89 chapter project: Matthew

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Barabbas / Jesus

perhaps a play on words.

Barabbas actually means son of the father.

Jesus had no earthly father. He was known in some places as Mary's son, or son of Mary. In other words a bastard.

The crowds that gathered that day, perhaps with others planted among them to stir up trouble for Jesus, choose a legitimate son over a bastard.

Joseph was Jesus' earthly father. What Jesus didn't have was a human biological father.
 
Universalist theologies can vary a fair amount, as @Mendalla pointed out earlier on this thread. Universalism might be a good topic for a thread of its own sometime. I am interested in the question of where scripture supports this point of view.

All wobble and weave due to the imposition of the great waever ... unsteady because of the position to where heh was displaced ... out there?
 
Summary: Matthew 28:1-20

1. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to see the tomb. There is an earthquake and an angel of the Lord descends from heaven. The angel rolls back the stone from the door and sits on it & the guards are afraid. The angel says to the women, "Do not be afraid. I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen." The angel instructs them to go quickly and tell the disciples that He is risen and going to Galilee.

As the women go to tell the disciples, Jesus meets them and says, "Rejoice". They hold Him by the feet and worship Him.

2. The soldiers are bribed by the chief priests to say that the disciples came at night and stole Him away.

3. The eleven disciples go to Galilee and meet Jesus. They worship Him but some doubt. Jesus speaks to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (28:18-20 NKJ)
 
Reflection: Matthew 28:1-20

Interesting that only 20 verses are devoted in Matthew to the Resurrection.

Other gospels relate different versions of the story. I note there is no one mistaking Jesus for the gardener in Matthew. :)
 
The quote from Ps 22, of course. Psalm 22 starts out in a very low place, deep in the depths of despair. Yet as the Psalm goes on, the Psalmist recalls God's acts in the past, which leads him to a place of hope; sort of like coming through to the end of a dark valley in Psalm 23, into a place of light and peace. Could it be that even in the depths of despair, Jesus uses a Psalm like this to find the beginning of a new hope?
Matthew's gospel certainly gives us a very Jewish Jesus.
 
paradox3 ---your quote ------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?


unsafe says ------God had a plan paradox3 and so I believe that Barabbas was part of the Plan from the beginning ------- all that took place was directed by God Sovereign will to fulfil the Prophecy of the Good News -----Right from Genesis to Revelations the Good News was God's aim ---The whole Bible is about God's Salvation Package -----People need to get that -----The Spiritual message of the Bible always points to The Good News being preached to save souls ------Our Life here is Temporal -----we will die one day -----our eternal life is forever ------God used certain people to make sure His plan was fulfilled ----Judas was a thief and a crook -----Satan had him hook line and sinker ---Jesus knew Judas's heart when He picked Him to be the treasure for His group ------He knew he was stealing from the purse -----Judas was suppose to be there as he was part of God's plan to turn Jesus over to the Romans ------

Nothing or no one will ever stop God's plan ---- His plan is still playing out and it will play out till the new Earth is in place -------

Saving Souls is the main Bible Message ------that is what God is interested in ---He wants all His creation to become His Children again and reside with Him in Heaven ----- He wants no one lost to the pit ------but he gave us free will to choose ----Heaven or the Pit ---whatever we choose God will honor our Choice -----His Love and Mercy that He has for us allows us to decide where we want to be in the end ------ We cannot blame God or Satan for where we end up spending our eternal spiritual life ------that we choose ourselves -----
 
Saving Souls is the main Bible Message ------that is what God is interested in ---He wants all His creation to become His Children again and reside with Him in Heaven -----


How do you handle the issue of election unsafe?

"as he hath chosen us in himself before the making of the world, that we were holy, and without wem in his sight, in charity." - Ephesians 1:4 (WYC).
 
Jae ---How do you handle these Scriptures ---unsafe says --------Understanding what this word elect means is needed in my opinion ------I am not a Calvinist ---I believe Scripture not man made Religions that make up their own Doctrine from a piece of scripture ------

1 Timothy 2 (CEB)
Prayer for everyone
2 First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. 2 Pray for kings and everyone who is in authority so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in complete godliness and dignity.

3 This is right and it pleases God our savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.5 There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a payment to set all people free. This was a testimony that was given at the right time. 7 I was appointed to be a preacher and apostle of this testimony—I’m telling the truth and I’m not lying! I’m a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.


Romans 3:21-26 (GW)
God Gives Us His Approval as a Gift

21 Now, the way to receive God’s approval has been made plain in a way other than the laws in the Scriptures. Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets tell us this.

22 Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ.

There is no difference between people. 23 Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory. 24 They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin. 25 God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God’s approval is given through faith in Christ’s blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past. 26 He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus.

unsafe says -----Jae God gave us free will to choose ---God does not pick certain people to save and not save ------that would make Him a liar ------His word is very cleat that God does not pick favorites ------

So Jae believe as you will but the word clearly states that God wants all people saved and Jesus Blood has dealt with all sin for all people for all time ----Sin has been dealt with ---we have a choice to reject or receive Jesus ----we don't go to the Pit for our sins ---we go to the Pit for rejecting the only one who has covered our sins for all time by the shedding of His Blood ------
 
------I am not a Calvinist ---

I am not a Calvinist either.

unsafe said:
3 This is right and it pleases God our savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.5

"All people" here doesn't mean "all people who have ever walked the face of the Earth." Rather, it means "all types of people." More on this:
http://reformedanswers.org/answer.asp/file/45600

unsafe said:
22 Everyone who believes has God’s approval through faith in Jesus Christ.

