Water and Blood in Passover and Easter

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Water and blood are key elements in the “Passover to freedom” story and in the Easter story. Their connection with the act of birthing was also poured into this study. This inquiry sprung out of the writings of John the Apostle. John was a young fisherman, who got the title of “Son of Thunder”, and reported seeing blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side (John 19:34), he had the love and the bravery to be at the cross when others did not. 1 John 5 has this theme discussed in verses 26-28 when he links to water, blood, and Spirit agreeing about Jesus and His coming. The birthing connection is in verse 26 where it states-He did not come by water only, but by water and blood (NIV). The “come by water only” statement needed investigating. I have heard and read dramatic preachers get graphic, and probably a little weird, on this topic. I will try to keep it in good taste and leave the drama out, but just list facts with a few opinions.

The “coming of water” is normally linked to His birth through Mary. But looking at the whole story and history of Passover it just seems like Mary in a stable is not the only “birth” experience. There are many verses that highlight women and birthing in the Bible. Even the trip through the Red Sea is viewed as a birthing experience because Israel was freed as a nation on the other side. The water and the path of dry ground provide some of the imagery, but I would add the dead Egyptians were the “blood” in this story. The water and blood of the Nile River (Exodus 7:17) also gave birth to freedom over the Egyptian gods. The blood on the doorpost needs to be added into this scenario, but here God is passing through the land taking out the cult of the firstborn. So, Jesus’ Christmas arrival is important, but in view of His mission to bring together God’s plan, He had other water and blood experiences. His baptism in the Jordan by John and His blood poured out by the Jews and Romans is the major one. I can narrow His trip through the Jordan even closer to Passover because in Matthew 19 He is on the east bank of the river and had to pass through the water to get to Jerusalem. This same route was also taken by Joshua, David, and Elisha who are types and shadows of Jesus.     

ATONEMENT, BORN AGAIN, and BIRTHING

The three elements in 1 John are not always together in a story or verse. That does not nullify their importance in any particular story or verse.

Atonement – Atonement is because of sacrifice and those, especially in the Old Testament, normally have blood and water involved in the ceremony. You may not agree with some of these, that is fine. Please let me know why. I will list some examples of “water and blood” before the Law was given. It is possible that there is some stretching in these:).

  • Genesis 3:21 – God made them clothes of skins (some sheep died) and those may have been washed in the river in the Garden.
  • Genesis 6 – People and animals died by water in Noah’s Flood. The Flood cleansed the world.

Water and blood are parts of many specific sacrifices in the Law. The ones I want to highlight are in Leviticus 14: 6 and 51. These are birds (doves or young pigeons) that are being killed over a jar of water. The water and blood mixture then has the bird, hyssop, scarlet yarn, and cedarwood dipped in it. On a practical note, the yarn and hyssop probably made a “brush” to deliver the sprinkled water onto the thing being atoned. The other metaphors are the bird being the Spirit, cedarwood maybe the cross and it makes it fragrant, hyssop was used at the cross with the wine vinegar, and the yarn could represent Jesus’ body. 

Hebrews 9: 19 (NIV) also has these elements- When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. And Hebrews 9:22 (NIV) brings these thoughts together- In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Birthing – Birthing and baptism may overlap depending on how you read the story. Someone higher than my paygrade made it that way, sort it out as needed, and talk to Him.   

The waters of Creation (Genesis 1:2), the Red Sea, and Joshua crossing the Jordan can be birthing examples. The blood in the Red Sea and at the Jordan were people dying-Egyptian army, first-born, and the peoples of Jericho and Ai. At a Jewish Passover celebration, they give honor to the crossings by mixing wine and water together in the four cups they drink during the meal.

Ezekiel 16 is an allegory of Israel’s birth and its rejection by the world and how God claimed her, and then how she ignored God. 

Waiting is a part of birthing. The child has to grow inside of the mother. She gets to feel the movement of the baby and she experiences changes. As a father, I got to watch those changes, but I could not feel my wife’s discomfort and pain. Time is part of birthing stories- 430 years for the Red Sea, 40 years for crossing the Jordan, and Mary had the nine months waiting for Jesus. 

Born Again – The story of Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 is the cornerstone of teaching for the born-again experience. Other New Testament references for the born-again experience are: 

  • 1 Peter 1:23 where the seed is the living and enduring word of God.
  • Ephesians 5:26 Christ gave Himself for the Church and cleansed her by washing with water through the Word. 
  • Titus 3:5 Jesus saved us through washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
  • Romans 12:1+2 Part of this Rebirth is offering ourselves as a sacrifice in spiritual worship and being transformed and renewed in our mind.  
  • Colossians 3:9+10 We have put on “the new self” and it is being renewed in knowledge of its Creator (NIV). 

