89 chapter project: Matthew

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paradox3 said:
Maybe the multitudes were both attracted to Jesus and put off by some of His teachings.
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As soon as I typed this, I started thinking maybe the same could be said of us here on the cusp of 2019. I am reminded of one of Sylvia Dunstan's hymns.

VU 210: You Lord are Both Lamb and Shepherd" (Also known as Christus Paradox)

Verse 1

"You, Lord, are both lamb and shepherd
You, Lord, are both prince and slave.
You peacemaker and sword-bringer
of the way you took and gave.
You, the everlasting instant,
you whom we both scorn and crave."
 
Thoughts on Matthew 27:20-23...

Pilate had placed the innocent Jesus on a level with the criminal Barabbas.

The Jews took advantage of Pilate. The chief priests had their messengers incite the crowds. There was not much persuasion needed.

When Pilate put the question to them as to their choice, they cried for the guilty man's release.

The crowd turned on Christ. They had an answer even for Pilate's question as to how he was to dispose of Jesus. Their cry went through the streets: Crucify him!

And upon Pilate's inquiry: What did he do wrong? they realized that they'd the governor in their power. Pilate yielded to the crowd, the elders and the chief priests. The uproar increased, and he couldn't cope with the situation.
 
"Crucify him!" a blind exclamation from a previously mob of the unlearned?

Could light humor be buried in such situations where knowledge in the lesser people is considered a danger to the desires of the higher up the rod of measure ... meta stab, as parallel shaft? Resembles a staff ... upended a lady distracting a soldier from warring attributes?

One could chuckle while out there beyond the mob mentality ... silence for thought?
 
paradox3 -----your quote ------Jesus had clearly been at odds with the scribes and the Pharisees, frequently calling them out for hypocrisy. Did He threaten their positions of privilege? Is this why they were so anxious to get rid of Him?

unsafe says ------I definitely think they were feeling very threatened by Jesus and they were Jealous of Him -----and there is a great lesson here on just how dangerous our emotions are when we allow them to control us especially Jealousy and Envy -----People commit murder because of these 2 emotions ----and the Pharisees showed us just that ------

God gave us our emotions so we could express ourselves but we are to have control over them -----not the emotions controlling us -----when we have no emotional restraints we can be very dangerous -------


James says it well here ------unsafe posting scripture ---


James 3:14-16 (ESV)
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.


unsafe says ----Jesus was a threat to their Religious system and their way of Life -----

Jesus Claimed to be the Messiah and this would have overruled their authority -----

Some of the healings He preformed like casting out demons made them think Jesus power came from the devil and this made the Pharisees very upset and suspicious of Him -----

Jesus hung around the Poor and Sinners and this to the Pharisees was not acceptable -----

Jesus told them flat out ----No Sugar Coating Here -----what He thought of their human traditions and ways that didn't come from God -----So His disrespect for them was well shown and voiced and this would have angered them greatly ------

unsafe says ----and Posted scripture
The healing the Jesus did on the Sabbath was the last straw for the Pharisees -----They started Plotting His death then ------as we see in

Matthew 12 GW -----verse 14 below ----The Pharisees left and plotted to kill Jesus

Jesus Heals on the Day of Worship
9 Jesus moved on from there and went into a synagogue. 10 A man with a paralyzed hand was there. The people asked Jesus whether it was right to heal on a day of rest—a holy day, so that they could accuse him of doing something wrong.

11 Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a sheep. If it falls into a pit on a day of rest—a holy day,, wouldn’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Certainly, a human is more valuable than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the day of rest—a holy day.”

13 Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” The man held it out, and it became normal again, as healthy as the other.

14 The Pharisees left and plotted to kill Jesus. 15 He knew about this, so he left that place.

 
Something I missed when I read this chapter a few months ago. How little Matthew tells us about the actual crucifixion was. Just 15 verses, 35 – 50 from the words crucified him to he breathed his last.

Something I question. How many women watched Joseph of Armathia take down Jesus body, and followed him to observe him laying is in the tomb? Matthew names: Mary Magdalene first, then Mary the mother of James And Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.
That's three. But he also mentions Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. That's two. So I assume that one of the women was Mary Magdalene. Who was the other Mary?

Jesus had brothers named James and Joseph. If this was their mother, she would also be the mother of Jesus. Why wouldn't you just say 'Mary, Jesus mother'?
Or was it another James and Joseph? These would be common name. Peter and Andrew were the sons of Zebedee. Did they have other brothers named James and Joseph? Was their mother named Mary? I don't think the Bible tells us their mother's name. For some reason I always thought it was Salome.
So did we have three people: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus James and Joseph, and Salome the mother of Zefedee's sons? Or
did we have two people: Mary Magdalena, and Mary the mother of four boys? And where was Mary the mother of Jesus?
 