I agree with the Scripture. The question to be answered is - who are these who believe? Surely they're the people to whom God has given (and will give) the gift of fairh - God's elect.


unsafe said:
-----Jae God gave us free will to choose ---God does not pick certain people to save and not save ------that would make Him a liar ------His word is very cleat that God does not pick favorites ------

"Free will" unsafe? We're each born with our will in sin's captivity. We have neither ability nor inclination to choose God. Thankfully, God has chosen those whom God will save and God saves them.
 
Jae ----your quote ------"Free will" unsafe? We're each born with our will in sin's captivity. We have neither ability nor inclination to choose God. Thankfully, God has chosen those whom God will save and God saves them.

Again Calvinist belief -------your belief not mine -----we are born with the sin nature to sin this is my belief Jae ----no one makes us commit sin Jae ---we sin because we choose to sin not because we have to sin -----no one commits adultery without thinking about it first ----you body moves to your Thoughts Jae ------everything we do starts with a thought ---we can act on the thought or not ------

God gives all people faith Jae -----there are 3 types of Faith James describes them in his book -----God gives us intellectual faith at birth -----Saving Faith only comes from hearing God's word -----


Jae --your quote -----
God has chosen those whom God will save and God saves them.


unsafe says ---Then God's word Lies Jae and can't be trusted ------cause the scripture clearly states that we are free to choose -----Adam had a choice -----the angels that followed Satan had a choice -----God created Choice ----we can choose to reject or accept Salvation ---Period -----

I believe God knows who will accept and who will reject His Offer of Salvation but we are not puppets that God pulls our string and says I choose you to be saved but not your friend -----that is just a ridiculous assumption as far as I am concerned ------

But Hey ---fill your boots in your belief cause you believe your sins we dealt with when you were Baptised as an infant and that is definitely not scriptural ------we will know in the end what our fate will be -------until then you stick with your belief and I will stich with mine -----:angel:
 
Oh and Jae ---I do believe God does tug on our hearts to come to Him ---just like Satan tugs on our hearts to Keep away from God -----so we have a Spiritual war going on which is all about soul winning ------who will we choose in the end is our choice ------
 
It certainly is interesting to read back over one's own comments on a thread like this.

Even the OP, when I described my approach to reading scripture, surprises me a little. Why did I find it necessary to emphasize that I see the bible as a human construction? My view of this has not really changed but right now I would be more likely to refer to the bible as a "combination of faith testimony and history." Just a little different emphasis, I think.

In my OP, I expressed frustration with the whole metaphor vs. literal debate. But as a result of this discussion, it seems to me that even those who claim the bible to be "the literal word of God" do not take everything literally. When we consider Jesus separating the goats and sheep at the end of the age, for example, no one thinks He is talking about farm animals.

The theme of prophecy fulfilled was evident to me in the first chapter and it has been a consistent theme throughout Matthew.

By chapter 4, I was convinced that Jesus was a righteous Jew. By the sermon on the mount (chapters 5-7) I was asking myself how many of His ethical teachings originate in the Hebrew scriptures.

I have been thinking a lot about the different aspects of Jesus we see in Matthew. When we claim to follow Him (if we do) which aspects of His character do we mean? I would say I am most attracted by the charismatic leader and ethical teacher. I am not so sure about the performer of miracles or the miraculous healer. Or even the end times prophet.

The apocalyptic preacher came as somewhat of a surprise to me in Matthew. While not a new concept, I don't think it has been emphasized in my religious life to any great degree.

And what about the angry Jesus who scorns the scribes and the Pharisees? Does this not tell us that faith is important to Jesus? And following the commandments of God? I see a faithful & visionary individual but not as much of a mystic as I was expecting.

Thank you all for your comments on this thread. I am looking forward to moving on to Mark but I will wait a day or two to make sure we are finished with Matthew.

The discussion has been enjoyable and worthwhile. Many thanks once again. . . P3
 
Joseph was Jesus' earthly father. What Jesus didn't have was a human biological father.
If only Maury Povich had been on the air back then.

So much of your faith is dependent upon Mary being a virgin. Like whether a girl had sex or not defines her worth and her worthiness. It's complete bulls**t.
 
Actually, it is metaphoric language permitting the imagination of an alternative consciousness. It is rooted in the oral and textual history of a Semitic people. That some take the narrative literally does nothing to diminish the heart of the matter.
 
It seems Matthew has a Jewish readership in view. He has Jesus manifesting the prophetic spirit of the Jewish scripture and tradition. This calling into account Jewish elites centred in temple worship and ritual purity.

 
If only Maury Povich had been on the air back then.

So much of your faith is dependent upon Mary being a virgin. Like whether a girl had sex or not defines her worth and her worthiness. It's complete bulls**t.

If Mary hadn't been made pregnant by the Spirit of God, Jesus would not have been able to die for the sins of others. The only one whose sins he could have died for would have been his own. So, yes chansen, it's important that Mary was a virgin.
 
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