Category Archives: Bible Study

Feeding 5000 – A Kingdom Lesson

Posted on by
5

For this post, I see the feeding of the 5000 as one of several Kingdom lessons for the disciples as to who Jesus was, the Son of God and Messiah. This is in the third block of teaching about the Kingdom of God/Heaven. This lesson is found in all four of the Gospels and is one that John uses to stress the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. The references are Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30 – 44, Luke 9:10 – 17 (See Bible 911-Luke), and John 6:1 – 15. Feeding the 4000 is in Matthew 15: 29 – 39, and Mark 8:1-10.  

The sending out of the Twelve (Block #2) is around or before the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the seventh month after Passover. The final harvest for the year is in and the people have no crops to gather, so more people would have been free to listen. John, Chapter 7, states these miracles and teachings about the kingdom happened before the Feast.

John the Baptist’s death was a gate that opened for Jesus to move forward. The sign of the feeding combined with the anger from John’s death would have pushed people to make Jesus king.  Saint John extends this thought through Chapter 6, where some followers find it very difficult to continue with Jesus.

Feeding the 5000 was a “parable” for the disciples who had returned from their first solo ministry trip. They did not understand they could have fed the people; the anointing was upon them. The lesson was taught and later explained to them. Matthew and Mark add the feeding of the 4000 and the teaching about where “clean and unclean” come from and the example of the yeast of religious leaders.

In the narrative, the actual miracle is very short, with just one verse. Since I am viewing this as a teaching lesson, do not discount the prep work and follow-up material that reinforces the main point.  

The leftovers are important because the little boy (I think it was John Mark) was paid back so that his cup ran over. They became part of the lesson (Matthew 16) and a blessing for people who were not there and were fed later. Miracles can keep on giving if you let them.

I have fun doing these. Below is a combination of all four Gospel accounts of the story from the KJV. The verse numbers were left to give you an idea of which Gospel they came from. Mark and John were used the most, my choice, but I think I got all of the major thoughts in. Anything in italics was added by me.

30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught and when Jesus heard about John’s death.

31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they departed into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida by ship privately over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. When the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

2 And a great multitude saw them departing, and followed him, because they knew him, and saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. They ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. He received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.

3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

 34 And Jesus, when he came out (of the boat), saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? (Philip was from Bethsaida)

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see.

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,

9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.

40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.

15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.

41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42 And they did all eat, and were filled.

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Sling to Head or KE to PE

Posted on by
1

Sling to Head was launched from a comment in “The Bible and Science” series. I think the person who commented needed more than my metaphorical look at Newton’s First Law. I agree that I could add a little more science to the post.  This contribution still has a fair amount of metaphor in it because that is what I want to write.

1 Samuel 17:49 is the bullseye for my example of converting kinetic energy to potential energy. To make a solid hit, I will talk mainly about the stone once it is released from its sling by David. Like many motion problems, there is more than one thing that could be looked at.  

What gave the stone its kinetic energy? David rapidly rotated his sling, a strap with an area that held the stone. Long, long ago I did see a video of someone who constructed an experiment to test this feat. I remember the conclusion as positive; you could be that accurate and the stone could hit with enough force to break a bone.

The rotational speed of the sling was given to the stone at the moment of release. That is all of the kinetic energy it would have. Since it was probably a short distance to Goliath’s head speed lost to friction would be minimal. When it impacted the skull, its momentum allowed for the KE to be transferred until it came to rest and achieved potential energy. You may debate friction transfer and heat loss all you want.

Did David have help? Yes. Did an angel guide the stone? That I cannot answer, but it may have happened. It is also possible that Goliath’s head was held until the stone hit. Okay, the help I see is the anointing that David received from Samuel (16:13). He had the Spirit given to him and He stayed with David for his whole life. My take on 1 Samuel 16 is different from the popular version that has been circulated.

A fearful Samuel created panic in a troubled Jesse. David was out in the field, who knows where and Samuel was in a hurry. David should have been young, under fifteen and very likely twelve. He was just learning to read the Torah (sorry no bar mitzvah). It also makes sense that there were several years between 16:13 and 16:14. I believe that after the Oil was applied, he went from just a kid to the future king. His talents were magnified, and his abilities soared; he was better at slinging stones, music, leadership, and annoying his brothers.

A little metaphor – You are the stone in the hands of the King. With every spin in His sling, you gain speed with a direction (velocity) until He releases you at your giant. When the job is finished and the giant is brought down, He will give you rest until you are needed again.

