pharisees are not portrayed as exemplary in Torah obedience. Instead, Jesus critiques them for disobedience to the Torah (15:3–6; 23:3, 23). So Jesus’ disciples are called not to an impossible ethic, but rather to a covenant loyalty that revolves around the central values of the Torah.
5:21–48 Matthew 5:21–48 contains six contrasting interpretations of Torah commands (traditionally referred to as “antitheses,” though this term is less than helpful). In these six teachings Jesus intensifies a Torah command or prohibition. For example, Jesus does not overturn the prohibition against murder in 5:21–26; instead, he intensifies the intent of the prohibition by proscribing the kind of anger that leads to murder. Jesus’ intensified teachings resemble the Jewish interpretive practice of “making a fence around the Torah” (e.g., m.’Abot 1:1). The idea was to restrict a prohibition further or expand the scope of a command in order to minimize the possibility of transgression (see the sidebar “Matthew’s ‘Antitheses’”).
5:32 makes her the victim of adultery ... commits adultery. In the first phrase the husband “adulterizes” the wife (poiei auten moixeuthenai), and in the second phrase he commits adultery (moixatai).3 On the exception clause here and in chapter19, see comments on 19:9.
5:34 do not swear an oath at all. Later, Jesus will return to the topic of oaths and clarify that certain practices of taking oaths border on the arbitrary (23:16–22). Philo, a Jewish contemporary, illuminates this tendency when he speaks of the “evil habit of swearing incessantly and thoughtlessly about ordinary matters where there is nothing at all in dispute” (Decalogue 92). In 5:33–37 Jesus narrows his teaching from addressing the importance of fulfilling vows made to God to prohibiting oaths entirely. This may seem to contradict the Old Testament, but since making oaths to the Lord was a voluntary practice, Jesus is not contravening Old Testament teaching. Instead, he likely addresses current excesses in oath making by calling his followers to a stricter practice of the Torah.
5:38 Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. This citation of Exodus 21:24 provides what has been termed the “law of retribution” (lex talionis). The intent of this Torah command is to limit retribution (no more than an eye for an eye). As Philo writes, “Our law exhorts us to equality when it ordains that the penalties inflicted on offenders should correspond to their actions” (Spec. Laws 3.182). Jesus takes this law that provides limits for retribution and limits it further by prohibiting revenge or retaliation, even in like kind.
5:39 If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. In 5:39–42 three examples are provided to illustrate “do not resist an evil person” (5:39). This passage has been understood to disavow any kind of resistance to evil and violence. Alternately, Walter Wink has suggested that Jesus provides a way of nonviolent resistance for his followers in the face of Roman oppression. For example, a slap on the right cheek implies a slap with an open hand,[4] which would insult a person’s honor and typically be done to someone of lower social position. Jesus’ exhortation to turn the other (left) cheek would, in effect, challenge the initial act of dishonor.5
5:43 You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” While the command to love one’s neighbor is clearly from an Old Testament text (Lev. 19:18), its companion, “hate your enemy,” is not. Its idea may be extrapolated from certain passages (e.g., Deut. 23:3–6; Ps. 139:21–22). Or it may reflect contemporary sensibilities, such as those found in the Dead Sea Scrolls: “Hate all the Sons of Darkness each according to his guilt” (1QS 1:10; also 1:3–4; 9:16, 21–22).6Jesus broadens the command to love one’s neighbor to include love of enemies and prayer for their well-being.
5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. This exhortation of Jesus sums up the nature of Jesus’ teachings on the Torah from 5:21–48 and clarifies how his followers are to pursue a greater righteousness (5:20). The language of perfection represents the Greek teleios, which denotes completion or wholeness. Just as the Torah called Israel to be holy as their God was holy (Lev. 19:2), Jesus calls his followers to complete covenant loyalty.7
Theological Insights: Torah in the Time of the Messiah
Matthew emphasizes the goodness and the relevance of the law (Torah) for Jesus’ followers, even as he shifts their focus to obeying all of what Jesus himself commands (28:19). This fits well the testimony of the Old Testament itself, which understands the Torah to be God’s instructions to Israel after they have experienced God’s covenantal promises and redemption from Egypt (Exod. 19, following Exod. 14–15). As the psalmist can say, “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold” (Ps. 119:72). Though Paul has been understood as having no use for the Jewish law, he can be read as holding a place for something like a messianic Torah when he speaks of Jesus as the “culmination of the Torah” (Rom. 10:4) and of believers fulfilling the “Torah of the Messiah” (nomon tou Christou) as they carry each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2; see also Rom. 13:8; Gal. 5:14).
Teaching the Text
1. Jesus fulfills the Torah by interpreting it rightly and living it completely, and he calls his followers to live out covenant loyalty in line with the values expressed in the Torah. Our preaching and teaching of this passage will need to contend with common perceptions (possibly our own) that the law implies legalism and exists only to provide the counterpoint to God’s grace and forgiveness. We would do well to remember that the Old Testament affirms the goodness of the law (e.g., Ps. 119:9–16), and that within the law itself a means of forgiveness is provided in the sacrificial system (e.g., Lev. 4). So it is important in our preaching and teaching of Matthew that we do not offer a false dichotomy of law versus grace. This dichotomy is most certainly foreign to Matthew’s theology. And Matthew’s perspective is a needed corrective for many expressions of Christianity in today’s world. Just as the Old Testament affirms the importance of covenant loyalty as a response to God’s redemptive work and grace, so Jesus calls his followers to covenant loyalty in light of the arrival of God’s kingdom and through the lens of the ultimate values of the Torah. Jesus as its consummate interpreter demonstrates that the center of the Torah is expressed in love of enemy as well as neighbor. And Matthew provides the theological grounding of Jesus (as God) with his people (1:23; 28:20) to indicate the relational (covenantal) basis for obedience to God (for the question of the relationship between contemporary Christians and the Torah, see comments on 28:19–20).
2. Love of all, even one’s enemy, is the ultimate expression of Torah obedience and loyalty. It is no accident that the six exhortations of 5:21–48, derived from the Torah but intensified by Jesus, culminate in the command to love both neighbor and enemy. Preaching and teaching this command might seem an easy task, but it is important to help our hearers grapple with the ways this command breaks through long-held and significant barriers. It is all too easy to look for loopholes to this command. For example, did Jesus mean that we ought to put love into action for people who are our military enemies? What about those who have hurt us most deeply? It might be fruitful to reflect upon the ways in which this command actually breaks down barriers between people. As my daughter, then in grade school, once said to me about this verse, “Jesus makes it so enemies aren’t enemies anymore.” This command really messes with our “us/them” categories. Our preaching and teaching on the passage should do no less.
Illustrating the Text
Jesus fulfills the Torah by interpreting it rightly and living it completely, and he calls his followers to live out covenant loyalty in line with the values expressed in the Torah.
Literature: Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo. In Hugo’s classic, Jean Valjean steals silver plates from the bishop, Monseigneur Bienvenu (chap.12). Valjean is stopped by the police, and when they find him in possession of the silver, they bring him to the bishop’s residence. Instead of pressing charges, the bishop demonstrates amazing grace to this thief, offering Valjean the silver candlesticks in addition to the silver plates that he stole. The law was in the bishop’s favor, yet grace guides the bishop’s actions. At the close of the chapter the bishop explains his actions to Valjean: “Don’t forget, don’t ever forget, that you promised me to use this silver to make an honest man of yourself.... Jean Valjean, my brother, you belong no longer to evil but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I am taking it away from dark thoughts and from the spirit of perdition, and I am giving it to God.”8The rest of the story beautifully demonstrates how Valjean embodies the grace shown to him by pursuing a life obedient to God in love toward others.
Love of all, even one’s enemy, is the ultimate expression of Torah obedience and loyalty.
Testimony: It can be difficult to envision how Jesus’ teaching on love of enemies might be lived out in its often messy particulars. We see a powerful example of love of enemy in the work of Dr.C.Timothy Floyd. Floyd, an orthopedic surgeon, tells of his 2003 experience as a member of the U.S. Army’s 934th Forward Surgical Team (FST) in Iraq. He writes,
The FST is located within 10 kilometers of active battle area. We treated wounded at camps near Karbala, Baghdad, Balad, Baqubah, and Tikrit. We often arrived to take wounded at a base just after the Air Force and Army Rangers cleared it, but before other units arrived. Most of the people we treated were not Coalition forces. We treated Iraqi Army, Republican Guard, Special Republican Guard, foreign terrorists, and unfortunate civilians caught in the crossfire. Military medical doctrine calls for the humane and ethical treatment of all persons wounded in battle—regardless of politics, deeds, or ideology.9
Teaching the Text by Jeannine K. Brown, Baker Publishing Group, 2016
Direct Matches
Israel shared the cosmology of its ancient Near Eastern neighbors. This worldview understood the earth as a “disk” upon the primeval waters (Job 38:13; Isa. 40:22), with the earth having four rims or “corners” (Ps. 135:7; Isa. 11:12). These rims were sealed at the horizon to prevent the influx of cosmic waters. God speaks to Job about the dawn grasping the edges of the earth and shaking the evil people out of it (Job 38:1213).
Israel’s promised land was built on the sanctuary prototype of Eden (Gen. 13:10; Deut. 6:3; 31:20); both were defined by divine blessing, fertility, legal instruction, secure boundaries, and were orienting points for the world. Canaan was Israel’s new paradise, “flowing with milk and honey” (Exod. 3:8; Num. 13:27). Conversely, the lack of fertile land was tantamount to insecurity and judgment. As Eden illustrated for Israel, any rupture of relationship with God brought alienation between humans, God, and the land; this could ultimately bring exile, as an ethically nauseated land “vomits” people out (Lev. 18:25, 28; 20:22; see also Deut. 4; 30).
For Israel, land involved both God’s covenant promise (Gen. 15:18–21; 35:9–12) and the nation’s faithful obedience (Gen. 17:1; Exod. 19:5; 1Kings 2:1–4). Yahweh was the earth’s Lord (Ps. 97:5), Judge (Gen. 18:25), and King (Ps. 47:2, 7). Both owner and giver, he was the supreme landlord, who gifted the land to Israel (Exod. 19:5; Lev. 25:23; Josh. 22:19; Ps. 24:1). The land was God’s “inheritance” to give (1Sam. 26:19; 2Sam. 14:16; Ps. 79:1; Jer. 2:7). The Levites, however, did not receive an allotment of land as did the other tribes, since God was their “portion” (Num. 18:20; Ps. 73:26). Israel’s obedience was necessary both to enter and to occupy the land (Deut. 8:1–3; 11:8–9; 21:1; 27:1–3). Ironically, the earth swallowed rebellious Israelites when they accused Moses of bringing them “up out of a land flowing with milk and honey” (Num. 16:13). As the conquest shows, however, no tribe was completely obedient, taking its full “inheritance” (Josh. 13:1).
The various Hebrew and Greek words that express the idea of fulfillment occur hundreds of times in the Bible, and the concept often is present even when the specific word is not. At the basic level, fulfillment indicates a relationship between two (or more) things in which the second is said to “fill up” the significance of the first. Frequently this takes the form of a specific promise that is said to be fulfilled when the person, object, or event referred to comes to pass. There are countless examples of this type of fulfillment, some of which even quote the specific promise that is being fulfilled. The seventy years of Babylonian captivity prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 29:10) are said to be fulfilled when Cyrus permits the Jews to return to the land (Ezra 1:14). Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1–6) fulfills the promise of a ruler who will shepherd Israel (Mic. 5:2).
But the concept of fulfillment goes beyond specific promises that are then said to be fulfilled in a particular person, object, or event. In the broadest sense of the term, one can say that the NT fulfills what the OT promises. After his resurrection, Jesus reminds his disciples, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). He then provides a summary of the entire OT message: “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46–47).
The present abode of God and the final dwelling place of the righteous. The ancient Jews distinguished three different heavens. The first heaven was the atmospheric heavens of the clouds and where the birds fly (Gen. 1:20). The second heaven was the celestial heavens of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The third heaven was the present home of God and the angels. Paul builds on this understanding of a third heaven in 2Cor. 12:24, where he describes himself as a man who “was caught up to the third heaven” or “paradise,” where he “heard inexpressible things.” This idea of multiple heavens also shows itself in how the Jews normally spoke of “heavens” in the plural (Gen. 1:1), while most other ancient cultures spoke of “heaven” in the singular.
Although God is present everywhere, God is also present in a special way in “heaven.” During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Father is sometimes described as speaking in “a voice from heaven” (Matt. 3:17). Similarly, Jesus instructs us to address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven” (6:9). Even the specific request in the Lord’s Prayer that “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10) reminds us that heaven is a place already under God’s full jurisdiction, where his will is presently being done completely and perfectly. Jesus also warns of the dangers of despising “one of these little ones,” because “their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (18:10). Jesus “came down from heaven” (John 6:51) for his earthly ministry, and after his death and resurrection, he ascended back “into heaven,” from where he “will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).
Given this strong connection between heaven and God’s presence, there is a natural connection in Scripture between heaven and the ultimate hope of believers. Believers are promised a reward in heaven (“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” [Matt. 5:12]), and even now believers can “store up for [themselves] treasures in heaven” (6:20). Even in this present life, “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20), and our hope at death is to “depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (1:23). Since Christ is currently in heaven, deceased believers are already present with Christ in heaven awaiting his return, when “God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1Thess. 4:14).
A kingdom signifies the reality and extent of a king’s dominion or rule (Gen. 10:10; 20:9; Num. 32:33; 2Kings 20:13; Esther 1:22). Some kingdoms were relatively small; others were concerted attempts to gain the whole world.
A kingdom presupposes monarchy, rule by an individual, human authority. Although kings only have as much authority as their armies and the general populace allow, they nevertheless exercise an almost absolute power, which invites either profound humility or hubris. Royal arrogance, unfortunately, is the primary motif characterizing kings in the Bible (e.g., Dan.3).
God originally intended Israel to be governed as a theocracy, ruled by the one, true, living God (but see Gen. 17:6; Deut. 17:1420). Israel was to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exod. 19:6), but the people demanded a king (1Sam. 8:1–22). However, even when God granted their request, God remained King over the king and even retained ownership of the land (Lev. 25:23, 42, 55). The Israelite king was nothing more than God’s viceroy, with delegated authority. With few exceptions, most of the kings of Israel and Judah were corrupted by authority and wealth and forgot God (1Sam. 13:13–14; 15:28; Matt. 14:6–11). But God made a covenant with David, so that one of his descendants would become a coregent in a restored theocracy, the kingdom of God (2Sam. 7:1–29; Pss. 89:3; 132:11). In contrast to David’s more immediate descendants, this coming king would return to Jerusalem humble and mounted on a donkey (Zech. 9:9; cf. Isa. 62:11). The Gospels present Jesus Christ as this king (Matt. 21:1–9 pars.). Those who are likewise humble will inherit the land with him (Matt. 5:5).
In general, Torah (Law) may be subdivided into three categories: judicial, ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlap with the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah” with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 1923) following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt, though some body of customary legislation existed before this time (Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation in other pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24, indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code of conduct and worship for Israel not only during its wilderness wanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan following the conquest.
More specifically, the word “law” often denotes the Ten Commandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “ten words”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered to Moses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandments reflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided into two parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which they were first recorded: the first four address the individual’s relationship to God, and the last six focus on instructions concerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplistic expression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelines extends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any and all incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thing forbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing the prohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice its opposite good in order to be in compliance.
Five of the important parties in ancient Judaism were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots, and the Herodians. The first three seem to have first emerged in reaction to the rise of the Hasmonean priest-kings in the mid-second and first centuries BC, and the other two in response to the occupation of Palestine by the Romans and their establishment of the Herods as the rulers of Israel.
Pharisees. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Pharisees were one of the groups that opposed Jesus. It seems that the Pharisees most strongly opposed Jesus on issues related to their received tradition, which they considered to be as binding as the OT law. Two such legal issues were ceremonial washings before meals and working on the Sabbath. All three Synoptic Gospels narrate the Pharisees questioning Jesus concerning his and his disciples’ failure to follow the tradition of the elders by eating with “unclean”—that is, “unwashed”—hands (Matt. 15:1 2; Mark 7:1–5; Luke 11:39–41). Concerning breaking the Sabbath, the Pharisees confronted Jesus on various occasions, such as when Jesus healed on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:9–14; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–11) and when his disciples picked grain while walking through a field (Matt. 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5).
In response to accusations concerning breaking the traditions of the elders, Jesus affirmed the priority of mercy in the face of human need that supersedes laws concerning the Sabbath by saying that the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), or that the Son of Man (Jesus) was Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). He also said that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 12:7).
Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees concentrated on their neglecting mercy toward fellow humans for the sake of their tradition. This is especially clear in Matthew, where Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees includes indictments against them for concentrating on the fine points of the law but neglecting justice and mercy (12:7; 23:23).
In the Gospel of John, the Pharisees are again usually depicted as adversaries of Jesus and also in league with other Jewish authorities in plotting to arrest and kill Jesus (7:32; 11:47–57). One passage suggests that they were divided concerning Jesus (9:16). One Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to Jesus by night (John 3), defended Jesus before his peers (7:50), and brought spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial after his death (19:39).
The Pharisees were not always antagonistic toward Jesus. From time to time, they were on the same side of an issue, such as Jesus’ confrontation with the Sadducees over the resurrection (Luke 20:27–40). Nicodemus, mentioned above, was quite sympathetic toward Jesus. The apostle Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee in regard to keeping the law in Phil. 3:5; Acts 26:5, and in a confrontation with Jerusalem authorities in Acts 23:6. Also, some early Christians were said to be Pharisees (Acts 15:5).
Sadducees. The Sadducees were an elite group of Jews connected with the priesthood. “Sadducee” probably means “Son of Zadok,” a descendant of the high priest Zadok from the time of David. Some members of the Qumran community used the term “Son of Zadok” as a self-designation as well, suggesting some common ancestry, if not direct identification, of the Sadducees and some members of the Qumran community.
The Sadducees are mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, but not in John, although the “chief priests” who plotted against Jesus with the Pharisees (e.g., John 11:46) probably were Sadducees. All three Synoptic Gospels relate the narrative in which the Sadducees posed the hypothetical question concerning whose wife a woman would be in the resurrection if she outlived seven husbands. Jesus answered that they understood neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, and that God was the God of the living and not the dead (Matt. 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40).
The book of Acts confirms that the Sadducees were closely connected to the priesthood 4:1; 5:17), and that they disputed with the Pharisees over the resurrection (23:6–8).
Essenes. Josephus delineates the beliefs of the Essenes as follows: (1)They ascribed every happening to God. (2)They believed in the immortality of the soul.
Zealots. Scholars tend to use “Zealots” as a general term to refer to three different groups mentioned by Josephus: brigands, Sicarii (Assassins), and Zealots. The three groups have different political ideologies and emerged at different times in the first century. They can all be described as revolutionaries.
Herodians. The Herodians are mentioned three times in the Gospels. They are reported to have plotted, along with the Pharisees, to kill Jesus after he healed a man with a withered hand (Mark 3:6). They are also described, along with the Pharisees, as trying to trap Jesus concerning the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:13).
The Herodians were aristocrats who supported the Herodian dynasty and the Romans, whose support made that dynasty possible. There seems to be some overlap between the Herodians and the Sadducees; Mark 8:15 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod (some ancient witnesses read “Herodians”), whereas the parallel in Matt. 16:6, 11 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their religious beliefs may have been similar to those of the Sadducees. Too little information about them exists to permit drawing strong conclusions. One can safely say, however, that the Herodians were pro-Roman aristocrats who joined forces with the anti-Roman Pharisees in opposing Jesus.
A prophet is a messenger of God, a person to whom God entrusts his message to an individual or to a nation. Indeed, the last book in the OT is named “Malachi,” which means “my messenger.” Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send?” and he cried out, “Send me!” (Isa. 6:8). A good template for understanding the phenomenon is Moses and Aaron. Moses was to tell Aaron what to say, and Aaron would say it. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet’” (Exod. 7:1).
In the NT period there were a number of prophets. John the Baptist could point to Jesus and proclaim him to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Agabus the prophet predicted a famine and, later, Paul’s arrest (Acts 11:28; 21:1011).
Paul lists “gifts of the Spirit” (1Cor. 12:4–11), including prophecy and various phenomena reminiscent of the OT prophets’ ecstatic state. Paul warns the Corinthians not to overdo this sort of thing and so to be mature (1Cor. 14:19–20). Near the end of his life, in one of his last letters, he speaks of prophecy as normative in the church, particularly in establishing an authoritative body of elders to rule and especially to preach the gospel (1Tim. 1:18; 4:14). Peter draws a connection between the ministry of the OT prophets and the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (1Pet. 1:10–12). Evangelism seems to be the normative mode for prophecy today: forthtelling by calling people to turn from their sins to Jesus, and foretelling by speaking of his return and the final judgment.
Thus, all Christians hold the office of prophet, even if they never participate in the ecstatic state experienced by the Corinthians. The greatness of a prophet is in how clearly the prophet points to Jesus. John the Baptist was the greatest of the OT prophets by that measure, but any Christian on this side of the cross and resurrection can proclaim the gospel even more clearly. Thus, the prophetic ministry of any Christian is greater than John’s (Matt. 11:11).
Five prophetesses are mentioned in the OT: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4–5), Huldah (2Kings 22:14–20; 2Chron. 34:22–28), Isaiah’s wife (Isa. 8:3), and Noadiah (Neh. 6:14).
Similarly in the NT, Peter recognizes God’s promise through Joel being fulfilled in the gift of prophetic speech to women as well as men at Pentecost (Acts 2:18); and Paul, acknowledging that women prophesy publicly in the congregation, is concerned only with the manner of their doing so (1Cor. 11:5). The prophetess Anna proclaims the baby Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 2:36–38), Luke reports that the four unmarried daughters of Philip the evangelist also prophesy (Acts 21:8–9). The only false prophetess in the NT is the apocalyptic figure of Jezebel in Rev. 2:20.
Righteousness is an important theme in both Testaments of the Bible. The concept includes faithfulness, justice, uprightness, correctness, loyalty, blamelessness, purity, salvation, and innocence. Because the theme is related to justification, it has important implications for the doctrine of salvation.
Being careful to avoid imposing Western philosophical categories onto OT texts, we may say that the core idea of righteousness is conformity to God’s person and will in moral uprightness, justness, justice, integrity, and faithfulness. Behind the many and varied uses of righteousness language in the OT stands the presupposition that God himself is righteous in the ultimate sense (e.g., Ezra 9:15; Isa. 45:21; Zeph. 3:5). Righteousness is the expression of his holiness in relationship to others (Isa. 5:16), and all other nuances of righteousness in the biblical texts are derived from this.
Related to humans, righteousness is often found as the opposite of wickedness. Righteousness often occurs in evaluative contexts, where it relates to proper conduct with respect to God, the order of the world as he created it, the covenant, or law (e.g., Deut. 6:25). God reigns in righteousness and justice (e.g., Ps. 97:2), and humans should align their conduct with this righteous reign. Righteousness can be expressed as personal integrity with phrases such as “my righteousness” (2Sam. 22:21, 25; Ps. 7:8) and “their righteousness” (1Sam. 26:23). Unrighteousness is found in poetic parallel to injustice (e.g., Jer. 22:13); the unjust are parallel with the wicked (Ps. 82:2).
Righteousness language is more rare in the Gospels than one might expect in light of OT and Jewish intertestamental usage. These references fit with the Jewish setting: righteousness is required of God’s people, and unrighteousness is to be avoided. Righteousness is proper conduct with respect to God or Torah (Matt. 21:32) in contrast to wickedness (Matt. 13:49). Righteousness could be conceived as one’s own (e.g., Luke 18:9) and has its reward (Matt. 10:41). While the specific terms related to righteousness are infrequent in the Gospels, the broader concept of conformity to God’s will is widely apparent in calls for repentance, personal moral uprightness, mercy, and concern for the marginalized. The NT Epistles continue these general strands of the concept. Righteousness is related to personal conduct (1Thess. 2:10; 1Tim. 6:11; 2Tim. 2:22; 1Pet. 2:24) and is contrasted with wickedness (2Cor. 6:14); it is a matter of doing, not knowing (Rom. 2:13). An example of righteousness in doing is the kindness shown by the prostitute Rahab, who hid the Israelite spies (James 2:25).
The NT does signal some new dimensions related to righteousness. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 57), Jesus extends the requirements of righteousness to conformity to his own teaching and directives, a shocking display of authority. In his mission to call sinners rather than the “righteous” (e.g., Mark 2:17), Jesus implicitly questions the righteousness of the “righteous.” In similar manner, personal righteousness in terms of a righteousness of one’s own is negative in the NT (Rom. 10:3; Phil. 3:6; cf. Luke 18:9).
The NT continues the OT theme of righteousness as it relates to God himself. God is righteous (John 17:25; Rom. 3:5; 9:14; Heb. 6:10; cf. Matt. 6:33). His judgments are righteous (Rom. 2:5), and his commands and laws are righteous (Rom. 7:12; 8:4). God is a righteous judge (2Tim. 4:8). His saving activity is righteous; he does not compromise his own justice in justifying the ungodly (Rom. 3:24–26). The righteousness of God is contrasted with human unrighteousness and wickedness (Rom. 3:5; James 1:20). Since God reigns over creation in righteousness, human conduct should conform to that standard (e.g., Rom. 14:17). Jesus is also noted as righteous (Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14; 1Pet. 3:18; 1John 2:1, 29). He fulfilled righteousness in the absolute sense of demonstrating complete conformity to the nature and will of God (e.g., 1Pet. 3:18). He also fulfilled God’s righteousness in the sense of his saving activity toward humans (e.g., 2Pet. 1:1).
In the OT, wisdom is a characteristic of someone who attains a high degree of knowledge, technical skill, and experience in a particular domain. It refers to the ability that certain individuals have to use good judgment in running the affairs of state (Joseph in Gen. 41:33; David in 2Sam. 14:20; Solomon in 1Kings 3:9, 12, 28). It can also refer to the navigational skills that sailors use in maneuvering a ship through difficult waters (Ps. 107:27). Furthermore, wisdom includes the particular skills of an artisan (Exod. 31:6; 35:35; 1Chron. 22:15 16). In all these cases, wisdom involves the expertise that a person acquires to accomplish a particular task. In these instances “wisdom” is an ethically neutral term, or at least that dimension is not emphasized. The wise are those who have mastered a certain skill set in their field of expertise.
The uniqueness of the OT wisdom literature (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) is that it highlights the moral dimension of wisdom. Here “wisdom” refers to developing expertise in negotiating the complexities of life and managing those complexities in a morally responsible way that honors God and benefits both the community and the individual. Although it is difficult to pin down a concise definition, one can gain a better understanding of wisdom by investigating two important dimensions: wisdom as a worldview, and the traits of a person who is considered to be wise.
Who is wise? First, the wise are those involved in a lifelong process of character development. They manifest the virtues of righteousness, justice, and equity (Prov. 1:3; 2:9). The embodiment of these virtues culminates in the description of the woman of noble character at the conclusion of Proverbs (31:10–31). She exhibits self-control, patience, care, diligence, discipline, humility, generosity, honesty, and fear of the Lord (cf. James 3:13–18). She is the epitome of wisdom in its maturity and the model that all should emulate.
Second, the wise know the value of words and how to use them. They know when to speak, what to say, and how to say it (Job 29:21–22; Prov. 15:23; 25:11; Eccles. 3:7; 12:9–10). Wisdom and the wise place a premium on the power of words.
Third, the wise place great importance on relationships and on interaction with others. The wise person is the one who is open to the give-and-take of relationships (Prov. 27:5–6, 17, 19). Such a person develops the humility necessary to receive correction and criticism from others. Hearing criticism and changing wrong behavior are integral to wisdom (3:1–11). The wise appreciate insightful criticism because it helps them live life more productively (15:12). Wisdom is, ultimately, relational.
Fourth, the wise person develops the art of discernment (Prov. 1:2, 4–6). The sage is equipped with the ability to think critically. The very quality of wisdom itself invites the re-forming and rethinking of ideas. Sages are not interested in pat answers (26:4–5). Proverbs 16:1–9 throws a wrench in the conventional cogs of wisdom, claiming that although humans make their plans, God has the final say. Both Job and Ecclesiastes go head to head with conventional beliefs, probing more deeply into the complexities of life and the relationship between human and divine. No easy answers exist here. In contrast, fools do not use their mental faculties. They view wisdom as a commodity, a matter of learning some techniques, accepting certain beliefs, and memorizing a few proverbs (17:16). The wise, however, know that wisdom involves the art of critical thinking and interacting with others.
Fifth, and most fundamental, the wise person takes a God-centered focus toward life. Wisdom literature affirms, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Eccles. 12:13). That this is the beginning step in the process of gaining wisdom means that one who misses this step can proceed no further along the path to wisdom. The fear of the Lord is to wisdom as the letters of the alphabet are to forming words. The wise gain wisdom by being in relationship with the Lord (Prov. 3:5–8). The fear of the Lord is the beginning as well as the culmination of wisdom.
Wisdom is a highly prized quality, superior to might and power (Prov. 25:15; Eccles. 9:13–16), and one must diligently seek it (Prov. 2:1–5). Yet in the end, wisdom is a gift that only God can give (Prov. 2:6–8; 1Kings 3:9).
Direct Matches
The RSV and REB use “dot” to translate the Greekword keraia in Matt. 5:18 (NIV: “the smallest letter”),where Jesus says that not the smallest part of a letter of the lawwill pass away.
The RSV and REB use “dot” to translate the Greekword keraia in Matt. 5:18 (NIV: “the smallest letter”),where Jesus says that not the smallest part of a letter of the lawwill pass away.
The RSV and REB use “dot” to translate the Greekword keraia in Matt. 5:18 (NIV: “the smallest letter”),where Jesus says that not the smallest part of a letter of the lawwill pass away.
Terminology
Theword “law,” often referred to as “Torah,”occurs 220 times in the OT and derives from a Hebrew root that means“to teach or instruct.” Biblical law is the body ofinstructions or teachings that serve to govern and maintain thecovenant relationship between God and Israel. The distinctiverelationship that Israel enjoyed with God was unparalleled in theancient Near East. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel received fromYahweh an instrument outlining his expectations of them, a set ofguidelines by which to sustain that covenant relationship (Deut.4:6–8). Outside the OT, the “Torah” or “Law”often refers to the first five books of the Bible, called the“Pentateuch” (Matt. 5:17–18; Luke 2:22). SecondTemple Judaism commonly referred to the Pentateuch in this way.
Theterm “Torah” is not limited to cultic or ceremonialpractice, but embraces civil and social law. In addition, the Torahrefers to the prophetic word and more broadly incorporates the ideaof parental instruction. The Hebrew word torah is employed in avariety of expressions, variously rendered in English versions: “thelaw” (Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 2Kings 23:24), the “Bookof the Law” (Deut. 28:61; 29:21; Josh. 1:8; 2Kings 22:8),the “Book of the Law of Moses” (Josh. 8:31; 23:6), the“law of Moses” (Josh. 8:32; 1Kings 2:3), the “Bookof the Law of God” (Josh. 24:26), and the “law of theLord” (2Kings 10:31)—all of these indicate thedivine origin of the instructions or reinforce the association of theTorah with Moses as Israel’s mediator. The OT notes that Moses“wrote a Book of the Law,” which was placed by the arkfor reference (Deut. 31:26) and read aloud every seven years, duringthe Feast of Tabernacles, to all the assembly (Deut. 31:9–13).The book is not mentioned again until its discovery in the templeduring the reign of King Josiah (2Kings 22:8). The discovery ofthe book initiated a religious reform by Josiah that focused on thecentralization of worship and the destruction of idols.
TheOT employs a number of close synonyms for “law,”including “commandments,” “testimony,”“judgments,” “statutes,” “ordinances,”“decrees,” and “precepts.” Each of theseterms reflects varying nuances or particular aspects of the divineinstruction. Unfortunately, all these words as translated intoEnglish subtly misrepresent the “law” as an odiousexternal set of rules that inhibit human freedom and requirepunishment for disobedience. This perspective suggests that obedienceto the divine law was coerced by the threat of divine judgment.Contrary to this misconception, the people of Israel rejoiced infollowing Yahweh’s instructions because their greatest desirewas to please and live in harmony with him. Yahweh’s peopleenjoyed the privilege of receiving divine revelation consisting ofdirections that assured divine favor. Although perfect adherence tothese instructions proved to be an impossible task, Yahweh’scovenant stipulations provided an ideal toward which his people wereexpected to make progress as they constantly strived to fulfill thatideal. The Torah in its broadest sense reflects a verbal expressionof the character, nature, and will of God.
Typesof Law
Ingeneral, Torah may be subdivided into three categories: judicial,ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlapwith the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah”with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19–23)following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt,though some body of customary legislation existed before this time(Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation inother pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24,indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code ofconduct and worship for Israel not only during its wildernesswanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan followingthe conquest.
Morespecifically, the word “law” often denotes the TenCommandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “tenwords”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered toMoses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandmentsreflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided intotwo parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which theywere first recorded: the first four address the individual’srelationship to God, and the last six focus on instructionsconcerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplisticexpression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelinesextends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any andall incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thingforbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing theprohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice itsopposite good in order to be in compliance.
Judiciallaw.The Book of the Covenant (Exod. 20:22–23:33), closelyassociated with the Ten Commandments, immediately follows theDecalogue and may be subdivided into casuistic, or “case,”law (21:2–22:17) and a variety of miscellaneous laws, manywhich are apodictic, or absolute, commands. The divine instructionscannot address an infinite range of circ*mstances; consequently, thecasuistic laws describe the judicial process in light of generalsituations, which form the precedence upon which future specificjudgments can be made. Apodictic instructions, generally identifiedby imperatives or volitional forms, set forth a strict prohibitionfollowed by the consequences of disobedience. Government in earlyIsraelite history revolved around the authoritative decisions ofjudges, who declared a verdict based on custom or precedent (Exod.18:13–27). The moral emphasis of the Decalogue and the Book ofthe Covenant provides the underlying theological reasons for obeyingGod’s law and forms an important part of the ethical foundationof pentateuchal discussions and elaborations of law.
Ceremoniallaw.Ceremonial, or cultic, law includes the instructions guiding theconstruction and preparation of the tabernacle for worship combinedwith the Levitical guidelines dictating the proper execution ofritual sacrifice and cultic practice. The significance of thetabernacle as a portable sanctuary of Yahweh and its integralconnection with God’s promise to dwell among the Israelites arereinforced by the tabernacle’s association with the appearanceof Yahweh at Sinai and the inauguration of the covenant. Thetabernacle becomes the place where the people meet God through amediator and seek continued divine favor through ritual purification,sacrifice, and atonement.
Leviticussystematically outlines the procedure for priestly selection andsuccession, details the consecration of cultic vessels and priests,describes conditions for participation and the celebration of sacredfestivals (Lev. 16; 23–25), and addresses other issues such asblasphemy, sexual behavior, and false prophecy. The sacrificialregulations cover sin offerings (6:25), guilt offerings (7:1, 7),burnt offerings (6:9), grain offerings (6:14), and fellowshipofferings (7:11). The book of Leviticus also provides extensiveinstruction concerning the designation of “clean”(consecrated) and “unclean” (profane), reinforcing theseparateness of God’s chosen people (e.g., 11:46; 12:7; 13:59;14:2, 32; 15:32–33). Uncircumcised foreigners were excludedfrom participation in Israel’s sacred assemblies.
Morallaw.Economic hardship presented numerous challenges in Israelite societythat were resolved through laws concerning debt and slavery. A seriesof laws sought to protect the property and rights of those indebtedto creditors (Exod. 22:25–27; Deut. 24:6, 10–13; 2Kings4:1; Amos 2:8). Those who were enslaved in order to compensate fortheir debts had to be released after six years of service (Exod.21:2, 11; Deut. 15:12–18). Property and persons who were turnedover to creditors could often be redeemed (Lev. 25:25–28,47–55). Those who harvested crops were instructed to leave thecorners of fields and the remnants of crops for gleaning by the poor(Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2:2–6). The systematic mistreatmentof the marginalized in society led to widespread corruption among thejudiciary, angering Yahweh and leading to the exile (Isa. 1:15–17;Amos 2:6–7; 11–13). It is clear that this type of law wasreenacted during the postexilic period (Neh. 5:1–13; Jer.34:8–16).
Torahin Wisdom Literature and in the Prophets
OTwisdom literature develops the concept of Torah as human instructionfor daily living, underscoring the dynamic character of the law andits permeation of all areas of life. Vigilant obedience to the lawresults in wise and godly conduct. In Proverbs, the son is admonishedby the father to obey the Torah (Prov. 3:1; 4:2; 6:23), and the pupilis instructed by the teacher to respect the law (13:13) and to resistthe company of those who do not obey the Torah (28:4), with suchobservance resulting in God’s blessings (29:18) and answers toprayer (28:9). The wise woman familiarizes herself with the Torahbecause the responsibility for instruction of her household lies withher (31:26).
Thebook of Psalms contains three compositions typically classified asTorah psalms (1; 19; 119). In Ps. 1 continual reflection on the Torahmanifests itself in the prosperity and the wisdom of the obedient.Psalm 19 celebrates the benefits of keeping the Torah, includingwisdom, joy, enlightenment, life, and moral discernment. In a lengthyacrostic arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet, Ps. 119 exploitsthe attitudes, effects, and practicality of the Torah as exemplifiedin the life of the faithful.
Inthe prophetic material, Torah refers to teaching administered in thename of Yahweh, either by the priests or the prophets. Moral decline,manifested by the social injustice of Israel’s leader-shipcoupled with idolatry and syncretistic worship, was directlyattributed to the failure of the priests to uphold the Torah andtheir negligence in instructing the community (Jer. 2:8; 8:8; Ezek.7:26; 22:26; Hos. 8:1–12; Amos 2:4). The prophetic emphasis onjustice and righteousness as characteristic qualities of God’speople highlights the importance placed on fair and equitabletreatment (e.g., Isa. 5:23–24; 26:1–11; 48:17–19;58:6–9; 59:9–14). The Torah provided the authoritativepoint of departure in the composition of prophetic messages andteachings, undergirding the authority and genuineness of theprophetic proclamations and exhortations to the contemporaryaudience. The messages of the prophets were in fact not new, but weresimply the adaptation and transformation of pentateuchal textsalready generally accepted by the community as authoritative.
BiblicalLaw and Ancient Near Eastern Sources
Biblicallaw did not develop in isolation from other legal systems; rather, itappears to follow long-established, widespread, and standardizedpatterns of Mesopotamian law. A persuasive number of parallelsbetween customs and familial relationships addressed in the Nuzitablets and archaic elements in the patriarchal narratives seem tosuggest that the patriarchs operated under Hurrian law. The Nuzitablets clarify the subjects of adoption, marriage, and economictransactions, apparently exerting an influence on the lives of theearly OT patriarchs. The wife-sister accounts of Abram and Isaac, inwhich the marriage eligibility of Sarai and Rebekah arise (Gen. 12;26), as well as Abraham’s proposed adoption of his servantEliezer as an heir (Gen. 15:2–4) and his siring of Ishmaelthrough Sarai’s servant Hagar (Gen. 16), reflect customarypractice described in these documents.
Avast range of legal documents regulating judicial procedures providesmaterial for comparative analysis with biblical texts. Included amongthese discoveries are a number of law collections, generally namedafter the ruler who commissioned them. Archaeologists have uncoveredevidence, from as early as the twenty-first century BC, of twosurviving Sumerian legal collections affirming the ancient origins ofsocietal governance. The Laws of King Ur-Nammu, recorded during thelast great period of Sumerian literacy (2111–2095 BC), arepreserved in scribal copies from Nippur dated between 1800 and 1700BC and consist of a fragment and two partial stone tablets. Writtenin a casuistic format, the texts attest to twenty-nine stipulations,including legislation addressing weights and measures; protectionsfor widows, orphans, and the impoverished; sexual offenses; maritallaws; slavery; false testimony; and property abuses.
Asecond Sumerian law collection dating from the nineteenth century BC,that of King Lipit-Ishtar, the fifth ruler of the Isin dynasty inlower Mesopotamia, consists of a prologue, thirty-eight wholly orpartially restored laws, and an epilogue. These laws, bequeathed toLipit-Ishtar by the Sumerian deities Anu and Enlil in order to“establish justice in the land,” represent civil lawsgoverning business practices, slavery, property, family, andinadvertent injury to an individual. What appear to be an additionalthirty-eight laws, comprising the second half of the code, have beendestroyed along with part of the prologue. All these laws wererecorded in a casuistic format.
