Thursday 10 January 2008
So I'm back
Or at least I hope I am. For now I think things are under control. I believe we're onto the parable of the sower next?
Sunday 16 December 2007
Forced break
I have a lot of work to get done. A lot. Major stuff that my future depends upon. I'mma have a break from this till it's finished. Major apologies to anybody who actually bothers to read this crap.
Friday 14 December 2007
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
Taken from Matthew 13:44–46;
44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The simplest are often the hardest to discuss. The essence of the first commandment, in Christ's words, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul.
He demonstrated this to the rich young ruler by telling him to sell all his worldly possessions.
These two parables tell us, in essence, that to one who is saved, worldly matters mean nothing compared to God. As saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, "Whatever as to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ". In comparison to the Kingdom of God, all worldly things pale.
44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The simplest are often the hardest to discuss. The essence of the first commandment, in Christ's words, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul.
He demonstrated this to the rich young ruler by telling him to sell all his worldly possessions.
These two parables tell us, in essence, that to one who is saved, worldly matters mean nothing compared to God. As saint Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, "Whatever as to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ". In comparison to the Kingdom of God, all worldly things pale.
Thursday 13 December 2007
The parable of the seed and the parable of the mustard seed
The parable of the seed taken from Mark 4:26–29, using the NIV;
26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
The Mustard Seed, taken first from Matthew 13:31–32;
31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
And then from Mark 4:30–32;
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
And finally Luke 13:18–19;
18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."
Jesus told both these parables at the same time, according to Mark's gospel. I'm really not sure what to make of this one. I think the parable of the mustard seed talks about faith, how it takes a small "seed" to help someone find christ, but faith grows to become powerful and so on?
As for the first parable. Eh, I guess it's talking about the end time. Christ will return to "harvest" his followers when the time is ready?
I'm afraid I'm pretty useless today. Sorry.
26He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
The Mustard Seed, taken first from Matthew 13:31–32;
31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
And then from Mark 4:30–32;
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
And finally Luke 13:18–19;
18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."
Jesus told both these parables at the same time, according to Mark's gospel. I'm really not sure what to make of this one. I think the parable of the mustard seed talks about faith, how it takes a small "seed" to help someone find christ, but faith grows to become powerful and so on?
As for the first parable. Eh, I guess it's talking about the end time. Christ will return to "harvest" his followers when the time is ready?
I'm afraid I'm pretty useless today. Sorry.
Wednesday 12 December 2007
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Reading from Luke 10:30–37, taken from the KJV.
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
On first glance, this one's very simple: Samaritan shows mercy, priest and Levite don't. The one who showed mercy was a neighbour unto him, now go do likewise.
Of course we all know that the Samaritans where the enemies of the Jews, or at least I hope we do. What perhaps some of us don't know would be the circumstances.
Remember the Jewish purity laws? Making contact with a man who'd been beaten up and was lying bleeding on the road would cause one to become unclean, and amongst other things unable to enter the temple, or at least not the inner areas. This would be a problem for the priest, as you can imagine. On this basis, the priest could have been seen as justified.
As for the levite, again cleanliness would no doubt have been an issue. Remember these guys where in charge of construction and maintenance in the temple, as well as guarding it. He could have had something important to do!
The hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans should not be underplayed here, however. The essential point is still that "loving thy neighbour" does most certainly not apply to a specific group. Christ was talking about a universal love, for all the peoples in the world.
30And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
On first glance, this one's very simple: Samaritan shows mercy, priest and Levite don't. The one who showed mercy was a neighbour unto him, now go do likewise.
Of course we all know that the Samaritans where the enemies of the Jews, or at least I hope we do. What perhaps some of us don't know would be the circumstances.
Remember the Jewish purity laws? Making contact with a man who'd been beaten up and was lying bleeding on the road would cause one to become unclean, and amongst other things unable to enter the temple, or at least not the inner areas. This would be a problem for the priest, as you can imagine. On this basis, the priest could have been seen as justified.
As for the levite, again cleanliness would no doubt have been an issue. Remember these guys where in charge of construction and maintenance in the temple, as well as guarding it. He could have had something important to do!
The hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans should not be underplayed here, however. The essential point is still that "loving thy neighbour" does most certainly not apply to a specific group. Christ was talking about a universal love, for all the peoples in the world.
Tuesday 11 December 2007
The Parable of The Faithful Servant
Luke 12:35–48, taken from the NIV;
35"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
41Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?"
