If we are to turn the other cheek at all times how do you explain Jesus cleansing the temple. People try. I have heard some great attempts. When I was in seminary I wrote a paper about the time Jesus cleansed the temple and made the comment that Jesus got angry. My professor went warp 9. “Jesus did not get angry!” I guess I was supposed to assume that He was quietly walking from table to table asking for permission to turn them over. I have had people tell me that the whip He made was just to get the animals moving faster and HE used it gently.
How about Jesus telling the disciples to disciples to buy a sword. People like to quote this verse from early in His ministry.
Luke 10:4 (KJV) Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.That is fine but they seem to stop reading there. Do they leave out the rest because they only know what someone taught them? Do they ignore the rest because their mind is made up? Later Jesus reminds them of this,
Luke 22:35 (KJV) And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.Then we get to the twitchy part that no one wants to see:
Luke 22:36 (KJV) Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take [it], and likewise [his] scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.Notice that the instructions have changed. Why? Because the situation has changed. What get me here is that the scholars all seem to say He did not mean a literal sword. I find that one of those convenient proclamations that are designed to back a person’s theological position rather than reflect what they are reading. How do you interpret that figuratively?
To be continued...
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.