TheLaws of Eshnunna, written in Akkadian, consist of two tabletscontaining approximately sixty different laws. The authorship anddate of origin remain unknown, but historians suggest that this lawcollection, which has no prologue or epilogue, was contemporary withthe Code of Hammurabi (1728–1686 BC). Though written in acasuistic format, this artifact assigns penalties on the basis ofsocial status.
TheCode of Hammurabi, named for the sixth of eleven kings of the OldBabylonian dynasty, is perhaps the most famous and most complete ofthe ancient Mesopotamian collections. In 1902, French archaeologistsdiscovered the code on a black diorite stela, nearly eight feet tall,in what was ancient Susa. Multiple copies of the code have beenpreserved. Written in Akkadian cuneiform, the law collection consistsof 282 legal paragraphs created to promote public welfare and thecause of justice. The format of the code, which includes a prologue,an epilogue, and a category of cursings for disobedience andblessings for obedience, closely mirrors the structure of the book ofDeuteronomy. The casuistic format addresses laws governing publicorder and individual private law. The penalties prescribed forcapital offenses, of which there were thirty, were harsh and oftencruel, including bodily mutilation, multiple punishments, andvicarious punishment. Retaliatory consequences for the protection ofprivate property were exceptionally cruel, taking the form of tortureor excessive fines. Often, those who were presumed guilty would bethrown into the river; survival indicated innocence, while drowningdemonstrated guilt. A predominant feature was the lex talionis (thelaw of retaliation, or measure for measure), whereby a correspondingpenalty was exacted against the offender based on the crime. Forinstance, if a child was killed, the death of the offender’schild was required. Capital crimes included theft of property andadultery. Contrary to biblical law, Hammurabi’s code madefinancial provision for the loss of life, whereas in the OT the valueof life was immeasurable.
Theargument from silence suggests that in the absence of a full biblicallaw code, legal instructions and stipulations in the biblical textconsist primarily of codicil emendations, that is, additions andinnovations to already existing laws. For example, the discussion ondivorce in Deut. 21 describes the execution of a document withoutgiving details concerning the content or form of such a document. Thepassage also mentions a yet undiscovered “book of divorce.”The absence of legal material on commercial and business law as wellas specifics concerning inheritance and other common subjects pointsto a more comprehensive body of unwritten law reflecting preexistingsocietal norms. Israelite society was therefore indebted to itsMesopotamian predecessors for its implementation of law as a means ofprotecting citizens, and for many legal provisions eventually adaptedby the biblical text.
TheCharacter of Biblical Law
AlthoughIsraelite law was in some ways influenced by the legal codes of otherancient Near Eastern cultures, biblical law retained a distinctidentity centered on the relationship between Yahweh and his chosenpeople. Law in the OT is presented not as secular instruction butrather as divine pronouncement, receiving its authority as anexpression of the divine will. The entirety of the divine instructionoriginates with God, and he is both author and guarantor of thecovenant with his people. The people of Israel, then, are heldresponsible to God for their actions and not just to a legislativebody or human ruler. The will of the Israelite is wholly surrenderedto the will of God to such a degree that every aspect of anindividual’s life is inextricably connected to the divineteachings. God assigns the stipulations and requirements of the lawto the entire corporate body of Israel. The responsibility forcovenant fidelity does not lie solely with the community leadership;rather, it is shared by every individual in the community, whose dualrole includes ensuring both the fair execution of justice in thecommunity and personal observance of the law. God’sinstructions are proclaimed publicly and apply equally to all socialstrata without distinction, apart from specific direction concerningslaves.
Torahbecomes the corpus of teaching directed toward the entire community.The didactic purpose of the law is evident by the motive clausesappended to many apodictic and casuistic instructions that elaborateon the ethical, religious, or historical reasons for covenantfaithfulness. The pedagogical aim serves to appeal to the Israeliteconscience as a means of motivating obedience. In addition, theteaching that humanity is created in the divine image reinforces thesacredness of human life as a foundational concern of the law.Religious rather than economic values prevail, eliminating the deathpenalty for all property crimes. Individual culpability predominatesin the biblical corpus, abolishing the notion of vicarious punishmentadvocated in extrabiblical legislation. Each offender pays theconsequences of his or her behavior. Each person, created by God andenjoying equal status with all others, receives fair and equitabletreatment.
TheLaw and the New Testament
Thecontemporary significance of the Torah is recognized in the NT byJesus’ declaration that his incarnation served to fulfill thelaw (Matt. 5:17). He affirms the continued legitimacy of the law(Matt. 5:19) and appeals to the law as the governing authority forproper practice and behavior (Matt. 12:6, 42; Luke 4:1–11; Mark7:9–12; 10:17–19).
Therelationship between gospel and law in both Testaments demonstratesfar greater continuity than is recognized by many Christians.Covenant theologians affirm that the Mosaic law described a “covenantof works,” which functions differently from the NT’s“covenant of grace,” while dispensationalists often teachthat grace supersedes and abolishes the demands of the law. Theconditional nature of the Mosaic covenant differs from that of theAbrahamic covenant, since the unconditional promise of the Abrahamiccovenant suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham and his seedwould be realized not because of human obedience but rather throughdivine fidelity (Gal. 3:15–27). The Mosaic covenant, orcovenant of law, is not contrary to the promises of God (Gal. 3:21);instead, God graciously entered into relationship with the people ofIsrael, redeemed them from Egypt, and then gave them the law so thatthey would respond in humble obedience to his redeeming work. Thus,Mosaic law provided through a mediator a way for God to revealhimself to Israel. Consequently, the idea that Israelite religion waslegalistic is mistaken. It did not teach that one could earnsalvation by “keeping the law”; rather, an individualentered into the covenant with God by grace. When God established thecovenant with his people, he forgave their sins. He did not demand acertain level of attainment as a prerequisite for entering into thatrelationship, nor did Israel have to obey the law perfectly in orderto achieve salvation. Instead, the covenantal arrangement instituteda means of forgiveness through the sacrificial system, making theremoval of the barrier of sin available to the people. Israel’sobedience to the law was a response to God’s gracious andredeeming work. Law and covenant were complementary.
Ongoingdiscussions explore the question concerning the relevance of the lawfor Christians today. Many scholars from past centuries, such asMartin Luther, claimed that the believer is freed entirely from thelaw of Moses, including its moral requirements. The OT law is bindingonly insofar as it agrees with the NT and mirrors natural law. JohnCalvin, on the other hand, maintained that the moral laws of the OTare obligatory for the believer, and he asserts that this is theprincipal function of law. Calvin’s sense of keeping the morallaw does not compromise the message of grace, for keeping the morallaw, as opposed to the ceremonial or civil law, does not earnsalvation but instead forms the acceptable response of the believerto God’s grace. Other Reformation scholars suggested that thelaw was abolished with the coming of Christ, and, as a result, whilethe moral norms remain in effect, the ceremonial laws have beenfulfilled with the coming of Christ. Although the penaltiesoriginally prescribed for disobedience are no longer effective,keeping the moral law reflects the proper outcome of a life lived bythe Spirit of God. See also Ten Commandments; Torah.
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
Righteousness is an important theme in both Testaments of theBible. The concept includes faithfulness, justice, uprightness,correctness, loyalty, blamelessness, purity, salvation, andinnocence. Because the theme is related to justification, it hasimportant implications for the doctrine of salvation (see alsoJustification).
OldTestament
Divinerighteousness.Being careful to avoid imposing Western philosophical categories ontoOT texts, we may say that the core idea of righteousness isconformity to God’s person and will in moral uprightness,justness, justice, integrity, and faithfulness. Behind the many andvaried uses of righteousness language in the OT stands thepresupposition that God himself is righteous in the ultimate sense(e.g., Ezra 9:15; Isa. 45:21; Zeph. 3:5). Righteousness is theexpression of his holiness in relationship to others (Isa. 5:16), andall other nuances of righteousness in the biblical texts are derivedfrom this. Either he reveals what is right or demonstrates rightnessin his activity. God’s decrees and laws are righteous (Deut.4:8; Ps. 119); his will is righteous (Deut. 33:21); his acts arerighteous (Judg. 5:11; 1Sam. 12:7; Ps. 71:24); his judgmentsare righteous (Ps. 7:11); and he always judges with righteousness(Ps. 96:13). In OT texts, divine righteousness is often linked toGod’s saving activity, particularly in Psalms (e.g., Ps. 71)and in Isa. 40–66. Divine righteousness is much broader thandeliberative justice (i.e., punishing the wicked and rewarding therighteous), though it does include it.
Humanrighteousness. Relatedto humans, righteousness is often found as the opposite ofwickedness. Righteousness often occurs in evaluative contexts, whereit relates to proper conduct with respect to God, the order of theworld as he created it, the covenant, or law (e.g., Deut. 6:25). Godreigns in righteousness and justice (e.g., Ps. 97:2), and humansshould align their conduct with this righteous reign. Righteousnesscan be expressed as personal integrity with phrases such as “myrighteousness” (2Sam. 22:21, 25; Ps. 7:8) and “theirrighteousness” (1Sam. 26:23). Unrighteousness is found inpoetic parallel to injustice (e.g., Jer. 22:13); the unjust areparallel with the wicked (Ps. 82:2).
Itseems likely that the OT understanding of righteousness was moreconcrete and less absolute than the typical thinking of mostcontemporary Western Christians. A more absolute way of understandingrighteousness might lead one to think that a truly righteous personis sinless. While we do have references to absolute righteousness inthe OT (e.g., Ps. 143:2; cf. Job 4:17; 25:4; Isa. 64:6–7),there are many more references to a righteousness grounded inparticular or generalized situations (e.g., Pss. 32:11; 64:10).Another way of unpacking this conceptual difference is the helpfuldistinction between “ordinary” and “absolute”righteousness. Ordinary righteousness reflects the kind ofrighteousness that we intend when making comments such as “mywife is a righteous woman.” This means, taken in broadperspective, that her life is characterized predominantly byrighteousness. This statement is not making a claim of sinlessness,absolute righteousness. The OT offers examples of comparativerighteousness between people (e.g., Gen. 38:26; 1Sam. 24:17;Jer. 3:11). Absolute righteousness is different from this. It is theextraordinary righteousness that we see in the person and work ofGod; he is righteous and without sin, totally holy in his dealings.
NoncanonicalJewish documents from the intertestamental period, while varyinggreatly in individual perspective, generally affirm OT views of humanand divine righteousness. In these documents righteousness often isassociated with mercy, goodness, justness, and concern for the poorand is contrasted with wickedness.
InGreco-Roman society, righteousness was one of the cardinal virtuesand thus had an important influence in society. Greco-Romanrighteousness did have some measure of abstractness as a kind ofexternal norm, but this abstractness should not obscure the fact thatrighteousness often had a relational component in Greco-Romanliterature and life. Righteous and unrighteous behaviors often wereembedded in interpersonal relationships. Unrighteous deeds not onlyviolated “transcendent” standards of righteousness, butalso impacted humans.
NewTestament
Ordinaryhuman righteousness. Righteousnesslanguage is more rare in the Gospels than one might expect in lightof OT and Jewish intertestamental usage. These references fit withthe Jewish setting: righteousness is required of God’s people,and unrighteousness is to be avoided. Righteousness is proper conductwith respect to God or Torah (Matt. 21:32) in contrast to wickedness(Matt. 13:49). Righteousness could be conceived as one’s own(e.g., Luke 18:9) and has its reward (Matt. 10:41). While thespecific terms related to righteousness are infrequent in theGospels, the broader concept of conformity to God’s will iswidely apparent in calls for repentance, personal moral uprightness,mercy, and concern for the marginalized. The NT Epistles continuethese general strands of the concept. Righteousness is related topersonal conduct (1Thess. 2:10; 1Tim. 6:11; 2Tim.2:22; 1Pet. 2:24) and is contrasted with wickedness (2Cor.6:14); it is a matter of doing, not knowing (Rom. 2:13). An exampleof righteousness in doing is the kindness shown by the prostituteRahab, who hid the Israelite spies (James 2:25).
TheNT does signal some new dimensions related to righteousness. In theSermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7), Jesus extends the requirementsof righteousness to conformity to his own teaching and directives, ashocking display of authority. In his mission to call sinners ratherthan the “righteous” (e.g., Mark 2:17), Jesus implicitlyquestions the righteousness of the “righteous.” Insimilar manner, personal righteousness in terms of a righteousness ofone’s own is negative in the NT (Rom. 10:3; Phil. 3:6; cf. Luke18:9).
Divinerighteousness. TheNT continues the OT theme of righteousness as it relates to Godhimself. God is righteous (John 17:25; Rom. 3:5; 9:14; Heb. 6:10; cf.Matt. 6:33). His judgments are righteous (Rom. 2:5), and his commandsand laws are righteous (Rom. 7:12; 8:4). God is a righteous judge(2Tim. 4:8). His saving activity is righteous; he does notcompromise his own justice in justifying the ungodly (Rom. 3:24–26).The righteousness of God is contrasted with human unrighteousness andwickedness (Rom. 3:5; James 1:20). Since God reigns over creation inrighteousness, human conduct should conform to that standard (e.g.,Rom. 14:17). Jesus is also noted as righteous (Acts 3:14; 7:52;22:14; 1Pet. 3:18; 1John 2:1, 29). He fulfilledrighteousness in the absolute sense of demonstrating completeconformity to the nature and will of God (e.g., 1Pet. 3:18). Healso fulfilled God’s righteousness in the sense of his savingactivity toward humans (e.g., 2Pet. 1:1).
“Therighteousness of God” and extra-ordinary human righteousness.Thereis a significant OT connection between God’s righteousness andhis faithfulness in saving activity (e.g., Psalms; Isa. 40–66).Although there are glimpses of righteousness related to God’ssaving activity outside of Paul’s Letter to the Romans (e.g.,Matt. 5:10; 6:33), a technical phrase, “the righteousness ofGod,” is used in three important texts in Romans (1:17; 3:21–22[2×]; 10:3 [2×]). In the gospel, “the righteousnessof God” is revealed, where “righteousness of God”could mean his divine righteousness in some sense, righteousness fromGod (NIV), God’s saving activity as related to hisrighteousness in fulfilling his covenant faithfulness (e.g., Psalms),or some combination of these.
Therighteousness of God is further discussed in Rom. 3:21: “therighteousness of God” has now been revealed apart from theMosaic law, though the OT testifies about it (cf. Rom. 4 and Rom.1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). This righteousness of God is clarifiedin that it is by trust in Jesus Christ for all, both Jews andGentiles. The “righteousness of God” may be distinguishedfrom righteousness as a character quality of God (Rom. 3:25–26).In fact, it must be, for God’s righteousness as a characterquality was revealed in the OT, whereas “the righteousness ofGod” is “apart from the [Mosaic] law” (3:21).
InRom. 10:3 Paul comments that the Israelites are ignorant of “therighteousness of God”; they are seeking to establish their ownrighteousness because they are not submitting to “therighteousness of God.” The Israelites certainly knew of God’srighteousness in terms of his character, judgments, and expectationsof his people. The lack of submission to “the righteousness ofGod” occurs in the context of the Jewish rejection of Jesus(e.g., 9:32–33; 10:9–13). And Jesus is the key tounderstanding “the righteousness of God” in the othertexts also.
InRom. 1:17 the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, whichis the power of God for salvation to all who trust in Jesus (1:3–5,16). The righteousness of God in 3:21–22 is related to trust inJesus (3:22, 25–26), who as a sacrifice of atonement (3:25)enables the justification and redemption of sinners (3:24, 26). InJesus we become the righteousness of God (2Cor. 5:21). Therighteousness of God, then, is God’s saving activity revealedand manifested in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ,whereby sinners are justified as both innocent and righteous inChrist.
The RSV and REB use “dot” to translate the Greekword keraia in Matt. 5:18 (NIV: “the smallest letter”),where Jesus says that not the smallest part of a letter of the lawwill pass away.
While a modern understanding of the word “truth”suggests a direct correspondence to fact or reality, Scripturepresents truth in broader terms.
OldTestament.The OT not only portrays truth as an honest factual account but alsoplaces it within a relationship characterized by faithfulness andreliability. The Hebrew word translated as “truth,”’emet, also is translated as “faithfulness,”“security,” “reliability.” The word oftenappears juxtaposed to words that involve a relationship, including“love” (Ps. 26:3), “kindness” (Gen. 24:27),“mercy” (Ps. 40:11), “justice” (Isa.59:14–15), and “righteousness” (Isa. 48:1). Truthis attributed primarily not to external facts, but rather to a personor community in faithfulness.
Oftendescribed as something that belongs to God (Ps. 25:5), truth isassociated with his love (26:3). Yahweh is the God of truth (31:5)and is near to all who call on him in truth (145:18). God’struth protects (140:11) and guides (43:3). Following God meanswalking in his truth (26:3). God speaks the truth (Isa. 45:19) andvalues truth (Prov. 12:22), and he expects his people to do the same(Prov. 23:23).
Ofteninvolving speech, truth is a crucial element for justice in acommunity, especially in a court setting. A truthful witness gives anhonest testimony and brings healing, but a false witness tells liesand brings destruction (Prov. 12:17–18). Yet only the truthwill endure (12:19). Truth is needed to make sound judgments (Zech.8:16). The absence of truth in Israel’s society is denounced bythe prophets, who declare truth to have stumbled (Isa. 59:14) andeven to have perished (Jer. 7:28). In Jer. 5:1 it is said that Godwill forgive the entire city of Jerusalem if one person is found whodeals honestly and seeks the truth (cf. Gen. 18:26–32). No suchperson is found. Nevertheless, it is God’s vision for Jerusalemto be called the “City of Truth” (Zech. 8:3 NASB, NKJV).
SeveralOT narratives display how truth may not be evident in everyrelationship. In 1Kings 22:16 (//2Chron. 18:15)King Ahab makes the prophet Micaiah repeatedly swear to be tellingGod’s truth because he (rightly) suspects the prophet of lying.As an Egyptian ruler, Joseph requires his brothers to prove the truthof their words (Gen. 42:16), perhaps keeping in mind the history ofhis ancestor Abraham’s dealings with the Egyptian king(12:10–20). Sometimes the truth of one relationship holdspriority over duties involved in another relationship. For example,in Exod. 1:15–21 the Hebrew midwives have a truthfulrelationship with (Hebrew) babies and with God even as they lie tothe king of Egypt.
NewTestament.In the NT, truth signifies the gospel (Eph. 1:13) as well as Jesushimself (John 14:6). Whereas Pilate asks, “What is truth?”(John 18:38), the NT answers, “Jesus!” The topic of truthis predominant in the Gospel of John. Jesus is full of grace andtruth (John 1:14), tells the truth he heard from God (8:44), and infact is the truth (5:33). Truth involves action. Whoever lives by thetruth comes out of darkness into the light (3:21). Worship of Godmust be done in spirit and in truth (4:23–24). It is the truththat will set people free (8:32). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the“Spirit of truth” (15:26), whose role is to guide thefollowers of Jesus in all truth, speaking what he hears from theFather (John 15–16).
Althoughthe topic of truth is seldom mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, thephrase “I tell you the truth” is attributed to Jesusseventy-eight times (e.g., Matt. 5:18; 6:2; Mark 8:12; 9:41; Luke9:27; 23:43; John 1:51; 13:21 NCV), showing it to be a major theme.The apostle Paul reminds the church at Corinth that love rejoiceswith the truth (1Cor. 13:6). Truth describes not only knowledgeof reality (Acts 24:8) but also the knowledge of Christ (2Cor.11:10) as well as the type of life that a follower of Christ shouldexhibit (Gal. 2:14; Titus 1:1). Truth can be distorted (Acts 20:30),suppressed (Rom. 1:18), and rejected (Rom. 2:8). While truth caninvolve speech (Eph. 4:15), those who belong to the truth show it bytheir love (1John 1:6; 3:18–20).
Secondary Matches
The following suggestions occured because
Matthew 5:17-20
is mentioned in the definition.
A transliteration of a Hebrew word from the root meaning “toverify, confirm,” therefore expressing support and agreement.The term is used in four ways: (1) To agree with a command(1 Kings 1:36), prophecy (Jer. 11:5; Rev. 1:7), or solemn oath(Num. 5:22), and as a concluding endorsem*nt of an entire book (e.g.,Gal. 6:18; Jude 25; Rev. 22:21). (2) To give an affirmativeresponse and express grateful thanks to God in the context of worship(e.g., 1 Chron. 16:36; Ps. 41:13; Gal. 1:5; Eph. 3:21). (3) ByJesus to introduce important sayings. In the Synoptic Gospels asingle “amen” is used (Matt. 5:18; Mark 8:12), while inJohn’s Gospel the “amen” is doubled (John 1:51;3:3; 5:19). Some versions adapt the “amen” construction,translating it as, for example, “Very truly I tell you”(NIV) or “Truly I tell you” (NRSV). The formula points tothe unique authority of Jesus’ word in contrast to the OTprophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. The construction has noparallel in OT literature, thus pointing to Christ’s exaltedstatus. (4) As a personal name for Christ. He is called “theAmen” in the letter to Laodicea (Rev. 3:14), alluding to Isa.65:16, where God is twice described as “the God of truth”(lit., “the God of amen”). Jesus is the true and faithfulwitness of the new creation in contrast to the lamentable failure ofthe Laodiceans, whose compromise and ineffective witness threatenedimminent judgment.
Throughhabitual use, the “amen” can become nothing more than aliturgical full stop, signifying the conclusion of a prayer. Inreality, it signifies wholehearted commitment to what has been saidor sung. The seriousness of the “amen” is seen in theinstructions of Moses to the people of God (Deut. 27:14–26).The power of the “amen” is rooted in Christ, who is the“Yes” of all God’s promises; this in turn becomesthe basis for the confident “Amen” of his people (2 Cor.1:20).
Bible formation and canon development are best understood inlight of historical events and theological principles. In thehistorical-theological process we learn what God did and how heengaged a variety of people to produce Scripture as the word of God.The Bible is the written revelation of the triune God, who madehimself known to his creation. The divine actions of God to revealhimself resulted in a written text recognized to be authoritative andthus copied and preserved for future generations. The process ofrecognizing and collecting authoritative books of the Scripturesoccurred over time and involved consensus.
BibleFormation
Revelation.Theprocess of Bible formation begins with God revealing. The act ofrevelation involved God communicating truth to the human writers in aprogressive and unified manner. Inspiration is the act of God theHoly Spirit, who superintended the biblical authors so that theycomposed the books of Scripture exactly as he intended. God used thebiblical writers, their personalities and their writing styles, in amanner that kept them from error in composing the original writtenproduct, the Scriptures. The resulting books of the Bible constituteGod’s permanent special revelation to humankind.
BothTestaments affirm the work of revelation along with the formation ofa body of divine writings. The OT is dominated by the phrase “thussays the Lord” and similar expressions (cf. Gen. 9:8; Josh.24:27; Isa. 1:2; Jer. 1:7 and contrast Ps. 135:15–19). Everypart of the OT is viewed as the word of God (Rom. 3:2). This isconfirmed by Jesus’ attitude toward the Scriptures (Matt.19:4–5; 21:42; 22:29; cf. Luke 11:50–51; 24:44).
FourNT passages help us understand the work of inspiration. A factualstatement regarding the extent and nature of inspiration is made in2 Tim. 3:16. According to 2 Pet. 1:19–20, the HolySpirit purposefully carried persons along to produce the propheticword, and 1 Cor. 2:10–13 supports the choice of the wordsin the work of composing the inspired product. Finally, Petercomments that Paul was given wisdom to produce inspired literarydocuments in the canon of Scripture (2 Pet. 3:14–18).
Authority.Books formed and authored by God in this manner are authoritative.Because the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God reliablycomposed in the originals, it is binding upon people in theirrelationship with God and other people. Biblical authority derivesfrom God’s eternal character and the content of his wordpreserved in Scripture. The inscripturated word of God isauthoritative and requires obedience.
Theauthority of God’s word is affirmed and illustrated in thecreation and fall narratives. In the fall, Adam and Eve rebelledagainst God’s command (Gen. 3:3–4) and were expelled fromthe garden. In subsequent periods of biblical history, God’sspoken and written word continued to be the basis for belief andconduct. God summarized his will in the Ten Commandments (Exod.20:1-17; Deut. 5:6–21) and held his people accountable to it(Deut. 6:2; Josh. 1:8; 2 Kings 17:5–23). The authoritativeword embraced by faith protects the believer from sin (Ps. 119:11).The fool is the person who rejects God’s authority (Pss. 14:1;53:1). The apostle Paul acknowledged the authority of the gospel forhis own life and ministry (Gal. 1:6–9). God the Holy Spiritimpresses upon the believer the authority of the Bible as thereliable rule for faith and practice (John 6:63).
Godmade provision for a reliable and trustworthy preservation of hisauthoritative word in the multiplicity of extant manuscripts. Godcommanded that his revealed word be copied (Deut. 17:8–18;24:8; 31:9, 25–26; 33:8–10) for administrative andpersonal purposes (Deut. 6:6; Josh. 1:8; 23:6; Prov. 3:3; 7:3).Through this process of multiplication the word of God was preserved(Ps. 119:152, 160; Isa. 40:8; cf. Matt. 5:17–18; John 10:35;1 Pet. 1:22–25).
Canonization
Canonizationis the next critical step in the development of the Bible. The word“canon” (Gk. kanōn) refers to a standard, norm, orrule (Gal. 6:16; cf. Ezek. 42:16), and when applied to the Bible, itdesignates the collection of books revealed by God, divinelyinspired, and recognized by the people of God as the authoritativenorm for faith and practice. The presupposition of canonicity is thatGod spoke to his human creatures and his word was accuratelyrecorded. Since inspiration determines canonicity, the books composedby human beings under the direction of the Holy Spirit functionedauthoritatively at the time of writing. The people of God thenrecognized and collected the books that they discerned to be inspiredand authoritative (1 Thess. 2:10–16; 2 Pet. 3:15).
Thecanonical process.The challenge associated with canon and Bible formation is that theScriptures do not reveal a detailed historical process forrecognizing and collecting inspired works. An understanding of thisprocess is derived from the testimony of Jesus, biblical principles,and historical precedents.
Canonicalidentification is associated with the witness of the Holy Spirit, whoworked in connection with the believers to recognize the writtendocuments given by inspiration (1 Thess. 2:13). The Holy Spiritenabled believers to discern a book’s authority and itscompatibility with existing canonical revelation (Isa. 8:20; Acts17:11). Although the question of authorship cannot be positivelysettled for every OT or NT book, believers recognized the prophets asthe OT authors (Deut. 18:14–22) and the apostles as the NTauthors. Canonical books were recognized to bear the power of God andto contain an effective message (2 Tim. 3:15–16; Heb.4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23).
Overtime, the authoritative books of Scripture were collected into a bodyof literature that today forms one book, the Bible. During thisprocess, some believers struggled with the message, content, andambiguous authorship of books such as Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,and Esther in the OT and Hebrews, James, and 2 Peter in the NT.The pattern of composition and canonical process for the OT providedthe foundation for the composition and development of the NT canon.Therefore, the NT books that came to be recognized as canonical werethose that were composed in connection with an apostle, doctrinallysound, and widely circulated and used by the churches.
Inthe collection task some texts were recognized (hom*ologoumena), somewere disputed (antilegomena), and others were rejected as unorthodox(pseudepigrapha). Historically, there is no evidence for widespreadacceptance of the present-day canon of sixty-six books until thethird century AD.
Structureand content.Overthe centuries, several canonical lists began to emerge, ofteninfluenced by particular theological conclusions. For example, theSamaritan canon, which includes only the first five books of our OT,was compiled by the Samaritans, who were hostile to anything inIsrael or Judea outside Samaria. Today, Christian traditions vary intheir inclusion or omission of the Apocrypha from their Bibles and intheir list of which books are contained in the Apocrypha.
TheBabylonian canon, accepted as standard by Jews, contains all thebooks now recognized as the OT and is divided into three parts: theLaw, the Prophets, and the Writings. This canon is also known as theTanak, an acronym derived from the Hebrew words for “law”(torah), “prophets” (nebi’im), “writings”(ketubim). This canonical list traditionally includes twenty-fourbooks (the twelve Minor Prophets are considered to be one book, asare 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles, andEzra-Nehemiah). The twenty-four books of this canonical list are thesame as the thirty-nine OT books in current English Bible editions.The law or instruction section includes the first five books of Moses(Genesis through Deuteronomy). The Prophets section is divided intothe Former and Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets are thehistorical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The LatterProphets include both the Major and the Minor Prophets. The Writingssection contains both poetic and wisdom material, along with somehistorical material.
Historicalreferences to this canonical format are found in extrabiblicalsources as early as the second century BC. The grandson of Jesus BenSira referenced a threefold canon in the prologue of the apocryphalbook Sirach (c. 190 BC); Josephus referenced it in Against Apion (AD37–95). Jesus acknowledged the threefold division in Luke 24:44(cf. Matt. 23:34). Among Christian sources, this division ispreserved in the oldest extant list of OT books, associated withBishop Melito of Sardis (AD 170). Tertullian, an early Latin churchfather (AD 160–250), Origen (AD 254), Hilary of Poitiers (AD305–366), and Jerome (AD 340–420) affirmed an OT canon oftwenty-two or twenty-four books. Most current English versions followa fourfold structure of law, history, poetry, and prophets.
Thetwenty-seven books of the NT are attested in lists associated withchurches in the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean world.Two such witnesses are the Thirty-ninth Paschal Letter of Athanasius(AD 367) and the Council of Carthage (AD 397). The canonical listassociated with Marcion and the Muratorian list represent fragmentarylists from the early part of the second century AD. In terms ofusage, a majority of church fathers recognized and used thetwenty-seven NT books in our canon. See also Apocrypha, NewTestament; Apocrypha, Old Testament.
Bible formation and canon development are best understood inlight of historical events and theological principles. In thehistorical-theological process we learn what God did and how heengaged a variety of people to produce Scripture as the word of God.The Bible is the written revelation of the triune God, who madehimself known to his creation. The divine actions of God to revealhimself resulted in a written text recognized to be authoritative andthus copied and preserved for future generations. The process ofrecognizing and collecting authoritative books of the Scripturesoccurred over time and involved consensus.
BibleFormation
Revelation.Theprocess of Bible formation begins with God revealing. The act ofrevelation involved God communicating truth to the human writers in aprogressive and unified manner. Inspiration is the act of God theHoly Spirit, who superintended the biblical authors so that theycomposed the books of Scripture exactly as he intended. God used thebiblical writers, their personalities and their writing styles, in amanner that kept them from error in composing the original writtenproduct, the Scriptures. The resulting books of the Bible constituteGod’s permanent special revelation to humankind.
BothTestaments affirm the work of revelation along with the formation ofa body of divine writings. The OT is dominated by the phrase “thussays the Lord” and similar expressions (cf. Gen. 9:8; Josh.24:27; Isa. 1:2; Jer. 1:7 and contrast Ps. 135:15–19). Everypart of the OT is viewed as the word of God (Rom. 3:2). This isconfirmed by Jesus’ attitude toward the Scriptures (Matt.19:4–5; 21:42; 22:29; cf. Luke 11:50–51; 24:44).
FourNT passages help us understand the work of inspiration. A factualstatement regarding the extent and nature of inspiration is made in2 Tim. 3:16. According to 2 Pet. 1:19–20, the HolySpirit purposefully carried persons along to produce the propheticword, and 1 Cor. 2:10–13 supports the choice of the wordsin the work of composing the inspired product. Finally, Petercomments that Paul was given wisdom to produce inspired literarydocuments in the canon of Scripture (2 Pet. 3:14–18).
Authority.Books formed and authored by God in this manner are authoritative.Because the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God reliablycomposed in the originals, it is binding upon people in theirrelationship with God and other people. Biblical authority derivesfrom God’s eternal character and the content of his wordpreserved in Scripture. The inscripturated word of God isauthoritative and requires obedience.
Theauthority of God’s word is affirmed and illustrated in thecreation and fall narratives. In the fall, Adam and Eve rebelledagainst God’s command (Gen. 3:3–4) and were expelled fromthe garden. In subsequent periods of biblical history, God’sspoken and written word continued to be the basis for belief andconduct. God summarized his will in the Ten Commandments (Exod.20:1-17; Deut. 5:6–21) and held his people accountable to it(Deut. 6:2; Josh. 1:8; 2 Kings 17:5–23). The authoritativeword embraced by faith protects the believer from sin (Ps. 119:11).The fool is the person who rejects God’s authority (Pss. 14:1;53:1). The apostle Paul acknowledged the authority of the gospel forhis own life and ministry (Gal. 1:6–9). God the Holy Spiritimpresses upon the believer the authority of the Bible as thereliable rule for faith and practice (John 6:63).
Godmade provision for a reliable and trustworthy preservation of hisauthoritative word in the multiplicity of extant manuscripts. Godcommanded that his revealed word be copied (Deut. 17:8–18;24:8; 31:9, 25–26; 33:8–10) for administrative andpersonal purposes (Deut. 6:6; Josh. 1:8; 23:6; Prov. 3:3; 7:3).Through this process of multiplication the word of God was preserved(Ps. 119:152, 160; Isa. 40:8; cf. Matt. 5:17–18; John 10:35;1 Pet. 1:22–25).
Canonization
Canonizationis the next critical step in the development of the Bible. The word“canon” (Gk. kanōn) refers to a standard, norm, orrule (Gal. 6:16; cf. Ezek. 42:16), and when applied to the Bible, itdesignates the collection of books revealed by God, divinelyinspired, and recognized by the people of God as the authoritativenorm for faith and practice. The presupposition of canonicity is thatGod spoke to his human creatures and his word was accuratelyrecorded. Since inspiration determines canonicity, the books composedby human beings under the direction of the Holy Spirit functionedauthoritatively at the time of writing. The people of God thenrecognized and collected the books that they discerned to be inspiredand authoritative (1 Thess. 2:10–16; 2 Pet. 3:15).
Thecanonical process.The challenge associated with canon and Bible formation is that theScriptures do not reveal a detailed historical process forrecognizing and collecting inspired works. An understanding of thisprocess is derived from the testimony of Jesus, biblical principles,and historical precedents.
Canonicalidentification is associated with the witness of the Holy Spirit, whoworked in connection with the believers to recognize the writtendocuments given by inspiration (1 Thess. 2:13). The Holy Spiritenabled believers to discern a book’s authority and itscompatibility with existing canonical revelation (Isa. 8:20; Acts17:11). Although the question of authorship cannot be positivelysettled for every OT or NT book, believers recognized the prophets asthe OT authors (Deut. 18:14–22) and the apostles as the NTauthors. Canonical books were recognized to bear the power of God andto contain an effective message (2 Tim. 3:15–16; Heb.4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23).
Overtime, the authoritative books of Scripture were collected into a bodyof literature that today forms one book, the Bible. During thisprocess, some believers struggled with the message, content, andambiguous authorship of books such as Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,and Esther in the OT and Hebrews, James, and 2 Peter in the NT.The pattern of composition and canonical process for the OT providedthe foundation for the composition and development of the NT canon.Therefore, the NT books that came to be recognized as canonical werethose that were composed in connection with an apostle, doctrinallysound, and widely circulated and used by the churches.
Inthe collection task some texts were recognized (hom*ologoumena), somewere disputed (antilegomena), and others were rejected as unorthodox(pseudepigrapha). Historically, there is no evidence for widespreadacceptance of the present-day canon of sixty-six books until thethird century AD.
Structureand content.Overthe centuries, several canonical lists began to emerge, ofteninfluenced by particular theological conclusions. For example, theSamaritan canon, which includes only the first five books of our OT,was compiled by the Samaritans, who were hostile to anything inIsrael or Judea outside Samaria. Today, Christian traditions vary intheir inclusion or omission of the Apocrypha from their Bibles and intheir list of which books are contained in the Apocrypha.
TheBabylonian canon, accepted as standard by Jews, contains all thebooks now recognized as the OT and is divided into three parts: theLaw, the Prophets, and the Writings. This canon is also known as theTanak, an acronym derived from the Hebrew words for “law”(torah), “prophets” (nebi’im), “writings”(ketubim). This canonical list traditionally includes twenty-fourbooks (the twelve Minor Prophets are considered to be one book, asare 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles, andEzra-Nehemiah). The twenty-four books of this canonical list are thesame as the thirty-nine OT books in current English Bible editions.The law or instruction section includes the first five books of Moses(Genesis through Deuteronomy). The Prophets section is divided intothe Former and Latter Prophets. The Former Prophets are thehistorical books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. The LatterProphets include both the Major and the Minor Prophets. The Writingssection contains both poetic and wisdom material, along with somehistorical material.
Historicalreferences to this canonical format are found in extrabiblicalsources as early as the second century BC. The grandson of Jesus BenSira referenced a threefold canon in the prologue of the apocryphalbook Sirach (c. 190 BC); Josephus referenced it in Against Apion (AD37–95). Jesus acknowledged the threefold division in Luke 24:44(cf. Matt. 23:34). Among Christian sources, this division ispreserved in the oldest extant list of OT books, associated withBishop Melito of Sardis (AD 170). Tertullian, an early Latin churchfather (AD 160–250), Origen (AD 254), Hilary of Poitiers (AD305–366), and Jerome (AD 340–420) affirmed an OT canon oftwenty-two or twenty-four books. Most current English versions followa fourfold structure of law, history, poetry, and prophets.
Thetwenty-seven books of the NT are attested in lists associated withchurches in the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean world.Two such witnesses are the Thirty-ninth Paschal Letter of Athanasius(AD 367) and the Council of Carthage (AD 397). The canonical listassociated with Marcion and the Muratorian list represent fragmentarylists from the early part of the second century AD. In terms ofusage, a majority of church fathers recognized and used thetwenty-seven NT books in our canon. See also Apocrypha, NewTestament; Apocrypha, Old Testament.
Terminology
Theword “law,” often referred to as “Torah,”occurs 220 times in the OT and derives from a Hebrew root that means“to teach or instruct.” Biblical law is the body ofinstructions or teachings that serve to govern and maintain thecovenant relationship between God and Israel. The distinctiverelationship that Israel enjoyed with God was unparalleled in theancient Near East. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel received fromYahweh an instrument outlining his expectations of them, a set ofguidelines by which to sustain that covenant relationship (Deut.4:6–8). Outside the OT, the “Torah” or “Law”often refers to the first five books of the Bible, called the“Pentateuch” (Matt. 5:17–18; Luke 2:22). SecondTemple Judaism commonly referred to the Pentateuch in this way.
Theterm “Torah” is not limited to cultic or ceremonialpractice, but embraces civil and social law. In addition, the Torahrefers to the prophetic word and more broadly incorporates the ideaof parental instruction. The Hebrew word torah is employed in avariety of expressions, variously rendered in English versions: “thelaw” (Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 2Kings 23:24), the “Bookof the Law” (Deut. 28:61; 29:21; Josh. 1:8; 2Kings 22:8),the “Book of the Law of Moses” (Josh. 8:31; 23:6), the“law of Moses” (Josh. 8:32; 1Kings 2:3), the “Bookof the Law of God” (Josh. 24:26), and the “law of theLord” (2Kings 10:31)—all of these indicate thedivine origin of the instructions or reinforce the association of theTorah with Moses as Israel’s mediator. The OT notes that Moses“wrote a Book of the Law,” which was placed by the arkfor reference (Deut. 31:26) and read aloud every seven years, duringthe Feast of Tabernacles, to all the assembly (Deut. 31:9–13).The book is not mentioned again until its discovery in the templeduring the reign of King Josiah (2Kings 22:8). The discovery ofthe book initiated a religious reform by Josiah that focused on thecentralization of worship and the destruction of idols.
TheOT employs a number of close synonyms for “law,”including “commandments,” “testimony,”“judgments,” “statutes,” “ordinances,”“decrees,” and “precepts.” Each of theseterms reflects varying nuances or particular aspects of the divineinstruction. Unfortunately, all these words as translated intoEnglish subtly misrepresent the “law” as an odiousexternal set of rules that inhibit human freedom and requirepunishment for disobedience. This perspective suggests that obedienceto the divine law was coerced by the threat of divine judgment.Contrary to this misconception, the people of Israel rejoiced infollowing Yahweh’s instructions because their greatest desirewas to please and live in harmony with him. Yahweh’s peopleenjoyed the privilege of receiving divine revelation consisting ofdirections that assured divine favor. Although perfect adherence tothese instructions proved to be an impossible task, Yahweh’scovenant stipulations provided an ideal toward which his people wereexpected to make progress as they constantly strived to fulfill thatideal. The Torah in its broadest sense reflects a verbal expressionof the character, nature, and will of God.
Typesof Law
Ingeneral, Torah may be subdivided into three categories: judicial,ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlapwith the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah”with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19–23)following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt,though some body of customary legislation existed before this time(Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation inother pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24,indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code ofconduct and worship for Israel not only during its wildernesswanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan followingthe conquest.