42The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
There are two parts to this parable. In the first, Jesus tells us to be like the servants that wait diligently for their master to return so they can let him in, and we're told of how they will be rewarded for doing so. The emphasis here is that they don't know when the master will return, emphasised further by the fact that if the owner of the house knew when the thief would arrive, he would not be broken into. We do not know when Christ will return, and so we are told we must be ready at all times. Details of exactly what this means can be found elsewhere in the new testament, particularly in the epistles, but at the moment we're concentrating purely on the meaning of the parables.
The disciples then ask who the parable is directed to, and the master answers by talking about the manager. Does this manager represent the church, while the servants in question are the unsaved? When Christ talks of the manager giving out the food allowance, is he perhaps talking about reaching out to the lost? The true christian does God's work on earth and is rewarded for it. The bad manager in this case may represent the false converts, those who would claim to know Christ but do not. They're hypocrites, and ignore God's laws as it suits them. And when the master returns and finds them wanting, they will surely be punished.
35"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
41Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?"
42The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
There are two parts to this parable. In the first, Jesus tells us to be like the servants that wait diligently for their master to return so they can let him in, and we're told of how they will be rewarded for doing so. The emphasis here is that they don't know when the master will return, emphasised further by the fact that if the owner of the house knew when the thief would arrive, he would not be broken into. We do not know when Christ will return, and so we are told we must be ready at all times. Details of exactly what this means can be found elsewhere in the new testament, particularly in the epistles, but at the moment we're concentrating purely on the meaning of the parables.
The disciples then ask who the parable is directed to, and the master answers by talking about the manager. Does this manager represent the church, while the servants in question are the unsaved? When Christ talks of the manager giving out the food allowance, is he perhaps talking about reaching out to the lost? The true christian does God's work on earth and is rewarded for it. The bad manager in this case may represent the false converts, those who would claim to know Christ but do not. They're hypocrites, and ignore God's laws as it suits them. And when the master returns and finds them wanting, they will surely be punished.
Monday 10 December 2007
The lost coin, the lost sheep, the prodigal son
Yeah, life caught up with me. That was a pretty quick foul-up.
Ok, so the parable of the lost coin, Luke 15:8-10 taken from the NIV;
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Next we have the lost sheep, taken first from Matthew 18:12–14;
12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
and reiterated again in Luke 15:1–7;
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Finally, the parable of the prodigal son. Again from Luke 15, this time verses 11-32;
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[a]'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
These passages all have what in common? Well they all say the same thing. We see in Luke that the parable of the sheep was a response to the Pharisees criticising Jesus for hanging around with those they viewed as "sinners". Obviously the Pharisees themselves where sinners, but that's not the subject right now. What we see in all of them is, that when what was lost is found, there is much rejoicing. And in the same way, Christ says that in the kingdom of heaven there will be much rejoicing when a sinner finds salvation.
Notice the different levels of detail in each? In the parable of the lost coin, the coin is merely lost. The lost sheep actually wanders away, it fell off course. It wasn't intentionally lost. The prodigal son, meanwhile, not only wilfully rejects his father - try to look at it in context, here. He's asking his father for his inheritance, basically he's saying he wishes he wants him dead. Talk about not honouring your father and mother! - but he goes out, lives a wild life, falls into deep sin, ruins his life. But then he turns and repents and goes back to his father, who bears no grudge and has a huge celebration. God doesn't care how you became lost or how badly you sinned. When you repent there will be much rejoicing in heaven.
Ok, so the parable of the lost coin, Luke 15:8-10 taken from the NIV;
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Next we have the lost sheep, taken first from Matthew 18:12–14;
12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
and reiterated again in Luke 15:1–7;
1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Finally, the parable of the prodigal son. Again from Luke 15, this time verses 11-32;
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[a]'
22"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
31" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "
These passages all have what in common? Well they all say the same thing. We see in Luke that the parable of the sheep was a response to the Pharisees criticising Jesus for hanging around with those they viewed as "sinners". Obviously the Pharisees themselves where sinners, but that's not the subject right now. What we see in all of them is, that when what was lost is found, there is much rejoicing. And in the same way, Christ says that in the kingdom of heaven there will be much rejoicing when a sinner finds salvation.
Notice the different levels of detail in each? In the parable of the lost coin, the coin is merely lost. The lost sheep actually wanders away, it fell off course. It wasn't intentionally lost. The prodigal son, meanwhile, not only wilfully rejects his father - try to look at it in context, here. He's asking his father for his inheritance, basically he's saying he wishes he wants him dead. Talk about not honouring your father and mother! - but he goes out, lives a wild life, falls into deep sin, ruins his life. But then he turns and repents and goes back to his father, who bears no grudge and has a huge celebration. God doesn't care how you became lost or how badly you sinned. When you repent there will be much rejoicing in heaven.
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