Matthew 9 & 10 – Authority over illness

Christ Healing a bleeding woman, as depicted in the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.

All the historical evidence points to the fact that Jesus was a remarkable healer.  He healed by spiritual power.  Not by medical intervention.  Soon after the death of Jesus, the first century biographies of Jesus, known as “Gospels”, are unanimous that Jesus was a spiritual healer:

“Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 9:35).

The Jewish scholar and historian, Josephus is very clear about this too.  Josephus ben Matthias is the best known ancient Jewish historian. He was born in 37 AD, only a few years after Jesus’ execution.  Josephus was not a Christian.  He was not a follower of Jesus.  But in his books, Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus wrote:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.” (Antiquities, Book 18: 3.3). 

Josephus goes on to add that:

“the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.”

Jesus also gave his followers the authority to do wonderful works too such as healing:

“Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 10:1).

So often the onset of an illness has the effect of making us feel helpless and passive. The illness has the authority over us.  Jesus gave his followers the authority over illness.  In the language of Jesus, the word translated as “authority”, is in Hebrew pronounced memshalah.  The so-called Old Testament of the Bible s written in Hebrew.  The Hebrew word, memshalah, is first used in the very first chapter of the Bible.  The subject is the creation of the sun and the moon: “God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night”. (Genesis 1:16).  “To rule over” is the Hebrew memshalah.  Jesus gave his followers the authority to rule over or have dominion over illness just like the Sun has dominion over the day and just like the moon that dominion over the night.

 

Rev Dr Peter Pimentel

John 11 – the shortest verse?

Bible trivia question – what’s the shortest verse in the Bible?  The shortest verse in the Bible is often quoted as John 11:35 ‘Jesus wept’ and this may well be true in some of our English translations but if we have a look at the Greek Jesus wept is 16 letters long:

Ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς – 16 letters – ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35)

Πάντοτε χαίρετε – 14 letters – ‘Rejoice always’ (1Thess 5:16)

καὶ ὁ δεύτερος – 12 letters – ‘and the second’ (Luke 20:30)

Let’s not go into the Hebrew as there are a couple even shorter in the original language because of the lack of vowels in Hebrew.

Jesus wept is not even the shortest verse in the popular NIV (New International) that is from Job 3:2 ‘He said’.  The reason ‘Jesus wept’ is said to be the shortest verse in the Bible because in the KJV (King James) translation it is the shortest!

If it does come up as a question on a quiz and you want to get the point say ‘Jesus wept’! If you want to put the right answer ask the quiz master to be more specific in their question!

Mark 6 & Luke 6 -Yeshua

Jesus left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6)

Our English bibles have anglicized the names and so we tend to forget that Jesus was a first century Israeli rabbi and spiritual healer.  Even his name is anglicized!  Jesus was not called Jesus!  His name in Hebrew is Yeshua.  The mother of Yeshua is not Mary.  Her Hebrew name is Miryam.  The brothers of Yeshua aren’t James, Joses, Judas and Simon.  Their names are: Yaakov, Yosi, Yehudah and Shimon.  The passage quoted above shows that it was the custom of Yeshua to teach in the synagogues.

It must be significant that the Gospel of Mark (a first century biography of Yeshua) acknowledges that Jesus was limited by the level of faith in the crowd.  He could do no miracles in his home town because of their unbelief.  He was only able by the laying on of hands to heal just a few people.  But where there is faith in Yeshua then a connection is made and the power is able to flow from heaven to earth through Yeshua:

He came and stood on a level place with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon.  They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.  And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. (Luke 6:17-19).

Rev Dr Peter Pimentel

 

Psalm 1 – Meditation

It’s easy for us to think that meditation has roots in the eastern (Hindu and Buddhist) religions.  And of course it does – but not exclusively. Meditation is also prominent in the Bible. It is foundational to Judeo-Christian spirituality.

There are 150 Psalms (poem-songs) in the Bible.  The first Psalm sets the scene. It has to do with meditation:

“Their delight is in the law of the Lord and they meditate on his law day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)

The Hebrew word translated in English bibles as “meditate” is pronounced haga.  We get a good idea of what haga means by looking at the usage in the Bible.  In addition to the obvious texts that have to do with meditation, the word is also used of a lion that growls (haga) over its prey (Isaiah 31:4).  The lion is meditating presumably because it is doing something repetitive and audible and it is focused on its prey.  The lion is aware of the present moment! The Bible also speaks about the cooing (haga) of a dove (Isaiah 38:14).  The word haga in other contexts describes the wailings in the mourning rituals of the ancient Near East.  