Last to First with Some Great Words

Posted on by
2

Matthew 19:28 to 20:16 is a formal lesson on last/first. Matthew recorded four great words Jesus used in this teaching. I have used Strong’s Concordance for many years, recently I found Mounce’s Greek Interlinear to help in my studies, like this one. Which for me is great because the New Testament can be Greek in my mind at times. Tools like these can expand your study, but they are just two of many helpful resources. Go outside your box every now and then and let the Spirit expand your knowledge.

The four words that caught my attention have limited use in the New Testament, are important to the tone of the lesson, and/or I thought they were funny.

Palingenesia – Strong: G3824 is used by Jesus, in verse 28, to introduce and set the tone for His answer to Peter and to give a timeframe for His teaching. Regeneration is maybe the best translation for this word, but you may see new birth, renewal, or renovation in some translations. It is used twice in the New Testament; the other time is in Titus 3:5. Jesus includes the disciples and gives it a heavenly tone, but contrasts this against the thought that part of the receiving will be done here on earth.

Hama – Strong: G260. In 29:1 it is “early in the morning”. Hama is used 10x in the New Testament, in most of the other verses it is “at the same time”. Since the landowner is hiring workers at various times that is okay. If you reflect on the second usage, I believe it can change how view the Father’s desire and consistent practice of getting laborers into His field. 

Misthoō – Strong: G3409. It means to hire out. This word is used only twice in the New Testament- Matthew 20:1, 7. These refer to the first and the last workers to be hired, the third, sixth, and ninth-hour workers are offered payment and told to go. The first ones the owner went to hire and the last men no one had hired.

Ouchi – Strong: G3780. It appears in Matthew 20:13 and means “not or no”, the no is emphasized. The first hired are complaining and the owner says he is not unfair on the wages. Ouchi is used many times in the New Testament.

I believe these four great words, that Jesus uses, demonstrate how important the first to last and last to first concept is in the Kingdom.

Last and First – Matthew 17 to 21

Posted on by
2

Matthew 17 to 21 is what I call the Forth Block of Kingdom Teaching, and we will focus on the “first to last, leaders to servants, greatest to the humble” teachings Jesus gave His disciples. These chapters start with the Transfiguration and go to Jesus delivering His first sermon from the Two Mounts. I have used mentions of John the Baptist to frame the blocks of teachings about the Kingdom. Yes, there are other thoughts and teachings in this period. Three standout examples are: Jesus was questioned twice on divorce, He uses children several times in His teachings, and foretells His death twice. If I extend the block into His Sermons on the Two Mounts (the fifth block), He tells two parables about weddings. Jesus’ changes in physical locations are also worth noting.

This Last to First series of studies has already challenged some long-held paradigms. That is never comfortable; it is necessary but not pleasant. There are many first/last ideas in these chapters. After playing the tour guide of Jesus’ travels I will focus on three related kingdom thoughts.

His Final Pilgrimage – I will not go into great detail here, as I have done some of that in other studies. Even His movements have a “least to great” lesson in them.

  • He is on the mount where He is transfigured and meets with Moses and Elijah. (John the Baptist is mentioned here.)
  • Capernaum, for the last time.  
  • Jesus leaves the land of Naphtali and Zebulun (Galilee). He “goes over” the Jordan and to the area across from Jericho.
  • If you check with the other Gospels, He does several trips to the west bank.
  • He begins His final trip to Jerusalem by crossing the Jordan and going to Jericho. He is busy here and possibly was there for several days.
  • He travels to the Mount of Olives where He sends for a donkey.
  • Jesus does a “victory ride” into Jerusalem and inspects the Temple. (John the Baptist is mentioned in His first of two sermons on Tuesday of Holy Week.)

I know that I have a tendency to single out a story or thought. It seems that the Holy Spirit has grouped several separate lessons together to highlight a theme. In this block, the timespan is probably several weeks and completely different locations. The audience however is the Twelve Disciples and the others in His camp.

Children – Chapter 18 opens with the disciples wanting to know who was going to be the greatest (megas) in the kingdom of heaven. There is no doubt, in my mind, that they were asking about an earthy kingdom. I believe that Jesus planted the seed for this question when He asked about the Temple tax. The Master Teacher did a show and tell by using a little (mikros) child to focus on being humble (tapeinoō). The test for this teaching unit came in 19:13-15. The disciples did not make an “A” so Jesus did a quick reteach.

The Father then supplied an object lesson of a rich young ruler who did not want to become humble. This “righteous” child of Abraham, this megas, knew something was missing. Jesus quizzed him on Commandments 5-9, and he was good. I always find it interesting that Commandments 1- 4 were not mentioned. (Exodus 20) You may form your own opinion on that. His title and money had not brought him peace and he doubted his salvation. The young man did not like Jesus’ answer, he wanted a spiritual answer and was told to do away with his earthy hinderance. (I have not forgotten the l. Earthy = dust.)

