Opus 2026-285: Running Out of Cheeks, Part 2 of 5, Go Figure

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

Opus 2025-012: Keep Reading

I have a friend who has a lot of strange doctrines.  He feels the same about me.  We keep trying to straighten each other out on certain parts of the Bible.  We were on the end times, a favorite of his, and he quoted verses the talked about the 12 apostles sitting on thrones and judging in the kingdom.  We looked the verses up and that seemed what they were saying.  After we hung up, my mind started coming up with, “Wait a minute, what about...”  I needed to look at that again.  I did a search for the two words “twelve” and “thrones” and came up with two sources.  I believe the one in Matthew is the one quoted to me.  There is a similar idea in Luke.  In Matthew it seemed clear from this that Jesus is talking about the twelve apostles ruling the twelve tribes.

Matthew 19:28 (KJV) And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke is similar but throws in the word “kingdom” which is also a favorite of my friend.  I imagine he did not share Luke with me is that it ends up working against his position.

Luke 22:30 (KJV) That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

In my mind there was a bit of tension with that thought as I vaguely remembered verses in Revelation.  So I looked up the verses dealing with the “thousand years” and the “thousand year reign of Jesus”, and so forth and looked for who would be sitting with Him.  Revelation did not seem to match with what Jesus was describing.

In Revelation I found it seems to have more than just twelve apostles sitting on thrones and reigning with Jesus for the thousand years,

Revelation 20:4 (KJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

I did a search on the word “twelve”.  As expected, it was very frequent in the Old Testament so I narrowed it down to the New Testament and still got over 60 references.  I narrowed it down to Revelation where I got a quantity I could work with.  As I look through the references to twelve in Revelation, I saw the number twelve was never associated with 12 apostles.  This does not negate the conclusion presented from the gospels, Revelation does not say they were not there.  It doesn’t support it either.  The problem was with other points my friend was making.

It seems to me in my memory he somehow felt it was significant to say we don’t have priests anymore and how Peter was talking about the royal priesthood by quoting Exodus.  Priesthood is just a Jewish concept and does not fit with Christians.  His question had to do with the legitimacy of the writings of Peter but I found that it came up in my reading on the twelve and the kingdom.

Here I see a reference that would go against that.  Notice this is just two verses after the other passage I referenced in Revelation.

Revelation 20:6 (KJV) Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

It seems to be saying that in the thousand year kingdom there will be priests of Jesus.

It is things like this that make me unfocus on eschatology.

homo unius libri

Opus 2015-438: Basic Beliefs: The Other Cheek, part 2 of 4

You need to consider all of scripture before you make a point of doctrine or draw a line in the sand.  Everyone is familiar with the words of Jesus when he sent out the twelve to preach.

(Luke 9:3 KJV)  And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.

And He repeated it in the next chapter when He sent out seventy.

(Luke 10:4 KJV)  Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

Most people who broadcast those verses will not mention what Jesus said at the end of His ministry, just before the crucifixion. 

(Luke 22:35-36 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 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.

The situation changed.  The instructions changed.  The basic principles were the same.  They still had two cheeks but now they also had a sword.  Interesting.  Complicated.  I don’t think the swords were just for opening letters.  And keep in mind that in the spirit of modern liberals the Romans had assault-sword bans that prohibited the possession of swords by non-Romans.  If you are going to ban swords based on chapters 9 and 10 then you will also need to ban cash, shoes food and an extra coat.

Then consider the often repeated call to reprove and rebuke.  In fact, one of the spiritual gifts, exhortation, involves those as well and encouraging.  How can you correct someone if all you do is turn the other cheek?

I don’t ask these questions as someone who is constantly getting into fights to defend my honor but as someone who is constantly biting my tongue and walking away.

To be continued...

homo unius libri