Morespecifically, the word “law” often denotes the TenCommandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “tenwords”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered toMoses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandmentsreflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided intotwo parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which theywere first recorded: the first four address the individual’srelationship to God, and the last six focus on instructionsconcerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplisticexpression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelinesextends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any andall incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thingforbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing theprohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice itsopposite good in order to be in compliance.
Judiciallaw.The Book of the Covenant (Exod. 20:22–23:33), closelyassociated with the Ten Commandments, immediately follows theDecalogue and may be subdivided into casuistic, or “case,”law (21:2–22:17) and a variety of miscellaneous laws, manywhich are apodictic, or absolute, commands. The divine instructionscannot address an infinite range of circ*mstances; consequently, thecasuistic laws describe the judicial process in light of generalsituations, which form the precedence upon which future specificjudgments can be made. Apodictic instructions, generally identifiedby imperatives or volitional forms, set forth a strict prohibitionfollowed by the consequences of disobedience. Government in earlyIsraelite history revolved around the authoritative decisions ofjudges, who declared a verdict based on custom or precedent (Exod.18:13–27). The moral emphasis of the Decalogue and the Book ofthe Covenant provides the underlying theological reasons for obeyingGod’s law and forms an important part of the ethical foundationof pentateuchal discussions and elaborations of law.
Ceremoniallaw.Ceremonial, or cultic, law includes the instructions guiding theconstruction and preparation of the tabernacle for worship combinedwith the Levitical guidelines dictating the proper execution ofritual sacrifice and cultic practice. The significance of thetabernacle as a portable sanctuary of Yahweh and its integralconnection with God’s promise to dwell among the Israelites arereinforced by the tabernacle’s association with the appearanceof Yahweh at Sinai and the inauguration of the covenant. Thetabernacle becomes the place where the people meet God through amediator and seek continued divine favor through ritual purification,sacrifice, and atonement.
Leviticussystematically outlines the procedure for priestly selection andsuccession, details the consecration of cultic vessels and priests,describes conditions for participation and the celebration of sacredfestivals (Lev. 16; 23–25), and addresses other issues such asblasphemy, sexual behavior, and false prophecy. The sacrificialregulations cover sin offerings (6:25), guilt offerings (7:1, 7),burnt offerings (6:9), grain offerings (6:14), and fellowshipofferings (7:11). The book of Leviticus also provides extensiveinstruction concerning the designation of “clean”(consecrated) and “unclean” (profane), reinforcing theseparateness of God’s chosen people (e.g., 11:46; 12:7; 13:59;14:2, 32; 15:32–33). Uncircumcised foreigners were excludedfrom participation in Israel’s sacred assemblies.
Morallaw.Economic hardship presented numerous challenges in Israelite societythat were resolved through laws concerning debt and slavery. A seriesof laws sought to protect the property and rights of those indebtedto creditors (Exod. 22:25–27; Deut. 24:6, 10–13; 2Kings4:1; Amos 2:8). Those who were enslaved in order to compensate fortheir debts had to be released after six years of service (Exod.21:2, 11; Deut. 15:12–18). Property and persons who were turnedover to creditors could often be redeemed (Lev. 25:25–28,47–55). Those who harvested crops were instructed to leave thecorners of fields and the remnants of crops for gleaning by the poor(Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2:2–6). The systematic mistreatmentof the marginalized in society led to widespread corruption among thejudiciary, angering Yahweh and leading to the exile (Isa. 1:15–17;Amos 2:6–7; 11–13). It is clear that this type of law wasreenacted during the postexilic period (Neh. 5:1–13; Jer.34:8–16).
Torahin Wisdom Literature and in the Prophets
OTwisdom literature develops the concept of Torah as human instructionfor daily living, underscoring the dynamic character of the law andits permeation of all areas of life. Vigilant obedience to the lawresults in wise and godly conduct. In Proverbs, the son is admonishedby the father to obey the Torah (Prov. 3:1; 4:2; 6:23), and the pupilis instructed by the teacher to respect the law (13:13) and to resistthe company of those who do not obey the Torah (28:4), with suchobservance resulting in God’s blessings (29:18) and answers toprayer (28:9). The wise woman familiarizes herself with the Torahbecause the responsibility for instruction of her household lies withher (31:26).
Thebook of Psalms contains three compositions typically classified asTorah psalms (1; 19; 119). In Ps. 1 continual reflection on the Torahmanifests itself in the prosperity and the wisdom of the obedient.Psalm 19 celebrates the benefits of keeping the Torah, includingwisdom, joy, enlightenment, life, and moral discernment. In a lengthyacrostic arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet, Ps. 119 exploitsthe attitudes, effects, and practicality of the Torah as exemplifiedin the life of the faithful.
Inthe prophetic material, Torah refers to teaching administered in thename of Yahweh, either by the priests or the prophets. Moral decline,manifested by the social injustice of Israel’s leader-shipcoupled with idolatry and syncretistic worship, was directlyattributed to the failure of the priests to uphold the Torah andtheir negligence in instructing the community (Jer. 2:8; 8:8; Ezek.7:26; 22:26; Hos. 8:1–12; Amos 2:4). The prophetic emphasis onjustice and righteousness as characteristic qualities of God’speople highlights the importance placed on fair and equitabletreatment (e.g., Isa. 5:23–24; 26:1–11; 48:17–19;58:6–9; 59:9–14). The Torah provided the authoritativepoint of departure in the composition of prophetic messages andteachings, undergirding the authority and genuineness of theprophetic proclamations and exhortations to the contemporaryaudience. The messages of the prophets were in fact not new, but weresimply the adaptation and transformation of pentateuchal textsalready generally accepted by the community as authoritative.
BiblicalLaw and Ancient Near Eastern Sources
Biblicallaw did not develop in isolation from other legal systems; rather, itappears to follow long-established, widespread, and standardizedpatterns of Mesopotamian law. A persuasive number of parallelsbetween customs and familial relationships addressed in the Nuzitablets and archaic elements in the patriarchal narratives seem tosuggest that the patriarchs operated under Hurrian law. The Nuzitablets clarify the subjects of adoption, marriage, and economictransactions, apparently exerting an influence on the lives of theearly OT patriarchs. The wife-sister accounts of Abram and Isaac, inwhich the marriage eligibility of Sarai and Rebekah arise (Gen. 12;26), as well as Abraham’s proposed adoption of his servantEliezer as an heir (Gen. 15:2–4) and his siring of Ishmaelthrough Sarai’s servant Hagar (Gen. 16), reflect customarypractice described in these documents.
Avast range of legal documents regulating judicial procedures providesmaterial for comparative analysis with biblical texts. Included amongthese discoveries are a number of law collections, generally namedafter the ruler who commissioned them. Archaeologists have uncoveredevidence, from as early as the twenty-first century BC, of twosurviving Sumerian legal collections affirming the ancient origins ofsocietal governance. The Laws of King Ur-Nammu, recorded during thelast great period of Sumerian literacy (2111–2095 BC), arepreserved in scribal copies from Nippur dated between 1800 and 1700BC and consist of a fragment and two partial stone tablets. Writtenin a casuistic format, the texts attest to twenty-nine stipulations,including legislation addressing weights and measures; protectionsfor widows, orphans, and the impoverished; sexual offenses; maritallaws; slavery; false testimony; and property abuses.
Asecond Sumerian law collection dating from the nineteenth century BC,that of King Lipit-Ishtar, the fifth ruler of the Isin dynasty inlower Mesopotamia, consists of a prologue, thirty-eight wholly orpartially restored laws, and an epilogue. These laws, bequeathed toLipit-Ishtar by the Sumerian deities Anu and Enlil in order to“establish justice in the land,” represent civil lawsgoverning business practices, slavery, property, family, andinadvertent injury to an individual. What appear to be an additionalthirty-eight laws, comprising the second half of the code, have beendestroyed along with part of the prologue. All these laws wererecorded in a casuistic format.
TheLaws of Eshnunna, written in Akkadian, consist of two tabletscontaining approximately sixty different laws. The authorship anddate of origin remain unknown, but historians suggest that this lawcollection, which has no prologue or epilogue, was contemporary withthe Code of Hammurabi (1728–1686 BC). Though written in acasuistic format, this artifact assigns penalties on the basis ofsocial status.
TheCode of Hammurabi, named for the sixth of eleven kings of the OldBabylonian dynasty, is perhaps the most famous and most complete ofthe ancient Mesopotamian collections. In 1902, French archaeologistsdiscovered the code on a black diorite stela, nearly eight feet tall,in what was ancient Susa. Multiple copies of the code have beenpreserved. Written in Akkadian cuneiform, the law collection consistsof 282 legal paragraphs created to promote public welfare and thecause of justice. The format of the code, which includes a prologue,an epilogue, and a category of cursings for disobedience andblessings for obedience, closely mirrors the structure of the book ofDeuteronomy. The casuistic format addresses laws governing publicorder and individual private law. The penalties prescribed forcapital offenses, of which there were thirty, were harsh and oftencruel, including bodily mutilation, multiple punishments, andvicarious punishment. Retaliatory consequences for the protection ofprivate property were exceptionally cruel, taking the form of tortureor excessive fines. Often, those who were presumed guilty would bethrown into the river; survival indicated innocence, while drowningdemonstrated guilt. A predominant feature was the lex talionis (thelaw of retaliation, or measure for measure), whereby a correspondingpenalty was exacted against the offender based on the crime. Forinstance, if a child was killed, the death of the offender’schild was required. Capital crimes included theft of property andadultery. Contrary to biblical law, Hammurabi’s code madefinancial provision for the loss of life, whereas in the OT the valueof life was immeasurable.
Theargument from silence suggests that in the absence of a full biblicallaw code, legal instructions and stipulations in the biblical textconsist primarily of codicil emendations, that is, additions andinnovations to already existing laws. For example, the discussion ondivorce in Deut. 21 describes the execution of a document withoutgiving details concerning the content or form of such a document. Thepassage also mentions a yet undiscovered “book of divorce.”The absence of legal material on commercial and business law as wellas specifics concerning inheritance and other common subjects pointsto a more comprehensive body of unwritten law reflecting preexistingsocietal norms. Israelite society was therefore indebted to itsMesopotamian predecessors for its implementation of law as a means ofprotecting citizens, and for many legal provisions eventually adaptedby the biblical text.
TheCharacter of Biblical Law
AlthoughIsraelite law was in some ways influenced by the legal codes of otherancient Near Eastern cultures, biblical law retained a distinctidentity centered on the relationship between Yahweh and his chosenpeople. Law in the OT is presented not as secular instruction butrather as divine pronouncement, receiving its authority as anexpression of the divine will. The entirety of the divine instructionoriginates with God, and he is both author and guarantor of thecovenant with his people. The people of Israel, then, are heldresponsible to God for their actions and not just to a legislativebody or human ruler. The will of the Israelite is wholly surrenderedto the will of God to such a degree that every aspect of anindividual’s life is inextricably connected to the divineteachings. God assigns the stipulations and requirements of the lawto the entire corporate body of Israel. The responsibility forcovenant fidelity does not lie solely with the community leadership;rather, it is shared by every individual in the community, whose dualrole includes ensuring both the fair execution of justice in thecommunity and personal observance of the law. God’sinstructions are proclaimed publicly and apply equally to all socialstrata without distinction, apart from specific direction concerningslaves.
Torahbecomes the corpus of teaching directed toward the entire community.The didactic purpose of the law is evident by the motive clausesappended to many apodictic and casuistic instructions that elaborateon the ethical, religious, or historical reasons for covenantfaithfulness. The pedagogical aim serves to appeal to the Israeliteconscience as a means of motivating obedience. In addition, theteaching that humanity is created in the divine image reinforces thesacredness of human life as a foundational concern of the law.Religious rather than economic values prevail, eliminating the deathpenalty for all property crimes. Individual culpability predominatesin the biblical corpus, abolishing the notion of vicarious punishmentadvocated in extrabiblical legislation. Each offender pays theconsequences of his or her behavior. Each person, created by God andenjoying equal status with all others, receives fair and equitabletreatment.
TheLaw and the New Testament
Thecontemporary significance of the Torah is recognized in the NT byJesus’ declaration that his incarnation served to fulfill thelaw (Matt. 5:17). He affirms the continued legitimacy of the law(Matt. 5:19) and appeals to the law as the governing authority forproper practice and behavior (Matt. 12:6, 42; Luke 4:1–11; Mark7:9–12; 10:17–19).
Therelationship between gospel and law in both Testaments demonstratesfar greater continuity than is recognized by many Christians.Covenant theologians affirm that the Mosaic law described a “covenantof works,” which functions differently from the NT’s“covenant of grace,” while dispensationalists often teachthat grace supersedes and abolishes the demands of the law. Theconditional nature of the Mosaic covenant differs from that of theAbrahamic covenant, since the unconditional promise of the Abrahamiccovenant suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham and his seedwould be realized not because of human obedience but rather throughdivine fidelity (Gal. 3:15–27). The Mosaic covenant, orcovenant of law, is not contrary to the promises of God (Gal. 3:21);instead, God graciously entered into relationship with the people ofIsrael, redeemed them from Egypt, and then gave them the law so thatthey would respond in humble obedience to his redeeming work. Thus,Mosaic law provided through a mediator a way for God to revealhimself to Israel. Consequently, the idea that Israelite religion waslegalistic is mistaken. It did not teach that one could earnsalvation by “keeping the law”; rather, an individualentered into the covenant with God by grace. When God established thecovenant with his people, he forgave their sins. He did not demand acertain level of attainment as a prerequisite for entering into thatrelationship, nor did Israel have to obey the law perfectly in orderto achieve salvation. Instead, the covenantal arrangement instituteda means of forgiveness through the sacrificial system, making theremoval of the barrier of sin available to the people. Israel’sobedience to the law was a response to God’s gracious andredeeming work. Law and covenant were complementary.
Ongoingdiscussions explore the question concerning the relevance of the lawfor Christians today. Many scholars from past centuries, such asMartin Luther, claimed that the believer is freed entirely from thelaw of Moses, including its moral requirements. The OT law is bindingonly insofar as it agrees with the NT and mirrors natural law. JohnCalvin, on the other hand, maintained that the moral laws of the OTare obligatory for the believer, and he asserts that this is theprincipal function of law. Calvin’s sense of keeping the morallaw does not compromise the message of grace, for keeping the morallaw, as opposed to the ceremonial or civil law, does not earnsalvation but instead forms the acceptable response of the believerto God’s grace. Other Reformation scholars suggested that thelaw was abolished with the coming of Christ, and, as a result, whilethe moral norms remain in effect, the ceremonial laws have beenfulfilled with the coming of Christ. Although the penaltiesoriginally prescribed for disobedience are no longer effective,keeping the moral law reflects the proper outcome of a life lived bythe Spirit of God. See also Ten Commandments; Torah.
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
The term “exodus” comes from a Greek word meaning “departure.” Specifically, the exodus refers to Israel’s departure from Egyptian slavery and its move toward the promised land (Canaan). The story of the exodus begins with a description of the harsh conditions under which the children of Abraham lived in Egypt, the raising up of a deliverer, the plagues, the actual departure, and the crossing of the Red Sea. Some treatments of the exodus include the wanderings in the wilderness (this topic is treated separately as a transitional period between the exodus and the conquest and settlement of the promised land; see Wilderness Wandering).
Many questions of interpretation of the exodus are matters of discussion, some of which will be treated below. These include, among other issues, the size of Israel, the date of the events, and the nature of the plagues. Two questions dominate all the others: Did the exodus happen? Does it matter to the message of the Bible whether the exodus happened?
The Nature of the Exodus
The exodus event is described in the first fifteen chapters of the book of Exodus, which opens with a description of Israel’s enslavement in the land of Egypt. The descendants of Israel had been in Egypt since the time of Joseph (see Gen. 37–50). An unspecified but significant number of years had passed since Joseph, and when the action begins in the book of Exodus, the Israelites were no longer honored in the land but reviled. Unmentioned in the Bible, but known from extrabiblical literature, a group called the “Hyksos” (“rulers of foreign countries”), ethnically related to the Hebrews, had taken advantage of an Egypt in political chaos and had dominated it for about a century (c. 1664–1555 BC). The events of Exod. 1 occurred after the Hyksos were expelled from Egypt, and many associate the new distrust of Israel with a general fear of a large Semitic presence in the land once a native Egyptian monarchy had been restored.
The biblical text, however, gives no motive but simply states that an unnamed (see below) pharaoh issued a decree to enslave the Israelites and to kill Israelite baby boys. In this context of enslavement and murder, God raised up a deliverer, Moses. His birth was extraordinary. After giving him birth, Moses’ mother placed him in a papyrus basket and put him on the Nile River. He was discovered by none other than the daughter of Pharaoh, who even hired Moses’ mother as a wet nurse. Thus, Israel’s deliverer was raised in the very household of the pharaoh who was trying to exterminate him.
Parallels to the Moses birth story exist. Especially close is the Sargon legend. Sargon was born to a high priestess who, for unstated reasons, could not keep him. Instead of abandoning him, she placed him in a basket and floated him down the Euphrates, where he was discovered by Aqqi, an irrigation worker. Aqqi raised Sargon, and from there he became the first king of the dynasty of Akkad. Rather than attributing the stories’ similarities to imitation, we should rather understand the action of Moses’ and Sargon’s mothers as the typical way that mothers helped preserve their babies in difficult situations. The moral of the biblical story is that God allows Israel’s future hero to survive so that he can use him to deliver his people.
Nothing is narrated about Moses’ childhood. The next major episode of the exodus involves Moses’ intervention in an altercation between a Hebrew and an Egyptian. Moses, who certainly knew his true parentage, killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite. This killing became known, and he had to flee Egypt.
Moses’ flight from Egypt brought him to Midian, an area around the Gulf of Aqabah. He married into the family of a Midianite tribal leader, Jethro. It was here, specifically at Mount Sinai, that God, speaking to Moses at a bush that was in flames but not consumed, called him to return to Egypt to confront Pharaoh. In response to Moses’ hesitation, God made his brother Aaron his companion and spokesperson.
When Moses returned to Egypt, he demanded that Pharaoh allow his people to go into the wilderness for three days in order to celebrate a festival. Ethical issues arise with this demand because it is unlikely that the Israelites would have returned to Egypt after the three days. This deception is not the only instance when lying seems to be divinely approved in the OT. We should likely understand that the pharaoh had forfeited his right to the truth because he intended to use it for evil purposes.
Pharaoh refused to allow the Israelites to leave. In response, God sent a series of disasters (plagues) against Egypt. According to Exod. 12:12, the plagues were judgments directed at the gods of Egypt (see also Num. 33:4). Turning the Nile into blood, God attacked the god of the Nile, Hapi. Darkening the sun, God showed his power over the most important Egyptian deity, the sun god Aten-Re. Climactically, the death of the Egyptians’ firstborn sons and livestock brought tragedy to the god who ruled Egypt, the pharaoh.
The plagues were a series of divinely initiated disasters of nature, miracles, or extraordinary providence, not naturally occurring events, that brought Egypt to its knees. Ultimately, Pharaoh agreed to let Israel leave Egypt. On the evening of the last plague, the Israelites celebrated the Passover (Exod. 12), which ever since has been an annual commemoration of their deliverance from Egypt.
Even after they set off toward the promised land, however, they were not safe. Pharaoh, angry and embarrassed, had a final change of mind and set off after the Israelites. He cornered them with their backs against an impassable body of water known traditionally as the Red Sea. The Hebrew phrase (yam sup) is literally translated “sea of reeds” and probably refers to one of the deepwater lakes that once existed to the north of the Gulf of Suez. In any case, Moses and the Israelites had no chance of escape—that is, no human chance. God opened up the sea so that they could pass through, and when the Egyptians tried to follow, he closed the sea so that it engulfed them. God’s act of rescue and judgment is then celebrated in song (Exod. 15:1–18). After they passed safely through the waters, the Israelites then continued their journey through the wilderness and toward the promised land.
Did It Happen?
The only direct witness of the exodus is the Bible itself. The account given in the book of Exodus is intended to be taken as an actual past event, and those who have confidence in the Bible as a historical source typically do not doubt the historicity of the exodus, although some questions persist, such as the size of the group that left Egypt or whether the exodus was the culmination or the beginning of a process of Israelites moving from Egypt to Israel.
Unfortunately, there is only indirect evidence of Israelite presence in Egypt in the second half of the second millennium BC (see “When Did It Happen?” below). The exodus and Israel are never mentioned in Egyptian records. Of course, it is unlikely that Egypt would have preserved permanent records of such an embarrassing and painful moment in its history. The exodus is not the type of event that Egypt would have memorialized by a pyramid or on tomb walls. What we do have on tomb walls, however, does show in a general sense that Semitic peoples were engaged in slave labor in the second millennium in Egypt. For instance, as early as the reign of ThutmoseIII, around 1460 BC, we have scenes of foreigners making bricks for the temple of Amun in Thebes. This is one example of indirect evidence that can be marshaled to make the account of the exodus sound reasonable. In this context, we should also note that the first extrabiblical evidence for the existence of Israel as a people in Egypt comes from the very end of the thirteenth century BC, in a victory monument of Pharaoh Merneptah (also known as the Israel Stela) that mentions Israel as a vanquished enemy.
When Did It Happen?
The biblical evidence is ambiguous as to when the exodus took place. Note that the names of the pharaohs are not given. The most straightforward text is 1Kings 6:1, stating that Solomon began building the temple in his fourth year, which was 480 years after the exodus. Taking this number literally places the exodus in the middle of the fifteenth century BC. Through correlations with Assyrian chronology, which mentions dateable astronomical events, Solomon’s fourth year is reckoned to be approximately 966 BC. If the exodus took place in the fifteenth century BC, then a ruler such as ThutmoseIII would be a candidate for the pharaoh of the exodus.
Problems arise, however, when this date is compared to the traditional interpretation of archaeological evidence. A full discussion of the issue is impossible here, but as an example, we will note briefly the two “store cities” that Egypt forced Israel to build, Pithom and Ram-eses (Exod. 1:11). In the first place, the name of the second city reflects that of a pharaoh who ruled in the thirteenth century, RamessesII. It is possible that the book of Exodus has updated the name of a city that had existed as early as the fifteenth century. Indeed, some archaeological remains from the fifteenth century at the archaeological site are widely recognized as the remains of Rameses (Tell Qantir [Daba’]). But it was during the reign of RamessesII that the city really expanded.
Archaeology better (but not perfectly) supports a date for the exodus in the thirteenth century BC, with Ramesses as the pharaoh of the exodus. This conclusion holds not only for Pithom and Rameses but also for the cities said to be involved in the conquest that took place forty years later (Jericho, Ai, Hazor).
A late date (thirteenth century) for the exodus can be biblically justified by taking the number 480 as symbolic. The number 40 could stand for a generation (like the wilderness generation), and thus 480 years would stand for twelve generations. However, a generation is actually closer to twenty-five years, meaning that twelve generations would “literally” be about three hundred years. Accordingly, the exodus would be dated to the first part of the thirteenth century.
In conclusion, both the archaeological evidence and the chronological statements of the Bible are ambiguous. Archaeological results are often open to more than one interpretation. While insisting on the historicity of the exodus, we still cannot be dogmatic about when the exodus took place, whether in the fifteenth century or in the thirteenth.
Does It Matter Whether It Happened?
Many today understand the story of the exodus to be just that, a story. Often stories are meaningful in and of themselves, apart from whether the events they relate actually happened. However, in the case of the exodus, if the events associated with it did not happen, then the moral of the story has no relevance. The main teaching of the exodus is that Yahweh is a God who can rescue his people when they are beyond human aid. Indeed, that is how the exodus was understood even in later OT settings (see Ps. 77). At the exodus God was establishing a track record, showing that he was capable of and, under certain conditions, willing to rescue his people.
Biblical Theology
The exodus is the salvation event that defined Israel as a nation. Occurring at the beginning of Israel’s national history, it served as an important reminder of God’s concern and care for his people. After the exodus, the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness toward the promised land. Due to their rebellion and lack of trust, God punished them by making them stay in the wilderness for forty years, enough time for the first generation of adults to die out. With the exception of the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb, those who stood on the eastern bank of the Jordan River forty years later did not experience the crossing of the Red Sea. To demonstrate that the God of power was still with them, God caused the waters of the Jordan River to stop, evoking memories of the exodus (Josh.3).
The psalms also often recall the exodus in such a way that this past event may bring confidence for the present and hope for the future. Psalm 77 illustrates this, as does Ps. 114, which personifies the sea as the forces of chaos, afraid of God, who will control it.
Interestingly, the later prophets often speak of the exodus as if it were a future event. Isaiah (4:5; 11:15–16; 40:1–11; 43:18–19; 48:21; 49:11–12; 50:2; 51:9–10; 52:10; 63:11–14), Jeremiah (16:14–15; 23:7–8), Hosea (2:14–16), and many others announce God’s coming judgment on his sinful people. Looking beyond judgment, though, they also envision a future rescue of the faithful remnant, and often they do this in the language of the exodus.
When did this second exodus take place? Ezra 1–6 recounts the early returns under leaders such as Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel. Those who heard the prophetic message would have understood the exile as a reversion to bondage and a wandering in the wilderness. Thus, we should not be surprised that the faithful would think of the return to the land as a fulfillment of the promises of the second exodus. It is striking that just as the Egyptians gave gifts to the departing children of Israel (Exod. 3:21–22; 11:2; 12:35–36), so too did the people of Israel’s present foreign neighbors: “All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings” (Ezra 1:6). As the exodus generation offered gifts for the construction of the tabernacle (Exod. 35:21–29), so too the returnees contributed gifts for the construction of the temple (Ezra 2:68–69).
However, the return from exile was just the beginning. The NT understands that Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the exodus; his work on earth follows the pattern of the exodus.
His ministry began with his baptism at the Jordan River, reflecting the Israelites’ crossing through the Red Sea (which was their baptism [1Cor. 10:1–6]), after which he went into the wilderness for forty days and nights (Matt. 4:1–11). Here he experienced the same temptations as Israel did during its forty-year wandering. In contrast to the Israelites, Jesus showed that he was the obedient Son of God by not succumbing to the temptation, each time quoting the book of Deuteronomy, Moses’ last sermon to the Israelites in the wilderness.
After naming twelve disciples (reflecting the twelve tribes of Israel), Jesus preached a sermon from a mountain whose subject was the law (Matt. 5–7). Such a topic in such a setting would have reminded a Jewish Christian audience of God giving Moses the law on Mount Sinai.
These are just some examples of the connection between the exodus and Jesus’ life. The connection culminates, though, on the cross, since Jesus is executed on the eve of the Passover, the annual celebration of the deliverance from Egypt.
While the connections with Jesus’ life are arguably the most significant, the book of Hebrews also uses the exodus theme, though in a slightly different way. Hebrews likens contemporary Christians to the wilderness generation. They have been freed from their bondage (sin) and are on the way to the promised land (heaven), but for now they are in the wilderness. The author makes the connection to warn Christians not to rebel against God, as many in the wilderness generation did, and thus suffer punishment (Heb. 3:7–4:13).
The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesusfollowers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christembodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in humanhistory.
Introduction
Name.Early Christians combined the name “Jesus” with the title“Christ” (Acts 5:42; NIV: “Messiah”). Thename “Jesus,” from the Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, was acommon male name in first-century Judaism. The title “Christ”is from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh(“anointed one, messiah”). Christians eventually werenamed after Jesus’ title (Acts 11:26). During the ministry ofJesus, Peter was the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the Messiah(Matt. 16:16; Mark 9:29; Luke 9:20).
Sources.From the viewpoint of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesusconstitute the turning point in human history. From a historicalperspective, ample early source materials would be expected. Indeed,both Christian and non-Christian first-century and earlysecond-century literary sources are extant, but they are few innumber. In part, this low incidence is due to society’s initialresistance to the Jesus followers’ movement. The ancient Romanhistorian Tacitus called Christianity “a superstition,”since its beliefs did not fit with the culture’s prevailingworldview and thus were considered antisocial. Early literary sourcestherefore are either in-group documents or allusions in non-Christiansources.
TheNT Gospels are the principal sources for the life and ministry ofJesus. They consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels),and John. Most scholars adhere to the so-called Four SourceHypothesis. In this theory, Mark was written first and was used as asource by Matthew and Luke, who also used the sayings source Q (fromGerman Quelle, meaning “source”) as well as their ownindividual sources M (Matthew) and L (Luke). John used additionalsources.
Theearly church tried to put together singular accounts, so-calledGospel harmonies, of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of the Ebionitesrepresents one such attempt based on the Synoptic Gospels. Anotherharmony, the Diatessaron, based on all four Gospels, was producedaround AD 170 by Tatian. Additional source materials concerning thelife of Christ are provided in the NT in texts such as Acts, thePauline Epistles, the General Epistles, and the Revelation of John.Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come,God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law” (Gal. 4:4).The first narrative about Jesus by the Christian community was apassion narrative, the account of his death and resurrection. Thefirst extant references to this tradition are found in Paul’sletters (1Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1). The resurrection was recognizedfrom the beginning as the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1Cor.15:13–14).
Amongnon-Christian sources, the earliest reference to Jesus is found in aletter written circa AD 112 by Pliny the Younger, the Roman governorof Bithynia-Pontus (Ep. 10.96). The Roman historian Tacitus mentionsChristians and Jesus around AD 115 in his famous work about thehistory of Rome (Ann. 15.44). Another Roman historian, Suetonius,wrote around the same time concerning unrest among the Jews in Romebecause of a certain “Chrestos” (Claud. 25.4). Somescholars conclude that “Chrestos” is a misspelling of“Christos,” a reference to Jesus.
TheJewish author Josephus (first century AD) mentions Jesus in a storyabout the Jewish high priest Ananus and James the brother of Jesus(Ant. 20.200). A controversial reference to Jesus appears in adifferent part of the same work, where Josephus affirms that Jesus isthe Messiah and that he rose from the dead (Ant. 18.63–64). Themajority of scholars consider this passage to be authentic butheavily edited by later Christian copyists. Another Jewish source,the Talmud, also mentions Jesus in several places, but thesereferences are very late and of little historical value.
NoncanonicalGospels that mention Jesus include, for example, the Infancy Gospelof Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel ofJames, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, the Gospel of the Hebrews, theEgerton Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas. Although some of these maycontain an occasional authentic saying or event, for the most partthey are late and unreliable.
Jesus’Life
Birthand childhood. TheGospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehemduring the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesuswas probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’sdeath (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of avirginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18;Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governorQuirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place inBethlehem (2:1–5). Both the census and the governorship at thetime of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars.Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to eitherconfirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must bedetermined on the basis of one’s view regarding the generalreliability of the Gospel tradition.
Onthe eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keepingwith the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus”(Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home ofhis parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel ofLuke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth instrength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke alsocontains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).
Jesuswas born in a lower socioeconomic setting. His parents offered atemple sacrifice appropriate for those who could not afford tosacrifice a sheep (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). Joseph, Jesus’earthly father, was a carpenter or an artisan in wood, stone, ormetal (Matt. 13:55). From a geographical perspective, Nazareth wasnot a prominent place for settling, since it lacked fertile ground.Jesus’ disciple Nathanael expressed an apparently commonfirst-century sentiment concerning Nazareth: “Nazareth! Cananything good come from there?” (John 1:46).
Jesuswas also born in a context of scandal. Questions of illegitimacy weresurely raised, since his mother Mary was discovered to be pregnantbefore her marriage to Joseph. According to Matthew, only theintervention of an angel convinced Joseph not to break his betrothal(Matt. 1:18–24). Jesus’ birth took place in Bethlehem,far from his parents’ home in Nazareth. According to kinshiphospitality customs, Joseph and Mary would have expected to stay withdistant relatives in Bethlehem. It is likely that they were unwelcomebecause of Jesus’ status as an illegitimate child; thus Maryhad to give birth elsewhere and place the infant Jesus in a feedingtrough (Luke 2:7). A similar response was seen years later inNazareth when Jesus was identified as “Mary’s son”(Mark 6:3) rather than through his paternal line, thereby shaming himas one who was born an illegitimate child. Jesus was likewiserejected at the end of his life as the crowds cried, “Crucifyhim!” (Matt. 27:22–23; Mark 15:13–14; Luke 23:21;John 19:6, 15). When Jesus was arrested, most of his followers fled(Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50–52), and a core disciple, Peter,vehemently denied knowing him (Matt. 26:69–74; Mark 14:66–71;Luke 22:55–60; John 18:15–17, 25–27). His ownsiblings did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were evidently ashamedof his fate, since from the cross Jesus placed the care of his motherinto the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” (19:26–27)rather than the next brother in line, as was customary.
Baptism,temptation, and start of ministry.After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring tohim as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instantministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into thewilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11;Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that thetemptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Lukeidentify three specific temptations by the devil, though their orderfor the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesuswas tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine interventionafter jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’skingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation,quoting Scripture in response.
Matthewand Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum inGalilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13;Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirtyyears of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity orperhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of theLevites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning ofJesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples andthe sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).
Jesus’public ministry: chronology.Jesus’ ministry started in Galilee, probably around AD 27/28,and ended with his death around AD 30 in Jerusalem. The temple hadbeen forty-six years in construction (generally interpreted as thetemple itself and the wider temple complex) when Jesus drove out themoney changers (John 2:20). According to Josephus, the rebuilding andexpansion of the second temple had started in 20/19 BC, during theeighteenth year of Herod’s reign (Ant. 15.380). The ministry ofJohn the Baptist had commenced in the fifteenth year of Tiberius(Luke 3:1–2), who had become a coregent in AD 11/12. From thesedates of the start of the temple building and the correlation of thereign of Tiberius to John the Baptist’s ministry, the onset ofJesus’ ministry can probably be dated to AD 27/28.
TheGospel of John mentions three Passovers and another unnamed feast inJohn 5:1. The length of Jesus’ ministry thus extended overthree or four Passovers, equaling about three or three and a halfyears. Passover, which took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, came ona Friday in AD 30 and 33. The year of Jesus’ death wastherefore probably AD 30.
Jesus’ministry years may be divided broadly into his Galilean and hisJudean ministries. The Synoptic Gospels describe the ministry inGalilee from various angles but converge again as Jesus enters Judea.
Galileanministry.The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and aroundGalilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that thekingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment ofprophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ firstteaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30);the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for hiscalling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection andsuffering.
AllGospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in hisGalilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioningof the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers isrecorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministryis the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, inparticular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synopticsfocus on healings and exorcisms.
DuringJesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with hisidentity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority(Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family(3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner ofBeelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesustold parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growingkingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humblebeginnings (4:1–32).
TheSynoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful.No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority orability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized manydemons (Mark 5:1–13), raised the dead (Mark 5:35–42), fedfive thousand (Mark 6:30–44), and walked on water (Mark6:48–49).
Inthe later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew andtraveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are notwritten with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns toGalilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey toJerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fearresolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee,where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ discipleswith lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed thePharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents(7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demandinga sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, whoconfessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus didprovide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).
Jesuswithdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician womanrequested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sentonly to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans hadlong resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality thatallotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere“crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Eventhe dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,”Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-muteman in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’sconfession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The citywas the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.
Judeanministry.Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry ashe resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually ledto his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem intothree phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27).The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of thejourney. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, andthe demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem(Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45;Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journeytoward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvationand judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase ofthe journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are themain themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).
Socialconflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposteinteractions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel(Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomicfeathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who hadlittle value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16;Luke 18:15–17).
PassionWeek, death, and resurrection. Eachof the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with thecrowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Lukedescribes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during whichJesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).
InJerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17).Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because thewhole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “beganlooking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segmentof Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions(12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation(12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s owndestruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, JudasIscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’arrest (14:10–11).
Atthe Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a newcovenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29;Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned thedisciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and laterhe prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agonyand submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42;Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial,crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15;Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18).Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission bymaking disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8)and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return(Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).
TheIdentity of Jesus Christ
Variousaspects of Jesus’ identity are stressed in the four NT Gospels,depending on their target audiences. In the Gospels the witnesses toJesus’ ministry are portrayed as constantly questioning andexamining his identity (Matt. 11:2–5; 12:24; 26:63; 27:11; Mark3:22; 8:11; 11:28; 14:61; Luke 7:18–20; 11:15; 22:67, 70;23:39; John 7:20, 25–27; 18:37). Only beings of the spiritualrealm are certain of his divinity (Mark 1:34; 3:11; Luke 4:41). AtJesus’ baptism, God referred to him as his Son, whom he loved(Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Likewise, when Jesus wastransfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, a voiceaffirmed, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 17:5; Mark9:7). At the moment of his death, the questioning of Jesus’identity culminated in a confession by a Roman centurion and otherguards: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54; cf.Mark 15:39).
Miracleworker.In the first-century setting, folk healers and miracle workers werepart of the fabric of society. Jesus, however, performed signs andmiracles in order to demonstrate the authority of the kingdom of Godover various realms: disease, illness, the spiritual world, nature,and even future events. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus’signs and miracles are used to show his authority and thus hisidentity.
Nochallenge superseded Jesus’ authority. Among his ample miraclesand signs, he changed water into wine (John 2:7–9), calmed astorm in the sea (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–39; Luke8:22–25), exorcized demons (Matt. 9:32–34; Mark 5:1–13;Luke 9:42–43), healed the sick (Mark 1:40–44), raised thedead (Matt. 9:23–25; Mark 5:35–42; Luke 7:1–16;8:49–54; John 11:17, 38–44), performed miraculousfeedings (Matt. 14:17–21; 15:34–38; Mark 6:30–44;8:5–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:8–13), and walked onwater (Matt. 14:25–26; Mark 6:48–49; John 6:19).
ThePharisees requested miracles as evidence of his authority (Mark8:11–12). Jesus refused, claiming that a wicked and adulterousgeneration asks for a miraculous sign (Matt. 12:38–39; 16:1–4).The only sign that he would give was the sign of Jonah—hisdeath and resurrection three days later—a personal sacrifice,taking upon himself the judgment of the world (Matt. 12:39–41).
Rabbi/teacher.Jesus’ teaching style was similar to other first-century rabbisor Pharisees (Mark 9:5; 10:51; John 1:38; 3:2). What distinguishedhim was that he spoke with great personal authority (Matt. 5:22, 28,32, 39, 44; Mark 1:22). Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus gathereddisciples. He called these men to observe his lifestyle and to joinhim in his ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism (Matt. 10:1–4;Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16).
Jesusused a variety of teaching methods. He frequently spoke in parables(Matt. 6:24; 13:24–52; 18:10–14, 23–35;21:28–22:14; 24:32–36, 45–51; 25:14–30; Mark4:1–34; 12:1–12; 13:28–34; Luke 8:4–18;12:41–46; 13:18–21; 14:15–24; 15:1–16:15,19–31; 18:1–14; 19:11–27; 20:9–19; 21:29–33),used figures of speech (John 10:9), hyperbole (Matt. 19:24; Mark10:25; Luke 18:25), argumentation (Matt. 26:11), object lessons(Matt. 24:32), frequent repetition (Matt. 13:44–47; Luke13:18–21), practical examples, and personal guidance.
Majorthemes in Jesus’ teaching include the kingdom of God, the costof discipleship, internal righteousness, the end of the age, hisidentity, his mission, and his approaching death. In his teachings,observance of Torah was given new context and meaning because God’skingdom had “come near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus had come tofulfill the law (Matt. 5:17).
Jesus’teaching ministry often took place amid social conflict. Theseconflicts were couched in so-called challenge-riposte interactions inwhich the honor status of those involved was at stake. Jesus usedthese interactions as teachable moments. When questioned, Jesus gavereplies that reveal omniscience or intimate knowledge of God’swill, especially in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels,Jesus’ answers are both ethical and practical in nature. TheSynoptics portray Jesus as challenged repeatedly with accusations ofviolating customs specified in the Jewish law. Jesus’ answersto such accusations often echoed the essence of 1Sam. 15:22,“To obey is better than sacrifice,” phrased by Jesus as“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). Anoverall “better than” ethic was common in Jesus’public teaching.
TheSermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) contains a “better than”ethic in which internal obedience is better than mere outwardobedience. For example, Jesus said that anger without cause is equalto murder (Matt. 5:21–22), that looking at a woman lustfullyamounts to adultery (Matt. 5:28), and that instead of revengingwrongs one must reciprocate with love (Matt. 5:38–48). Jesusvalued compassion above traditions and customs, even those containedwithin the OT law. He desired internal obedience above the letter ofthe law.