Put a Selah in-between 19:22 and 23. Ignore the French printer’s chapter break and look at 19:23 to 20:16 as one whole, new lesson.

Last/First – The Spirit and Matthew changed terms in this new teaching, but the thought stays true. The “camp of disciples” saw the megas’ first (prōtos) position, and they knew he had salvation, because! Jesus segways from the earthy kingdom and moves to the Heavenly one in 19:28. The word/phrase is “palingenesia” Strong G3824. (All of the Greek is from Mounce.) It means renewal, new birth, or regeneration.

Your heart and vision will determine how you view first (prōtos) and last (eschatos). Your starting position is important. There is an interesting switch in last/first from 19:30 to 20:16, see my first post in this series.

John’s Eema – I have no doubt that John and James’ mother was in the camp that left Capernaum. There is no reason not to think that she had heard all of the teachings and witnessed the miracles that were done by Jericho. Like the young ruler, she asks a kingdom question. Was she talking about the earthy one or the Heavenly one? Jesus’ answer is about the Heavenly one. It is not settled in my mind if the disciples realized that Jesus was talking about a different kingdom than what they thought was coming. In verse 25, He meets them where they are and talks about leaders (megas) and servants (diakonos). See Paul and Slaves. Mom’s question makes you think about the disciples’ question in Chapter 18.

Jesus has told His disciples several times that He is going to Jerusalem to die. Did that sink in before the Garden? The questions and indignant feelings make me want to say no. But they heard and eventually lived the teaching, may we be able to say that also.   

Recap –

Before the Rich Man – In this series of teachings Jesus answers how to be the greatest or first in the kingdom. The lessons had a “least” action: finding lost sheep, forgiving someone, and helping little children come to Jesus. The last or least path is the way to go.

The Kingdom Teaching – Matthew 19:28 and 20:1 give this idea a heavenly setting. In between those verses, it is very heavenly. The parable in chapter 20 lends itself to the Earth. This really does need more study.

After the Teaching – John’s eema is an example of what not to be. Jesus’ ride into Jerusalem is an interesting lesson about the topic. Jesus rode into the city as a “great or first” and carried a cross out of the city as a “servant or last”. Then because of the shame-ridden cross, He became Lord and Master of all.

CROSSING JORDAN

Posted on by
7

Crossing Jordan has been a metaphor for dying and going to Heaven (the Promised Land). I have heard that metaphor stems from Joshua leading the Children from the east bank to the west bank of the Jordan River. Going across the Jordan was part of life in Israel and is mentioned many times from Judges to David. There were no bridges, it seems, and people waded across at fords or shallow spots.

There are Biblical characters that crossed the river in the same direction as Joshua at key times in Israel’s history. I am looking at their stories in this post. I will start with someone who went contrary to the metaphor and had his way back blocked with a flaming sword and cherubim.

Adam and Eve – They started in Paradise and were sent to the East (Genesis 3:24). I believe there was a Garden with five rivers, and two very important trees, and Adam was responsible for tending it. God has always shown an interest in this region. Terah was sent there but he did not go, Abram did. Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God was in the area. I said that because it makes more sense to think the Garden was here because this place means something to God. Before the objections start, I live in America, and we have recycled names pinned on many cities, rivers, and regions so renaming four rivers is a high possibility. I can see Noah’s grandchildren using things he told them just to honor him. My God has mysteries that He has not shared, but the world changed after Adam and Eve ate the fruit and Noah’s Flood.

If the land of Canaan (Noah’s grandson by Ham, Genesis 9:18-24) was part of the Garden; Adam would have traveled over where the Jordan was or would be. East is an important direction in Genesis 2 and 3.

Jacob and Family – When Jacob ran from Esau, he was by himself. Genesis 28:10 says he left Beersheba to go to Haran. He stopped at Luz (Bethel) and spent the night. That is the end of his route until he is with the “eastern people” in Haran. I believe from Luz (28:18) he had three routes he may have taken: 1. The road along the seashore, 2. The highway through the mountains that went above Lake Galilee, and 3. to cross the Jordan and go through the Bashan/Gilead. I would have taken the coast road, but in Genesis 32:10 Jacob says he crossed the Jordan with just his staff.

When Jacob ran from Laban, he had four wives, eleven sons, a daughter, and a lot of possessions. After the ordeal of Chapter 31, Jacob’s camp made it to Mahanaim. There he was met by a camp of angels (reminds you of Elisha). Sometime after meeting Esau Jacob’s camp(s) crossed the Jordan and went to Shechem. Jacob had returned to his land which was part of the promise to Abraham from God. It makes me wonder what route Abram took to get to Canaan.

