The core teachings of Jesus Christ are recorded in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. This video is an experiment, using the Glo Bible and other online resources to build upon Dick Woodward’s Mini Bible College lessons. Dick has some unique views on the context and content of Jesus’ formative teaching.
[vimeo 30211208]
Not long ago I visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and marvelled under Michelangelo’s magnificent dome at the fragmented scripture comprising the inscription around its base. The inscription reads, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church…to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.” excerpted from Matthew 16:18-20. There wasn’t enough room for the entire text of verse 18 which reads (according to the NIV), “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Pretty impressive, particularly when gazing up into that dome.
A year later Joe Stowell stood in front of a cave called “the Gates of Hell” on a Day of Discovery broadcast. I then realized that there is a real place called the Gates of Hell, and the scripture of Matthew 16 was much more graphic—more ‘real’.
Then I came across the following clip from Ray Vander Laan‘s “Faith Lessons” DVD series. Ray puts this scripture in context. It was a graduation ceremony of sorts for the disciples. Jesus took them to Caesarea Philippi, stood below that cave and told them that no culture would prevail against His kingdom. They would then leave Caesarea Philippi and head to Jerusalem and the crucifixion.
As Ray points out in this gifted teaching, we are charged by Christ with a mission, and that mission involves attacking our culture. But we are not called to attack like the crusaders. We are called to attack using the example of Jesus Christ—with love, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, respect and joy in our hearts. Sounds easy enough—until you try. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Thessalonians, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). The ‘trying’ is very important. When? Always. To whom? Everyone.
Why should we trust the Gospel writers and apostles? Good question. Most would argue that, with the sole exception of the Apostle John, they all were martyred for their faith, and that men won’t die for something they know to be a lie. Fair enough. There are lots of other reasons—extrabiblical historical documentation, bibliographical tests, consistency among the canonical accounts, archaeology, internal evidence, C.S. Lewis’ famous ‘trilemma’ argument, and so on—however the purpose of this particular post is not to defend the reliability of the Gospels. (If you are interested in exploring the reliability of the Gospels, there are sources listed at the end of this post.)
Where did the Gospel writers get their information? After all, two of them (Mark and Luke) weren’t eyewitnesses to the events described in their texts.
Meet Michael Card, a gifted Bible teacher and frequent contributor to Day of Discovery television, who encourages us to “read at the level of our imagination.” In other words, put the Biblical text in its rightful context and think very carefully about what was going on.
By way of background, Ephesus became home to Luke, the Apostle John (whose tomb is there), and Mary (the mother of Jesus) in the second half of the first century. Luke was a thorough archivist and did his homework. His accuracy as a historian is thoroughly documented. When he recorded Mary’s thoughts, feelings, and song in his Gospel, the obvious source of that information is his neighbor in Ephesus—Mary herself. Likewise the Apostle John. (By the way, if I’m reading at the level of my imagination, I’m imagining Mary singing her song for Luke.)
Luke is big on details. Only Luke mentions Joanna by name, that she supported Jesus’ ministry out of her own means, and that she was the wife of Herod’s household manager. What a source for information about what was said when Jesus was hauled before Herod! Likewise, only Luke records that Joanna was one of the women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on Easter morning. These two clips (from this DVD) can give you a taste of reading at the level of your imagination. (By the way, the background in the Joanna clip will be discussed in a future post in detail—it’s the likely site of Jesus’ trial before Pilate.)
References to explore the reliability of the Gospels:
Is the Bible Reliable as a Historical Document? (Lee Strobel)
Can we trust the New Testament? (CARM)
Dartmouth Apologia
Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
Reasons to Believe
This blog is about sharing resources, and the video below demonstrates some of those resources in action (particularly videos embedded in the Glo Bible). It also highlights some recent archaeology on John the Baptist, by Shimon Gibson. If you start poking around the archaeology of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, you’ll quickly run into Shimon Gibson—more on him in a future post.
Ever wonder where Jesus was baptized? Where was John the Baptist beheaded? See if these types of materials aid your understanding of the Biblical text. These are historical events, as well documented as any events in ancient history.
We’ll explore a bunch of tools in a forthcoming thread devoted to that purpose. But in any event, don’t miss the message. What does it say, what does it mean, what does it mean to me?
Dick Woodward has some devotional thoughts on John the Baptist.
Enjoy!
Credits & Sources:
John the Baptist (Wikipedia article)
Machaerus Photo by Thomas Bantle (Where John the Baptist was beheaded)
Cave of John the Baptist (Shimon Gibson site, 3D Virtual Tour)
Whether they know it or not, everyone has a position on the Bible. Some believe it to be the holy, inspired word of God. Some have no clue what it might be about. Many are in the middle and haven’t processed what the implications might be if it is true. Some people are confused—many with good reason (life isn’t fair and can be very harsh). Atheists believe that God does not exist. Agnostics are uncertain. Some people get caught up in our competitive and uncaring culture and just become apathetic. And in others the mere mention of faith in God can provoke an ugly reaction, sometimes even rage.
Welcome. So we disagree. No surprise there.
If you are ever going to get to the truth about the Bible, there are certain axioms. First, we don’t get to make the rules, God does. Dick Woodward figured this out years ago, and his first axiom is “I’m not, but He is.” (Dick has boiled it down to what he calls “The Four Spiritual Secrets,” and they are the proof text of his ministry.)
Second, there are a lot more people arguing over the Bible than there are people who actually read it (on both sides).
Reading and understanding the Bible can be a daunting task, particularly without help. (It can also be incredibly rewarding and exciting.) There are a lot of good resources available to help you understand what the Bible is all about—and that’s one of the main goals of this blog. But at some point, to have anything more than an unsubstantiated or ignorant opinion, you’ve got to start reading.
The video below provides some introduction and background to the biographies of Jesus Christ, namely the four Gospels. Check it out, then start reading. Odds are you’ll discover a Jesus who is not a milquetoast pacifist who wants to please everybody, but a wise, radical, tell-it-like-it-is Savior who fights by sacrificing Himself to show how much He loves us. Do you know this Jesus? Think again.
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Veracity 