Jesus’teachings found their authority in the reality of God’simminent kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9),necessitating repentance (Matt. 3:2), belief (Mark 1:15), dependence(Matt. 18:3–5; Mark 10:15), and loyalty to a new community—thefamily of Jesus followers (Mark 3:34; 10:29–30). Jesus urged,“Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness”(Matt. 6:33). Preaching with such urgency was common among propheticteachers of the intertestamental period. Jesus, however, had his owngrounds for urgency. He held that God deeply valued all humans (Matt.10:31) and would bring judgment swiftly (Matt. 25:31–46).
Examplesof a “greater good” ethic in the Synoptics include theoccasions when Jesus ate with sinners (Mark 2:16–17). Jesusused an aphorism in response to accusations about his associationswith sinners, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor,but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”(Mark 2:17). He advocated harvesting and healing on the Sabbath (Mark2:23–28; 3:1–6), and when he was accused of breaking thelaw, he pointed to an OT exception (1Sam. 21:1–6) todeclare compassion appropriate for the Sabbath. Jesus also appliedthe “greater good” ethic in the case of divorce, sincewomen suffered the societal stigma of adultery and commonly becameoutcasts following divorce (Matt. 19:8–9; Mark 10:5–9).
Jesus’kingdom teachings were simultaneously spiritual, ethical, andeschatological in application. The teachings were aimed at internaltransformation (Matt. 5:3–9; 18:3; Mark 10:15) and spurring onlove (Matt. 5:44; 7:21). The Spirit of the Lord had called Jesus tobless the hurting ones as they aspired to a godly character. Jesustaught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father isperfect” (Matt. 5:48), and “Be merciful, just as yourFather is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The “blessed” onesin Jesus’ teachings are poor of spirit, peace driven, mournful,and hungry for righteousness, consumed with emulating godlycharacter.
Somescholars believe that Jesus promoted an “interim ethic”for the kingdom, intended only for a short period prior to the end oftime. However, he was explicit regarding the longevity of histeachings: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words willnever pass away” (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17).
Messiah.The concept of an anointed one, a messiah, who would restore theglories of David’s kingdom and bring political stability wascommon in Jewish expectation. Both before and after the Babyloniancaptivity, many Jews longed for one who would bring peace andprotection. Israel’s prophets had spoken of a coming deliverer,one who would restore David’s kingdom and reign in justice andrighteousness (2Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16;Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–16; Ezek. 37:25; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:2;Zech. 9:9). Isaiah’s description of the servant (Isa. 53) whosesuffering healed the nation provided a slightly different angle ofexpectation in terms of a deliverer.
Jesus’authority and popularity as a miracle worker called up messianicimages in first-century Jewish minds. On several occasions hearerscalled him “Son of David,” hoping for the Messiah (Matt.12:23; 21:9). Simon Peter was the first follower who confessed Jesusas the Christ, the “Messiah” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29). Inline with Isaiah’s model of the Suffering Servant, Jesusfocused not on political ends but rather on spiritual regenerationthrough his own sacrificial death (Mark 10:45).
Eschatologicalprophet.Many scholars claim that Jesus is best understood as a Jewishapocalypticist, an eschatological prophet who expected God tointervene in history, destroy the wicked, and bring in the kingdom ofGod. Central in this understanding are Jesus’ propheciesconcerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1–2,15–22; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5–24; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). Inaddition, it is noted that Jesus had twelve disciples, representativeof the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:2–28; Luke 22:23–30).Certain of Jesus’ parables, those with apocalyptic images ofcoming judgment, present Jesus as an eschatological prophet (Matt.24:45–25:30; Luke 12:41–46; 19:11–27).
SufferingSon of God.Jesus’ first recorded teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth wasparadigmatic (Luke 4:16–21). He attributed the reading, Isa.61:1–2, to his personal calling to serve, and in doing so herevealed a trajectory of suffering. The Gospel of Mark likewise aptlyportrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Jesus’ ownteachings incorporated his upcoming suffering (Mark 8:31; 9:12–13,31; 10:33–34). He summarized his mission by declaring, “TheSon of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give hislife as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His earthly careerended with a trial in Jerusalem consisting of both Roman and Jewishcomponents (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:1–31; Mark 14:53–65;15:1–20; Luke 22:54–23:25; John 18:19–24;18:28–19:16). He was insulted, scourged, mocked, and crucified.
Jesus’suffering culminated in his humiliating death by crucifixion (Matt.27:33–50; Mark 15:22–37; Luke 23:33–46; John19:16–30). Crucifixion was a death of unimaginable horror,bringing shame and humiliation to the victim and his family. Anyonehanging on a tree was considered cursed (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).Thus, especially in a Jewish society, anyone associated with acrucified person bore the shame of following one who was executed asa lowly slave and left as a cursed corpse. The apostle Paul referredto this shame of the cross when he stated, “I am not ashamed ofthe gospel” (Rom. 1:16).
ExaltedLord.Jesus had prophesied that he would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:9, 23;20:19; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46).The testimony of the Synoptics is that the resurrection of JesusChrist indeed occurred on the third day, Christ having died on Friday(Mark 15:42–45; Luke 23:52–54; John 19:30–33) andrisen again on Sunday (Matt. 28:1–7; Mark 16:2–7; Luke24:1–7; John 20:1–16). The resurrected Jesus waswitnessed by the women (Matt. 28:8–9), the eleven disciples(Matt. 28:16–17; Luke 24:36–43), and travelers on theroad to Emmaus (Luke 24:31–32). According to Paul, he appearedto as many as five hundred others (1Cor. 15:6). He appeared inbodily form, spoke, showed his scars, and ate (Luke 24:39–43;John 20:27; Acts 1:4). After forty postresurrection days, Jesusascended into the heavenly realm (Acts 1:9).
Asmuch as Jesus’ death was the epitome of shame, his victory overdeath was his ultimate exaltation (Phil. 2:5–11). At Pentecost,Peter proclaimed that in the resurrection God fulfilled OT promises(Ps. 16:10) by raising his Son from the grave (Acts 2:30–31).Furthermore, Christ provided freedom from the law through hisresurrection (Rom. 5:13–14), God’s approval of his lifeand work (Phil. 2:8–9), and God’s designation of him asLord over all the earth, the living and the dead (Acts 17:30–31;Phil. 2:10; Heb. 1:3), and over all his enemies (Eph. 1:20–23).
Jesus’exaltation commenced the beginning of forgiveness and justification(Luke 24:46–47; Acts 13:30–39; Rom. 4:25) and hisintercession for the people of God (Rom. 8:34). His ascensionsignaled the coming of the Holy Spirit as comforter and teacher (John14:26; Acts 2:33) and was accompanied by the promise of his return inglory (Luke 24:51), at which time he will render judgment (Matt.19:28; 24:31; Rev. 20:11–15) and establish his eternal kingdom(1Cor. 15:24; 2Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:15; 22:5).
Jesus’Purpose and Community
Inthe Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, whopreaches the good news of the kingdom, urging people to repent(4:17–23). Repentance and belief allow one to enter thekingdom. The call into the kingdom is a call into a new covenant, onemade in Jesus’ blood (26:28).
Inthe prologue to the Gospel of Mark, the narrator reveals the identityof Jesus (1:1). Jesus is presented as the one who brings good tidingsof salvation (cf. Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1). The centrality of thegospel, the good news (Mark 1:14–15), is evident.
Lukelikewise presents the preaching of the good news as a main purpose ofJesus’ ministry (4:43). The content of this good news is thekingdom of God (4:43; 8:1; 16:16). When the disciples of John theBaptist asked Jesus if he was the one who was to come (7:20), Jesusanswered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen andheard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good newsis proclaimed to the poor” (7:22). The kingdom of God, aspresented in Luke, brings freedom for the prisoners, recovery ofsight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (4:18). Jesus’healings and exorcisms announce the coming kingdom of God alreadypresent in the ministry of Jesus (4:40–44; 6:18–20;8:1–2; 9:2; 10:8–9).
Inthe Gospel of John, Jesus testifies to the good news by way of signsthroughout his ministry. These signs point to Jesus’ glory, hisidentity, and the significance of his ministry. Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God, who offers eternal and abundant life. This abundantlife is lived out in community.
Inthe Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus represent the community ofGod (17:21). The disciples did not belong to the world, but theycontinued to live in the world (17:14–16). Throughout hisministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a callto loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38;Luke 9:23–26), a call to the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50;Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock Iwill build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call tocommunity. Jesus’ presence as the head of the community wasreplaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18).
Jesus’ministry continued in the community of Jesus’ followers, God’sfamily—the church. Entrance into the community was obtained byadopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and through theinitiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26;Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–62; John 1:12; 3:16;10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9).
TheQuests for the Historical Jesus
Thequest for the historical Jesus, or seeking who Jesus was from ahistorical perspective, is a modern phenomenon deemed necessary byscholars who claim that the NT Gospels were written long after Jesus’death and were heavily influenced by the post-Easter understanding ofthe church.
Thebeginning of this quest is often dated to 1770, when the lecturenotes of Hermann Samuel Reimarus were published posthumously.Reimarus had launched an inquiry into the identity of Jesus thatrejected as inauthentic all supernatural elements in the Gospels. Heconcluded that the disciples invented Jesus’ miracles,prophecies, ritualistic religion, and resurrection. Reimarus’sconclusions were not widely accepted, but they set off a flurry ofrationalistic research into the historical Jesus that continuedthroughout the nineteenth century. This became known as the “firstquest” for the historical Jesus.
In1906 German theologian Albert Schweit-zer published The Quest of theHistorical Jesus (German title: Von Reimarus zu Wrede: EineGeschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung), a scathing indictment of thefirst quest. Schweitzer’s work showed that nineteenth-centuryresearchers re-created Jesus in their own image, transforming thehistorical Jesus into a modern philanthropist preaching aninoffensive message of love and brotherhood. Schweitzer’sconclusions marked the beginning of the end for this first quest.Schweitzer himself concluded that the historical Jesus was aneschatological prophet whose purposes failed during his last days inJerusalem.
Withthe demise of the first quest, some NT scholars, such as RudolfBultmann, rejected any claim to being able to discover the historicalJesus. This trend continued until 1953, when some of Bultmann’sformer students launched what has come to be known as the “newquest” for the historical Jesus (1953–c. 1970). Thisquest created new interest in the historical Jesus but was stilldominated by the view that the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels islargely a creation of the church in a post-Easter setting.
Asthe rebuilding years of the post–World WarII era wanedand scholars started to reap academic fruit from major archaeologicalfinds such as the DSS, research on the historical Jesus moved on towhat has been called the “third quest.” This quest seeksespecially to research and understand Jesus in his social andcultural setting.
In the NT, “Jews” (Ioudaioi) is an ethnic andreligious term to describe the people of Judah. In Jesus’ day,Jews were distinguished from Samaritans (John 4:9, 22). Gradually theterm began to be used more in a religious than in an ethnic sense,and it has come to represent the descendants from Abraham as a wholeand religious converts who regard the Mosaic law and customs as theinalienable religious foundation for faith and practices (Mark 7:3;John 2:6).
TheGospels
Inthe Synoptic Gospels the term “Jews” is used largely inthe phrase “the king of the Jews” with reference to Jesus(Matt. 2:2; 27:11, 29; Mark 15:2, 9, 12, 18; Luke 23:3, 37). Born asthe king of the Jews, Jesus claimed to have come to fulfill the lawof Moses instead of abolishing it (Matt. 5:17). He emphasized theimportance of practicing the law in obedience (Matt. 7:24–27),and he rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for teaching the lawwithout carrying it out (Matt. 23). They opposed him, not onlybecause they rejected his claim to be the Messiah, but also becausethey viewed his teaching and practices as destabilizing theirreligious status quo (Matt. 12:1–8; John 5:10; 11:48).
TheJews are represented in the Gospels by both the upper class (e.g.,Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, chief priests) and the lower classes(the crowds). Usually the religious upper class would not acceptJesus’ teaching and challenged him by asking questions ordenying his authority (Matt. 15:1; 16:1). The crowds generallyaccepted Jesus’ teaching and experienced his power to heal andother benefits. The Synoptic account of the opposition by the upperclass is contrasted with the widespread opposition to Jesus by the“Jews” in general in John’s Gospel. But Matthew andLuke also highlight Jesus’ lament of the unrepentant Jewishcities (Matt. 11:20–24; Luke 10:12–15), indicating thatresistance to Jesus’ teaching was a common phenomenon among theJews.
Jesusresponded to the unbelieving Jews with strong rebuke and condemnation(Matt. 12:30–32; 21:33–46). When Jesus healed a servantof a Roman centurion and marveled at the amazing faith of thisGentile (8:5–13), Jesus predicted that “the subjects ofthe kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness” becauseof unbelief, whereas the Gentiles will come to eat with Abraham inthe kingdom of heaven (8:11–12). In spite of the unbelief ofthe Jews, the privilege to hear the gospel was given to them first.Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, instructing them that theyshould not go anywhere among the Gentiles or enter the towns of theSamaritans, but instead go “to the lost sheep of Israel”(Matt. 10:6 [cf. Rom. 1:16]).
Theterm “Jews” occurs only four times in the Synopticsoutside the phrase “king of the Jews,” but seventy-onetimes in the Gospel of John. John uses the term especially as atechnical one for those Jews who were hostile to Jesus and hisfollowers. Whereas the Synoptics focus on the Jewish leaders’rejection of Jesus’ messianic actions, John focuses on theirrejection of his teaching that he is the Son of God in uniquerelationship with the Father. Jesus in John is not only the “oneand only”(monogenēs) of God (1:18), but also the fulfiller of what thetemple signifies and all the Jewish tradition and customs represent.John thus describes the Jewish opposition to Jesus as much morewidespread and intense than that in the Synoptics, presenting theJews as opposing Jesus’ teaching because of their loyalty toJewish tradition (5:15–18; 6:41; 7:1–2, 13; 8:31–57;9:22; 10:31–33; 19:7–12, 38; 20:19).
Actsand the Pauline Letters
Inthe book of Acts the term “Jews” (eighty-one occurrences)is used especially with reference to the Jewish people who opposePaul’s law-free gospel (9:23; 13:45, 50; 14:2, 4; 17:5; 18:12,14; 20:3; 21:11; 22:30; 23:12; 24:9).
Inhis letters, Paul refers to “Jews” primarily in an ethnicand religious sense without connoting that they have theologicalantagonism against the gospel. The Jews are thus contrasted with theGentiles in that they are “the people of Israel”: “Theirsis the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants,the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises”(Rom. 9:4). While Paul acknowledges the continuity of Jewish identitythrough their lineage from Abraham, he distinguishes true Jews fromfalse Jews in terms of Jesus’ accomplishment of redemption.Paul says, “A person is a Jew who is one inwardly; andcircumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by thewritten code” (2:29). This distinction of true Jews from falseJews resonates with his distinction of true Israel from false Israel(9:6). The redefinition of the group of spiritual Israelites is theresult of Jesus’ death and resurrection according to the OTprophecies. Those who believe in Jesus are reckoned as “childrenof Abraham” according to the gospel announced in Gen. 12:3(Gal. 3:7–8).
Paul’spresentation of spiritual Jews is foreseen in Jesus’ statementthat the Jews who do not believe in him are not Abraham’schildren but rather the children of the devil (John 8:30–44).In 1John the children of God are defined in terms of loverather than ethnic lineage (3:10). According to the book ofRevelation, those “who say they are Jews” are not, butare a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; 3:9). These passagesshow that salvation is obtained through faith in Jesus rather thanthrough the ethnic lineage of Abraham and observances of the Mosaiclaw (Rom. 3:20–28).
Thesepolemics against the Jews and Jewish law do not necessarily make theNT teachings anti-Semitic or anti-Judaic. What the NT polemicizes isneither the Jewish nation nor Judaism but rather the unbelief of theJews who rejected Jesus, inasmuch as Jesus is the Messiah, who hascome in flesh and fulfilled the prophecies of the OT.
In the NT, “Jews” (Ioudaioi) is an ethnic andreligious term to describe the people of Judah. In Jesus’ day,Jews were distinguished from Samaritans (John 4:9, 22). Gradually theterm began to be used more in a religious than in an ethnic sense,and it has come to represent the descendants from Abraham as a wholeand religious converts who regard the Mosaic law and customs as theinalienable religious foundation for faith and practices (Mark 7:3;John 2:6).
TheGospels
Inthe Synoptic Gospels the term “Jews” is used largely inthe phrase “the king of the Jews” with reference to Jesus(Matt. 2:2; 27:11, 29; Mark 15:2, 9, 12, 18; Luke 23:3, 37). Born asthe king of the Jews, Jesus claimed to have come to fulfill the lawof Moses instead of abolishing it (Matt. 5:17). He emphasized theimportance of practicing the law in obedience (Matt. 7:24–27),and he rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for teaching the lawwithout carrying it out (Matt. 23). They opposed him, not onlybecause they rejected his claim to be the Messiah, but also becausethey viewed his teaching and practices as destabilizing theirreligious status quo (Matt. 12:1–8; John 5:10; 11:48).
TheJews are represented in the Gospels by both the upper class (e.g.,Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, chief priests) and the lower classes(the crowds). Usually the religious upper class would not acceptJesus’ teaching and challenged him by asking questions ordenying his authority (Matt. 15:1; 16:1). The crowds generallyaccepted Jesus’ teaching and experienced his power to heal andother benefits. The Synoptic account of the opposition by the upperclass is contrasted with the widespread opposition to Jesus by the“Jews” in general in John’s Gospel. But Matthew andLuke also highlight Jesus’ lament of the unrepentant Jewishcities (Matt. 11:20–24; Luke 10:12–15), indicating thatresistance to Jesus’ teaching was a common phenomenon among theJews.
Jesusresponded to the unbelieving Jews with strong rebuke and condemnation(Matt. 12:30–32; 21:33–46). When Jesus healed a servantof a Roman centurion and marveled at the amazing faith of thisGentile (8:5–13), Jesus predicted that “the subjects ofthe kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness” becauseof unbelief, whereas the Gentiles will come to eat with Abraham inthe kingdom of heaven (8:11–12). In spite of the unbelief ofthe Jews, the privilege to hear the gospel was given to them first.Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, instructing them that theyshould not go anywhere among the Gentiles or enter the towns of theSamaritans, but instead go “to the lost sheep of Israel”(Matt. 10:6 [cf. Rom. 1:16]).
Theterm “Jews” occurs only four times in the Synopticsoutside the phrase “king of the Jews,” but seventy-onetimes in the Gospel of John. John uses the term especially as atechnical one for those Jews who were hostile to Jesus and hisfollowers. Whereas the Synoptics focus on the Jewish leaders’rejection of Jesus’ messianic actions, John focuses on theirrejection of his teaching that he is the Son of God in uniquerelationship with the Father. Jesus in John is not only the “oneand only”(monogenēs) of God (1:18), but also the fulfiller of what thetemple signifies and all the Jewish tradition and customs represent.John thus describes the Jewish opposition to Jesus as much morewidespread and intense than that in the Synoptics, presenting theJews as opposing Jesus’ teaching because of their loyalty toJewish tradition (5:15–18; 6:41; 7:1–2, 13; 8:31–57;9:22; 10:31–33; 19:7–12, 38; 20:19).
Actsand the Pauline Letters
Inthe book of Acts the term “Jews” (eighty-one occurrences)is used especially with reference to the Jewish people who opposePaul’s law-free gospel (9:23; 13:45, 50; 14:2, 4; 17:5; 18:12,14; 20:3; 21:11; 22:30; 23:12; 24:9).
Inhis letters, Paul refers to “Jews” primarily in an ethnicand religious sense without connoting that they have theologicalantagonism against the gospel. The Jews are thus contrasted with theGentiles in that they are “the people of Israel”: “Theirsis the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants,the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises”(Rom. 9:4). While Paul acknowledges the continuity of Jewish identitythrough their lineage from Abraham, he distinguishes true Jews fromfalse Jews in terms of Jesus’ accomplishment of redemption.Paul says, “A person is a Jew who is one inwardly; andcircumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by thewritten code” (2:29). This distinction of true Jews from falseJews resonates with his distinction of true Israel from false Israel(9:6). The redefinition of the group of spiritual Israelites is theresult of Jesus’ death and resurrection according to the OTprophecies. Those who believe in Jesus are reckoned as “childrenof Abraham” according to the gospel announced in Gen. 12:3(Gal. 3:7–8).
Paul’spresentation of spiritual Jews is foreseen in Jesus’ statementthat the Jews who do not believe in him are not Abraham’schildren but rather the children of the devil (John 8:30–44).In 1John the children of God are defined in terms of loverather than ethnic lineage (3:10). According to the book ofRevelation, those “who say they are Jews” are not, butare a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; 3:9). These passagesshow that salvation is obtained through faith in Jesus rather thanthrough the ethnic lineage of Abraham and observances of the Mosaiclaw (Rom. 3:20–28).
Thesepolemics against the Jews and Jewish law do not necessarily make theNT teachings anti-Semitic or anti-Judaic. What the NT polemicizes isneither the Jewish nation nor Judaism but rather the unbelief of theJews who rejected Jesus, inasmuch as Jesus is the Messiah, who hascome in flesh and fulfilled the prophecies of the OT.
In the NT, “Jews” (Ioudaioi) is an ethnic andreligious term to describe the people of Judah. In Jesus’ day,Jews were distinguished from Samaritans (John 4:9, 22). Gradually theterm began to be used more in a religious than in an ethnic sense,and it has come to represent the descendants from Abraham as a wholeand religious converts who regard the Mosaic law and customs as theinalienable religious foundation for faith and practices (Mark 7:3;John 2:6).
TheGospels
Inthe Synoptic Gospels the term “Jews” is used largely inthe phrase “the king of the Jews” with reference to Jesus(Matt. 2:2; 27:11, 29; Mark 15:2, 9, 12, 18; Luke 23:3, 37). Born asthe king of the Jews, Jesus claimed to have come to fulfill the lawof Moses instead of abolishing it (Matt. 5:17). He emphasized theimportance of practicing the law in obedience (Matt. 7:24–27),and he rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for teaching the lawwithout carrying it out (Matt. 23). They opposed him, not onlybecause they rejected his claim to be the Messiah, but also becausethey viewed his teaching and practices as destabilizing theirreligious status quo (Matt. 12:1–8; John 5:10; 11:48).
TheJews are represented in the Gospels by both the upper class (e.g.,Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, chief priests) and the lower classes(the crowds). Usually the religious upper class would not acceptJesus’ teaching and challenged him by asking questions ordenying his authority (Matt. 15:1; 16:1). The crowds generallyaccepted Jesus’ teaching and experienced his power to heal andother benefits. The Synoptic account of the opposition by the upperclass is contrasted with the widespread opposition to Jesus by the“Jews” in general in John’s Gospel. But Matthew andLuke also highlight Jesus’ lament of the unrepentant Jewishcities (Matt. 11:20–24; Luke 10:12–15), indicating thatresistance to Jesus’ teaching was a common phenomenon among theJews.
Jesusresponded to the unbelieving Jews with strong rebuke and condemnation(Matt. 12:30–32; 21:33–46). When Jesus healed a servantof a Roman centurion and marveled at the amazing faith of thisGentile (8:5–13), Jesus predicted that “the subjects ofthe kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness” becauseof unbelief, whereas the Gentiles will come to eat with Abraham inthe kingdom of heaven (8:11–12). In spite of the unbelief ofthe Jews, the privilege to hear the gospel was given to them first.Jesus sent out the twelve disciples, instructing them that theyshould not go anywhere among the Gentiles or enter the towns of theSamaritans, but instead go “to the lost sheep of Israel”(Matt. 10:6 [cf. Rom. 1:16]).
Theterm “Jews” occurs only four times in the Synopticsoutside the phrase “king of the Jews,” but seventy-onetimes in the Gospel of John. John uses the term especially as atechnical one for those Jews who were hostile to Jesus and hisfollowers. Whereas the Synoptics focus on the Jewish leaders’rejection of Jesus’ messianic actions, John focuses on theirrejection of his teaching that he is the Son of God in uniquerelationship with the Father. Jesus in John is not only the “oneand only”(monogenēs) of God (1:18), but also the fulfiller of what thetemple signifies and all the Jewish tradition and customs represent.John thus describes the Jewish opposition to Jesus as much morewidespread and intense than that in the Synoptics, presenting theJews as opposing Jesus’ teaching because of their loyalty toJewish tradition (5:15–18; 6:41; 7:1–2, 13; 8:31–57;9:22; 10:31–33; 19:7–12, 38; 20:19).
Actsand the Pauline Letters
Inthe book of Acts the term “Jews” (eighty-one occurrences)is used especially with reference to the Jewish people who opposePaul’s law-free gospel (9:23; 13:45, 50; 14:2, 4; 17:5; 18:12,14; 20:3; 21:11; 22:30; 23:12; 24:9).
Inhis letters, Paul refers to “Jews” primarily in an ethnicand religious sense without connoting that they have theologicalantagonism against the gospel. The Jews are thus contrasted with theGentiles in that they are “the people of Israel”: “Theirsis the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants,the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises”(Rom. 9:4). While Paul acknowledges the continuity of Jewish identitythrough their lineage from Abraham, he distinguishes true Jews fromfalse Jews in terms of Jesus’ accomplishment of redemption.Paul says, “A person is a Jew who is one inwardly; andcircumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by thewritten code” (2:29). This distinction of true Jews from falseJews resonates with his distinction of true Israel from false Israel(9:6). The redefinition of the group of spiritual Israelites is theresult of Jesus’ death and resurrection according to the OTprophecies. Those who believe in Jesus are reckoned as “childrenof Abraham” according to the gospel announced in Gen. 12:3(Gal. 3:7–8).
Paul’spresentation of spiritual Jews is foreseen in Jesus’ statementthat the Jews who do not believe in him are not Abraham’schildren but rather the children of the devil (John 8:30–44).In 1John the children of God are defined in terms of loverather than ethnic lineage (3:10). According to the book ofRevelation, those “who say they are Jews” are not, butare a “synagogue of Satan” (2:9; 3:9). These passagesshow that salvation is obtained through faith in Jesus rather thanthrough the ethnic lineage of Abraham and observances of the Mosaiclaw (Rom. 3:20–28).
Thesepolemics against the Jews and Jewish law do not necessarily make theNT teachings anti-Semitic or anti-Judaic. What the NT polemicizes isneither the Jewish nation nor Judaism but rather the unbelief of theJews who rejected Jesus, inasmuch as Jesus is the Messiah, who hascome in flesh and fulfilled the prophecies of the OT.
JudgmentDay in the Bible
Thebook of Revelation concludes with a harrowing vision of finaljudgment. On that day, when the God of all creation sits on his greatwhite throne and holds court, the dead will rise and answer for theirdeeds, whether good or bad (20:11–13). The record of eachperson’s conduct appears in books, one of which is the Book ofLife (20:12–13). Anyone whose name does not appear in the Bookof Life is thrown into the lake of fire (20:15).
Theapostle Paul refers to this same event in Acts 17:30–31. Allhuman beings will face their scheduled day in court, as God certifiedby raising Christ from the dead. It will be a day of wrath, amongother things, when God’s righteous anger against sin is fullydisplayed (Rom. 2:5). In the presence of this God, Isaiah proclaimedhimself to be ruined because of his sinfulness before the one who iscalled “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:1–5). Wetherefore confess with the author of Hebrews, who says, “It is[and will be] a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the livingGod” (Heb. 10:31).
Manyother texts of Scripture forecast the same event: judgment day iscoming, and nothing can stop it. They also describe this day inequally frightening terms, anticipating fire, darkness, and weepingfor some, but everlasting joy and peace for others. Even Christianswill be judged on this day, notwithstanding the promise ofeverlasting life for everyone who believes (e.g., John 3:16; 5:24;Rom. 3:21–24; 8:1–2; 2Cor. 5:21). In Rom. 14:10–12Paul says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgmentseat,” at which time, “each of us will give an account ofourselves to God.” Similarly, in 2Cor. 5:10 Paul warns,“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, sothat each one of us may receive what is due us for the things donewhile in the body, whether good or bad.”
Justificationand Judgment
Inthese texts, an apparent tension exists between the promise ofjustification, upon which all Christian hope stands, and thecertainty of final judgment, including the judgment of believers. Itwill not do simply to downplay the one or the other, as if thebiblical writers had not really intended one or both of them. Thesetexts say what they say, the good news no less plainly than the bad.Yet, closer inspection shows that the tension is merely apparent.
Wemust first recognize that Scripture treats piety as the evidence ofregeneration and saving faith. Jesus says that a “good tree,”which is a genuine disciple, bears good fruit (Matt. 7:17). That is,the observable righteousness of such a disciple will surpass thehypocritical casuistry of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). Onjudgment day, therefore, no actual conflict will or ever could arisebetween the general tendency of the believer’s conduct and hisor her position in Christ. Over a lifetime, the believer’shabitual behavior will have differed fundamentally, though neversatisfactorily, from that of a lost person. As for unrepentantsinners, they will be sentenced to eternal damnation because of theirlawlessness (Rom. 3:9–19). Their conduct demonstrates that theyhave rejected the gospel and are deserving of wrath (Heb. 2:3). Thislinkage between justification and right conduct accounts for James’spolemical statement: “You see that a person is consideredrighteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).Abraham’s positional righteousness, secured by faith in whatGod would do on his behalf, became publicly evident through hisobedience (James 2:21–22).
Weshould also note the different purpose that God has in judging hischurch. One aspect of it certainly is to grasp the enormity of oursins, so that we might properly acknowledge the depth of his mercy onthat day. But also this judgment will occur in order to mete out thediffering rewards that Scripture anticipates for the people of God.The definitive text in this regard is 1Cor. 3:1–17, whichconnects the believer’s rewards and losses to the quality ofhis or her behavior within the body of Christ. Some are building onChrist, the sure foundation, using the available materials, and theyreceive their proper reward. Others build selfishly on themselves,with the result that they are saved, “though only as oneescaping through the flames” (1Cor. 3:15). In both cases,however, the question seems to be one of greater and lesser reward,as opposed to salvation or damnation. Even in hell itself, variousdegrees of suffering come into play. According to Jesus, one canreceive a heavy or light “beating” for disobedience,based on one’s prior knowledge of the master’s will (Luke12:47–48). Judgment day, therefore, should not frightenChristians. Jesus really did suffer the full measure of God’swrath against our sin. But this day reminds us that we areaccountable for what we do as his disciples, and it motivates theevangelism that we are commanded to practice.
The Bible regularly states that people know some things butnot others. In English versions of the Bible, “knowledge”is usually a translationof the Hebrew noun da’at or the Greek noun gnōsis.Similarly, “know” is usually a translation of the Hebrewverb yada’ or the Greek verb ginōskō. Within eachlanguage, the noun and the verb share related forms.
Godoffers everyone knowledge to guide how one should live, but ifspurned, the offer may be withdrawn (Prov. 1:28; Matt. 7:7–8;John 7:17; Phil. 3:15). Some people love simplistic thinking morethan knowledge (Prov. 1:22), but fools who spurn knowledge in orderto follow their own ways are warned that their complacency “willdestroy them” (1:29–32). People are similarly warned notto value their own wisdom too highly (Prov. 3:7).
TheBible indicates that a basic knowledge of God is possible simply fromobserving the world. Genesis 1 states that God created light, land,stars, plants, animals, and people. The existence of the Creatorprovides an explanation for the existence of each and every thing,and for the world as a whole. Paul accordingly wrote that God’seternal power and divine nature “have been clearly seen, beingunderstood from what has been made” (Rom. 1:19–21).
Beyondthis, a more substantial knowledge of God is possible because God hassometimes spoken or acted in history. God communicates using thelimited forms that people can hear or perceive. The assembled peopleof Israel hear God speak at Mount Sinai from the midst of fire whenhe gives the Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:4–27). God likewisespeaks to Moses from a burning bush (Exod. 3). God speaks in aparticular place and speaks using the words of a language. This doesnot deny God’s transcendence. It instead affirms it by showingthat God is unlike idols made by humans, idols that “cannotspeak” or act (Ps. 115:5).
Inthe Bible, God normally speaks to people indirectly through prophets.Ancient people did not believe every prophet’s testimony, soGod gives Moses miracles to substantiate his claims (Exod.4:1–9,27–31). God likewise comes to Mount Sinai so that the people ofIsrael would trust Moses forever (19:9). Because the nation hears Godspeak, failure to believe Moses is considered unjustifiable.Eventually, the entire law and covenant are known through Moses. Thewritten record of these events and the law, as validated by historiccommunity practice, are considered sufficient basis for each latergeneration to believe Moses’ law. After Moses’ death, Godspeaks through other prophets. There are no grounds to reject theirtestimony, for they do not deny the law and commandments that God hasgiven through Moses, make false predictions (Deut. 13:1–5;18:20–22), or contradict each other.
Inthe NT, Jesus, like Moses, is a prophet (Matt. 21:11; John 7:40;12:40), authenticated by miracles. He observes the law (Matt. 5:17;John 8:46), unlike his opponents (John 5:45–47). In turn, Jesussends out disciples with his message and says, “Whoever rejectsyou rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me”(Luke 10:16). Consequently, the Bible gives knowledge of God largelythrough Moses and the prophets, and in the NT through the prophetJesus, God’s Son, and the disciples whom he sends out with hismessage. Those who receive God’s Spirit will understand themmore deeply (1Cor. 2:9–16).
JudgmentDay in the Bible
Thebook of Revelation concludes with a harrowing vision of finaljudgment. On that day, when the God of all creation sits on his greatwhite throne and holds court, the dead will rise and answer for theirdeeds, whether good or bad (20:11–13). The record of eachperson’s conduct appears in books, one of which is the Book ofLife (20:12–13). Anyone whose name does not appear in the Bookof Life is thrown into the lake of fire (20:15).
Theapostle Paul refers to this same event in Acts 17:30–31. Allhuman beings will face their scheduled day in court, as God certifiedby raising Christ from the dead. It will be a day of wrath, amongother things, when God’s righteous anger against sin is fullydisplayed (Rom. 2:5). In the presence of this God, Isaiah proclaimedhimself to be ruined because of his sinfulness before the one who iscalled “Holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:1–5). Wetherefore confess with the author of Hebrews, who says, “It is[and will be] a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the livingGod” (Heb. 10:31).
Manyother texts of Scripture forecast the same event: judgment day iscoming, and nothing can stop it. They also describe this day inequally frightening terms, anticipating fire, darkness, and weepingfor some, but everlasting joy and peace for others. Even Christianswill be judged on this day, notwithstanding the promise ofeverlasting life for everyone who believes (e.g., John 3:16; 5:24;Rom. 3:21–24; 8:1–2; 2Cor. 5:21). In Rom. 14:10–12Paul says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgmentseat,” at which time, “each of us will give an account ofourselves to God.” Similarly, in 2Cor. 5:10 Paul warns,“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, sothat each one of us may receive what is due us for the things donewhile in the body, whether good or bad.”
Justificationand Judgment
Inthese texts, an apparent tension exists between the promise ofjustification, upon which all Christian hope stands, and thecertainty of final judgment, including the judgment of believers. Itwill not do simply to downplay the one or the other, as if thebiblical writers had not really intended one or both of them. Thesetexts say what they say, the good news no less plainly than the bad.Yet, closer inspection shows that the tension is merely apparent.
Wemust first recognize that Scripture treats piety as the evidence ofregeneration and saving faith. Jesus says that a “good tree,”which is a genuine disciple, bears good fruit (Matt. 7:17). That is,the observable righteousness of such a disciple will surpass thehypocritical casuistry of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). Onjudgment day, therefore, no actual conflict will or ever could arisebetween the general tendency of the believer’s conduct and hisor her position in Christ. Over a lifetime, the believer’shabitual behavior will have differed fundamentally, though neversatisfactorily, from that of a lost person. As for unrepentantsinners, they will be sentenced to eternal damnation because of theirlawlessness (Rom. 3:9–19). Their conduct demonstrates that theyhave rejected the gospel and are deserving of wrath (Heb. 2:3). Thislinkage between justification and right conduct accounts for James’spolemical statement: “You see that a person is consideredrighteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (James 2:24).Abraham’s positional righteousness, secured by faith in whatGod would do on his behalf, became publicly evident through hisobedience (James 2:21–22).
Weshould also note the different purpose that God has in judging hischurch. One aspect of it certainly is to grasp the enormity of oursins, so that we might properly acknowledge the depth of his mercy onthat day. But also this judgment will occur in order to mete out thediffering rewards that Scripture anticipates for the people of God.The definitive text in this regard is 1Cor. 3:1–17, whichconnects the believer’s rewards and losses to the quality ofhis or her behavior within the body of Christ. Some are building onChrist, the sure foundation, using the available materials, and theyreceive their proper reward. Others build selfishly on themselves,with the result that they are saved, “though only as oneescaping through the flames” (1Cor. 3:15). In both cases,however, the question seems to be one of greater and lesser reward,as opposed to salvation or damnation. Even in hell itself, variousdegrees of suffering come into play. According to Jesus, one canreceive a heavy or light “beating” for disobedience,based on one’s prior knowledge of the master’s will (Luke12:47–48). Judgment day, therefore, should not frightenChristians. Jesus really did suffer the full measure of God’swrath against our sin. But this day reminds us that we areaccountable for what we do as his disciples, and it motivates theevangelism that we are commanded to practice.
Terminology
Theword “law,” often referred to as “Torah,”occurs 220 times in the OT and derives from a Hebrew root that means“to teach or instruct.” Biblical law is the body ofinstructions or teachings that serve to govern and maintain thecovenant relationship between God and Israel. The distinctiverelationship that Israel enjoyed with God was unparalleled in theancient Near East. Unlike the Gentile nations, Israel received fromYahweh an instrument outlining his expectations of them, a set ofguidelines by which to sustain that covenant relationship (Deut.4:6–8). Outside the OT, the “Torah” or “Law”often refers to the first five books of the Bible, called the“Pentateuch” (Matt. 5:17–18; Luke 2:22). SecondTemple Judaism commonly referred to the Pentateuch in this way.
Theterm “Torah” is not limited to cultic or ceremonialpractice, but embraces civil and social law. In addition, the Torahrefers to the prophetic word and more broadly incorporates the ideaof parental instruction. The Hebrew word torah is employed in avariety of expressions, variously rendered in English versions: “thelaw” (Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 2Kings 23:24), the “Bookof the Law” (Deut. 28:61; 29:21; Josh. 1:8; 2Kings 22:8),the “Book of the Law of Moses” (Josh. 8:31; 23:6), the“law of Moses” (Josh. 8:32; 1Kings 2:3), the “Bookof the Law of God” (Josh. 24:26), and the “law of theLord” (2Kings 10:31)—all of these indicate thedivine origin of the instructions or reinforce the association of theTorah with Moses as Israel’s mediator. The OT notes that Moses“wrote a Book of the Law,” which was placed by the arkfor reference (Deut. 31:26) and read aloud every seven years, duringthe Feast of Tabernacles, to all the assembly (Deut. 31:9–13).The book is not mentioned again until its discovery in the templeduring the reign of King Josiah (2Kings 22:8). The discovery ofthe book initiated a religious reform by Josiah that focused on thecentralization of worship and the destruction of idols.
TheOT employs a number of close synonyms for “law,”including “commandments,” “testimony,”“judgments,” “statutes,” “ordinances,”“decrees,” and “precepts.” Each of theseterms reflects varying nuances or particular aspects of the divineinstruction. Unfortunately, all these words as translated intoEnglish subtly misrepresent the “law” as an odiousexternal set of rules that inhibit human freedom and requirepunishment for disobedience. This perspective suggests that obedienceto the divine law was coerced by the threat of divine judgment.Contrary to this misconception, the people of Israel rejoiced infollowing Yahweh’s instructions because their greatest desirewas to please and live in harmony with him. Yahweh’s peopleenjoyed the privilege of receiving divine revelation consisting ofdirections that assured divine favor. Although perfect adherence tothese instructions proved to be an impossible task, Yahweh’scovenant stipulations provided an ideal toward which his people wereexpected to make progress as they constantly strived to fulfill thatideal. The Torah in its broadest sense reflects a verbal expressionof the character, nature, and will of God.
Typesof Law
Ingeneral, Torah may be subdivided into three categories: judicial,ceremonial, and moral, though each of these may influence or overlapwith the others. The OT associates the “giving of the Torah”with Moses’ first divine encounter at Mount Sinai (Exod. 19–23)following the Israelites’ deliverance from the land of Egypt,though some body of customary legislation existed before this time(Exod. 18). These instructions find expansion and elucidation inother pentateuchal texts, such as Leviticus and Deut. 12–24,indicating that God’s teachings were intended as the code ofconduct and worship for Israel not only during its wildernesswanderings but also when it settled in the land of Canaan followingthe conquest.