Thoughts on Jacob – 1. He had many experiences with angels. 2. He is older than you might expect. I had to work backward from his death and consider every timestamp that was given during his life. I made mistakes in How Old Were These Guys. I did better in the Patriarch Timeline and the Tribes of Israel Timeline. 3. Angel of the Lord or Metatron means angel of countenance this is a theophany.

Joshua and Israel – The event that gave the name of this post is found in Joshua 3 and 4. God exalted Joshua in the people’s eyes because of this event (3:7). He also dried up the Jordan to show Israel and the world His power (4:24). We tend to focus on the human aspect of this day, but I believe it was much more important to the Father. He was bringing His children home.

This day was an end and the beginning for Joshua and Israel. With years of learning to trust God behind them, they were facing a new test of their faith. They now had to fight for the land promised to Abraham for his family. In the crossing of this Jordan, they left behind the Moabites and Midianites and now had to face the giants and walled cities that had intimidated their forefathers. When we cross the spiritual Jordan, our fighting is done. Metaphors are limited and this is a good example of that.

This is a good time to compare and contrast the passage out of Egypt and the entrance into Canaan. (Please, ignore Exodus through Joshua and look at the rest of the Scriptures.) Passing through the Red Sea has more references than going through the dried-up Jordan River. I found two – Psalms 114:5 and 74:15. (If you know of others, please share.) If you use that as an indicator, leaving Egypt (baptism) is more important than the crossing at the Jordan. I have used the crossing of the Jordan as a shadow of baptism, I will not do that anymore. Israel went through two walls of the sea; the Jordan was dry. Remember, the water was stopped about twenty miles above the crossing site, they were not flanked by walls of water. You could stretch that and say the Dead Sea was on one side and the water at Adam (man or red) was on the other side. (Some bullet points.)

  • Both Crossings had enemies just before going through.
  • The oldest people at the Jordan were Joshua and Caleb. The nineteen-year-olds were now fifty-seven. It seems that the men thirty-eight and younger were not circumcised.
  • Some of the people had seen both crossings.
  • The people took memorial stones from the Jordan. Solomon may have built a memorial on the eastern side of the Red Sea.
  • The Red Sea was after Passover. The Jordan was just before. They crossed on the day they were to choose the lamb for the meal, the tenth day of the first month. (That could be a preaching point.)
  • The direction of travel was different for the two crossings.

This crossing happened at Jericho/Gilgal. Gilgal was the first campsite where they were circumcised and celebrated Passover.

David, His Family, His Officials – David and those fleeing from Absalom left the west bank and traveled east to Mahanaim, 2 Samuel 17:22. (The same city Jacob named. It was also a refuge city.) David returned, east to west, in 2 Samuel 19 and proceeded to Jerusalem. Jesus would follow the same path in Matthew 20 + 21. Both had a mess to clean up when they reached Jerusalem.

This crossing occurred at the fords or shallow spot near Gilgal. Even the king’s return caused an uproar that had to be fixed.

Elisha – Elijah and Elisha crossed the Jordan near Jericho, going west to east. Elisha, a shadow of Jesus, returned east to west at the same spot. Both of these crossings were done on dry land with the waters dividing for the men. 2 Kings 2

This set of crossings involved the fewest people and the least amount of material goods. Elisha crossed back to the west with a well-used cloak and a double anointing. The entire scene is a shadow of John the Baptist (Elijah) diminishing before Jesus (Elisha) took center stage.

Jesus, His Disciples, His Camp – Jesus’ final pilgrimage to Passover started in Matthew 19:1, Mark 10, Luke 17:11, and John 10:40. (Matthew is my main reference.) He left Galilee crossing the Jordan and went to the area across from Jericho, where he taught and healed the people. If you compile all of the Gospels, it is clear He crossed back and forth several times before going to Jerusalem for Palm Sunday.    

I blame too many movies about Jesus for the idea that just twelve men followed Jesus as He preached about the Kingdom. Mark 15:41 talks about women in Galilee, Luke 24:9 speaks of others that were with the Eleven after the resurrection and Acts 1:21+22 mentions the requirements for taking Judas’ position, so there had to be more than just the Twelve.

This parade started big with His Camp at the Jordan and got larger. The only parade for Jesus that was bigger was the one in Heaven after He disappeared in the clouds when He ascended.

Thoughts – Crossing Jordan is a beautiful metaphor. I admit that my thoughts have changed as I have grown older. But for these crossings, work, warfare, and new experiences waited for those that crossed from east to west over the Jordan.