@Seeler Agreeing that the number of women is not clear. I assume that Mary the mother of Jesus is there but it is curious she is called "the mother of James and Jose" and not "the mother of Jesus". She was also the mother of Judas (not Iscariot).

And yes, I too, thought that Salome was the mother of Zebedee's sons. . . previously named as Simon and Peter.

In verse 61 we have Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" sitting by the tomb. Had the other women all fled by then? I assume it is Jesus' mother Mary sitting there with Mary Magdalene but we can't be certain.
 
Matthew 27:55 tells us that many women had followed Jesus from Galilee and were there looking on from afar. Among these "many" women we have the Marys.

I wonder just how many women there might have been in total but they are gone by Matthew 27:61.

With the exception of the two Marys who remain.
 
Seeler said:
Something I missed when I read this chapter a few months ago. How little Matthew tells us about the actual crucifixion was. Just 15 verses, 35 – 50 from the words crucified him to he breathed his last.
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Yes, I am wondering if those Good Friday dramatizations we have in church sometimes conflate all the gospels.

We are certainly conflating them when we read "the seven last words" which I recall doing on a few occasions.
 
paradox3 said:
Yes, I am wondering if those Good Friday dramatizations we have in church sometimes conflate all the gospels.
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Christmas and Easter both suffer from this to some degree. At least with Christmas, there are only two stories to mash up. With Easter, all four come into play.
 
unsafe says ----it should be Noted that ------

Mary Magdalene was at the Tomb and she was the first person Jesus talked to and He told her to go and tell the other disciples ---So Mary Magdalene was the first woman Commissioned officer -----


Commissioning-MM.jpg
 
I'd like to make an observation that strikes me every time I engage with the interaction between Jesus, Pilate and Barabbas. Bar Abba is literally "Son of the Father".
 
BetteTheRed said:
I'd like to make an observation that strikes me every time I engage with the interaction between Jesus, Pilate and Barabbas. Bar Abba is literally "Son of the Father".
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So where is your thinking going with this?

That Pilate may have been mistaken about who the crowd wanted released?

Or that both Jesus and Barabbas were the Father's sons?
 
unsafe said:
unsafe says ----it should be Noted that ------

Mary Magdalene was at the Tomb and she was the first person Jesus talked to and He told her to go and tell the other disciples ---So Mary Magdalene was the first woman Commissioned officer -----


Commissioning-MM.jpg
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Matthew has the angel and Jesus addressing the two Marys simultaneously. But we will get to this tomorrow with the final chapter of Matthew's gospel.
 
This is interesting -----unsafe posting -------

Strong's Concordance
Barabbas: "son of Abba," Barabbas, the Isr. robber released instead of Christ
Original Word: Βαραββᾶς, ᾶ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: Barabbas
Phonetic Spelling: (bar-ab-bas')
Short Definition: Barabbas
Definition: Barabbas.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 912: Βαραββᾶς

Βαραββᾶς, Βαραββα, ὁ (from בַּר son, and אַבָּא father, hence, son of a father i. e. of a master (cf. Matthew 23:9)), a captive robber whom the Jews begged Pilate to release instead of Christ: Matthew 27:16f (where manuscripts mentioned by Origen, and some other authorities, place Ἰησοῦν before Βαραββᾶν, approved by Fritzsche, DeWette, Meyer, Bleek, others; (cf. WH Appendix and Tdf.s note at the passage; also Treg. Printed Text, etc., p. 194f)), Matthew 27:20f, 26; Mark 15:7, 11, 15; Luke 23:18; John 18:40.


unsafe says
So we see here it is Son of A Father ----Not The Father ------no confusion here Folks -----
 
Hi,

This has me pondering: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” It evokes the heart cry of the broken poor in all times and places. Also the anguish of the faithful prophets advocating for people and land exploited and oppressed by the misuse and abuse of power.

Most of us grew up under the influence of historical critical interpretation of the gospel narratives. Some of have exited that interpretive school to explore rabbinic patterns of engaging scripture.

George

 
unsafe said:
So we see here it is Son of A Father ----Not The Father ------no confusion here Folks -----
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Yes, Son of a Father. . . I had never made this connection before but it seems clear enough.

Does this alter your view at all about the crowd calling for the release of Barabbas?
 
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