Morespecifically, the word “law” often denotes the TenCommandments (or “the Decalogue,” lit., the “tenwords”) (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4) that were delivered toMoses (Exod. 20:1–17; Deut. 5:6–21). These commandmentsreflect a summary statement of the covenant and may be divided intotwo parts, consistent with the two tablets of stone on which theywere first recorded: the first four address the individual’srelationship to God, and the last six focus on instructionsconcerning human relationships. Despite the apparent simplisticexpression of the Decalogue, the complexity of these guidelinesextends beyond individual acts and attitudes, encompassing any andall incentives, enticements, and pressures leading up to a thingforbidden. Not only should the individual refrain from doing theprohibited thing, but also he or she is obligated to practice itsopposite good in order to be in compliance.
Judiciallaw.The Book of the Covenant (Exod. 20:22–23:33), closelyassociated with the Ten Commandments, immediately follows theDecalogue and may be subdivided into casuistic, or “case,”law (21:2–22:17) and a variety of miscellaneous laws, manywhich are apodictic, or absolute, commands. The divine instructionscannot address an infinite range of circ*mstances; consequently, thecasuistic laws describe the judicial process in light of generalsituations, which form the precedence upon which future specificjudgments can be made. Apodictic instructions, generally identifiedby imperatives or volitional forms, set forth a strict prohibitionfollowed by the consequences of disobedience. Government in earlyIsraelite history revolved around the authoritative decisions ofjudges, who declared a verdict based on custom or precedent (Exod.18:13–27). The moral emphasis of the Decalogue and the Book ofthe Covenant provides the underlying theological reasons for obeyingGod’s law and forms an important part of the ethical foundationof pentateuchal discussions and elaborations of law.
Ceremoniallaw.Ceremonial, or cultic, law includes the instructions guiding theconstruction and preparation of the tabernacle for worship combinedwith the Levitical guidelines dictating the proper execution ofritual sacrifice and cultic practice. The significance of thetabernacle as a portable sanctuary of Yahweh and its integralconnection with God’s promise to dwell among the Israelites arereinforced by the tabernacle’s association with the appearanceof Yahweh at Sinai and the inauguration of the covenant. Thetabernacle becomes the place where the people meet God through amediator and seek continued divine favor through ritual purification,sacrifice, and atonement.
Leviticussystematically outlines the procedure for priestly selection andsuccession, details the consecration of cultic vessels and priests,describes conditions for participation and the celebration of sacredfestivals (Lev. 16; 23–25), and addresses other issues such asblasphemy, sexual behavior, and false prophecy. The sacrificialregulations cover sin offerings (6:25), guilt offerings (7:1, 7),burnt offerings (6:9), grain offerings (6:14), and fellowshipofferings (7:11). The book of Leviticus also provides extensiveinstruction concerning the designation of “clean”(consecrated) and “unclean” (profane), reinforcing theseparateness of God’s chosen people (e.g., 11:46; 12:7; 13:59;14:2, 32; 15:32–33). Uncircumcised foreigners were excludedfrom participation in Israel’s sacred assemblies.
Morallaw.Economic hardship presented numerous challenges in Israelite societythat were resolved through laws concerning debt and slavery. A seriesof laws sought to protect the property and rights of those indebtedto creditors (Exod. 22:25–27; Deut. 24:6, 10–13; 2Kings4:1; Amos 2:8). Those who were enslaved in order to compensate fortheir debts had to be released after six years of service (Exod.21:2, 11; Deut. 15:12–18). Property and persons who were turnedover to creditors could often be redeemed (Lev. 25:25–28,47–55). Those who harvested crops were instructed to leave thecorners of fields and the remnants of crops for gleaning by the poor(Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2:2–6). The systematic mistreatmentof the marginalized in society led to widespread corruption among thejudiciary, angering Yahweh and leading to the exile (Isa. 1:15–17;Amos 2:6–7; 11–13). It is clear that this type of law wasreenacted during the postexilic period (Neh. 5:1–13; Jer.34:8–16).
Torahin Wisdom Literature and in the Prophets
OTwisdom literature develops the concept of Torah as human instructionfor daily living, underscoring the dynamic character of the law andits permeation of all areas of life. Vigilant obedience to the lawresults in wise and godly conduct. In Proverbs, the son is admonishedby the father to obey the Torah (Prov. 3:1; 4:2; 6:23), and the pupilis instructed by the teacher to respect the law (13:13) and to resistthe company of those who do not obey the Torah (28:4), with suchobservance resulting in God’s blessings (29:18) and answers toprayer (28:9). The wise woman familiarizes herself with the Torahbecause the responsibility for instruction of her household lies withher (31:26).
Thebook of Psalms contains three compositions typically classified asTorah psalms (1; 19; 119). In Ps. 1 continual reflection on the Torahmanifests itself in the prosperity and the wisdom of the obedient.Psalm 19 celebrates the benefits of keeping the Torah, includingwisdom, joy, enlightenment, life, and moral discernment. In a lengthyacrostic arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet, Ps. 119 exploitsthe attitudes, effects, and practicality of the Torah as exemplifiedin the life of the faithful.
Inthe prophetic material, Torah refers to teaching administered in thename of Yahweh, either by the priests or the prophets. Moral decline,manifested by the social injustice of Israel’s leader-shipcoupled with idolatry and syncretistic worship, was directlyattributed to the failure of the priests to uphold the Torah andtheir negligence in instructing the community (Jer. 2:8; 8:8; Ezek.7:26; 22:26; Hos. 8:1–12; Amos 2:4). The prophetic emphasis onjustice and righteousness as characteristic qualities of God’speople highlights the importance placed on fair and equitabletreatment (e.g., Isa. 5:23–24; 26:1–11; 48:17–19;58:6–9; 59:9–14). The Torah provided the authoritativepoint of departure in the composition of prophetic messages andteachings, undergirding the authority and genuineness of theprophetic proclamations and exhortations to the contemporaryaudience. The messages of the prophets were in fact not new, but weresimply the adaptation and transformation of pentateuchal textsalready generally accepted by the community as authoritative.
BiblicalLaw and Ancient Near Eastern Sources
Biblicallaw did not develop in isolation from other legal systems; rather, itappears to follow long-established, widespread, and standardizedpatterns of Mesopotamian law. A persuasive number of parallelsbetween customs and familial relationships addressed in the Nuzitablets and archaic elements in the patriarchal narratives seem tosuggest that the patriarchs operated under Hurrian law. The Nuzitablets clarify the subjects of adoption, marriage, and economictransactions, apparently exerting an influence on the lives of theearly OT patriarchs. The wife-sister accounts of Abram and Isaac, inwhich the marriage eligibility of Sarai and Rebekah arise (Gen. 12;26), as well as Abraham’s proposed adoption of his servantEliezer as an heir (Gen. 15:2–4) and his siring of Ishmaelthrough Sarai’s servant Hagar (Gen. 16), reflect customarypractice described in these documents.
Avast range of legal documents regulating judicial procedures providesmaterial for comparative analysis with biblical texts. Included amongthese discoveries are a number of law collections, generally namedafter the ruler who commissioned them. Archaeologists have uncoveredevidence, from as early as the twenty-first century BC, of twosurviving Sumerian legal collections affirming the ancient origins ofsocietal governance. The Laws of King Ur-Nammu, recorded during thelast great period of Sumerian literacy (2111–2095 BC), arepreserved in scribal copies from Nippur dated between 1800 and 1700BC and consist of a fragment and two partial stone tablets. Writtenin a casuistic format, the texts attest to twenty-nine stipulations,including legislation addressing weights and measures; protectionsfor widows, orphans, and the impoverished; sexual offenses; maritallaws; slavery; false testimony; and property abuses.
Asecond Sumerian law collection dating from the nineteenth century BC,that of King Lipit-Ishtar, the fifth ruler of the Isin dynasty inlower Mesopotamia, consists of a prologue, thirty-eight wholly orpartially restored laws, and an epilogue. These laws, bequeathed toLipit-Ishtar by the Sumerian deities Anu and Enlil in order to“establish justice in the land,” represent civil lawsgoverning business practices, slavery, property, family, andinadvertent injury to an individual. What appear to be an additionalthirty-eight laws, comprising the second half of the code, have beendestroyed along with part of the prologue. All these laws wererecorded in a casuistic format.
TheLaws of Eshnunna, written in Akkadian, consist of two tabletscontaining approximately sixty different laws. The authorship anddate of origin remain unknown, but historians suggest that this lawcollection, which has no prologue or epilogue, was contemporary withthe Code of Hammurabi (1728–1686 BC). Though written in acasuistic format, this artifact assigns penalties on the basis ofsocial status.
TheCode of Hammurabi, named for the sixth of eleven kings of the OldBabylonian dynasty, is perhaps the most famous and most complete ofthe ancient Mesopotamian collections. In 1902, French archaeologistsdiscovered the code on a black diorite stela, nearly eight feet tall,in what was ancient Susa. Multiple copies of the code have beenpreserved. Written in Akkadian cuneiform, the law collection consistsof 282 legal paragraphs created to promote public welfare and thecause of justice. The format of the code, which includes a prologue,an epilogue, and a category of cursings for disobedience andblessings for obedience, closely mirrors the structure of the book ofDeuteronomy. The casuistic format addresses laws governing publicorder and individual private law. The penalties prescribed forcapital offenses, of which there were thirty, were harsh and oftencruel, including bodily mutilation, multiple punishments, andvicarious punishment. Retaliatory consequences for the protection ofprivate property were exceptionally cruel, taking the form of tortureor excessive fines. Often, those who were presumed guilty would bethrown into the river; survival indicated innocence, while drowningdemonstrated guilt. A predominant feature was the lex talionis (thelaw of retaliation, or measure for measure), whereby a correspondingpenalty was exacted against the offender based on the crime. Forinstance, if a child was killed, the death of the offender’schild was required. Capital crimes included theft of property andadultery. Contrary to biblical law, Hammurabi’s code madefinancial provision for the loss of life, whereas in the OT the valueof life was immeasurable.
Theargument from silence suggests that in the absence of a full biblicallaw code, legal instructions and stipulations in the biblical textconsist primarily of codicil emendations, that is, additions andinnovations to already existing laws. For example, the discussion ondivorce in Deut. 21 describes the execution of a document withoutgiving details concerning the content or form of such a document. Thepassage also mentions a yet undiscovered “book of divorce.”The absence of legal material on commercial and business law as wellas specifics concerning inheritance and other common subjects pointsto a more comprehensive body of unwritten law reflecting preexistingsocietal norms. Israelite society was therefore indebted to itsMesopotamian predecessors for its implementation of law as a means ofprotecting citizens, and for many legal provisions eventually adaptedby the biblical text.
TheCharacter of Biblical Law
AlthoughIsraelite law was in some ways influenced by the legal codes of otherancient Near Eastern cultures, biblical law retained a distinctidentity centered on the relationship between Yahweh and his chosenpeople. Law in the OT is presented not as secular instruction butrather as divine pronouncement, receiving its authority as anexpression of the divine will. The entirety of the divine instructionoriginates with God, and he is both author and guarantor of thecovenant with his people. The people of Israel, then, are heldresponsible to God for their actions and not just to a legislativebody or human ruler. The will of the Israelite is wholly surrenderedto the will of God to such a degree that every aspect of anindividual’s life is inextricably connected to the divineteachings. God assigns the stipulations and requirements of the lawto the entire corporate body of Israel. The responsibility forcovenant fidelity does not lie solely with the community leadership;rather, it is shared by every individual in the community, whose dualrole includes ensuring both the fair execution of justice in thecommunity and personal observance of the law. God’sinstructions are proclaimed publicly and apply equally to all socialstrata without distinction, apart from specific direction concerningslaves.
Torahbecomes the corpus of teaching directed toward the entire community.The didactic purpose of the law is evident by the motive clausesappended to many apodictic and casuistic instructions that elaborateon the ethical, religious, or historical reasons for covenantfaithfulness. The pedagogical aim serves to appeal to the Israeliteconscience as a means of motivating obedience. In addition, theteaching that humanity is created in the divine image reinforces thesacredness of human life as a foundational concern of the law.Religious rather than economic values prevail, eliminating the deathpenalty for all property crimes. Individual culpability predominatesin the biblical corpus, abolishing the notion of vicarious punishmentadvocated in extrabiblical legislation. Each offender pays theconsequences of his or her behavior. Each person, created by God andenjoying equal status with all others, receives fair and equitabletreatment.
TheLaw and the New Testament
Thecontemporary significance of the Torah is recognized in the NT byJesus’ declaration that his incarnation served to fulfill thelaw (Matt. 5:17). He affirms the continued legitimacy of the law(Matt. 5:19) and appeals to the law as the governing authority forproper practice and behavior (Matt. 12:6, 42; Luke 4:1–11; Mark7:9–12; 10:17–19).
Therelationship between gospel and law in both Testaments demonstratesfar greater continuity than is recognized by many Christians.Covenant theologians affirm that the Mosaic law described a “covenantof works,” which functions differently from the NT’s“covenant of grace,” while dispensationalists often teachthat grace supersedes and abolishes the demands of the law. Theconditional nature of the Mosaic covenant differs from that of theAbrahamic covenant, since the unconditional promise of the Abrahamiccovenant suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham and his seedwould be realized not because of human obedience but rather throughdivine fidelity (Gal. 3:15–27). The Mosaic covenant, orcovenant of law, is not contrary to the promises of God (Gal. 3:21);instead, God graciously entered into relationship with the people ofIsrael, redeemed them from Egypt, and then gave them the law so thatthey would respond in humble obedience to his redeeming work. Thus,Mosaic law provided through a mediator a way for God to revealhimself to Israel. Consequently, the idea that Israelite religion waslegalistic is mistaken. It did not teach that one could earnsalvation by “keeping the law”; rather, an individualentered into the covenant with God by grace. When God established thecovenant with his people, he forgave their sins. He did not demand acertain level of attainment as a prerequisite for entering into thatrelationship, nor did Israel have to obey the law perfectly in orderto achieve salvation. Instead, the covenantal arrangement instituteda means of forgiveness through the sacrificial system, making theremoval of the barrier of sin available to the people. Israel’sobedience to the law was a response to God’s gracious andredeeming work. Law and covenant were complementary.
Ongoingdiscussions explore the question concerning the relevance of the lawfor Christians today. Many scholars from past centuries, such asMartin Luther, claimed that the believer is freed entirely from thelaw of Moses, including its moral requirements. The OT law is bindingonly insofar as it agrees with the NT and mirrors natural law. JohnCalvin, on the other hand, maintained that the moral laws of the OTare obligatory for the believer, and he asserts that this is theprincipal function of law. Calvin’s sense of keeping the morallaw does not compromise the message of grace, for keeping the morallaw, as opposed to the ceremonial or civil law, does not earnsalvation but instead forms the acceptable response of the believerto God’s grace. Other Reformation scholars suggested that thelaw was abolished with the coming of Christ, and, as a result, whilethe moral norms remain in effect, the ceremonial laws have beenfulfilled with the coming of Christ. Although the penaltiesoriginally prescribed for disobedience are no longer effective,keeping the moral law reflects the proper outcome of a life lived bythe Spirit of God. See also Ten Commandments; Torah.
Law, more properly labeled “Torah,” isinstruction. In the Bible, Moses is portrayed as the lawgiver parexcellence, dispensing God’s Torah from Sinai (Exod. 20:1–17)and delegating legal matters to others (18:24–26). The TenCommandments are distinct from other forms of Torah in that they aredescribed as having been given by “the finger of God”(Exod. 31:18). That is, Moses functions as an agent of God, the truelawgiver. Unlike law in the broader cultural environment, Torah cameto Israel with God’s authority. Yet even this authority had tobe recast for each generation (Deut. 29:1; Num. 36:13).
Jesus’instruction in the Sermon on the Mount includes the importantstatement “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law orthe Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”(Matt. 5:17). Although some of his detractors have perceived him asantinomian, Jesus assures his listeners that his teaching is incontinuity with OT law. Indeed, the OT law finds its eschatologicalclimax in the instruction by Jesus, who, like Moses, dispenses lawfrom the mountainside.
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
The site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7;cf. Luke 6:17–49). The mount is not specifically identified inthe Gospels, but traditionally it is located at Karn Hattin (itsancient name, “Eremos,” means “solitary” inGreek), a hill near Capernaum, on the northwest shore of the Sea ofGalilee.
The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesusfollowers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christembodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in humanhistory.
Introduction
Name.Early Christians combined the name “Jesus” with the title“Christ” (Acts 5:42; NIV: “Messiah”). Thename “Jesus,” from the Hebrew Yehoshua or Yeshua, was acommon male name in first-century Judaism. The title “Christ”is from the Greek christos, a translation of the Hebrew mashiakh(“anointed one, messiah”). Christians eventually werenamed after Jesus’ title (Acts 11:26). During the ministry ofJesus, Peter was the first disciple to recognize Jesus as the Messiah(Matt. 16:16; Mark 9:29; Luke 9:20).
Sources.From the viewpoint of Christianity, the life and ministry of Jesusconstitute the turning point in human history. From a historicalperspective, ample early source materials would be expected. Indeed,both Christian and non-Christian first-century and earlysecond-century literary sources are extant, but they are few innumber. In part, this low incidence is due to society’s initialresistance to the Jesus followers’ movement. The ancient Romanhistorian Tacitus called Christianity “a superstition,”since its beliefs did not fit with the culture’s prevailingworldview and thus were considered antisocial. Early literary sourcestherefore are either in-group documents or allusions in non-Christiansources.
TheNT Gospels are the principal sources for the life and ministry ofJesus. They consist of Matthew, Mark, Luke (the Synoptic Gospels),and John. Most scholars adhere to the so-called Four SourceHypothesis. In this theory, Mark was written first and was used as asource by Matthew and Luke, who also used the sayings source Q (fromGerman Quelle, meaning “source”) as well as their ownindividual sources M (Matthew) and L (Luke). John used additionalsources.
Theearly church tried to put together singular accounts, so-calledGospel harmonies, of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of the Ebionitesrepresents one such attempt based on the Synoptic Gospels. Anotherharmony, the Diatessaron, based on all four Gospels, was producedaround AD 170 by Tatian. Additional source materials concerning thelife of Christ are provided in the NT in texts such as Acts, thePauline Epistles, the General Epistles, and the Revelation of John.Paul wrote to the Galatians, “But when the time had fully come,God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law” (Gal. 4:4).The first narrative about Jesus by the Christian community was apassion narrative, the account of his death and resurrection. Thefirst extant references to this tradition are found in Paul’sletters (1Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1). The resurrection was recognizedfrom the beginning as the cornerstone of the Christian faith (1Cor.15:13–14).
Amongnon-Christian sources, the earliest reference to Jesus is found in aletter written circa AD 112 by Pliny the Younger, the Roman governorof Bithynia-Pontus (Ep. 10.96). The Roman historian Tacitus mentionsChristians and Jesus around AD 115 in his famous work about thehistory of Rome (Ann. 15.44). Another Roman historian, Suetonius,wrote around the same time concerning unrest among the Jews in Romebecause of a certain “Chrestos” (Claud. 25.4). Somescholars conclude that “Chrestos” is a misspelling of“Christos,” a reference to Jesus.
TheJewish author Josephus (first century AD) mentions Jesus in a storyabout the Jewish high priest Ananus and James the brother of Jesus(Ant. 20.200). A controversial reference to Jesus appears in adifferent part of the same work, where Josephus affirms that Jesus isthe Messiah and that he rose from the dead (Ant. 18.63–64). Themajority of scholars consider this passage to be authentic butheavily edited by later Christian copyists. Another Jewish source,the Talmud, also mentions Jesus in several places, but thesereferences are very late and of little historical value.
NoncanonicalGospels that mention Jesus include, for example, the Infancy Gospelof Thomas, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Gospel ofJames, the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, the Gospel of the Hebrews, theEgerton Gospel, and the Gospel of Judas. Although some of these maycontain an occasional authentic saying or event, for the most partthey are late and unreliable.
Jesus’Life
Birthand childhood. TheGospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehemduring the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesuswas probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’sdeath (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of avirginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18;Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governorQuirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place inBethlehem (2:1–5). Both the census and the governorship at thetime of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars.Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to eitherconfirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must bedetermined on the basis of one’s view regarding the generalreliability of the Gospel tradition.
Onthe eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keepingwith the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus”(Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home ofhis parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel ofLuke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth instrength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke alsocontains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).
Jesuswas born in a lower socioeconomic setting. His parents offered atemple sacrifice appropriate for those who could not afford tosacrifice a sheep (Luke 2:22–24; cf. Lev. 12:8). Joseph, Jesus’earthly father, was a carpenter or an artisan in wood, stone, ormetal (Matt. 13:55). From a geographical perspective, Nazareth wasnot a prominent place for settling, since it lacked fertile ground.Jesus’ disciple Nathanael expressed an apparently commonfirst-century sentiment concerning Nazareth: “Nazareth! Cananything good come from there?” (John 1:46).
Jesuswas also born in a context of scandal. Questions of illegitimacy weresurely raised, since his mother Mary was discovered to be pregnantbefore her marriage to Joseph. According to Matthew, only theintervention of an angel convinced Joseph not to break his betrothal(Matt. 1:18–24). Jesus’ birth took place in Bethlehem,far from his parents’ home in Nazareth. According to kinshiphospitality customs, Joseph and Mary would have expected to stay withdistant relatives in Bethlehem. It is likely that they were unwelcomebecause of Jesus’ status as an illegitimate child; thus Maryhad to give birth elsewhere and place the infant Jesus in a feedingtrough (Luke 2:7). A similar response was seen years later inNazareth when Jesus was identified as “Mary’s son”(Mark 6:3) rather than through his paternal line, thereby shaming himas one who was born an illegitimate child. Jesus was likewiserejected at the end of his life as the crowds cried, “Crucifyhim!” (Matt. 27:22–23; Mark 15:13–14; Luke 23:21;John 19:6, 15). When Jesus was arrested, most of his followers fled(Matt. 26:56; Mark 14:50–52), and a core disciple, Peter,vehemently denied knowing him (Matt. 26:69–74; Mark 14:66–71;Luke 22:55–60; John 18:15–17, 25–27). His ownsiblings did not believe in him (John 7:5) and were evidently ashamedof his fate, since from the cross Jesus placed the care of his motherinto the hands of “the disciple whom he loved” (19:26–27)rather than the next brother in line, as was customary.
Baptism,temptation, and start of ministry.After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring tohim as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instantministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into thewilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11;Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that thetemptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Lukeidentify three specific temptations by the devil, though their orderfor the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesuswas tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine interventionafter jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’skingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation,quoting Scripture in response.
Matthewand Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum inGalilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13;Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirtyyears of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity orperhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of theLevites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning ofJesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples andthe sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).
Jesus’public ministry: chronology.Jesus’ ministry started in Galilee, probably around AD 27/28,and ended with his death around AD 30 in Jerusalem. The temple hadbeen forty-six years in construction (generally interpreted as thetemple itself and the wider temple complex) when Jesus drove out themoney changers (John 2:20). According to Josephus, the rebuilding andexpansion of the second temple had started in 20/19 BC, during theeighteenth year of Herod’s reign (Ant. 15.380). The ministry ofJohn the Baptist had commenced in the fifteenth year of Tiberius(Luke 3:1–2), who had become a coregent in AD 11/12. From thesedates of the start of the temple building and the correlation of thereign of Tiberius to John the Baptist’s ministry, the onset ofJesus’ ministry can probably be dated to AD 27/28.
TheGospel of John mentions three Passovers and another unnamed feast inJohn 5:1. The length of Jesus’ ministry thus extended overthree or four Passovers, equaling about three or three and a halfyears. Passover, which took place on the fifteenth of Nisan, came ona Friday in AD 30 and 33. The year of Jesus’ death wastherefore probably AD 30.
Jesus’ministry years may be divided broadly into his Galilean and hisJudean ministries. The Synoptic Gospels describe the ministry inGalilee from various angles but converge again as Jesus enters Judea.
Galileanministry.The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and aroundGalilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that thekingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment ofprophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ firstteaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30);the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for hiscalling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection andsuffering.
AllGospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in hisGalilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioningof the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers isrecorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministryis the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, inparticular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synopticsfocus on healings and exorcisms.
DuringJesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with hisidentity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority(Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family(3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner ofBeelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesustold parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growingkingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humblebeginnings (4:1–32).
TheSynoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful.No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority orability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized manydemons (Mark 5:1–13), raised the dead (Mark 5:35–42), fedfive thousand (Mark 6:30–44), and walked on water (Mark6:48–49).
Inthe later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew andtraveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are notwritten with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns toGalilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey toJerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fearresolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee,where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ discipleswith lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed thePharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents(7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demandinga sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, whoconfessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus didprovide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).
Jesuswithdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician womanrequested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sentonly to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans hadlong resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality thatallotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere“crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Eventhe dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,”Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-muteman in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’sconfession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The citywas the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.
Judeanministry.Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry ashe resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually ledto his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem intothree phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27).The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of thejourney. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, andthe demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem(Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45;Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journeytoward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvationand judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase ofthe journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are themain themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).
Socialconflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposteinteractions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel(Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomicfeathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who hadlittle value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16;Luke 18:15–17).
PassionWeek, death, and resurrection. Eachof the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with thecrowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Lukedescribes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during whichJesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).
InJerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17).Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because thewhole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “beganlooking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segmentof Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions(12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation(12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s owndestruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, JudasIscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’arrest (14:10–11).
Atthe Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a newcovenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29;Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned thedisciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and laterhe prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agonyand submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42;Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial,crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15;Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18).Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission bymaking disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8)and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return(Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).
TheIdentity of Jesus Christ
Variousaspects of Jesus’ identity are stressed in the four NT Gospels,depending on their target audiences. In the Gospels the witnesses toJesus’ ministry are portrayed as constantly questioning andexamining his identity (Matt. 11:2–5; 12:24; 26:63; 27:11; Mark3:22; 8:11; 11:28; 14:61; Luke 7:18–20; 11:15; 22:67, 70;23:39; John 7:20, 25–27; 18:37). Only beings of the spiritualrealm are certain of his divinity (Mark 1:34; 3:11; Luke 4:41). AtJesus’ baptism, God referred to him as his Son, whom he loved(Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Likewise, when Jesus wastransfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and John, a voiceaffirmed, “This is my Son, whom I love” (Matt. 17:5; Mark9:7). At the moment of his death, the questioning of Jesus’identity culminated in a confession by a Roman centurion and otherguards: “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54; cf.Mark 15:39).
Miracleworker.In the first-century setting, folk healers and miracle workers werepart of the fabric of society. Jesus, however, performed signs andmiracles in order to demonstrate the authority of the kingdom of Godover various realms: disease, illness, the spiritual world, nature,and even future events. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus’signs and miracles are used to show his authority and thus hisidentity.
Nochallenge superseded Jesus’ authority. Among his ample miraclesand signs, he changed water into wine (John 2:7–9), calmed astorm in the sea (Matt. 8:23–27; Mark 4:35–39; Luke8:22–25), exorcized demons (Matt. 9:32–34; Mark 5:1–13;Luke 9:42–43), healed the sick (Mark 1:40–44), raised thedead (Matt. 9:23–25; Mark 5:35–42; Luke 7:1–16;8:49–54; John 11:17, 38–44), performed miraculousfeedings (Matt. 14:17–21; 15:34–38; Mark 6:30–44;8:5–9; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:8–13), and walked onwater (Matt. 14:25–26; Mark 6:48–49; John 6:19).
ThePharisees requested miracles as evidence of his authority (Mark8:11–12). Jesus refused, claiming that a wicked and adulterousgeneration asks for a miraculous sign (Matt. 12:38–39; 16:1–4).The only sign that he would give was the sign of Jonah—hisdeath and resurrection three days later—a personal sacrifice,taking upon himself the judgment of the world (Matt. 12:39–41).
Rabbi/teacher.Jesus’ teaching style was similar to other first-century rabbisor Pharisees (Mark 9:5; 10:51; John 1:38; 3:2). What distinguishedhim was that he spoke with great personal authority (Matt. 5:22, 28,32, 39, 44; Mark 1:22). Like other rabbis of his day, Jesus gathereddisciples. He called these men to observe his lifestyle and to joinhim in his ministry of teaching, healing, and exorcism (Matt. 10:1–4;Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16).
Jesusused a variety of teaching methods. He frequently spoke in parables(Matt. 6:24; 13:24–52; 18:10–14, 23–35;21:28–22:14; 24:32–36, 45–51; 25:14–30; Mark4:1–34; 12:1–12; 13:28–34; Luke 8:4–18;12:41–46; 13:18–21; 14:15–24; 15:1–16:15,19–31; 18:1–14; 19:11–27; 20:9–19; 21:29–33),used figures of speech (John 10:9), hyperbole (Matt. 19:24; Mark10:25; Luke 18:25), argumentation (Matt. 26:11), object lessons(Matt. 24:32), frequent repetition (Matt. 13:44–47; Luke13:18–21), practical examples, and personal guidance.
Majorthemes in Jesus’ teaching include the kingdom of God, the costof discipleship, internal righteousness, the end of the age, hisidentity, his mission, and his approaching death. In his teachings,observance of Torah was given new context and meaning because God’skingdom had “come near” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus had come tofulfill the law (Matt. 5:17).
Jesus’teaching ministry often took place amid social conflict. Theseconflicts were couched in so-called challenge-riposte interactions inwhich the honor status of those involved was at stake. Jesus usedthese interactions as teachable moments. When questioned, Jesus gavereplies that reveal omniscience or intimate knowledge of God’swill, especially in the Gospel of John. In the Synoptic Gospels,Jesus’ answers are both ethical and practical in nature. TheSynoptics portray Jesus as challenged repeatedly with accusations ofviolating customs specified in the Jewish law. Jesus’ answersto such accusations often echoed the essence of 1Sam. 15:22,“To obey is better than sacrifice,” phrased by Jesus as“I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). Anoverall “better than” ethic was common in Jesus’public teaching.
TheSermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) contains a “better than”ethic in which internal obedience is better than mere outwardobedience. For example, Jesus said that anger without cause is equalto murder (Matt. 5:21–22), that looking at a woman lustfullyamounts to adultery (Matt. 5:28), and that instead of revengingwrongs one must reciprocate with love (Matt. 5:38–48). Jesusvalued compassion above traditions and customs, even those containedwithin the OT law. He desired internal obedience above the letter ofthe law.
Jesus’teachings found their authority in the reality of God’simminent kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 10:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 10:9),necessitating repentance (Matt. 3:2), belief (Mark 1:15), dependence(Matt. 18:3–5; Mark 10:15), and loyalty to a new community—thefamily of Jesus followers (Mark 3:34; 10:29–30). Jesus urged,“Seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness”(Matt. 6:33). Preaching with such urgency was common among propheticteachers of the intertestamental period. Jesus, however, had his owngrounds for urgency. He held that God deeply valued all humans (Matt.10:31) and would bring judgment swiftly (Matt. 25:31–46).
Examplesof a “greater good” ethic in the Synoptics include theoccasions when Jesus ate with sinners (Mark 2:16–17). Jesusused an aphorism in response to accusations about his associationswith sinners, saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor,but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”(Mark 2:17). He advocated harvesting and healing on the Sabbath (Mark2:23–28; 3:1–6), and when he was accused of breaking thelaw, he pointed to an OT exception (1Sam. 21:1–6) todeclare compassion appropriate for the Sabbath. Jesus also appliedthe “greater good” ethic in the case of divorce, sincewomen suffered the societal stigma of adultery and commonly becameoutcasts following divorce (Matt. 19:8–9; Mark 10:5–9).
Jesus’kingdom teachings were simultaneously spiritual, ethical, andeschatological in application. The teachings were aimed at internaltransformation (Matt. 5:3–9; 18:3; Mark 10:15) and spurring onlove (Matt. 5:44; 7:21). The Spirit of the Lord had called Jesus tobless the hurting ones as they aspired to a godly character. Jesustaught, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father isperfect” (Matt. 5:48), and “Be merciful, just as yourFather is merciful” (Luke 6:36). The “blessed” onesin Jesus’ teachings are poor of spirit, peace driven, mournful,and hungry for righteousness, consumed with emulating godlycharacter.
Somescholars believe that Jesus promoted an “interim ethic”for the kingdom, intended only for a short period prior to the end oftime. However, he was explicit regarding the longevity of histeachings: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words willnever pass away” (Matt. 24:35; Luke 16:17).
Messiah.The concept of an anointed one, a messiah, who would restore theglories of David’s kingdom and bring political stability wascommon in Jewish expectation. Both before and after the Babyloniancaptivity, many Jews longed for one who would bring peace andprotection. Israel’s prophets had spoken of a coming deliverer,one who would restore David’s kingdom and reign in justice andrighteousness (2Sam. 7:11–16; Isa. 9:1–7; 11:1–16;Jer. 23:5–6; 33:15–16; Ezek. 37:25; Dan. 2:44; Mic. 5:2;Zech. 9:9). Isaiah’s description of the servant (Isa. 53) whosesuffering healed the nation provided a slightly different angle ofexpectation in terms of a deliverer.
Jesus’authority and popularity as a miracle worker called up messianicimages in first-century Jewish minds. On several occasions hearerscalled him “Son of David,” hoping for the Messiah (Matt.12:23; 21:9). Simon Peter was the first follower who confessed Jesusas the Christ, the “Messiah” (Matt. 16:16; Mark 8:29). Inline with Isaiah’s model of the Suffering Servant, Jesusfocused not on political ends but rather on spiritual regenerationthrough his own sacrificial death (Mark 10:45).
Eschatologicalprophet.Many scholars claim that Jesus is best understood as a Jewishapocalypticist, an eschatological prophet who expected God tointervene in history, destroy the wicked, and bring in the kingdom ofGod. Central in this understanding are Jesus’ propheciesconcerning the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (Matt. 24:1–2,15–22; Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5–24; John 2:19; Acts 6:14). Inaddition, it is noted that Jesus had twelve disciples, representativeof the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:2–28; Luke 22:23–30).Certain of Jesus’ parables, those with apocalyptic images ofcoming judgment, present Jesus as an eschatological prophet (Matt.24:45–25:30; Luke 12:41–46; 19:11–27).
SufferingSon of God.Jesus’ first recorded teaching in a synagogue in Nazareth wasparadigmatic (Luke 4:16–21). He attributed the reading, Isa.61:1–2, to his personal calling to serve, and in doing so herevealed a trajectory of suffering. The Gospel of Mark likewise aptlyportrays Jesus as the suffering Son of God. Jesus’ ownteachings incorporated his upcoming suffering (Mark 8:31; 9:12–13,31; 10:33–34). He summarized his mission by declaring, “TheSon of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give hislife as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). His earthly careerended with a trial in Jerusalem consisting of both Roman and Jewishcomponents (Matt. 26:57–68; 27:1–31; Mark 14:53–65;15:1–20; Luke 22:54–23:25; John 18:19–24;18:28–19:16). He was insulted, scourged, mocked, and crucified.
Jesus’suffering culminated in his humiliating death by crucifixion (Matt.27:33–50; Mark 15:22–37; Luke 23:33–46; John19:16–30). Crucifixion was a death of unimaginable horror,bringing shame and humiliation to the victim and his family. Anyonehanging on a tree was considered cursed (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).Thus, especially in a Jewish society, anyone associated with acrucified person bore the shame of following one who was executed asa lowly slave and left as a cursed corpse. The apostle Paul referredto this shame of the cross when he stated, “I am not ashamed ofthe gospel” (Rom. 1:16).
ExaltedLord.Jesus had prophesied that he would rise again (Matt. 16:21; 17:9, 23;20:19; 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:34; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7, 46).The testimony of the Synoptics is that the resurrection of JesusChrist indeed occurred on the third day, Christ having died on Friday(Mark 15:42–45; Luke 23:52–54; John 19:30–33) andrisen again on Sunday (Matt. 28:1–7; Mark 16:2–7; Luke24:1–7; John 20:1–16). The resurrected Jesus waswitnessed by the women (Matt. 28:8–9), the eleven disciples(Matt. 28:16–17; Luke 24:36–43), and travelers on theroad to Emmaus (Luke 24:31–32). According to Paul, he appearedto as many as five hundred others (1Cor. 15:6). He appeared inbodily form, spoke, showed his scars, and ate (Luke 24:39–43;John 20:27; Acts 1:4). After forty postresurrection days, Jesusascended into the heavenly realm (Acts 1:9).
Asmuch as Jesus’ death was the epitome of shame, his victory overdeath was his ultimate exaltation (Phil. 2:5–11). At Pentecost,Peter proclaimed that in the resurrection God fulfilled OT promises(Ps. 16:10) by raising his Son from the grave (Acts 2:30–31).Furthermore, Christ provided freedom from the law through hisresurrection (Rom. 5:13–14), God’s approval of his lifeand work (Phil. 2:8–9), and God’s designation of him asLord over all the earth, the living and the dead (Acts 17:30–31;Phil. 2:10; Heb. 1:3), and over all his enemies (Eph. 1:20–23).
Jesus’exaltation commenced the beginning of forgiveness and justification(Luke 24:46–47; Acts 13:30–39; Rom. 4:25) and hisintercession for the people of God (Rom. 8:34). His ascensionsignaled the coming of the Holy Spirit as comforter and teacher (John14:26; Acts 2:33) and was accompanied by the promise of his return inglory (Luke 24:51), at which time he will render judgment (Matt.19:28; 24:31; Rev. 20:11–15) and establish his eternal kingdom(1Cor. 15:24; 2Tim. 4:1; Rev. 11:15; 22:5).
Jesus’Purpose and Community
Inthe Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, whopreaches the good news of the kingdom, urging people to repent(4:17–23). Repentance and belief allow one to enter thekingdom. The call into the kingdom is a call into a new covenant, onemade in Jesus’ blood (26:28).
Inthe prologue to the Gospel of Mark, the narrator reveals the identityof Jesus (1:1). Jesus is presented as the one who brings good tidingsof salvation (cf. Isa. 40:9; 52:7; 61:1). The centrality of thegospel, the good news (Mark 1:14–15), is evident.
Lukelikewise presents the preaching of the good news as a main purpose ofJesus’ ministry (4:43). The content of this good news is thekingdom of God (4:43; 8:1; 16:16). When the disciples of John theBaptist asked Jesus if he was the one who was to come (7:20), Jesusanswered, “Go back and report to John what you have seen andheard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosyare cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good newsis proclaimed to the poor” (7:22). The kingdom of God, aspresented in Luke, brings freedom for the prisoners, recovery ofsight for the blind, and release for the oppressed (4:18). Jesus’healings and exorcisms announce the coming kingdom of God alreadypresent in the ministry of Jesus (4:40–44; 6:18–20;8:1–2; 9:2; 10:8–9).
Inthe Gospel of John, Jesus testifies to the good news by way of signsthroughout his ministry. These signs point to Jesus’ glory, hisidentity, and the significance of his ministry. Jesus is the Messiah,the Son of God, who offers eternal and abundant life. This abundantlife is lived out in community.
Inthe Gospel of John, the disciples of Jesus represent the community ofGod (17:21). The disciples did not belong to the world, but theycontinued to live in the world (17:14–16). Throughout hisministry, Jesus called his disciples to follow him. This was a callto loyalty (Matt. 10:32–40; 16:24–26; Mark 8:34–38;Luke 9:23–26), a call to the family of God (Matt. 12:48–50;Mark 3:33–35). Jesus’ declaration “On this rock Iwill build my church” (Matt. 16:18) was preceded by the call tocommunity. Jesus’ presence as the head of the community wasreplaced by the promised Spirit (John 14:16–18).
Jesus’ministry continued in the community of Jesus’ followers, God’sfamily—the church. Entrance into the community was obtained byadopting the values of the kingdom, belief, and through theinitiation rite of baptism (Matt. 10:37–39; 16:24–26;Mark 8:34–38; Luke 9:23–26, 57–62; John 1:12; 3:16;10:27–29; Acts 2:38; 16:31–33; 17:30; Rom. 10:9).
TheQuests for the Historical Jesus
Thequest for the historical Jesus, or seeking who Jesus was from ahistorical perspective, is a modern phenomenon deemed necessary byscholars who claim that the NT Gospels were written long after Jesus’death and were heavily influenced by the post-Easter understanding ofthe church.
Thebeginning of this quest is often dated to 1770, when the lecturenotes of Hermann Samuel Reimarus were published posthumously.Reimarus had launched an inquiry into the identity of Jesus thatrejected as inauthentic all supernatural elements in the Gospels. Heconcluded that the disciples invented Jesus’ miracles,prophecies, ritualistic religion, and resurrection. Reimarus’sconclusions were not widely accepted, but they set off a flurry ofrationalistic research into the historical Jesus that continuedthroughout the nineteenth century. This became known as the “firstquest” for the historical Jesus.
