Character in Context

What's the deal with the lamp on the lampstand? What hidden message is Yeshua/Jesus revealing about Himself and His mission--and not only that, what is He telling us about how He reveals truth to His disciples?

This is a sort of "part two" on the Parable of the Sower as we delve into Isaiah 6 to talk about parallels between God warning His people about upcoming disaster during the reign of King Uzziah and Yeshua crying out to first-century Israel. In both situations, decisions had to be made and loyalties decided that would govern the fate of God's people. But this wasn't a "back then" sort of thing--this is an every day decision.

Yes, I have taught the Parable of the Sower before, but not like this! This time I am going to teach it within the context of not only the agricultural practices of ancient Israel, but I am also going to tie the different kinds of soil in some possibly surprising ways to the disciples.

Teaching this is always emotional for me. We're going to talk about the family of God today, the "fictive" kinship group that joins together every believer from the very beginning (whether we like it or not). Ironically, what brings on this discussion is the episode of rejection by Yeshua's/Jesus's own family who are convinced that he is "existemi" or psychologically deranged. What is membership in the family of God based upon and why was this so controversial?

There are a few questions that every preacher, teacher, and pastor have been asked countless times and one of them is, "What does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? I am afraid I've done it without knowing it." This week we will be covering the famous Beelzebul controversy and looking into two very serious rejections in Yeshua's/Jesus's life and ministry.

With the five controversy dialogues behind us, what will be the consequences? This week we will start with a brand new theme (while still keeping all the old ones) that will be carried through to the end of the Gospel--insiders vs outsiders. Yeshua/Jesus will respond to His rejection by both the self-proclaimed and semi-official Jewish leadership by choosing the building blocks of his new community. He will begin with the Twelve and build from there. We'll be talking about disciples vs customers and why it is so important that we have the calling of the Twelve directly after being mobbed by those desperate for healing at the seashore.

What's lawful on the Sabbath? To restore a man to the community and to service or to plot a political assassination?And I want to say a word about looters and rioters vs peaceful protesters and activists and what they have in common with people who adopt fake Hebrew names on social media.

Well, the Pharisees finally decide to get in Yeshua's face for realsies--no more beating around the bush. The debate is over whether it is more important for a poor man to legalistically keep the Sabbath, which fasting for lack of food, or to avail himself of the provision in Torah to eat his fill and celebrate the Sabbath. On one hand, the Pharisees say not to work, on the other hand, they say no fasting is allowed. What will Yeshua do with this catch-22 and how will He begin to set Himself apart as the Greater David, and the Pharisees who oppose Him as the modern-day equivalents of Saul and Doeg the evil shepherd?

The third controversy dialogue! This time, the question is, "why aren't your disciples fasting like the disciples of John and the Pharisees?" Yeshua/Jesus, however, doesn't bother to answer that question. Instead, He asks a better question and answers that one instead--in a very confusing way. This can be a troublesome passage of Scripture because the mini-parable of the wineskin and the torn cloak can be a bit confusing but hopefully, you will come out of this much clearer on the concept that Yeshua was striving to communicate.

What happens when Yeshua/Jesus has the audacity to eat with a Roman collaborator and his sinner friends? The controversies are heating up and, this time, the scribes of the Pharisees are the ones with a beef against the Messiah's choice of eating companions. The book I mentioned this week is Craig L Blomberg's Contagious Holiness, highly recommended