The noun “meditation” (in Hebrew higgäyôn) in Psalm 92:3 refers to the melody played on a musical instrument.

“Their delight is in the law of the Lord and they meditate on his law day and night.” (Psalm 1:2)

The word “law” in the Bible doesn’t mean what it means in English. The Hebrew word torah very often means: “teaching”, “instruction” and “guidance”.  Meditation in the Bible has to do with focus, recital, repetition, melody and chewing over the guidance given by the Good Lord.  The person who meditates on the torah

“is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.” (Psalm 1:3).  

Unlike trees growing wild or planted in the fields, where rainfall might be sporadic; the person who meditates on God’s good guidance is like a tree that has been planted beside irrigation canals (in Hebrew, palgê māyim, “streams of water”) – artificial water channels made for the purpose of irrigation.  Whatever he does prospers.

Rev Dr Peter Pimentel

See also: Pslam 1 – We are formed by what we love

Luke 6, Mark 14 – The Power (part 2)

Click here to read Mark 6 – The power (part 1)

Jesus …came with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people …They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. (The Gospel of Luke 6:17-19, New Revised Standard Version).

“Power came out from him and healed all of them.” The same Greek word is used here as in the Mark passage above. Dunamis! Not only run of the mill healings but power-healings! At first glance, the power seems to be some sort of spiritual energy that flows out from Jesus. It seems to be a kind of energy that is detachable from Jesus. What is this power? To answer this question, we do need a little 1st Century Jewish background. After all, Jesus was a 1st Century Israeli rabbi. In the time of Jesus, it was forbidden to use the holy name of God, YHWH (pronounced, Yahweh. There are no vowels in ancient Hebrew!). Whenever YHWH occurs in the Hebrew Bible (The Old Testament) the reader would use a substitute such as Adonai (the Lord), Ha-Shem (The Name) or Ha-Gevurah. (The Power). Most English Bibles translate YHWH as “The Lord”. In conversation one of these substitute names was always used. To utter the divine name YHWH was blasphemy and liable of the death sentence. So, it seems likely that the power that came out of Jesus was not some mystical or spiritual energy but that it was nothing less than The Power! YHWH! The manifestation of God himself in healing. At his trial, Jesus also avoided speaking the divine name YHWH and he used the substitute, The Power. The High Priest is interrogating Jesus. He asked Jesus if he is the Messiah. Jesus replies: I AM. Then he says:

And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of The Power and coming with the clouds of heaven. (Mark 14:62).

The Greek word dunamis again and with the definite article. Jesus would have used the Hebrew original Ha-Gevurah. Although Jesus did not utter the divine name YHWH nevertheless the High Priest deems that Jesus has committed blasphemy anyway because of the other things he has said:

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? Mark 14:63).

At this point, the Gospel has the ring of truth with a piece of detail of historical reliability. We know from ancient rabbinic sources that The High Priest tore his robe and that this constitutes the verdict of blasphemy. The sage Rabbi ben Qorha said that once the

witnesses have given their evidence, “the Judges stand and tear their clothing and never sew them back up.” (Mishnah, Tractate Sanhedrin, 7:5).

Jesus, after his death but before his ascension, told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they are “clothed with Power from on high”. (Luke 24: 49). It is clear that Jesus didn’t think of this power as some sort of mystical or spiritual energy but rather as nothing less than the third person of the divine trinity – The Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8).

Revd Dr Peter Pimentel

Mark 6 – The Power (part 1)

And he could do no power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. (The Gospel of Mark 6:5-6, my translation).

Haha. That’s funny. Most churches today would be ecstatic with joy if they witnessed a few healings! Evidently there is a difference between run of the mill healings and power healings (miraculous healings?). The Holy Gospel of Mark is a 1st century biography of Jesus in the Greek language. The Greek word used in Mark translated above as “power” is dunamis from which we get “dynamite”! In the language of Jesus, the Hebrew behind dunamis is ha-gevurah.

It must be significant that Jesus was limited by the level of faith in the crowd. I wonder if Jesus is still limited today by the level of faith in many churches! Conversely, The Holy Gospels also inform us that where there is faith in Jesus amongst the people then a connection is made and the dunamis is able to flow through Jesus from heaven to earth.

Revd Dr Peter Pimentel

Click here to read Luke 6, Mark 14 – The Power (part 2)