In1906 German theologian Albert Schweit-zer published The Quest of theHistorical Jesus (German title: Von Reimarus zu Wrede: EineGeschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung), a scathing indictment of thefirst quest. Schweitzer’s work showed that nineteenth-centuryresearchers re-created Jesus in their own image, transforming thehistorical Jesus into a modern philanthropist preaching aninoffensive message of love and brotherhood. Schweitzer’sconclusions marked the beginning of the end for this first quest.Schweitzer himself concluded that the historical Jesus was aneschatological prophet whose purposes failed during his last days inJerusalem.
Withthe demise of the first quest, some NT scholars, such as RudolfBultmann, rejected any claim to being able to discover the historicalJesus. This trend continued until 1953, when some of Bultmann’sformer students launched what has come to be known as the “newquest” for the historical Jesus (1953–c. 1970). Thisquest created new interest in the historical Jesus but was stilldominated by the view that the portrait of Jesus in the Gospels islargely a creation of the church in a post-Easter setting.
Asthe rebuilding years of the post–World WarII era wanedand scholars started to reap academic fruit from major archaeologicalfinds such as the DSS, research on the historical Jesus moved on towhat has been called the “third quest.” This quest seeksespecially to research and understand Jesus in his social andcultural setting.
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
The Sermon on the Mount is the inaugural sermon of Jesus inMatthew’s Gospel (5:1–7:29), which sets out Jesus’kingdom program for the people of God. Whether this was a singlesermon delivered on one occasion or Matthew’s compilation ofJesus’ teaching is uncertain. Luke’s Gospel has a similarsermon (6:17–49), which may or may not be the same event(sometimes called the “Sermon on the Plain” because ofv.17, although this may simply be a “level place”on the same hill that Matthew describes).
Luke’saccount is similar to Matthew’s on several points: samebeatitudes regarding the poor, the hungry, and the persecuted; sameteaching of loving enemies, turning the other cheek, not judging, theGolden Rule; same illustrations of removing a speck from the eye,good trees producing good fruit, wise man building a house on therock. Of course, there are many differences in Luke’s version:woes pronounced upon the rich, the satiated, and the honored; theimportance of giving; warning the blind who lead the blind; howstudents become teachers. In Luke, Jesus delivers his sermon to thetwelve disciples just chosen as well as directly to a larger crowd(Luke 6:12–20), “Blessed are you...”In Matthew, Jesus addresses the crowd (including the disciples)gathered around him because of the miracles he has performed (Matt.4:24–5:1)—note the third person, “Blessed are thepoor in spirit...” Finally, Matthew’saccount has more unique material than Luke’s: beatitudesregarding the pure in heart, peacemakers, and mourners; questionsabout the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees; the importance ofobeying the Law and the Prophets; teachings regarding murder,adultery, divorce, revenge, swearing oaths, giving alms, prayer,fasting, worry; illustrations of salt and light, dogs and pigs, fishand stones, narrow and wide gates, wolves in sheep’s clothing.That Matthew begins the story of Jesus’ earthly ministry withthis sermon is significant: he wants his readers to see Jesus as therabbi who knows more about the kingdom of heaven than any scribe orPharisee.
TheBeatitudes
Withthe first words of the sermon, commonly known as the Beatitudes,Jesus challenges the conventional wisdom that the poor, the hungry,and the meek are cursed. Instead, Jesus claims that his hearers areblessed (these poor, hungry, and meek Galileans) because the kingdomof heaven comes to those who need God. Not surprisingly, thesesubversive ideas are couched in paradoxes: the poor are kingdom rich;the hungry are satisfied with righteousness; the meek inherit theland of promise; the bereaved are comforted; the persecuted find joyin their tribulations. They are pure-hearted; they are peacemakers.These are the kind of people Jesus calls “the salt of theearth” (Matt. 5:13). They are “the light of the world”(v.14) because they reveal the glorious work of God in theirlives. They are what the kingdom of heaven looks like on earth.
Allof this may sound like the opposite of what was taught in the Torah,where it was said that material blessings are a sign of divine favorfor the obedient, and sickness and death come to those who disobeyGod (Deut. 30:1–20). But Jesus claims that he is not ignoringthe Law and the Prophets. Instead, he intends to keep the Law and theProphets better than anyone, especially the scribes and thePharisees, whom Jesus accuses of abrogating the law because they havemissed the heart of the commandments (Matt. 5:17–20; cf.23:23–24).
LoveGod and Neighbor
TheSermon on the Mount appears to be an exposition of two greatcommandments emphasized by Jesus: love God (6:1–34; Deut. 6:5)and love your neighbor (5:21–48; Lev. 19:18). In particular,Jesus challenges the experts of the law—the scribes and thePharisees—in regard to their righteousness.
Dothe experts keep the law when it comes to loving your neighbor? Theysay, “You shall not murder” (quoting the Decalogue) and“Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment” (quotingtheir tradition). But according to Jesus, they break the commandmentand their tradition when they call someone a “fool.”Their indignation is not righteous; in fact, it condemns them to helland prevents them from worshiping God (5:21–26). They say, “Youshall not commit adultery” (again quoting the Decalogue) and“Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate ofdismissal” (quoting Deut. 24). But Jesus believes that thecommandment is broken when a man lusts for a woman; so he advises mento take drastic measures in dealing with eyes and hands, theinstruments of lust (5:27–30). He even accuses husbands ofpracticing and promoting serial adultery when they abuse women bytreating them as objects, trying to justify their selfish behavior byappealing to the provision of divorce in the law of Moses (5:31–32).The scribes and Pharisees also swear oaths to cover false vows(5:33–37). They hate their neighbors when they seek revengeagainst their enemies, desiring only to help their friends (5:38–47).Instead, Jesus teaches that when it comes to the kingdom of heaven,children of God must replicate the qualities of their heavenly Father(5:48): defying injustice (unrighteousness) through love,self-sacrifice, and mercy (turning the other cheek, giving awayclothing, helping enemies, praying for persecutors). When it comes toloving your neighbor, this righteousness is picture perfect.
Certainlythe scribes and the Pharisees cannot be accused of not loving God,for their standards of holiness are considered the highest of all.Yet according to Jesus, their acts of holiness are not for God’sbenefit but for their own (6:1). When they give to the poor, it is anostentatious display designed for social approval (6:2–4). Whenthey pray, it is for human eyes, not God’s ears (6:5). Whenthey fast, they want everyone to know about it (6:16). Jesus, on theother hand, believes that acts of holiness are for God’s eyesonly. Give in secret; pray in private; fast in disguise (6:3–4,6–13, 17–18). In this way, a person is storing uptreasures in heaven. Those who seek human approval get their rewardson earth, where treasures are temporal (6:1–2, 5, 16, 19–21).Indeed, slaves of mammon worry about things that do not last (money,food, clothing). Those who seek the kingdom of heaven, on the otherhand, are anxious for nothing. They serve the master who feedssparrows and clothes fields of grass with flowers (6:24–34).God knows what kingdom seekers need before they ask, which is whythey pray for the kingdom to come, for the will of God to be done onearth as it is in heaven (6:8–13). Rather than judging others,kingdom seekers forgive their debtors (7:1–5). They aredelivered from the evil one because they make requests to a Fatherwho gives only good gifts (7:7–11). Kingdom seekers treatothers as they themselves want to be treated because they know thatthe Law and the Prophets are summed up in these two commandments:love God and love your neighbor (7:12).
TheNarrow Gate
Thesermon ends with an invitation. Two gates stand before Jesus’listeners. One is wide, and many enter this way—a broad paththat leads to destruction. It is the way of the Pharisees and thescribes. The other gate is narrow, and few enter this way, eventhough it leads to life—the way of righteousness, according toJesus (7:13–14). There are two kinds of prophets, two kinds oftrees, two kinds of builders (7:15–27). False prophets make badtrees; those who listen to them are fools. True prophets produce goodfruit; those who listen to them are wise persons who build theirlives on the rock of Jesus’ words—a Sermon on the Mount.
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
(Disabilities; Disability; Deformity; Deformities; Sickness]The Bible often speaks of health, healing, disease, andillness. Good health was a sign of God’s favor, and healing wasalso the work of God and his divinely empowered agents. These agentsincluded the prophets (1Kings 17:8–23; 2Kings5:1–15), the apostles (Acts 3:1–10), and the messiah(Mal. 4:2). The divine prerogative of Jesus was to heal (Mark 1:32;6:56; Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 15:30; 21:14; Luke 6:10, 17–19), andmiraculous healings were a sign of his messianic office (Luke7:20–23). Disease, on the other hand, was regarded as a sign ofGod’s disfavor. Within a covenantal context, God could senddisease to punish the sinner (Exod. 4:11; 32:35).
TheBible assigns a wide variety of names to various diseases and theirsymptoms. These terms are nontechnical and generally descriptive.Some are uncertain in meaning. In most cases they describe thesymptoms of the disease, not the disease itself. Diagnosis often wasbased on incomplete observation and nonclinical examination. TheBible also presupposes supernatural intervention in the life of aperson. Healing occurred when God’s agents touched individuals,cast out demons, and resurrected the dead.
AncientNear Eastern Influences
Inthe ancient Near East the knowledge of disease and medicine wasprecritical. Bacteria and viruses were virtually unknown.Mesopotamian literature contains many references to medicine,physicians, and medical practice. Minerals, salts, herbs, and otherbotanicals were used to make up treatments. Babylonian physiciansalso administered prescriptions accompanied by incantations. Diseasewas considered to be the result of a violation of a taboo orpossession by a demon. The Code of Hammurabi (1750 BC) includes lawsregulating the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians. InEgypt medicine and healing were connected to the gods. Tomb paintingsand several papyrus documents describe the developing state ofEgyptian medicine, pharmacy, and surgery.
Greekphysicians admired and sought to learn the skills of the Egyptians.However, the early Greek doctor Hippocrates (460–370 BC),called the “Father of Medicine,” is credited with beingthe first physician to reject the belief that supernatural or divineforces cause illness. He argued that disease is the result ofenvironmental factors, diet, and living habits, not a punishmentimposed by the gods.
Itis clear that the biblical world shared with the ancient Near Eastthe same types of maladies common to tropical or subtropicalclimates. These include malaria, tropical fevers, dysentery, andsunstroke. The tendency of the hot climate to produce frequentdroughts and famine certainly contributed to similar types ofdiseases throughout the Fertile Crescent. Additionally, it must beremembered that Palestine was a land bridge between the Mesopotamianand Egyptian worlds. Migrations carry not only goods and products,but also parasites, communicable disease, and epidemics.
BiblicalConcept of Disease
Thereligious tradition of the Hebrews repudiated the magical or demonicorigin of disease. Hence, moral, ethical, and spiritual factorsregulated disease and illness. This was true for the individual aswell as the community. The Hebrews, like the Egyptians, alsorecognized that much sickness arose from the individual’srelationship to the physical environment. Great stress was placed onhygiene and preventive medicine.
Pentateuchallegislation offered seven covenantal principles designed to preventthe possibility of disease and sickness: (1)Sabbath observancefor humans, animals, and the land, which enforced regular periods ofrest (Gen. 2:3); (2)dietary regulations, which divided foodinto efficient categories of clean and unclean (Lev. 11);(3)circumcision, which carried physical benefits as well asreligious and moral implications (Gen. 17:9; circumcision is the onlyexample of Hebrew surgery); (4)laws governing sexualrelationships and health, including a list of forbidden degrees ofmarital relationships (Lev. 18–20); (5)provisions forindividual sexual hygiene (Lev. 15); (6)stipulations forcleanliness and bodily purification (Lev. 14:2; 15:2); (7) sanitaryand hygienic regulations for camp life (Num. 31:19; Deut. 23:12).
InNT times magical charms and incantations were used along with folkremedies in an effort to cure disease. Jesus repudiated these means.He also suggested that sickness and disease were not directpunishments for sin (John 9:2). In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5–7), Jesus confirmed that the ethical and religious standardsof the new covenant promoted the total health of the community andthe individual.
CirculatoryDiseases
Nabalmost likely suffered a cerebrovascular accident or stroke (1Sam.25:36–38). After a heavy bout of drinking, his heart “died”(KJV; NIV: “failed”), and he became paralyzed, lapsedinto a coma, and died ten days later. Psalm 137:5–6 may containa clinical example of the symptoms of stroke. The psalmist wrote, “IfI forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May mytongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”This description points to a paralysis of the right side of the body(right hemiplegia) and the loss of speech (motor aphasia) that resultfrom a stroke on the left side of the brain. Basically, the exiledpsalmist is wishing upon himself the effects of a stroke if he heldanything other than Jerusalem as his highest priority. Some haveconsidered the collapse of Uzzah when he reached out to stabilize theark of the covenant (2Sam. 6:6–7) to be the consequenceof an apoplectic seizure. But since no actual paralysis was describedand death occurred immediately, this seems unlikely. It is moreprobable that God struck him down with an aortic aneurism or acoronary thrombosis.
Paralysis
Apossible case of paralysis may be described in the shriveled(atrophic) hand of JeroboamI (1Kings 13:4–6). In anangry outburst Jeroboam ordered the arrest of a prophet who condemnedthe altar at Bethel. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand, it“shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.”Several complicated diagnoses have been offered to explain the“withered” hand, but it is possibly an example ofcataplexy, a sudden loss of muscle power following a strong emotionalstimulus. After intercession by the man of God, and the subsiding ofthe emotional outburst, the arm was restored.
Thethreat against the faithless shepherd of God’s people (Zech.11:17), which included a withered arm and blindness in the right eye,may refer to a form of paralysis known as tabes dorsalis, orlocomotor ataxia. Knifelike pains in the extremities and blindnesscharacterize this disease.
Paralysisis frequently mentioned in the NT (Matt. 8:6; 9:2, 6; 12:10; Mark2:3–5, 9, 10; 3:1, 3, 5; Luke 5:18, 24; 6:6; John 5:3; Acts9:33; Heb. 12:12). The exact diagnosis for each of these casesremains uncertain.
Thephysician Luke’s use of the Greek medical term paralelymenos(Luke 5:18, 24) suggests that some of these cases were caused bychronic organic disease. Others clearly were congenital (Acts 3:2;cf. 14:8). It is not necessary to rationalize the origin of theseexamples of paralysis as hysteria or pretense. The NT writersregarded the healing of these individuals by Jesus and the apostlesas miraculous.
MentalIllness and Brain Disorders
Casesof mental disease are generally described in the Bible by noting thesymptoms produced by the disorder. The particular cause of a mentalillness in the NT is often blamed on an unknown evil spirit orspirits (Luke 8:2). Such spirits, however, were subject to God’scontrol and operated only within the boundaries allowed by him(1Sam. 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). Accordingly, in the OT“madness” and “confusion of mind” wereregarded as consequences of covenantal disobedience (Deut. 28:28,34).
Ithas been argued that King Saul displayed early indications ofpersonality disorder. Symptoms included pride, self-aggrandizement(1Sam. 11:6; 13:12; 15:9, 19), and ecstatic behavior(10:11–12). A rapid deterioration in Saul’s charactertranspired after David was anointed and became more popular (16:14;18:10–11). Since Saul demonstrated fear, jealousy, a sense ofpersecution, and homicidal tendencies, some scholars argue that hesuffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
Nebuchadnezzarsuffered a rare form of monomania in which he lived like a wild beastin the field eating grass (Dan. 4:33). David, in order to save hisown life, feigned insanity or perhaps epilepsy before the Philistineking Achish (1Sam. 21:12–15).
Inthe NT, individuals with mental disorders went about naked, mutilatedthemselves, lived in tombs (Mark 5:2), and exhibited violent behavior(Matt. 8:28). Such mental disorientation was often linked to demonpossession. Examples include the Syrophoenician’s child (Matt.15:22; Mark 7:25), the demoniacs at Gerasa (Matt. 8:28; Mark 5:2;Luke 8:27) and Capernaum (Mark 1:23; Luke 4:33), a blind and mutedemoniac (Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14), and a fortune-telling slave girl(Acts 16:16). While such behavior is clinically suggestive ofparanoid schizophrenia or other mental disorders, themind-controlling influence of some extraneous negative force cannotbe ruled out.
Epilepsy(grand mal) causes the afflicted person to fall to the ground, foamat the mouth, and clench or grind the teeth (Matt. 17:15; Mark9:17–18; Luke 9:39). The description of Saul falling to theground in an ecstatic state (1Sam. 19:23–24) and Balaamfalling with open eyes may be indicative of an epileptic seizure. Inthe NT, Jesus healed many who suffered from epilepsy (Matt. 4:24;17:14–18; Mark 9:17–18; Luke 9:38–42). Somescholars have linked the light seen by Paul on the road to Damascuswith the aura that some epileptics experience prior to a seizure. Hissubsequent blindness has also been attributed to the epilepticdisturbance of the circulation of the blood in the brain.
ChildhoodDiseases
Thecause of the death of the widow’s son at Zarephath is unknown(1Kings 17:17–22). The death of the Shunammite woman’sson has been attributed to sunstroke (2Kings 4:18–37),although a headache is the only symptom recorded (v.19). Inboth cases there is too little evidence to present an accuratediagnosis.
Inthe first case, the boy at Zarephath stopped breathing (1Kings17:17). This may leave the door open to argue that Elijahresuscitated the child. However, in the second case, the text clearlystates that the Shunammite boy died (2Kings 4:20), implying aresurrection.
Infectiousand Communicable Diseases
Feverand other calamities are listed among the punishments for covenantalinfidelity (Deut. 28:22). Three different types of fever may beintentionally described here: “fever,” “inflammation,”and “scorching heat” (ESV: “fiery heat”).Fever is also mentioned frequently in the NT (Matt. 8:15; Mark1:30–31; Luke 4:38–39; John 4:52; Acts 28:8). Both Jesusand Paul healed individuals who had a fever. A number of these feverswere likely caused by malaria, since the disease was known to beendemic to the Jordan Valley and other marshy areas in Palestine.
Severalepidemics in which numerous people died of pestilence or plague arementioned in the OT (Exod. 11:1; 12:13; Num. 14:37; Zech. 14:12). Thefifth plague of Egypt (Exod. 9:3–6) has been attributed toJordan Rift Valley fever, which is spread by flies. Bubonic plaguehas been blamed for the malady that struck the Philistines (1Sam.5–6). However, it may have been the result of a severe form oftropical dysentery. Acute bacillary dysentery contracted in themilitary camp may also have been responsible for the epidemic thatkilled a large number of the Assyrian army (2Kings 19:35).
ParasiticDiseases
Somescholars have repeatedly argued that the “fiery serpents”(NIV: “venomous snakes”) encountered by Moses and thechildren of Israel (Num. 21:6–9) were in reality an infestationof the parasitic guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis). Microscopicfleas ingested in drinking water carry the larvae of this slendernematode into the body. The larvae move from the digestive tract tothe skin. The adult worm, which may grow to a length of several feet,discharges its eggs into an ulcer on the skin. Death of the hostoccurs because of the resulting infection of the skin ulcers.
Afterthe conquest of Jericho, Joshua cursed the individual who wouldendeavor to rebuild the city (Josh. 6:26). Later, Hiel of Bethelattempted to rebuild the city and lost two of his sons as a result ofthe curse (1Kings 16:34). Elisha was then asked to purify thebad water at Jericho in order to allow a new settlement (2Kings2:19). Elisha obliged by throwing salt into the spring and therebymaking the water potable (2:20–22). Recent archaeological studyhas discovered the remains of certain snails in the mud-bricks usedto construct Jericho in the Bronze Age. These types of snails are nowknown to serve as intermediate hosts for the flatworm parasite thatcan cause schistosomiasis. The Schistosoma haematobium trematodeinfects the urinary tract and the bladder. It is possible that thistype of parasite was responsible for the death of Hiel’s twosons.
InNT times, Herod Agrippa apparently died of the complications of aparasitic disease, perhaps being infested by the larvae of flies(myiasis) in the bowels. Luke mentions that he was “eaten byworms” (skōlēkobrōtos [Acts 12:23]). The fatherof Publius also suffered from dysentery (Acts 28:8).
PhysicalDeformities and Abnormalities
Individualswith deformities were disqualified from priestly service (Lev.21:18–20). The list included lameness, limb damage, anddwarfism. The deformities mentioned here might have been congenitalor acquired. Mephibosheth was dropped by his nurse (2 Sam. 4:4) andperhaps suffered damage to the spinal cord. Jacob possibly sustainedinjury to an intervertebral disk (Gen. 32:32) causing a deformity anda limp. The woman who was “bent over” (Luke 13:10–17)might have suffered from an abnormality of the spine similar toscoliosis. It is difficult to ascertain the origin of the “shriveledhand” of the unnamed individual healed by Jesus (Matt.12:10–13; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–10). It could becongenital in character or a paralysis caused by any number offactors.
Diseasesand Disabilities of the Eyes and Ears
Physicalblindness is mentioned several times in the Bible. Blindness excludedone from serving as a priest (Lev. 21:18, 20). Blindness anddeafness, however, were disabilities requiring special care from thecommunity (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). The “weak eyes” ofLeah may refer to an eye condition (Gen. 29:17).
Blindnessin the biblical world was caused by various factors. Leviticus 26:16speaks of a fever that destroys the eyes. Flies probably wereresponsible for much of the conjunctivitis found in children. John9:1 mentions congenital blindness, which Jesus cured using mud madefrom spittle and dirt (John 9:6). In Mark 8:22–26 Jesus healeda blind man by spitting in his eye and laying hands on him (cf. Matt.20:34 with Mark10:52).
Congenitaldeafness would also be associated with mutism and speech defectsbecause a child learning to speak depends on imitation and mimicry.Jesus healed a man who was deaf and could barely talk (Mark 7:32–37).The man’s inability to say much possibly pointed to a loss ofhearing early in life.
SkinConditions
Variousskin and hair abnormalities are described in the Bible. Some made theindividual unclean (Lev. 13:30; 14:54). The OT speaks of “theboils of Egypt” (Deut. 28:27; cf. Exod. 9:9). Skin ailmentsincluded tumors, festering sores, boils, infections, and the itch(Deut. 28:27, 35; Isa. 3:7). Job complained of a litany of ailments:broken and festering skin (7:5), multiple wounds (9:17), blackpeeling skin and fever (30:30), gnawing bone pain (2:5; 19:20;30:17), insomnia (7:3–4), and wasting away (33:21). Thesesymptoms have been diagnosed as indications of yaws or eczema. Apoultice made of figs cured Hezekiah’s boil (2Kings20:7).
Leprosywas once thought to be a common problem in the biblical world.Leprosy (Hansen’s disease) is a slow, progressive chronicinfectious disease caused by a bacterium. Symptoms include loss ofsensation and loss of parts of the body. Evidence for this type ofdisease in Palestine is rare. Uzziah may have had a true case ofHansen’s disease. He was quarantined until the day he died(2Chron. 26:21).
Scholarsnow suggest that the symptoms of the disease described in the Bibledo not fit this pattern and thus do not signify leprosy (Hansen’sdisease) as it is known today. Instead, the word that Englishversions translate as “leprosy” (Heb. root tsr’)probably refers to different types of infectious skin disease, oftencharacterized by a long-standing, patchy skin condition associatedwith peeling or flakiness and redness of skin. Evidence points moretoward psoriasis, fungal infections, or dermatitis.
Thisdisease could appear in humans (Lev. 14:2), on buildings (14:34), andon clothing (14:55). It was not limited to the extremities but couldoccur on the head (14:42–44). It could run its course quickly(13:5–8). It made the individual ceremonially unclean, but itwas also curable (Lev. 14:3; 2Kings 5:1–27). Individualswith the disease were not necessarily shunned (2Kings 7; Matt.26:6// Mark 14:3). Moses (Exod. 4:6), Miriam (Num. 12:10), andNaaman experienced this type of skin disease (2Kings 5:1–27).Jesus healed many suffering from skin ailments (Matt. 8:2–3;Mark 1:40–42; Luke 5:12–13), including the ten “menwho had leprosy” (Luke 17:12–14).
Ailmentsof an Unknown Nature
Somecases in the Bible present insufficient evidence for scholars torender a clear diagnosis. King Asa suffered a disease in his feet(2Chron. 16:12). However, in the OT the Hebrew expression for“feet” is sometimes used euphemistically for the sexualorgans (Judg. 3:24 KJV). Because of this, the exact nature of thedisease is ambiguous. Jehoram was afflicted with “an incurabledisease of the bowels” (2Chron. 21:18–19). Otherunknown ailments factor in the deaths of the firstborn son of Davidand Bathsheba (2Sam. 12:15), of Jeroboam’s son in infancy(1Kings 14:17), of Elisha (2Kings 13:14), and ofEzekiel’s wife (Ezek. 24:16).
A “type” (from Gk. typos) can be defined as abiblical event, person, or institution that serves as an example orpattern for events, persons, or institutions in the later OT or inthe NT. Typology is based on the assumption that there is a patternin God’s work in the OT and in the NT that forms apromise-fulfillment relationship. In the OT there are shadows ofthings that will be more fully revealed in the NT. Thus, the OT flowsinto the NT as part of a continuous story of salvation history. Whatis promised in the OT is fulfilled in the NT. This can beaccomplished through prophetic word or through propheticaction/event. The use of prophetic action/event to predict orforeshadow future actions/events involves typology. Typology is partof the promise-fulfillment scheme that connects the two Testaments.
Anumber of biblical interpreters note that three primarycharacteristics of types can be identified. First, there must be somenotable point of resemblance or analogy between the type and itsantitype. Second, there must be evidence that the type was appointedby God to represent the thing typified. Here one must avoid the twoextremes of, on the one hand, saying that a type is a type only whenthe Scripture explicitly calls it such, and, on the other hand, offinding a type “behind every tree.” Third, a type shouldprefigure something in the future. Thus, antitypes in the NT mustpresent truth more fully realized than in the OT.
Typologicalinterpretation of the OT is different from allegorizing a text. Theformer restricts itself to the meaning intended by the originalauthor, whereas the latter reads things into the OT passage (usuallyin connection with messianic prophecy) not initially intended. On theother hand, it should be noted that the OT authors may not alwayshave fully comprehended the long-range fulfillment of theirprophecies. Thus, for example, Ps. 22 reveals King David’strials and tribulations that are later viewed by NT authors asapplicable to the crucifixion of Christ (e.g., the quotation of Ps.22:18 in John 19:24 regarding the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’clothes). David probably did not envision his situation as predictiveof the sufferings of the coming Christ. But the Holy Spirit did, andhe allowed the Gospel authors to make the connection. Thus, typologyis a special form of biblical prophecy, which Jesus seemed to useextensively. Hence, the type is found in the OT, and its antitypeoccurs in the NT.
Moreparticularly, Jesus seemed to perceive himself as the antitype to allthree of the aforementioned possible types. First, Jesus fulfilled inhimself persons in the OT who were types. Thus, Jesus is the ultimateDavid, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, the heavenly Son of Man ofDan. 7, and the Suffering Servant of Isa. 52:13–53:12. Second,with regard to famous OT events, Jesus reenacted the new exodus andpassed the test in the new wilderness wanderings (Matt. 4:1–11pars.), and then he proclaimed a new law from the mountain, as didMoses (Matt. 5–7). Third, Jesus revised or replaced OTinstitutions such as the sacrificial system and the feasts of Yahweh(most notably Passover) at his death, and at his resurrection hebecame the new temple of God.
TheNT continues Jesus’ typological interpretation of the OT,seeing in him the supreme antitype of OT symbolism. Thus, forexample, Paul sees Christ as the second Adam (Rom. 5:12–21),whose church is the new Israel, the eschatological people of God(1Cor. 10:1–13). Matthew perceives Jesus to be the newMoses (Matt. 1–10). Note the following comparisons:
Moses,the Old Testament Type vs. Jesus, Matthew’s Antitype to Moses:
Moseswas born to deliver his people. Jesus was born to save his people.
Pharoahtried to kill the infant Moses. Herod tried to kill the infant Jesus.
Moseswas “baptized” in the exodus. Jesus was baptized in thenew “exodus.”
Moseswas tempted in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted in the wildnerness.
Mosesperformed ten plagues. Jesus performed ten miracles.
Mosesreceived the law on the mount. Jesus gave a new law on the mount.
Lukeunderstands Jesus to be the new David (Luke 1:32). Hebrews assertsthat Jesus has inaugurated the new covenant (chap. 8), the truepriesthood (chaps. 7–8; 10), whose death is the fulfillment andreplacement of the sacrificial system of the OT (chaps. 9–10).But perhaps the most extensive usage of typology in the NT occurs inRev. 21–22 (cf. Rev. 19), where the new creation is theantitype of the old creation of Gen. 1–3 (see table 10).
Table10. New Creation Typology in Revelation 21–22
Sinfulpeople are scattered (Gen. 1-3). God’s people unite to singhis praises (Rev. 21-22; cf. 19:6-7).
The“marriage” of Adam and Eve takes place in the garden(Gen. 1-3). The marriage of the second Adam and his bride, thechurch has come (Rev. 21-22; cf. 19:7, 21:2, 9).
Godis abandoned by sinful people (Gen. 1-3). God’s people (newJerusalem, bride of Christ) are made ready for God; marriage of theLamb. (Rev. 21-22; cf. 19:7-8, 21:2, 9-21).
Exclusionfrom bounty of Eden (Gen. 1-3). Invitation to marriage supper ofLamb (Rev. 21-22; cf. 19:9).
Satanintroduces sin into world (Gen. 1-3). Satan and sin are judged (Rev.21-22; cf. 19:11-21, 20:7-10).
Theserpent deceives humankind (Gen. 1-3). The ancient serpent is bound“to keep him from deceiving the nations (Rev. 21-22; cf.20:2-3).
Godgives humans dominion over the earth (Gen. 1-3). God’s peoplewill reign with him forever (Rev. 21-22; cf. 20:4, 6, 22:5).
Peoplerebel against the true God, resulting in physical and spiritual death(Gen. 1-3). God’s people risk death to worship the true Godand thus experience life (Rev. 21-22; cf. 20:4-6).
Sinfulpeople are sent away from life (Gen. 1-3). God’s people havetheir names written in the book of life (Rev. 20:4-6, 15; 21:6, 27).
Deathenters the world (Gen. 1-3). Death is put to death (Rev. 20:14;21:4).
Godcreates the first heaven and earth, eventually cursed by sin (Gen.1-3). God creates a new heaven and earth, where sin is nowhere to befound (Rev. 21:1)/
Watersymbolizes chaos (Gen. 1-3). There is no longer any sea (Rev. 21:1).
Sinbrings pain and tears (Gen. 1-3). God comforts his people andremoves crying and pain (Rev. 21:4).
Sinfulhumanity is cursed with wandering (exile) (Gen. 1-3). God’speople are given a permanent home (Rev. 21:3).
Communityis forfeited (Gen. 1-3). Genuine community is experienced (Rev.21-22; cf. 21:3, 7).
Sinfulpeople are banished from the presence of God (Gen. 1-3). God livesamong his people (Rev. 21:3, 7, 22; 22:4).
Creationbegins to grow old and die (Gen. 1-3). All things are made new (Rev.21:5).
Wateris used to destroy wicked humanity (Gen. 1-3). God quenches thirstwith water from the spring of life (Rev. 21:6; 22:1).
“Inthe beginning, God…” (Gen. 1-3). “I am the Alphaand the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 21:6).
Sinfulhumanity suffers a wandering exile in the land (Gen. 1-3). God giveshis children an inheritance (Rev. 21:7).
Sinenters the world (Gen. 1-3). Sin is banished from God’s city(Rev. 21:8, 27; 22:15).
Sinfulhumanity is separated from the presence of the holy God (Gen. 1-3). God’s people experience God’s holiness (cubed city = holyof holies) (Rev. 21:15-21).
Godcreates light and separates it from darkness (Gen. 1-3). No morenight or natural light; God himself is the source of light (Rev.21:23; 22:5)
Languagesof sinful humanity are confused (Gen. 1-3). God’s people is amulticultural people (Rev. 21:24, 26; 22:2).
Sinfulpeople are sent away from the garden (Gen. 1-3). The newheaven/earth includes a garden (Rev. 22:2).
Sinfulpeople are forbidden to eat from the tree of life (Gen. 1-3). God’speople may eat freely from the tree of life (Rev. 22:2, 14).
Sinresults in spiritual sickness (Gen. 1-3). God heals the nations(Rev. 22:2).
Sinfulpeople are cursed (Gen. 1-3). The curse is removed from redeemedhumanity, and people become a blessing (Rev. 22:3).
Sinfulpeople refuse to serve/obey God (Gen. 1-3). God’s people servehim (Rev. 22:3).
Sinfulpeople are ashamed in God’s presence (Gen. 1-3). God’speople will “see his face” (Rev. 22:4).
“Word” is used in the Bible to refer to thespeech of God in oral, written, or incarnate form. In each of theseuses, God desires to make himself known to his people. Thecommunication of God is always personal and relational, whether hespeaks to call things into existence (Gen. 1) or to address anindividual directly (Gen. 2:16–17; Exod. 3:14). The prophetsand the apostles received the word of God (Deut. 18:14–22; John16:13), some of which was proclaimed but not recorded. The greatestrevelation in this regard is the person of Jesus Christ, who iscalled the “Word” of God (John 1:1, 14).
Theprimary focus of this article is the written form of the word of God,the Bible. The psalmist declared God’s word to be an eternalobject of hope and trust that gives light and direction (Ps. 119),and Jesus declared the word to be truth (John 17:17). The word isparticularized and intimately connected with God himself by means ofthe key phrases “your word,” “the word of God,”“the word of the Lord,” “word about Christ,”and “the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17; Col. 3:16). Ourunderstanding of the word is informed by a variety of terms andcontexts in the canon of Scripture, a collection of which is found inPsalm 119.
Theologyof the Word
Fromthe perspective of many systematic theologians, the word of God isdefined with several essential labels. The word is the specialrevelation of God to humans—specifically, truth communicatedfrom God to his human creatures by supernatural intervention,including a disclosure of his mind and will, his attributes, and hisredemptive plans. This revealed word is inspired. Inspiration is anact of the Holy Spirit of God whereby he superintended the biblicalauthors so that they composed the canonical books of Scripture.Inspiration is verbal and plenary in that it extends to every part ofthe Bible and includes the choice of words used by the authors.
Theword of God is inerrant, free from error in every matter addressed,and infallible, true in every matter addressed. The locus ofinspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility is the original manuscriptsand not the translations. A translation is reliable when itaccurately reflects the meaning of the inspired originals (Matt.5:18; cf. John 10:35; 17:17; 2Tim. 3:16; 2Pet. 1:21). Andfinally, the word is authoritative. Because the Bible is the divinelyinspired word of God reliably composed in the originals withouterror, it is binding upon people in their relationship with their Godas well as their relationships with their fellow human beings.Biblical authority derives from the eternal character of the divineauthor and the revelatory content of the Scriptures.
Psalm119
Akey OT text extolling the word is Psalm 119 (cf. Pss. 1; 19). Thewriter glorifies God, his word, and his divine directions to peopleby means of an acrostic format that covers the subject of Torahmeditation. Eight synonyms are used for the “word” in thepsalm. The eight are translated in the NIV as “words”(v.57), “promise” (v.58), “statutes”(v.59), “commands” (v.60), “law”(v.61), “laws” (v.62), “precepts”(v.63), and “decrees” (v.64).
ThePs. 119 word vocabulary informs us that God has pierced the darknessof our existence with the light of his word to make himself known tous. The word is his word spoken to us and preserved for us. The psalmalso instructs us that the word is the will of God. When God piercedour darkness, he lit the path of freedom for us with his word. Hedescribed himself, defined righteousness, declared his love,announced his promises, and issued his warnings. Finally, thevocabulary establishes the authority of his word in our lives.Directions, commandments, laws, charges, and divine will ring withthe sound of authority. The word of God is an authoritativeproclamation from God to us that must be obeyed, that must be sought,that cannot be ignored.
Finally,Ps. 119 makes an intimate connection between the content of the word,things spoken, and the author of the things spoken. This connectionbetter enables us to understand the “Word” as the personof Jesus Christ in John 1. The progressive development of verses 1–2of Ps. 119 intimately connects the law of God, his statutes, and him,the one sought with all the heart. Verses 89–96 emphasize thedurability and eternality of the word in keeping with the eternalcharacter of God. In verse 114 the writer parallels God as refugewith putting hope in his word. Here the writer intimately connectsGod as a refuge with his word. In the Hebrew text “you”and “your word” stand side by side. In verses 137–44the writer aligns the righteous God with a righteous word. Accordingto verses 105, 130, 135, God and God’s word give light. Thelife-giving quality of the word and the Lord are proclaimed in verse93. Just as God is to be feared, so is his word (vv. 63, 120).
TheWord of God
Thetheme of the word in Ps. 119 is continued and clarified in the NT,accentuating the intimate connection between the word of God and Godhimself. The “Word” of God is the eternal Lord JesusChrist (John 1:1; 1John 1:1–4), who took on flesh andblood so that we might see the glory of the eternal God. Thesovereign glory of Christ as the Word of God is depicted in thevision of John in Rev. 19:13. As the Word of God, Jesus Christultimately gives us our lives (John 1:4; 6:33; 10:10), sustains ourlives (John 5:24; 6:51, 54; 8:51), and ultimately renders a justjudgment regarding our lives (John 5:30; 8:16, 26; 9:39; cf. Matt.25:31–33; Heb. 4:12).
In the Bible, writing was carved into stone (Exod. 24:12;Josh. 8:32) or stone covered with plaster (Deut. 27:1–10),metal (Exod. 28:36), or wood (Num. 17:2–3; Ezek. 37:16). Claytablets or wooden tablets covered with wax were also used (Isa. 8:1;30:8; Hab. 2:2; Luke 1:63). However, while clay tablets were commonin Mesopotamia and among the Hittites in Anatolia, they were usedmore rarely in Israel or Egypt because of the accessibility ofpapyrus and parchment.
Writingimplements are mentioned occasionally in the Bible. A stylus—asharpened instrument fashioned from materials such as reed, bone, ormetal (e.g., Job 19:24; Jer. 17:1)—was used to carve lettersinto clay or wax. A sharpened reed could also be dipped in ink tofunction as a pen for writing on papyrus or parchment (Ps. 45:1; Isa.8:1; Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17; 2John 13). A scribe would oftenneed additional implements to prepare the writing surface, to removeor rub out an error, to mix the ink, or to sharpen the stylus (cf.“writing kit” in Ezek. 9:2–3, 11; “scribe’sknife” in Jer. 36:23).
DuringOld and New Testament times, papyrus was one of the two most commontypes of writing material. The tall, marshy papyrus reed (Cyperuspapyrus) grew abundantly in Lower Egypt in ancient times (Job 8:11)and was used for baskets (Exod. 2:3), mats, ropes, sandals, and evenboats (Isa. 18:2). As early as 3000 BC, however, the papyrus reed wasmost known for making a kind of paper referred to simply as“papyrus.” Literary and archaeological evidencedemonstrates that papyrus was used extensively across the Near Eastwell into the first Christian millennium.
Papyrusstalks are typically the diameter of a human palm and roughlytriangular in shape. Sections were cut about a foot long. The innerfibrous pith was cut lengthwise into thin strips that were placedside by side on a board. A second layer of strips was placed at rightangles. The resulting “sheet” was pounded together. Plinythe Elder (Nat. 13.11–13) claimed that the Nile water glued thestrips together, but actually the crushed pulp did so. The driedsheets were trimmed to a standard size, varying by “factory,”typically ten inches high by eight inches wide.
Sheets(with the horizontal fibers on top) were glued side by side with thesheet on the left slightly lapping over the right, so that a scribe’spen slid “downhill” when moving onto the next sheet. Itwas not uncommon for a column of text to be on a joint (unlikeleather sheets, whose sewn joint would not hold text). The joinedsheets formed a roll (scroll) of standard length (about twelve feet)called a chartēs(2John 12), the typical unit of sale. It is estimated that inNT times a chartēs cost four denars (=approximately U.S.$450). Secretaries cut sheets off a chartēs or glued onadditional length as the task required,but the typical ancient letter, such as 3John, was about onesheet in length.
Theother most common type of writing material was leather parchment.Made chiefly from the skins of sheep or goats, parchment would beprepared by soaking, dehairing, scraping, and washing the hide. Theskin would be stretched on a frame and smoothed with a pumice stone.Vellum is a finer grade of parchment and is made from calfskin orkidskin. Sections of parchment also were sewn together to make aroll. Paul asked Timothy to bring him “the parchments”(2Tim. 4:13).
Papyrushad the advantage of being lightweight and durable, and perhaps lessexpensive, so it was often preferred over clay, wooden, metal, orstone tablets, or even parchment (at least until the third centuryAD). However, papyrus had two major disadvantages: it deterioratedrapidly in water and was almost exclusively from Egypt. Since ink waswater-soluble, all documents were routinely protected from moisture,so trade issues with Egypt may be to blame for major shifts toparchment. Unfortunately, only ancient papyri left in dry locationsin dry climates have survived, explaining why the bulk of knownpapyri are from the Egyptian desert.
Papermade of wood pulp or similar fibers was invented in China and was notadopted in the West until the eighth century or later.
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1. Command Reduction
Illustration
Brett Blair
According to3rd centuryRabbi Shammai...
- Moses gave 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands.
- David reduced them to 11 in Psalm 15.
- Isaiah made them 6 (Isaiah 33:14-15).
- Micah bound them into three commands (6:8).
- Habbakuk (2:4) reduces them all to one great statement: The just shall live by faith
2. Law and Gospel
Illustration
Richard A. Jensen
Martin Luther asserted that the true theologian was the one who could rightly distinguish between law and gospel. When Lutherans, including this Lutheran, work at theology we almost always work within the parameters of law and gospel. Protestant theology in general talks about three uses of the law. The first use of law is usually termed the political or civil use of law. The second use of the law, the spiritual or theological use, is the law as a mirror in which we see our lives; the law as revealer of our sins. The third use of the law is law as a guide for Christian living. There is much debate even among Lutherans whether Luther taught the third use of the law. I do not believe that he did.
The function of the civil use of law is to help humankind create a civil society. Since all people bear the law within their being, all people can work to make society a more civil place to live. Preaching on the civil use of the law would call upon people to make use of their rational intelligence in making ethical decisions in life and in working toward a civil society. There is nothing particularly Christian about the civil use of the law. It need not, therefore, occupy too much of our preaching energy. The dialogical nature of the classroom is much better suited for the important discussions of the nature of the way we might best work for an improved civil order.
The theological or spiritual use of the law was for Luther the proper use of the law. The law, that is, reveals to us our sinfulness. "What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin .... Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died, and the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me (Romans 7:7, 8-10)."
The law always kills! That was Luther's dictum about the spiritual use of the law. The law always leaves me helpless, consigned to wrath, doomed to death. This is the proper use of the law and is therefore the proper use of the law in preaching. To preach the law is to render people helpless in their relationship to God. The law kills us and leaves us dead in the eyes of God.
The third use of the law is the law as a guide to Christian living. For Calvin this was the proper use of the law. This marks a radical breach among protestants. Some protestants see the law as God's revealed law for life. Clearly such a law should be preached so that people know how to live! I have already stated my conviction that Martin Luther did not teach the third use of the law in this manner. He did not believe that God revealed the law either to Israel or to Christians as a guide to living! The most radical instance of this is Luther's comments on the law as given to Moses. Luther said, "I keep the commandments which Moses has given, not because Moses gave commandments, but because they have been implanted in me by nature, and Moses agrees exactly with nature etc."1
Luther believed that the law was natural to every person alive. That's the first use of the law! For Luther, therefore, the law does not need to be revealed. If that is the case then we will need spend little time preaching the law as a guide to life. Here, too, it may be better to deal with such ethical questions about life in discussion forums under the assumption that each person brings unique resources, resources given them by God the Creator, to the discussion.
Preach the law. Preach the costly law. Preach the law that costs sinners their life and brings them to the point that they cry out for a Savior.
3. A List of Murphy's Laws
Illustration
Staff
- If anything can go wrong, it will.
- Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
- Everything takes longer than you expect.
- If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will go wrong first will be the one that will do the most damage.
- Left to themselves, all things go from bad to worse.
- If you play with something long enough, you will surely break it.
- If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
- If you see that there are four possible ways in which a procedure can go wrong, and circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared for, will promptly develop.
- Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
- It is impossible to make anything foolproof, because fools are so ingenious.
- The consumer report on the item will come out a week after you've made your purchase
- Gold's Law: If the shoe fits, its ugly.
- If you hit two keys on the typewriter, the one you don't want hits the paper.
- A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
- If everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
- When you dial a wrong number you never get a busy signal.
- Law of Gardening: You get the most of what you need the least.
- Jones's Law: Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.
- Eve's Discovery: At a sale, the only suit or dress that you like and that fits is not the one on sale.
- Nothing will be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.
- Harris's Law. Any philosophy that can be put "in a nutshell" belongs there. Sidney J. Harris
- Douglas's Law of Practical Aeronautics: When the weight of the paperwork equals the weight of the plane, the plane will fly. Donald Douglas
- Unnamed Law. If it happens, it must be possible.
- Wing-Walking, First Law of: Never leave hold of what you've got until you've got hold of something else.
- Bucy's Law. Nothing is ever accomplished by a reasonable man. Fred Bucy
- Clopton's Law: For every credibility gap there is a gullibility fill.
- United Law: if an organization carries the word "united" in its name, it means it isn't: e.g., United Nations, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United States.
- Kafka's Law: in the fight between you and the world, back the world. Franz Kafka
- Ettorre's observation: The other line moves faster. This applies to all lines bank, supermarket, toll booth, customs. If you change lines, then the other line the one you were in originally will move faster.
- Osborn's Law. Variables won't, constants aren't.
- Never use one word when a dozen will suffice.
- If it can be understood, it is not finished yet.
- Never do anything for the first time.
- Marshall's generalized iceberg theorem: Seven-eighths of everything can't be seen.
- Runyon's Law: The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. But that's the way to bet.
- The severity of an itch is inversely proportional to the reach.
- Paige's Sixth Rule: Don't look back; something might be gaining on you. Satchel Paige
- Kristol's Law: Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters in life begin when you get what you want. Irving Kristol.
- Parkinson's Law: (1) Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. (2) Expenditure rises to meet income. C. Northcote Parkinson
- Peer's Law: The solution to a problem changes the problem. John Peers
- Corcoran's Law: All papers that you save will never be needed until such time as they are disposed of, when they become essential. John Corcoran
- Darwin's Observation: Nature will tell you a direct lie if she can. Charles Darwin
- Thurber's Conclusion: There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else. James Thurber, Fables for Our Time
- A spilled drink flows in the direction of the most expensive object. Judye Briggs, in The New Official Rules, P. Dickson
- Law of milk and other precious commodities: The less you have, the more you spill.
- Law of epistolary effort: Troublesome correspondence that is postponed long enough will eventually become irrelevant.
- Law or repair: Anything adjustable will sooner or later need adjustment
- Harrison's Postulate: For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
- A dog's affection increases in direct proportion to how wet and sandy he is.
- When you come in late for work, everybody notices; when you work late, nobody notices.
- The waitress always comes around to ask you how your food is whenever your mouth is full.
- The average time between throwing something away and needing it badly is about two weeks.
- Life is what happens to you while you are making other plans.
- If you treat a sick child like an adult and a sick adult like a child, everything works out pretty well.
- Checks are always delayed in the mail. Bills arrive on time or sooner.
- If you do a job twice, it's yours.
- Smith's Fourth Law of Inertia: A body at rest tends to watch television.
- No matter how many show up for choir practice, you will need one more copy of the music.
- The shorter the agenda the longer the meeting.
- When you're right, nobody remembers; when you're wrong, nobody forgets.
- O'Reilly's Law: No matter what goes wrong, there's always someone who knew it would.
- Kilpatrick's Law: Interchangeable parts aren't.
- Shanahan's Law: The length of the is the square of the number of people present.
- Brennan's Law: Paper is always strongest at the perforations.
- Dooley's Law: If something happens to you, it has previously happened to all your friends.
- Never hire a plumber who wears rubber boots or an electrician with scorched eyebrows. Ashley Cooper
- Thomas's Rules of the Game: a) No matter how well you do something, someone won't like it. b) No matter how trivial the assignment, it is always possible to build it up to a major issue.
- Herman's Rule: if it works right the first time, you've obviously done something wrong. Pat (Mrs. Herman) Jett
- Toomey's Rule: It is easy to make decisions on matters for which you have no responsibility.
- Immediately after you buy an item, you find a coupon for it. Bill Copeland
- The first person who gets off a crowded elevator is always standing in the back. Carl Dombeck
- The last key in the bunch usually opens the lock.
- The weaker the arguments, the stronger the words. Dave Gneiser.
- If a problem causes many meetings, the meetings eventually become more important than the problem.
4. The Law of the Spirit
Illustration
Brett Blair
We need our laws. Laws tell us what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior. To be sure, society will fail if it's people reject law. But law can only go so far. It can dictate to us what we can and cannot do but it is powerless to dictate to us what we think and what we feel. When Jesus says, "A new commandment I give to you," I want you to hear those words within the context of community law. When the disciples, or the Jews, talked about Commandments they were discussing laws for acceptable behavior in society. Now, I want you to hear how utterly strange these words really are, "A new COMMANDMENT I give to you: LOVE one another."
Did you catch it? A law telling us, no, commanding us to love. Rev. Richard Daggett says, this law invades the very depths of our beings; this law presumes to have jurisdiction over the way we think, the way we feel, over our opinions, our prejudices and biases, our concepts of superiority, over the way every fiber of our being, both inward and outward, responds to the world around us.
And then Richard says this: This law clarifies to us that while religion and law may exercise lordship over our actions, over the way we live, Christ wants lordship over everything we are. It is the law of the spirit and not simply the law of the letter.
And to whom does this new law apply? My brothers and sisters in Christ. It is to us.
5. Scribe
Illustration
Stephen Stewart and Esther Lense
Ezra 7:6 - "... this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord the God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him."
In pagan Greek, the word "scribe," had a variety of meanings, including government secretary, recorder, clerk, and notary. In biblical Greek, however, it had a more specialized meaning, being used to translate the Hebrew word "sopher," a term which had undergone a change in meaning between the days of the Israelite kingdoms and the beginning of the Christian era.
In early biblical Hebrew "sopher" usually designated an important court official. During the first two-thirds of the period of the second commonwealth (@400 B.C. to 1 A.D.), where Judea was successively a province of the Persian, Macedonian, and Roman empires, "sopher" meant an interpreter of scripture. It was in this capacity that Ezra (@ 400 B.C.) was called a scribe. In the early part of the second century B.C. Jesus ben Sirach, the head of a school of wisdom in Jerusalem, celebrated the intellectual and moral pre-eminence of the scribes (Ecclesiastes 8:24--39:11).
During the last three centuries before the beginning of the Christian era the scribes were the professional interpreters and teachers of biblical law and ethics. Since the Jewish community enjoyed cultural autonomy under foreign rules it was premitted to govern itself by its own constitution, namely the Pentateuch. However, the Mosaic laws required interpretation and expansion to meet the needs of this later age and the work in interpretation was undertaken by the scholars whom we call the scribes.
The two leading religious-political parties, the Pharisees and Sadducees, both had their professional scholars and scribes, but as the Pharisees enjoyed greater influence among the Jews as a whole, it was the Pharisaic scribes whose interpretation of the law was considered authoritative by later Rabbinic scholars. It is the Pharisaic scribes who are meant in most of the Gospel references. It should not be noted also that the Gospels treat this word "scribe" as synonymous with "jurist" and "teachers of the Law" (i.e., biblical law).
The chief Jewish legislative and judicial body meeting in Jerusalem from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 70, known as the Great Sanhedrin, was made up of scribes of the Pharisaic party as well as the scribes and priests of the Sadducean party. Which party was in the majority throughout this period we do not know, but sources indicate that on certain matters the opinions of the Pharisaic scribes prevailed.
However, there was a difference in the usage of the word "scribes" between the Jewish and Christian writings of the first two centuries A.D. The Rabbinic sources of this period apply the word to the biblical interpreters and jurists of the period between Ezra and their own time, while the Pharisaic rabbis and scholars of their own time are called "sages," although they performed the same function as the scribes. The latter term was usually applied by them to less eminent persons, such as writers of legal documents, copyists, notaries, and teachers of elementary schools.
When the Gospels speak of scribes as contemporaries of Jesus, they meant the jurists and teachers who were called "sages" by the rabbis.
The chief functions of the scribes throughout the greater part of the second commonwealth were: 1. to interpret the biblical law and to provide new legislation by the construction of the written text or on the basis of the tradition of the leders (the oral law); 2. to give instruction in all fields of knowledge relevant to the study of Scripture; 3. to act as legal advisers to judges and those who administered the law.
Although they became preverted in their interpretations, so that eventually the word of the scribe was honored above that of the Law, and it became a greater crime to offend against the scribes than to break the Law, still we are indebted to them for the preservation of the Old Testament canon, which was formulated almost exactly as we have it today, at the. Council of Jamnia in A.D. 90, by these scribes.
To compare these men with their modern-day counterparts is a little difficult, since we are no longer a theocracy. However, I think we could compare their duties with those of legal advisers to heads of government, on whatever level, or to accomplished and efficient legal secretaries. If you will recall what was said about the doctors of law, I think the same would hold true here also for modern man.
6. DOCTOR OF THE LAW
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Luke 5:17 - "On one of these days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem;"
Acts 5:34 - "But a Pharisee in the council, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all the people, stood up and ordered the men to be put outside for a while."
Later we will speak of the role of the lawyer in Jewish life, but here we are speaking of persons whom we might consider as being advanced beyond that specified role; men who specialized in the sacred statutes. These men concerned themselves with teaching rather than with the giving of written opinions. This is a strictly New Testament term, and the men themselves were of a type unique in history.
These men belonged to God, but not in a priestly way. They had nothing to do with worship; their dress was the same as that of the other Hebrews; they did not eat of the sacrificial meat; and, although they did make up a caste, they made no claim to belonging to the blood of Aaron nor the tribe of Levi. In the beginning they were simply the "scribes," but as they devoted themselves more and more to the study of religious questions, they began to be differentiated from the scribes; they felt themselves, and perhaps, with reason, to be an aristocracy of intellect and piety.
Although they traced their claim back to the time of Ezra, they became most prominent after the Maccabean wars, the national struggle against the Greeks. They had "built a hedge around the Law," and, by doing so, had preserved the essence of Judaism. They provided true intellectual life of the nation, and guided its thought; they controlled education, and particularly the higher education; they named the judges and fixed the jurisprudence; they uttered the commentaries on the Law in the synagogues; they had made the Great Sanhedrin not only a governing body and a supreme court; but also a theological college - in other words, they had the say in every phase of national life.
Today, we don’t have men who have powers of such broad scope and far-reaching potential, but we can perhaps compare these doctors of the law to the professors or heads of departments of our colleges and universities. And they became doctors of the law in much the same way that professors become professors. Any Hebrew at all could aspire to this position, no matter what his economic or sociological status. If a man left the vocation to devote himself to one of the most famous doctors, under whom he might study. After however long a period of time was necessary for him to have achieved a sense of readiness to teach, he was on his own, with students following him.
They more than studied the Law; they scrutinized every part of it and analyzed its application to the every day life of the Jews. To this degree, they went far beyond the modern professor, who seldom works with material of his own. Of course, these men weren’t working with extraneous material, either, but they were making individual judgments and applications that affected almost all of the people.
It was through the work of these men that was built up the Talmud - "the Instruction," or, "the Recitation." This is an extraordinary work, made up of two divisions. The first is the Mishnah, which is written in classical Hebrew; it is the basic canonical legal code, and its 63 tractates cover the whole field of human activity. The second is the Gemara, an immense commentary of the Mishnah; it was written in Aramaic, and there are two recensions, the Jerusalem and the Babylonian.
The greatest doctor of the Law of whom we know was Gamaliel, who might have been a teacher of St. Paul. We must tread warily when judging these men; there is a tendency to confuse them with the Pharisees of the worst kind which Jesus often criticized. But a doctor of the Law was not necessarily a Pharisee. They taught what they felt to be the truth, as our best professors do today, sometimes at risk.
And, as many professors have left works of inestimable value, so too the doctors of the Law left behind the Talmud, to which the expatriated Jews could cling as a symbol that the destruction of the Temple did not mean the end of their religion. We may not always agree with the opinions of our professors, but we must acknowledge the debt of their works, just as we must acknowledge the works of the doctors of the Law.
7. The Law of the Pendulum
Illustration
Brett Blair
Youth Pastor, Ken Davis, has a way of discovering whether someone actually does have faith. In his book "How To Speak To Youth" he tells of a college lesson he had to prepare for his speech class. He says, we were to be graded on our creativity and ability to drive home a point in a memorable way. The title of my talk, he says, was, "The Law of the Pendulum." I spent 20 minutes carefully teaching the physical principle that governs a swinging pendulum. The law of the pendulum is: A pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it was released. Because of friction and gravity, when the pendulum returns, it will fall short of its original release point. Each time it swings it makes less and less of an arc, until finally it is at rest. This point of rest is called the state of equilibrium, where all forces acting on the pendulum are equal.
He then attached a 3-foot string to a child's toy top and secured it to the top of the blackboard with a thumbtack. He pulled the top to one side and made a mark on the blackboard where he let it go. Each time it swung back a new mark. It took less than a minute for the top to complete its swinging and come to rest. When he finished the demonstration, the markings on the blackboard had proved his thesis. He says, I then asked how many people in the room BELIEVED the law of the pendulum was true. All of my classmates raised their hands, so did the teacher. He started to walk to the front of the room thinking the class was over. In reality it had just begun. Hanging from the steel ceiling beams in the middle of the room he had fashioned a large, crude but functional pendulum (250 pounds of metal weights tied to four strands of 500-pound test parachute cord.).
He then invited the instructor to climb up on a table and sit in a chair with the back of his head against a cement wall. He brought the 250 pounds of metal up to his nose. Holding the huge pendulum just a fraction of an inch from his face. Once again he explained the law of the pendulum to the teacher who had applauded only moments before, "If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point. Your nose will be in no danger." After that final restatement of this law, he looked him in the eye and asked, "Sir, do you believe this law is true?" There was a long pause. Huge beads of sweat formed on the teacher's upper lip and then weakly he nodded and whispered, "Yes." He released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back. Ken Davis said he never saw a man move so fast in my life. He literally dived from the table. Deftly stepping around the still-swinging pendulum, Ken asked the class, "Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?"
The students resounding response was, "NO!"
A SHORTER VERSION OF THIS ILLUSTRATION:
Thephysics professor had just finished his lecture aboutthependulum, wherein he had shownthemathematical proof that an untouchedpendulumwill always swing in ever-decreasing arcs.
He then asked for a volunteer to demonstrate this fact by standing against a wall with apendulumbob against his chin, then releasingthebob and allowingthependulumto swing naturally through its arc.Theprofessor remindedtheclass thatthebob would return almost to,but not quite touching,thechin. No one volunteered. Althoughthescience students “believed” that thislawofphysics was true, they were unwilling to put it tothetest.
How like manyofus in our relationship with God! We knowthefacts, but are unwilling to risk a stepoffaith based on them.
8. A New Law
Illustration
Dr. Mitchell tries to impress upon us that we are not under the Law when we're in Christ, but we're under a new law the law of LOVE. He used this to illustrate:
In America there is a law stating a woman must take care of her child. So, a man comes to a new mother's home. He says "Are you taking care of your baby? The Law says you have to."
The woman, tenderly holding her baby, said, "I don't need a law to make me take care of my baby."
Why? Because she loves her baby! She feeds him, holds him, changes him because she loves him. I no longer need the Law because I'm under Christ a law of LOVE.
9. In the Know
Illustration
Michael Horton
One of the earliest and most potent threats to early Christianity came from the heretical group known as the Gnostics. Blending elements of Christianity, Greek philosophy, and oriental mysticism, the Gnostics denied the orthodox view of God, man, and the world, and Christ. The apostle John included them in the camp of the Antichrist.
The Gnostics were so called because of their view of revelation. The word gnosis is the Greek word for "knowledge." In many cases the Gnostic heretics did not make a frontal assault against the apostles or against the apostolic teaching of Scripture. In fact, many of them insisted that they were genuine, Bible-believing Christians. It wasn't that they rejected the Bible; they just claimed an additional source of knowledge or insight that was superior to or at least beyond the knowledge of Scripture. The "Gnostikoi" were "those in the know." Their knowledge was not derived from intellectual comprehension of the Scripture or by empirical research, but was mystical, direct, and immediate. God "revealed" private, intuitive insights to them that carried nothing less than divine authority.
Here is a typical Gnostic statement: "We cannot communicate with God mentally, for He is a Spirit. But we can reach Him with our Spirit, and it is through our Spirit that we come to know God….This is one reason God put teachers (those who are really called to teach) in the church to renew our minds. Many times those who teach do so with only a natural knowledge that they have gained from the Bible and other sources. But I am referring here to one of the ministry gifts. Those who are called and anointed by the Spirit to teach. God has given us His Word, and we can feed upon that Word. This will renew our minds. But He also puts teachers in the church to renew our minds and to bring us the revelation of the knowledge of God's Word." (Kenneth E. Hagin, Man on Three Dimensions (Tulsa, Okla.: Faith Library, 1985), 1:8,13.)
Notice that this quotation does not include a direct assault on the Bible. The Bible is recognized as God's word. But in order to understand the Bible we need something beyond our natural mental ability. We need the Spirit-anointed teachers to "bring us the revelation of the knowledge of God's Word." This is a typically Gnostic statement, but the quote is not from Valentinus or any of the other early Gnostics. It is from the pen of a modern missionary of Gnosticism, Kenneth E. Hagin. It is from Hagin's Man on Three Dimensions. Hagin's theology echoes the tripartite epistemology of early Gnosticism (man as having three separate entities: body, soul, and spirit).
Robert Tilton also claims a direct pipeline to divine revelation: "God showed me a vision that almost took my breath away. I was sucked into the Spirit . . ., caught away . . . and I found myself standing in the very presence of Almighty God. It just echoed into my being. And he said these words to me. . . exactly these words . . ."Many of my ministers pray for my people, but I want you to pray the Prayer of Agreement with them" . . . I have never seen the presence of God so powerful. This same anointing flooded my Spirit-man . . . It's inside of me now, and I have supernatural faith to agree with you. From that day forth, as I have been faithful to that heavenly vision, I've seen every kind of miracle imaginable happen when I pray the Prayer of Agreement with God's people." (Robert Tilton, newsletter from Robert Tilton Ministries, Word of Faith World Outreach Center, Box 819000, Dallas, TX75381.
It seems that in Robert Tilton the church is blessed with a twentieth-century apostle whose visions of revelation exceed that of the apostle John and whose miracle powers surpass that of the apostle Paul. If we are to believe Tilton's astonishing claims, there is no reason we should not include his writings in the next edition of the New Testament.
Paul Crouch of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), has revelatory dreams and has warmly embraced the neo-Gnostic dogma. His network has become a prime distribution center for the growing movement. Kenneth Copeland also receives phrases from God in "his spirit."
10. It All Started with 10 Commandments
Illustration
Billy D. Strayhorn
In a cartoon, Frank and Ernest are standing in front of row after row of shelves of books. On top of one of the shelves is a sign, which reads, "Law Library." Franks turns and says to Ernest: "It's frightening when you think that we started out with just Ten Commandments."
It is sort of frightening isn't it? We started out with 10 and now we have an estimated 35 million laws on the books in the United States alone. Some of them are very good and deeply needed. But there are some that probably need to be repealed.
For example: Did you know there is a law in Florida that makes it illegal for a woman who's single, divorced or widowed to parachute out of a plane on Sunday afternoon?
In Amarillo, Texas, it is against the law to take a bath on the main street during banking hours.
In Portland, Oregon, it is illegal to wear roller skates in public restrooms.
In Halethorpe, Maryland, a kiss lasting more than a second is an illegal act.
And in St. Louis, there used to be a law that if your automobile spooked a horse, you had to hide the car. And if hiding didn't work, you had to start dismantling it until the horse calmed down.
Today we meet a scribe who wants to know which of the 10 Commandments is the most important. He wasn't trying to trap Jesus. He wasn't trying to be impertinent. This Scribe was a seeker. He wanted to know which one of the commandments would get him closer to God. It appears that he was running a sort of Spiritual Checkup on himself.
11. Everything He Says Is True
Illustration
Ray Pritchard & Brett Blair
When you read the story about the Pharisee, a number of specific statements are made about his piety. Please note this. Everything the man says about himself is true. For instance, when he says, "I thank you that I am not like other men," indeed he wasn't like other men. He had a standard of morality that was far above the standard of that day.
- When he said, "I fast twice a week;" it happens to be literally true. The Pharisees fasted on Monday and Thursday of every week.
- When he says, "I give tithes of all I possess," he means he tithes on the gross and not on the net. He went beyond the Law of Moses. That's no big deal; all the Pharisees did that.
- When he says, "I am not a crook," he really isn't a crook.
- When he says, "I am not like this filthy tax collector," he's really not like that guy.
- When he says, "I do not commit adultery," he really doesn't commit adultery. He is faithful to his wife.
- When he says, "I am honest, I am faithful, I am zealous for my religion," he means it and every word of it is true. He truly is a genuinely good man.
What we are to understand is this. When he prayed he was telling the truth. When he said, "Lord, you're lucky to have a guy like me, because I'm one of the best guys I know," it was really true. He really was a wonderful guy.
While he prayed, people would be standing around watching. And they would say, "Yep, he's a fine man." While he prayed, they probably applauded. He was the kind of guy you'd want living next door to you. A good citizen. A law-abiding man. A good, religious kind of person. If he were to come to this church today we'd love him because he would be faithful, loyal, and give us a lot of money. We'd probably make him an elder or a deacon. He's just that kind of guy. He looks really good on the outside. Everything he says about himself is absolutely true.
So what's wrong? Well, for all his goodness he isn't perfect, no one is, and the Law requires perfection. I like to call this narcissistic righteousness. What good is all the law if you don't have love?If you are not reaching out to those around you. If the center of your righteousness is You, you've missed the center. The center is love God and love your neighbor.
12. What Law is Operating Here?
Illustration
John Killinger
Note: We do not advise using this illustration in a sermon. In fact, we strongly advise against it, but we thought it a great meditation for us clergy, considering subjects of Law and Grace. Here it it:
In Mary Gordon's novel, Final Payments, a book addressing the repression of many young Catholics of the 50s and 60s, a young woman named Isabel Moore has just buried her father after several years of illness, during which she was confined to his bedside. For several months, she flounders, trying to discover what she has the aptitude to do with the remainder of her life. She finallyaccepts employment as a social worker, going into homes to check on the welfare of ill and elderly people kept by individuals or families under contract to the social services department. One day she is visiting a Mr. Spenser, an 83-year-old man who lives his life in a bed. As she enters his room histeeth are out, and he's reading the Memoirs of Casanova. He is very polite, and offers to put his teeth in, but she says he need not. They talk with great ease and candor, for Isabel has been accustomed to conversing for hours with her father.
Mr. Spenser says that most people are kind to the elderly only out of guilt. Isabel asks if he doesn't believe in acts of pure generosity. He responds that he finds the very concept of purity rather "jejune." Isabel says he reminds her of a friend she loves but whom she cannot have because he is married and has a daughter. Mr. Spenser talks with her about love and tells her she is a beautiful woman. She doesn't think she is, but his insistence encourages her, and she thanks him.
As she prepares to leave, he asks a favor.
"Name it," she says.
"Let me see your breasts."
At first, Isabel says she can't. He wants to know why. She says merely because they are hers. But then she thinks: What could it hurt? She remembers the woman in The Brothers Karamazov who tells a priest she cannot give up an adulterous affair because "it gives him so much pleasure and me so little pain." She locks the door, unbuttons her blouse, loosens and removes her brassiere, and stands there.
Mr. Spenser says nothing. He looks, then closes his eyes.
"You have done me a great kindness," he says. "You have given me what I wanted, not what you thought I wanted, or what you wanted me to want."
Isabel dresses. They shake hands very formally. She unlocks the door and leaves.
Some may find prurience in this passage, but I sense instead a great depth of love and mercy, a recognition of our common humanity, an act of genuine and redemptive compassion. What law is operating here? The law forbidding sexual looseness, voyeurism, and lust? Or is that transcended, in Isabel's case, by the law of kindness and generosity? The latter, I would contend. There is more of the authentic spirit of Jesus in Isabel's act than in all the railing against sensuality and p*rnography by the Jesse Helmses and James Wildmons, and certainly more than in the stern judgmentalism of the Puritan community that condemned Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's novel.
And it is this higher law, the law of love and understanding, that must be identified and taught from our pulpits in the coming century. The media often understand this better than our churches, and their dramas frequently turn on the contrast between the hypocrisy of "good" Christians and the genuine kindness of instinctively well-dispositioned persons in the secular culture outside the church. This isnot to say that Hollywood is a better gauge of morals than the church; however,thepreacher can help to dispel the confusion parishioners feel by more consistently identifying Christ's position over against that of the legalists and by saying no to the Phariseeism that continues to plague the church from generation to generation.
13. Illustrations for Lent Easter Old Testament Texts
Illustration
Jon L. Joyce
1. God destroys as well as preserves [Isaiah 42:14]
Luther says that God is to be both loved and feared. The same God of compassion who is eager to show love to those who turn to him is equally determined to root out and destroy evil. Isaiah is warning us not to be lulled to sleep by thinking only of the kindness of God. He who shows patience toward our waywardness will eventually cease to overlook unatoned sin and will destroy. He holds all the power of the universe in his hands to work his ends. Our eternal destiny is for him to determine. Are we tempting God by clinging to things he opposes? Remember God has said, "I will destroy." The time to repent and make peace with him is now.
2. Christ will restore sight [Isaiah 42:16]
A blind beggar walking down a street on a day in spring carried a sign saying, "It is April, and I am blind." How pitiful that he was blind at any time. But on a spring day it was even worse; he could not see the newly formed leaves on the trees, or the beautiful flowers blooming on every hand. He could not see the earth bathed in sunshine or the glow of a sunset in the western sky. But another blindness is even worse. It can come to those who have retained their physical sight. There is a saying, "None is so blind as he that will not see." When Isaiah talks of the blind he includes everyone who does not have spiritual insight. Children laugh at the phrase, "I see, said the blind man." Yet it is true that the physically blind can see many things which the person with sight overlooks. So God promises to help us in our spiritual blindness. He will show us the path of righteousness, reveal opportunities to serve our fellow man, to improve ourselves, and to see the Christ who is hidden from those who do not believe in Him.
3. Idolators shall be ashamed [Isaiah 42:17]
Idol worship seems like something out of the long past. It brings to mind visions of ignorant people in an earlier age bowing down before a statue which to them is their god. So this verse does not seem to apply to the one who reads it today. Here is where we deceive ourselves. Idolatry is a very subtle thing. It was said of Sampson that he did not know when the Lord had forsaken him, and thought he could go on in strength as he had before. So idolatry creeps upon anyone who is not alert. It is so easy to cater to oneself; to want fame and fortune so badly that we slowly let these desires come between us and God. Beware lest great shame come upon you because idols of today have subtly replaced God in your objectives and desires.
4. God will be praised for his law (Gospel) [Isaiah 42:21]
Our age is one of much disdain for God’s law. The ten commandments are regarded by many as out of date. They are as foolish in disdaining God’s rules and thinking they have outgrown them as was a certain sailor. The captain had pointed out the north star before turning over the wheel to the young seaman. He told the young man to steer constantly toward that star. The captain then took a nap and upon awakening found that the ship was not on course. When he questioned the young sailor what had gone wrong, he was told, "I have sailed past that star, show me another one." No one can sail past the ten commandments. They remain as up-to-date as the day’s news announcements. God has chosen to give honor to his eternal rules, whether they be revealed in the Ten Commandments or in Jesus Christ. The wise will realize the worth of God’s laws and strive to obey and honor them.
14. How Bad Do You Want It?
Illustration
Brett Blair
Legend has it that a proud young mancame to Socrates asking for knowledge. He walked up to thephilosopher and said, "O great Socrates, I come to you for knowledge." Socrates recognized a pompous numbskull when he saw one. So, he led the young man through the streets, to the sea, and chest deep into water. Then he asked, "What do you want?" "Knowledge, O wise Socrates," said the young man with a smile.
Socrates put his strong hands on the man's shoulders and pushed him under. Thirty seconds later Socrates let him up. "What do you want?" he asked again. "Wisdom," the young man sputtered, "O great and wise Socrates."
Socrates pushedhim under again. Thirty seconds passed, thirty-five. Forty. Socrates let him up. The man was gasping. "What do you want, young man?" Between heavy, heaving breaths the fellow wheezed, "Knowledge, O wise and wonderful..."
Socrates jammed him under again Forty seconds passed. Fifty. "What do you want?" "Air!" he screeched. "I need air!"
"When you want knowledge as you have just wanted air, then you will have knowledge."
15. No Imitations
Illustration
Martin Luther
The question is asked: how can justification take place without the works of the law, even though James says: "Faith without works is dead"? In answer, the apostle distinguishes between the law and faith, the letter and grace. The 'works of the law' are works done without faith and grace, by the law, which forces them to be done through fear or the enticing promise of temporal advantages. But 'works of faith' are those done in the spirit of liberty, purely out of love to God. And they can be done only by those who are justified by faith.
An ape can cleverly imitate the actions of humans. But he is not therefore a human. If he became a human, it would undoubtedly be not by vurtue of the works by which he imitated man but by virtue of something else; namely, by an act of God. Then, having been made a human, he would perform the works of humans in proper fashion.
Paul does not say that faith is without its characteristic works, but that it justifies without the works of the law. Therefore justification does not require the works of the law; but it does require a living faith, which performs its works.
16. Obsolete Silly Laws
Illustration
Staff
Silly old laws exist on the books of towns all over the United States. Here are some of the silliest.
- In Lexington, Ky., there is an ordinance forbidding anyone to carry an ice-cream cone in his pocket.
- In Waterloo, Nebr., barbers are forbidden to eat onions between seven a.m. and seven p.m.
- In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts it is against the law to eat peanuts in church or to use tomatoes in making clam chowder.
- In Kansas an old law states that you cannot eat snakes on Sunday or rattlesnake meat in public.
- In Los Angeles you cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time.
- In Zion, Ill., it is illegal for anyone to give lighted cigars to dogs, cats and other domesticated animals kept as pets.
- In Carmel, N.Y., a man can't go outside while wearing a jacket and pants that do not match.
- In Gary, Ind., persons are prohibited from attending a movie house or other theater and from riding a public streetcar within four hours of eating garlic.
- In Hartford, Conn., you aren't allowed to cross a street while walking on your hands.
- In Baltimore, it's illegal to take a lion to the movies.
- In Nicholas County, W. Va., no member of the clergy is allowed to tell jokes or humorous stories from the pulpit during a church service.
- In Carrizozo, N.M., it's forbidden for a female to appear unshaven in public (includes legs and face).
- In New Jersey a person can be arrested for slurping soup in a public restaurant.
- A citizen may not carry a lunch pail on the public streets in Riverside, Calif.
- In Oklahoma you cannot take a bite of another person's hamburger.
- In Green, N.Y., you cannot eat peanuts and walk backwards on the sidewalks while a concert is on.
- In Houston, Tex., the law stipulates that you cannot buy rye bread, goose liver or Limburger cheese on Sunday, and if you do, you can not take it out.
- A Lynn, Mass., ordinance states babies may not be given coffee to drink.
- In Winona Lake, Ind., it is illegal to eat ice cream at a counter on Sunday.
- It is against the law for Nebraska tavern owners to sell beer unless they have a kettle of soup brewing.
- According to an old Detroit law, banana peels are not to be thrown in the streets for fear of injury to horses.
- In Connecticut pickles which, when dropped 12 inches, collapse in their own juice are illegal. They must remain whole and even bounce.
- In Corvallis, Oreg., young ladies are not allowed to drink coffee after six o'clock in the evening.
- In Lehigh Nebr. it is against the law to sell doughnut holes.
- In Richmond, Va., it is illegal to match coins in public restaurants to see who pays for the coffee.
- In Baltimore, Md., "Only pure unadulterated, unsophisticated and wholesome milk" may be sold.
17. LAWYER
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Matthew 22:35 - "And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him."
Titus 3:13 - "Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing."
Among the Jews, the biblical lawyer was one who was learned in the Mosaic Law; however, it is also generally supposed to be equivalent to the title "scribe." A man could be both a scribe and a lawyer, but this does not necessarily mean that all lawyers were scribes. It has been said that, perhaps, the scribes were public expounders of the law, while the lawyers were the private expounders and teachers of it.
The Greek term for lawyer signified those absorbed in legalistic discussions. In general, they are viewed negatively in the New Testament: they are described as neglecting justice, rejecting sound knowledge, and burdening their fellow men. There were honored judges, to be sure, but these come under the classes of the "Doctors of the Law," which is an entirely different thing.
Apart from the fact that their interpretations of the law were scripturally based, as was logical in their situation, the lawyers of the past and the lawyers of the present are very much alike in their methods of preparation and presentation of their cases. But - the lawyers of the past received no payment for his services, hut earned a living from another occupation. I doubt that today’s lawyers would care for that kind of set-up.
18. Four Types of Pride
Illustration
John K. Bergland
Pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. One falls into pride when one lacks trust in God and his mercy and becomes arrogant, hypocritical, and self-centered. Reinhold Neibuhr, who has been referred to as the twentieth-century theologian of sin, summed up humanity's basic sin our unwillingness to acknowledge our creatureliness, our self-elevation in one word, PRIDE. Neibuhr described the four types of pride:
1. The pride of power wants power to gain security for self or to maintain a power position considered to be secure.
2. Intellectual pride rises from human knowledge that pretends to be ultimate knowledge. It presumes to be final truth.
3. Moral pride claims that its standards for virtue test and measure all righteousness. Niebuhr observed that most evil is done by "good" people who do not know that they are not good.
4. Spiritual pride is self-glorification. It claims that "self's righteousness" conforms to God's righteousness.
19. POLICEMAN
Illustration
Stephen Stewart
Acts 16:28 - "The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens."
A school has rules to keep students from hurting or disturbing each other. Cities, counties, states, and nations make laws that large groups of people may live together in peace. Rules and laws, however, serve their purpose only so long as everyone obeys school rules, because he does not want to interfere with the rights of other people and because he knows that everyone must respect laws if he himself is to be protected.
In every group, however, some people refuse to obey the laws in the hope of gaining something. Because there are such people in every group, it has long been recognized that making laws is not enough and that it is necessary to have certain people to enforce the laws. Through the centuries the men who have done the work of law enforcement have had many titles. Today, in most parts of the world, they are called police.
The police do not make the laws - this is done instead by city councils, state legislatures, and other law-making bodies. The police simply enforce the laws that such bodies make. And it was so in biblical times, also, although the laws that these police enforced were the laws of God.
Deuteronomy mentions the appointment of shoterim - officers - and most Jewish commentators render this as police officers who maintained the law, first the law of God, and, later, the law as set down by court decisions. Among the duties of these officials were issuing court proclamations to the people and administering corporal punishment.
In the New Testament, the word used for police may be translated literally, as "one who carries a rod" - the fasces - as a sign of office and authority. The fasces was a bundle of birch rods held together with a red thong; these rods might be used for scourging prisoners. In some cases, the fasces also held an axe, which was used for carrying out the death sentence. All the principal Roman magistrates were publicly attended by officers carrying the fasces before the magistrate as an emblem of his power of criminal jurisdiction.
20. Triumph of Laws
Illustration
Michael P. Green
A law is a set pattern of how things happen; it is a rule. The law of gravity deems that a heavy slab of concrete will remain where it is placed. Thus sidewalks stay in place. But we all have seen a sidewalk that is heaved up and twisted because once a small acorn fell between the slabs of the sidewalk and now has grown into a massive oak tree whose roots are powerful enough to move great weights.
That is what is meant by the triumph of one law over another—such as the law of life over the law of sin and death.
21. The Greatest Law
Illustration
Maxie Dunnam
Dick Hyman is a newspaper feature columnist who writes humorously about laws that are still on the books but outrageously irrelevant. For instance, did you know that in Waterloo, Nebraska, barbers are forbidden by law to eat onions between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.? In Kentucky, there is a state law that orders all citizens to take a bath at least once a year.
All these laws seem ridiculous to us now. We laugh at them because it’s foolish to keep laws which have long outlived their usefulness. But have you thought lately about that law which will never be outdated? Jesus said it was the greatest law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”
If we lived by this twin-pronged law of Jesus, we would not have to legislate in so many areas of life.
22. Do Not Spit Here
Illustration
Staff
Many years ago, H.A. Ironside had a school for young Indian men and women, who came to his home in Oakland, California, from the various tribes in northern Arizona. One of these was a Navajo young man of unusually keen intelligence. One Sunday evening, he went with Ironside to the young people's meeting. They were talking about the epistle to the Galatians, and the special subject was law and grace. They were not very clear about it, and finally one turned to the Indian and said, "I wonder whether our Indian friend has anything to say about this."
He rose to his feet and said, "Well, my friends, I have been listening very carefully, because I am here to learn all I can in order to take it back to my people. I do not understand all that you are talking about, and I do not think you do yourselves. But concerning this law and grace business, let me see if I can make it clear. I think it is like this. When Mr. Ironside brought me from my home we took the longest railroad journey I ever took. We got out at Barstow, and there I saw the most beautiful railroad station and hotel I have ever seen. I walked all around and saw at one end a sign, 'Do not spit here.' I looked at that sign and then looked down at the ground and saw many had spitted there, and before I think what I am doing I have spitted myself. Isn't that strange when the sign say, 'Do not spit here'?
"I come to Oakland and go to the home of the lady who invited me to dinner today and I am in the nicest home I have been in. Such beautiful furniture and carpets, I hate to step on them. I sank into a comfortable chair, and the lady said, 'Now, John, you sit there while I go out and see whether the maid has dinner ready.' I look around at the beautiful pictures, at the grand piano, and I walk all around those rooms. I am looking for a sign; and the sign I am looking for is, 'Do not spit here,' but I look around those two beautiful drawing rooms, and cannot find a sign like this. I think 'What a pity when this is such a beautiful home to have people spitting all over it too bad they don't put up a sign!' So I look all over that carpet, but cannot find that anybody have spitted there. What a queer thing! Where the sign says, 'Do not spit,' a lot of people spitted. Where there was no sign at all, in that beautiful home, nobody spitted. Now I understand! That sign is law, but inside the home it is grace. They love their beautiful home, and they want to keep it clean. They do not need a sign to tell them so. I think that explains the law and grace business."
As he sat down, a murmur of approval went round the room and the leader exclaimed, "I think that is the best illustration of law and grace I have ever heard."
23. The Marital Law of Thermodynamics
Illustration
Michael P. Green
There is a scientific law called the Second Law of Thermodynamics. This law states that any closed system left to itself tends toward greater randomness; that is, it breaks down. It takes an ordered input of energy to keep anything together.
This is readily seen with a house. Any homeowner knows that to maintain a house, one must daily, monthly, and yearly invest time and energy to keep the house enjoyable to live in. If no energy is expended on the house, it eventually comes to the point of needing a complete overhaul, or else it is knocked down.
Although it is a law designed to describe material systems, the Second Law of Thermodynamics seems to describe other systems also. For example, consider the marriage relationship. It must have a daily, monthly, and yearly investment of time and energy so that it is enjoyable to live in. If no energy is expended, eventually the relationship needs a complete overhaul, or else it is knocked down.
It is a wise couple who build into their marriage continually—rather than waiting passively for a complete overhaul in the counselor’s office or a knockdown in the courtroom.
24. Try Christianity
Illustration
Donald Macleod
The famous American editor, Horace Greeley, told of receiving a letter from a woman who wrote: "Our church is in dire financial straits. We've tried everything to keep it going: a strawberry festival, an oyster supper, a donkey party, a turkey dinner, and, finally, a box social. Will you please tells us, Dr. Greeley, how to keep a struggling church from disbanding?" Dr. Greeley wrote back to her a message in two words: Try Christianity!
What did he mean by that? Look at it in this way. The ancient world failed to help men and women meet the problem of life, because, although their wise men could teach, they could not supply the power to put it into practice. The Old Testament prophets could explain the Law of Moses, but were unable to provide the power needed to fulfill it. Then, into the midst of the ages, came this man Jesus and, before the wondering eyes of men and women, he declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." These people saw truth coming alive in his amazing personality; and, when his enemies finally killed him, his great spirit was liberated to be wherever needy souls cried out for him. In all the ages since, for all those who have received him as the bread of life by committing their lives to him, he has brought power over their every weakness, victory over every failure, and conduct and character that have made the world a better place in which to live.
25. Pride
Illustration
John K. Bergland
Pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. One falls into pride when one lacks trust in God and his mercy and becomes arrogant, hypocritical, and self-centered. Reinhold Neibuhr, who has been referred to as the twentieth-century theologian of sin, summed up humanity's basic sin -- our unwillingness to acknowledge our creatureliness, our self-elevation, in one word:PRIDE.
Neibuhr described the four types of pride:
- The pride of power wants power to gain security for self or to maintain a power position considered to be secure.
- Intellectual pride rises from human knowledge that pretends to be ultimate knowledge. It presumes to be final truth.
- Moral pride claims that its standards for virtue test and measure all righteousness. Neibuhr observed that most evil is done by "good" people who do not know that they are not good.
- Spiritual pride is self-glorification. It claims that "self's righteousness" conforms to God's righteousness.
26. Ashamed To Beg
Illustration
John G. Lynn
In a large attractive office in a major city, a man worked for several months next to a small attractive woman. He had been there only a few days when he thought he'd ask her to lunch, which he did. The following day he asked her for dinner and they began a long dating relationship. They went to craft fairs together, since he liked to do that. They went to the ocean, which he also liked to do. They used to take long walks along the river.
He liked this relationship. He had lived for many years with his mother. In fact, it was only a few months after she died that he began dating his co-worker. Little by little, however, she began to dislike both the relationship and this man. She felt like she really wasn't herself when she was with him. She couldn't speak what she really felt. She rarely asserted where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do. She later said, "I just wasn't Sandra with him."
So she terminated her social, dating relationship with this man. Once she did, she began to feel like herself again. Her friends told her, "You're more like the old Sandra now."
Across the same town, in another office, a young man sat at his desk for eight years, struggling to manage his office work force. Outside he was a friendly, generous person. In the office he was the same way and his workers flattened him out, like steamrollers over an asphalt road. He worked long, long hours; he holed himself up behind his desk to keep all the records accurate; he just about wore himself out. Finally his friends told him, "Steve, you'd better get out of that job. You're not yourself anymore. Those people are eating you alive and you're not getting anywhere."
He protested, "But it's a good job. I make good money. And besides, it is what I do best. How can I even look for anything else?"
Then the company was sold. New management came in. All the supervisors were replaced and Steve found himself on the street. He was terrified. "To dig I am unable, to beg I am ashamed," he said. "What can I do?"
His friends told him they were glad he was fired. "At least you are your old self," they said. "And you'll find something. Just go for it." He did, and now he's doing better than he ever could have in the position he once felt he could never leave.
The steward in today's gospel lesson is like both Sandra and Steve. Sandra was not herself in that relationship. Steve was not himself in that job. Both were wasting away, losing that which was most precious to them both: their proper identities. Both felt they could not survive if they gave up something so close and precious as a relationship or a job.
In today's gospel lesson the steward's master calls him on the carpet. In Luke's mind, this Lord and Master is God. God always calls his stewards into question when they are wasteful of who and what they are. This steward is not just wasting his master's goods. The steward is wasting himself. Nothing is more precious in God's household than his steward's proper identity. This is God's gift to this steward, and he is wasting it. No wonder God calls him to account.
God does this to us all the time. He checks our relationships and he checks our jobs -- to help us make sure we are not wasting our identities where we are. This steward was. So God dismissed him. He had to get a new job and a new relationship. God does not tolerate our wasting who we are.
This dismissal turned the light on for the steward. "What shall I do? To dig I am unable, to beg I am ashamed." Finally he came to an assessment of who he was and what he could do. He came to value his own identity, one of his master's most precious goods.
He called in his master's creditors. "How much do you owe? One hundred barrels of oil? Take your bill and write 50." Did he cheat his master? Not at all. The commercial documents from that time indicate that 50 percent was the normal commission. He renounced what he thought he had to have to live on -- and he won friends for himself in so doing.
"How much do you owe? One hundred bushels of wheat? Take your bill and write 80." He did not cheat his master. He simply renounced his own commission. He gave up what he thought he needed to survive, and he survived much better without it. He zeroed in on his own identity, rather than on the commission he thought he had to have to survive.
Bruno Bettelheim, who has studied the survivors of the concentration camps in World War II, writes that those who survived were able to give up everything they thought they needed and, in so giving, they survived. Those who thought they would die if they had no clothing, no jewelry, no regular food, no books -- they did not make it.
Sometimes God will do to us what he did to this steward. He will strip us down to the very core of our existence to make us discover who we really are. He will bring us to a crossroad in life where we will be forced to say, "To dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed." There God will reveal to us who we are. As we reach to him for help we will find ourselves renouncing our commissions -- whatever we think we need to survive but we really don't. God knows that.
Luther found himself in this position many times in his life. Once, as he began his study of law, he was struck down in a thunderstorm. Terrified, he cried out, "Dear Saint Ann, help me. I will become a monk." He quit his study of law and became a theologian instead -- the identity God wanted for him in the first place. He was wasting himself in law.
Later on, as a monk, he studied Paul's Epistle to the Romans. At that time in his life he felt he could not be Martin Luther unless he ended each day with a tray full of good works to present to God. In praying over Paul, he learned the difference between works righteousness and faith. He learned he was wasting God's gift of Martin Luther's identity in that daily tray full of good works.
He wrote: "Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that the just shall live by faith. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through mercy and sheer grace God justified us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise." Martin Luther the Do-Gooder was reborn Martin Luther the Believer.
Today's gospel lesson introduces that curious term, "mammon," an Aramaic word which means: "that in which I put my trust." We are like Sandra, Steve, and this steward. How easy to put all our trust in relationships or commissions or a job. God will not let us do that forever. He will force us to give up those people and those things we feel are absolutely critical. In God's eyes they are roadblocks to the truth. He will take them away. Then we will discover our real identities as God's stewards, and him alone shall we serve. "
27. The Law and the Gospel
Illustration
David Ernst
The primary purpose of the Law is, like a mirror, to teach man the true knowledge of his sin. We see this in the example of the publican. The publicans were tax-collectors for the Roman imperialists. They were Jews, but were not respected by their people. They were considered traitors and thieves, with some justification.
So the publican did not approach God with pride, demanding what was owed him. On the contrary, he approached the Lord with maximum humility and true repentance. Repentance is essential to receive the forgiveness of sins in Christ. That is why the Law should be preached to unrepentant sinners, but the Gospel to those who are troubled by their sins and terrified of damnation.
The Law demands, threatens and condemns; the Gospel promises, gives and confirms our forgiveness and salvation. God offers forgiveness of sins only in the Good News that we are saved because Christ fulfilled the Law, suffered, died and rose from the dead for us. So let us draw near to God in humility and repentance, of course, but also in the hope and faith that we are justified through faith, not by works, and that in Christ we are children of God.
28. Breaking the Rules
Illustration
Charles Swindoll
Charles Swindoll, in his book "The Grace Awakening," tells about one of his youth workers many years ago who was a member of an ethnic church. It was Scandinavian. Being a rather forward-looking and creative young man, he decided he would show the youth group a missionary film. We're talking about a simple, safe, black-and-white religious-oriented movie documentary. That film projector hadn't been off an hour before a group of the leaders in the church called him in and asked him about what he had done. They asked, "Did you show the young people a film?" In all honesty he responded, "Well, yeah, I did." "We don't like that," they replied. Without trying to be argumentative, the youth worker reasoned, "Well, I remember that at the last missionary conference, our church showed slides "
One of the church officers put his hand up signaling him to cease talking. Then, in these words, he emphatically explained the conflict: "If it's still, fine. If it moves, sin!" You can show slides, but when they start movin', you're gettin' into sin.
At first glance verse 41 seems cursory, "Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man." Why does mark mention this touch? Does he want to point out that Jesus took the risk of getting Leprosy? Does he want us to understand the depth of Christ's compassion that he would touch a leper? Is he simply trying to describe the moment? Unfortunately these are not the reasons that Mark carefully describes the touch. It is this TOUCH that gets Jesus into trouble with the religious leaders. It is this direct contact with a leper that banishes Jesus from Galilee. Mark's point is that Jesus broke the Mosaic law when he reached out and touched the man. In Leviticus the law states that a person is unclean if he has an infectious disease such as sores on the skin, and anyone who touches him becomes unclean and has sinned.
Doesn't this sound like our legalistic attitude today? If you heal a leper, fine. If you touch him, sin! You can heal all you want, but when you start touching lepers, your breaking the law and gettin' into sin. Because Jesus touched the leper he was regarded as unclean and a sinner.
Not only was the leper banished from the community but Jesus also because he chose compassion over ceremonial law they drove him out of the town because he chose to touch a man who was "unclean." Describe the sick and hurting as ceremonially unclean and you do not have to deal with them.
29. The Beginning of Wisdom
Illustration
Abdul Kassem Ismael (A.D. 938 to 995) was theGrand Vizier of Persia. Legend has it that the avid reader was so enthralled with literature and learning that he never left home without his personal library. The 400-camel caravan carried 117,000 books and must have been more than a mile long! Nevertheless, Ismael’s camel-drivers were also librarians, each responsible for the books on his camel, and could locate any book almost immediately because the animals were trained to walk in alphabetical order.
The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 9:10) and “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). We may, like Ismael, pursue all the knowledge of the Lord. But Paul says that if we don’t have love, we are nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2). John says that when we know God, we love. (1 John 4:7, 8) True wisdom—a knowledge of God—will result in His love being embodied in us. Until then, our knowledge means nothing.
30. The Complexity of the Situation
Illustration
The Constitution of the United States started off with only 7 articles and 21 sections that took up only four handwritten pages including signatures! 4 pages! But to that we added 27 amendments.
Today, the United States Code, which is all of the laws in this country, fills up around 80 volumes of books, nearly 800,000 pages, and this doesn't even include the Federal Regulations. In 1942, the Virginia Code was a single book that had 2800 pages. Today, the Virginia Code is a 25-volume set of books with 15,000 pages, nearly 20,000 separate laws! And that is just Virginia!
But, let's not think for a moment that we are the only ones to take something simple and make it complex. God gave the Israelites something simple to follow, the Ten Commandments. Just ten simple rules to follow. Nothing complex about it. But were the Israelites content with just ten commandments? Oh, no. They ended up making 613 separate commandments, 365 negative and 248 positive. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Try following all those laws in order to be considered faithful and righteous, and you probably thought the original ten was hard enough.
For the lawyer and the Pharisees there was certainly a complex issue at stake. The Israelites were under assault from a man who claimed to be God, and who did God-like things. But this man was a Jew; he should have known better, no one is God, but God. Yet, he was a man who knew and quoted the Hebrew scripture, who knew the laws and commandments better than any religious leader.
The Pharisees had to put a stop to it, the situation was getting out of control, it was becoming too complex to let it go on much longer. This man must be stopped and the only why to stop him was to discredit him. And what better way to discredit Jesus, the Jew, than to ask him such a question, on a complex issue about the greatest commandment, that any answer he gave would spell defeat.
31. Parable of Grading the Teacher
Illustration
Staff
"Bill, you will never get into college, if you settle for C's on your report card."
"Dad, I work hard, but that new teacher just can't explain things right. He's only a "C" teacher. Everyone in the class says he doesn't know how to teach."
"What seems to be wrong with his teaching?" asked the father.
"He doesn't have time for questions, he talks about too many other things than the lesson and he can't seem to explain the subject very well. Maybe he will learn after a few years, but it will be too late for us."
Truly, giving grades is a real problem to teachers and many students do acquire knowledge more easily than others. But the skill of teaching depends on both the teacher and the students communicating with each other freely in the exchange of knowledge.
Students, who are afraid to ask questions or who feel intimidated by severity, deter the process. Teachers, who lack self-confidence, often try to cover their failures with an unnecessary severity in grades.
Good teachers win the love and respect of the students by clear illustrations, that all may understand. Through a willingness to accept criticism, the teacher proves democracy and eases the admission of ignorance on the part of the student in regards to any particular lesson.
The real concern of both the student and the teacher to gain knowledge is a necessary blessing in the art of education. Love is at work in both discipline and direction that goes with factual knowledge in the happy classroom Good teachers are the treasures of our society and must win and receive respect by their own good examples."
32. Responding to the Spirit, Responding in the Spirit
Illustration
Thomas Long
When Jimmy Carter was running for President of the United States, one of the more vivid moments in the campaign passed by almost unnoticed. One Sunday morning, candidate Carter had been worshipping at the Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia. When the service was over, he exited the church into the swarm of press encamped on the church's front lawn. Cameras whirring, video lights glaring, microphones thrust forward, the media mavens moved in for interviews, pushing themselves to think of clever questions to ask a presidential candidate on the way out of a Southern Baptist Church -- "Did you like the sermon?" "Did you enjoy the choir this morning?" "Do you plan to remain a Baptist in Washington?" -- on and on the banal questions spewed.
Suddenly, a reporter, probably in a stroke of luck, shouted out a question that genuinely mattered: "Mr. Carter, suppose when you are President, you get into a situation where the laws of the United States are in conflict with what you understand to be the will of God. Which will you follow, the laws of the state or the commandments of God?"
Carter stopped, looked up, and blinked into the bright Georgia sun, obviously turning the question over in his mind. Then, perhaps still "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day," perhaps with the Spirit gently whispering the lyrics of the gospel into his ears, he turned toward the reporter and replied , "I would obey the commandments of God." Alert aides, alarmed by this candor, unnerved by their candidate's near-treasonous remark, hurriedly whisked him away from the press and into a waiting car. Carter the politician should have avoided the question, or hewed closely to the law of the land, but Carter the Christian had the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ whispering in his ear, "Do you love me? The world cannot see or know me, but do you love me? Do you keep my commandments?"
33. Baptism: No Need to Practice
Illustration
Billy D. Strayhorn
I just read about a certain preacher, a recent seminary graduate, who was appointed to his very first congregation. He and his wife went to visit his family one Saturday afternoon for lunch. This preacher's mother sensed that her daughter-in-law was not all that happy, but not wanting to be one of those nosey, meddlesome mothers-in-law, she pretended not to notice. She figured it was just a lover's spat.
But as her son and daughter-in-law left, everything was cleared up because she overheard her daughter-in-law say, "All right, we can go by the church and you can practice baptizing me just one more time. But remember this, when you have your first funeral, you are not going to practice burying me!"
I personally don't think that practicing baptizing someone is all that necessary. What I do consider absolutely necessary is practicing our baptism. Or living our baptism so it makes a difference.
34. Tools of Inspection
Illustration
Evangelist Fred Brown used three images to describe the purpose of the law. First he likened it to a dentist's little mirror, which he sticks into the patient's mouth. With the mirror he can detect any cavities. But he doesn't drill with it or use it to pull teeth. It can show him the decayed area or other abnormality, but it can't provide the solution.
Brown then drew another analogy. He said that the law is also like a flashlight. If suddenly at night the lights go out, you use it to guide you down the darkened basem*nt stairs to the electrical box. When you point it toward the fuses, it helps you see the one that is burned out. But after you've removed the bad fuse, you don't try to insert the flashlight in its place. You put in a new fuse to restore the electricity.
In his third image, Brown likened the law to a plumbline. When a builder wants to check his work, he uses a weighted string to see if it's true to the vertical. But if he finds that he has made a mistake, he doesn't use the plumbline to correct it. He gets out his hammer and saw.
The law points out the problem of sin; it doesn't provide a solution.
35. The Good Samaritan - Sermon Starter
Illustration
Brett Blair
The parable of the Good Samaritan arises out of a discussion between Jesus and a Pharisee. Here is a religious lawyer and he is asking a question on the nature of the law. The stage is set by Luke with these words: "Behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test." Well, it's not the first time and probably won't be the last time that a lawyer phrased a trick question. It was the kind of question in which any kind of an answer would pose still further problems. It was a test question: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life." Now right away we know that this man was a Pharisee, because the Pharisees believed in eternal life and the Sadducees did not. Jesus could tell that this man was an astute student of the law so he asked him: "What is written?" In other words, use your own mind to discern the essence of the law. Jesus, like a good discussion leader, throws the question right back in his lap.
The lawyer had a good answer. He said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." This was a direct quote from Deuteronomy 6. It was part of the Shema, a confession regularly made in Jewish worship. Jesus says: "Excellent. You are correct." If he were a teacher I suppose he would have said: "You get A+." I have no complaint with this says Jesus. Do this and you shall live. You have not only penetrated to the essence of the law but you have worded it succinctly.
The question had been asked and the answer given. You would think that the man would be pleased and go home. But lawyers are never happy. A lawyer's responsibility is to define the limits of liability. "But he, desiring to justify himself, asked ‘Who is my neighbor.'" In other words, where does my responsibility stop? Who exactly am I responsible for?"
At this point, instead of further defining the question, Jesus tells a story. A way of indirect teaching.
A certain rich man was going from Jerusalem to Jericho. We can surmise that this man was probably a Jew because this was a road going right through the heart of Judea. He had probably been up to Jerusalem to worship and now he's going back to the City of Palm Trees. It was a very long serpentine road starting at Jerusalem, the highest point, 2,500 feet above sea level, and going straight down to Jericho, nearly 800 feet below Sea Level. The lowest place on the face of the earth not covered by water the deepest city in the world.
The Jericho Road was a notoriously thief-infested stretch of rocky mountain road, a long, lonely seventeen miles crowded with caves and danger. Since the road was so often traveled by religious pilgrims and businessmen and because it was so crooked, robbers frequented the road often. In fact, the route was so ripe for pillage that it had been nicknamed "The Bloody Pass". By the time you rounded a bend the bandits were there and you really had no chance to escape. I suppose if there had been newspapers it would not have been unusual to read about the latest mugging on the Jericho Road.
And so, too, the particular traveler in Jesus story fell victim. He was ambushed, robbed, beaten, stripped, and left to die in a pool of crimson red. Now, the question in the story is who is going to stop and help? Who is it that will not fall prey to the temptation to pass by on the other side?
1. The Priest Passes By
2. The Levite Passes By
3. The Samaritan Stops
36. A Higher Value than Freedom
Illustration
Johnny Dean
If there’s one thing we Americans value above everything else, it is freedom. We cherish, guard and exercise our freedom, and woe be unto those who threaten it in any way. We’re even willing to go to war to defend freedom, whether it’s ours or someone else’s. We are the world’s self-appointed watchdogs of freedom.
But Jesus says there’s a higher value than freedom. The first words the writer of the Gospel of Matthew has Jesus speak are not about freedom, but about obedience to the will of God. That’s what righteousness is all about, according to the gospel writer. Matthew uses the word righteousness seven times in his story of the life of Jesus, always connecting righteousness with being obedient to the will of God.
When Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan, John protests. "It really should be the other way around here. You should be baptizing me. Why are you doing this?" And Jesus replies, "Just do it, John; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."
37. A Higher Value than Freedom
Illustration
Johnny Dean
If there's one thing we Americans value above everything else, it is freedom. We cherish, guard and exercise our freedom, and woe be unto those who threaten it in any way. We're even willing to go to war to defend freedom, whether it's ours or someone else's. We are the world's self-appointed watchdogs of freedom.
But Jesus says there's a higher value than freedom. The first words the writer of the Gospel of Matthew has Jesus speak are not about freedom, but about obedience to the will of God. That's what righteousness is all about, according to the gospel writer. Matthew uses the word righteousness seven times in his story of the life of Jesus, always connecting righteousness with being obedient to the will of God.
When Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan, John protests. "It really should be the other way around here. You should be baptizing me. Why are you doing this?" And Jesus replies, "Just do it, John; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."
38. Seinfeld's Last Episode
Illustration
Brett Blair
Most of you remember the Seinfeld show and many of you were fans. In its final Episode, which aired at the end of the 1998 TV season, the main characters (Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer) receive a one year sentence for failing to help someone who was being robbed.
What happens is this: Jerry has just received a contract from NBC to do a sitcom and the network is flying them all to Paris as a gift. But their plane encounters problems and they are stuck in LakelandMassachusetts. Killing time wondering around on the sidewalks in this quaint New England town, they become innocent bystanders and witnesses of a car jacking.
Being New Yorkers and the kind of people they are they make fun of the guy who is being robbed. Kramer, who has a camcorder in his hands, films the incident as a curiosity. They never lift a hand, never shout out; they are 10 yards away, and could care less. They just stand there and casually watch! The robber speeds off with the car and the police arrive late on the scene. With the excitement over, and the poor victim standing dazed in the street, Jerry turns to his friends and suggest they go get something to eat.
They turn to walk off when the officer stops them and says, "Alright, hold it right there."
Jerry: Wha'?
Officer: You're under arrest.
Jerry: Under arrest, What for?
Officer: Article 223 dash 7 of the Lakeland county penal code.
Elaine: What, we didn't do anything.
Officer: That's exactly right. The law requires you to help or assist anyone in danger as long at its reasonable to do so.
George: I never heard of that.
Officer: It's new, its called the Good Samaritan Law, Let's go.
The series ends with them serving their time. The critics hated it. It was pretty bad but there was a redeeming quality to that last episode. For nine years Seinfeld's characters used, ridiculed, and made fun of everyone they met. The four of them were the Priest and the Levites of our modern world. We climb the ladder of success and FedEx gives you the world on time. This is our attitude. Stopping to help someone crimps our style and requires too much of our time.
Looking back on it I can't help but wonder if the script for that final episode was taken right out of Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. George says that he never heard of that one. Truth is, the law isn't new. It's as old as the tablets Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. There's nothing NEW about it. The story of the Good Samaritan tells us how we are to treat others: Not just our friends, not just the people in our town or stranded on the road or in need, but the very people we despise or dislike or make fun of. In a word: Our enemies. The story of the Good Samaritan is a lesson on how the Law of Moses is to be understood and lived out.
39. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism - Sermon Starter
Illustration
Brett Blair
Baptism is a powerful force in the life of a Christian for two reasons. It is something we share in common. Christians all over the world can say that they were baptized in Christ. You met a Catholic in Ireland. He was baptized. You met a Pentecostal in Nigeria. She was baptized. The second reason Baptism is a powerful force is that baptism takes us back to the basics. Now let me set these two ideas up for you with a couple of stories.
You perhaps at one time or another have seen on TV the old black and white video footage of the civil rights marches in the sixties. Martin Luther King often at the front received his share of stinging high-pressured water hoses. Rev. King once remarked that he and the other marchers had a common strength. He put it this way, as "we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were a Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water."
You and I know the water. All of God's children know the water. We share by our faith this common symbol, this initiation, this rite, this power of God over the deep and often raging chaos of life. We know water! All over the world Baptism unites us.
It also brings us back to the basics. Perhaps in our lifetime the most public statement of repentance was that of President Bill Clinton's. The one he made before a Prayer Breakfast on September 10, 1998. He summed up the task perfectly when he said, "I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned." Then he quoted from a book given him by a Jewish friend in Florida. The book is called "Gates of Repentance."
Clinton read this passage from the book: "Now is the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to turn from green to red to orange. The birds are beginning to turn and are heading once more toward the south. The animals are beginning to turn to storing their food for the winter. For leaves, birds and animals, turning comes instinctively. But for us, turning does not come so easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a turn. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we have been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing face. It means starting all over again. And this is always painful. It means saying I am sorry. It means recognizing that we have the ability to change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways."
Clinton's quote ended with this prayer: "Lord help us to turn, from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness to purpose, from envy to contentment, from carelessness to discipline, from fear to faith. Turn us around, O Lord, and bring us back toward you. Revive our lives as at the beginning and turn us toward each other, Lord, for in isolation there is no life."
What ever you might think of Clinton and his sincerity, he understood that he needed to do something very basic before the nation. He needed to repent. It's amazing isn't it? Not even a president can escape the basic truths of life. It's like in elementary school. Our parents and teachers understand the importance of building a strong foundation for a child's future. So, we were taught the basics, the three R's: Reading, writing, and arithmetic. Ever notice that only one of those begins with an R. I always thought the fellow that came up with that one needed to go back to school.
As parents and teachers and leaders today we would do well to remember that life is still composed of basics. That is why, when Mark chose to open his Gospel, he did so with the Baptism of Jesus at the Jordan. Baptism reminds us of the three R's of the soul: Repentance, righteousness, and revelation. So, don't be amazed when a president of the United States repents before the nation for even Christ himself, as we have just read, began his ministry identifying with the basics: repentance, righteousness, and revelation. Christ submitted himself to the basics. You ask me, Pastor, why should I be baptized? My answer is, Christ himself was baptized, so should you. Baptism begins the most basic elements of the Christian walk: Repentance from sin, a life of righteousness, and an understanding that God has reveled himself in Christ.
Let's take a look at our Lord's Baptism and what it tells us about the three spiritual R's:
1. The first R is Repentance.
2. The second R is Righteousness.
3. The third R is Revelation.
40. Achievement vs Success
Illustration
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes once said that her mother drew a distinction between achievement and success. Her mother advised her that "achievement is the knowledge that you have studied and worked hard and done the best that is in you. Success is being praised by others, and that's nice too, but not as important or satisfying. Always aim for achievement and forget about success."
41. Tragic Flaws of Pharisees Laws
Illustration
J. Stowell
In contrast to the two commands of Christ, the Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands and 248 positive laws...By the time Christ came it had produced a heartless, cold, and arrogant brand of righteousness. As such, it contained at least ten tragic flaws:
- New laws continually need to be invented for new situations.
- Accountability to God is replaced by accountability to men.
- It reduces a person's ability to personally discern.
- It creates a judgmental spirit.
- The Pharisees confused personal preferences with divine law.
- It produces inconsistencies.
- It created a false standard of righteousness.
- It became a burden to the Jews.
- It was strictly external.
- It was rejected by Christ.
42. Whispering the Lyrics
Illustration
Thomas Long
There's an interesting story behind Jimmy Reed records. In placing the phonograph needle again and again in the grooves of Jimmy Reed's records, you began to notice something curious. If one listened very carefully, there could sometimes be heard, ever so faintly in the background, a soft woman's voice murmuring in advance the next verse of the song. The story that grew up around this -- and perhaps it is true -- was that Jimmy Reed was so absorbed in the bluesy beat and the throbbing guitar riffs of his music that he simply could not remember the words of his own songs. He needed help with the lyrics, and the woman's voice was none other than that of his wife, devotedly coaching her husband through the recording session by whispering the upcoming stanzas into his ear as he sang.
Whether or not this story is accurate, Christians will surely recognize a parallel experience. Jesus tells his followers that the role of the Holy Spirit is, in effect, to whisper the lyrics of the gospel song in the ears of the faithful. When Jesus was present, he was the one who instilled in them the right words, coached them through the proper verses, taught them the joyful commandments. But now that Jesus approaches his death, now that he draws near to his time of departure, now that the disciples will be on their own without him, that task is to be handed over to the Holy Spirit:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth ..." (John 14:15-17).
The primary task, then, of the Holy Spirit is reminding the faithful of the truth, jogging the memories of the followers of Jesus about all of his commandments so that they can keep them in love, whispering the lyrics of the never-ending hymn of faithful obedience in their ears.
43. Obedience Is the Gateway for Love
Illustration
Jennette F. Scholer
Shortly after arriving at the Keller household, Annie Sullivan wrote, "I am convinced that obedience is the gateway by which knowledge, yes and even love, enter the mind of the child." With this remarkable insight, Sullivan had the courage to teach Helen to obey - to sit at the table, to eat properly, to fold her napkin. It was by first learning obedience that Helen learned the concept of language and also grew to love her teacher.
Annie Sullivan's words speak to us as we reflect on Zechariah's and Mary's questions. "Obedience is the gateway by which knowledge, yes and love, enter" our minds. It is in acts of obedience that we grow in the knowledge and love of God.
44. Forgive Us Our Debts - Sermon Starter
Illustration
Brett Blair
As with so many of the stories of Jesus, the parable of the debtors arose out of a question that was posed to Jesus. Simon Peter said to him: "Master, if my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him? Seven times? Even as he asks that question my mind cannot help but think about children and how they will sometimes confess something they do wrong expecting to get praise from a teacher or a parent because they were so honest.
In the same sense, Simon Peter by asking this question is not expecting rebuke but praise. He is expecting Jesus to say: ?Excellent Peter. You go to the head of the class. You get A+.? According to Jewish law, Peter had the right to think that he had done something good. Scribal law clearly read:
'If a man transgresses one time, forgive him. If a man transgresses two times, forgive him. If a man transgresses three times, forgive him. If a man transgresses four times, do not forgive him.' What Peter has done is to take this law of limited forgiveness, multiply it by two and add one, and then sit back with a smile on his face and say: Now how is that for being a great guy? And he surely must have been taken aback when Jesus said you must forgive seventy times seven.
Then Jesus proceeded to tell a story. There was a certain king who had a day of reckoning for his servants. He found one who owed him 10,000 talents and, because he could not pay, he was about to have him thrown into jail and his wife and children sold into slavery. In response to the man's pathetic pleadings, however, he forgave him the entire debt.
Whereupon that forgiven servant went to a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii, a very small sum of money, and demanded payment. He pleaded for extra time, an extension, but the man would not hear of it and he had him thrown into jail. This story got back to the king who went into a rage. He called in the forgiven servant and said that because of his conduct, he was now to be thrown into jail. His original debt was reinstated.
Now the question is, what was Jesus attempting to say to Simon Peter?
1. First, forgiveness carries a heavy price.
2. Second, a forgiven soul should be a forgiving soul.
45. Messiah's Law
Illustration
Leonard Sweet
One of my unsung heroes is an unnamed veteran Detroit firefighter. After years and years of doing good and getting no credit for it, saving people's lives and never being thanked for it, he decided he'd had enough. "I was fed up," he told a reporter who interviewed him after the bizarre episode. "I was fed up right to here," he said pointing to the top of his head. "Did you ever feel that way, I mean really fed up?" he asked the reporter.
What the fed-up fireman did the day before was to hop in the biggest fire truck at his station, turn on all the lights and sirens, drive to his house, pick up his wife, pick up his daughter at kindergarten, and take the family on a siren-screaming ride through the city of Detroit.
He finally returned the $200,000 truck to the fire station – sirens still wailing and red lights still flashing – and then, to top things off, he submitted his resignation to the Detroit Fire Department." ("Fed UP?" Sunday Sermons, 31 [3 June 2001], 25).
Jesus didn't know of Murphy's Law. But he did know of Messiah's Law. It's the Christian equivalent of Murphy's Law, our Scripture lesson this morning introduces it to us. It goes like this: No good deed goes unpunished. Or put in more theological terms, if you love, you get hurt.
46. No Record of Wrong
Illustration
John Flavel
There was a man in England who put his Rolls-Royce on a boat and went across to the continent to go on a holiday. While he was driving around Europe, something happened to the motor of his car. He cabled the Rolls-Royce people back in England and asked, "I'm having trouble with my car; what do you suggest I do?" Well, the Rolls-Royce people flew a mechanic over! The mechanic repaired the car and flew back to England and left the man to continue his holiday. As you can imagine, the fellow was wondering, "How much is this going to cost me?" So when he got back to England, he wrote the people a letter and asked how much he owed them. He received a letter from the office that read: "Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce."
Did Christ finish His work? How dangerous it is to join anything of our own to the righteousness of Christ, in pursuit of justification before God! Jesus Christ will never endure this; it reflects upon His work dishonorably. He will be all, or none, in our justification. If He has finished the work, what need is there of our additions? And if not, to what purpose are they? Can we finish that which Christ Himself could not complete? Did He finish the work, and will He ever divide the glory and praise of it with us? No, no; Christ is no half-Savior. It is a hard thing to bring proud hearts to rest upon Christ for righteousness. God humbles the proud by calling sinners wholly from their own righteousness to Christ for their justification.
47. The Gospel According to the Hebrews
Illustration
William Barclay
There is an apocryphal gospel called "The Gospel According to the Hebrews" most of which is lost; in one of the fragments which remain there is an account of this incident which sheds a little light on its meaning. Here is how that ancient text records this story:
The rich man said to Jesus, "Master, what good thing must I do really to live?" Jesus said to him, "Man, obey the law and the prophets." He said, "I have done so." Jesus said to him, "Go, sell all that you possess, distribute it among the poor, and come, follow me!" The rich man began to scratch his head because he did not like this command. The Lord said to him, Why do you say that you have obeyed the law and the prophets? For it is written in the law, "You must love your neighbor as yourself," and look you there are many brothers of yours, sons of Abraham, who are dying of hunger, and your house is full of many good things, and not one single thing goes out of it to them." And he turned and said to Simon, his Disciple, who was sitting beside him, "Simon, son of Jonas, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."
There we have the secret and the tragedy of the rich young ruler. He was living utterly selfishly. He was rich, and yet he gave nothing away. His real God was comfort, and what he really worshiped were his own possessions and his wealth. That is why Jesus told him to give it all away.
48. There Is a Time
Illustration
Mark Trotter
Apair of stories from Greece. Which, if not exactly around the corner from the Holy Land, is at least in the neighborhood. Actually, the first story takes place in Chania, at an airport on the west end of the island of Crete. On the particular day in question, an Olympia Airlines 727 is deplaning a group of 100 angry passengers into a crowded terminal. Pandemonium follows. Voices are raised, followed by fists. Women and children are wailing. Someone threatens to leap over the counter to punch the agent. Police appear, billy clubs at the ready.
What has happened is this. The passengers were all destined for Heraklion at the other end of the island. Indeed, their luggage has already gone there on another plane. For reasons unclear, this Olympia Airlines 727 has landed at the wrong city and is now scheduled to fly elsewhere. What is left for the hundred passengers is a hard ride by bus, 150 miles to their destination. The passengers want blood. The hot-headed ones talk about commandeering a plane. Others make threats against the management of Olympia Airlines, complete with comments about management's ancestry on their mother's side.
Suddenly, a well-dressed German tourist who, heretofore, has been pacing in small circles on the rim of the chaos, begins to shout at no one in particular:
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
What must I do?
What will become of me?
God in heaven, help me!
His cry is sufficiently frenzied so as to quiet all other chaos, as fellow travelers back cautiously away from him as if he were a mad dog in their midst.
Suddenly a representative of Olympia Airlines steps forward to address him. "Excuse me, sir," he says, "but you have asked some very old questions. We Greeks have been working on those questions for over two thousand years. They are not easy to answer, then or now. In the meantime, I do not know what help God in heaven may be. But we of Olympia Airlines will see to it that you get to Heraklion. So if you please, sir, get on the bus."
Moral of story: To everything there is a season, a time to fly, a time to cry, a time to shout, and a time to ask philosophical questions. But there is also a time to get on the bus.
Story #2
Story number two takes place in a sidewalk café in the Greek seacoast where two young Americans are arguing about whether human beings are basically bad or basically good. The animation of the conversation becomes even more understandable when I tell you that the two Americans are law students. First year law students. Having lived with one of those, I know that young lawyers cut their academic teeth on argumentation. They will debate anything, with anybody, at any time. And should they convince you that their position is right and yours is wrong, they will then switch sides and argue yours, just for the fun of it.
In the middle of the argument, one of the students points to his glass of wine and suggests (sagely) that pondering whether human beings are basically bad or basically good is like trying to solve the riddle as to whether a wine glass is half empty or half full, in other words, a matter of perception.
His companion disagrees. "Not so," he says. "We can precisely calculate the amount of wine in a given glass at a given time, provided that proper definitions of ‘empty' and ‘full' can be agreed upon in advance." So they motion for the waiter and inquire as to whether the café as any instruments with which to measure and calculate.
The waiter, an old Greek wise in the ways of first year law students, asks the purpose of such a request, and is told that such measuring devices are needed to solve the question as to whether this particular wine glass is half empty or half full. The waiter looks at the two young men. Then he looks at the wine. Following which he smiles, picks up the glass, swirls the contents, sniffs the aroma, and (with nary a word to anyone) drinks it down with great relish and walks away.
Moral of story: Among the seasons listed earlier, there is a time to debate, and a time to drink the wine.
49. Who Were the Pharisees?
Illustration
a) They werethe strictest sect of the Jews withregard to "The Law."
b) They believed in the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the body and the existence of spirits.
c) They believed in punishment and rewards in the future life.
d) They believed in conformance to the law and that God's grace was only promised to the doers of the law; i.e.,religion was external.
50. Illegal Despair
Illustration
Maxie Dunnam
There ought to be a new law written. It would read something like this: when confronted with anything that is confusing or frightening, it is illegal to give in to despair for at least three months. Of course such a law could not be enforced, but it would remind us of some facts worth remembering.
One, things have a way of changing in time.
Two, things always look different in retrospect.
Three, we seldom see things for what they really are.
And four, most of us worry about projected outcomes that are never realized.
There is an old saying which carries a bundle of truth -- don’t borrow trouble. The law I am proposing would help us there. We have enough actual trouble each day without anticipating what may never happen. When confronted by confusion and fear, wait a while before you give in to despair. Tomorrow the experience will look altogether different.
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