A thing that is apparent is that the Father likes, what we call “types and shadows”, to announce in His first covenant what will be in the second covenant. In the “birthing’ section are many examples that show baptism-Noah’s Flood, Red Sea, crossing the Jordan. So, I had to look for a rebirth shadow, which often looks like a birthing shadow. I so wanted to use Joseph coming before Pharaoh as a rebirth example. The issue was he was shaved and changed his clothes, but no water was mentioned. Those two acts are more associated with ending the Nazirite vow. (Shaving has become a whole other topic.) If I may, here is what I think shows rebirth, with water, and the cry from people’s hearts for the “re” experience.

  • Jonah being thrown into the sea, changing, and finishing his mission. (Granted he had a bad attitude.)
  • Naaman and Elisha in 2 Kings 5:13+14; Naaman was cleansed by the water and left changed.
  • Asaph in Psalm 80 ask three times to be restored to God. Okay, we can play with the translation of Hebrew into English but the sentiment is there. 
  • David in Psalm 51:10 (NIV) Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me.
  • Isaiah 40:31 Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
  • Jeremiah in Lamentation 5:21 Restore us so we can return and renew our days.

That is a lot of “re” but to have a rebirth, or be renewed, or restored we had to have some measure of those things before. Matthew 12:35 (NIV) gives us a glimpse- A good man brings good things out of the good stored in him.  

There are other mentions of water and blood in the Bible. I tried to keep this post about Passover and Easter and the topics that water and blood are a part of in our redemption story. 

This is a good article from the Jewish perspective, on natural and metaphorically birth.

article

Giving Birth
Giving Birth

Gershom and Eliezer the Sons of Moses

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Moses had two sons-Gershom, the first-born, and Eliezer. There is not a lot of information about them, but Moses’ family line is still mentioned in the time of David. It is not easy being the child of an overachieving parent, especially someone who was used so mightily by God. So, to talk about the boys and their mother, we should frame this study with Moses.

Moses was about forty years old when he murdered the Egyptian and ran for his life. He was eighty when God called him to the burning bush. Popular thought and movies have the boys as very young, like pre-teens. Exodus 4 certainly makes them sound young, but they could have been teenagers to thirty years old. It is obvious someone knew about the requirement to circumcise Hebrew boys, and Moses just did not do it. Either way, there were two unhappy boys on the way to Egypt. The Study Continues The narrative in Exodus 4:21 has the Lord talking to Moses; compare this to verse 27 where the Lord is talking to Aaron. The conversation is about Israel being the Lord’s firstborn son and putting to death Pharoah’s firstborn son.

Verse 24 is where the Lord meets with someone and is about to put them to death. Was this Moses or a son? Exodus 4:24 Hebrew Text Analysis I am not sure, and I have no desire to guess, and the Hebrew text does not offer any clues. So, was it Moses, Gershom, or Eliezer that was about to die? Who sinned? Who needed to learn a lesson?

I said two boys were not happy, but the text indicates one boy being circumcised. Exodus 4:25 Hebrew Text Analysis The jots and tittles with “ben” indicate one son was cut by Zipporah. That did not make her very happy. (Click on benah in the analysis to see everywhere that form of the word was used.) The one son phrase made me look and Eliezer is not mentioned by name until Exodus 18:4. Verse 4:20 does use the term banaw which does indicate two sons left to go back to Egypt.

Circumcision was the sign of the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:11+14) and there is no reason to think Moses was not circumcised before he was put into the basket. (That may have been another clue to Pharoah’s daughter that he was Hebrew.) Moses was the scribe for Leviticus 12:3, probably before the People sent the spies out. However, something happened when the people had to wander thirty-eight years. Joshua, in 5:3, had to circumcise the men before any fighting started for the land promised to Abraham; it is possible that 38 years of males did not have their foreskin removed. Maybe, Deuteronomy 10:16 is an indicator of what happened, their hearts needed to be cut.

Another mystery – Exodus 18 has Jethro, the grandfather, bringing the boys and Zipporah to Moses. When and why did they leave? When-The best two places in my thinking were when they met Aaron and found out how bad it could be for them, or after the Red Sea, to save them from the harsh trip. Why-I want to be “light” on Moses with either explanation I just gave. It could have been a dark reason. The elders of the people did not like a leader having a non-Israelite wife with children. We saw that with Miriam and Moses’ second wife. The flip side of that dark thought is, why did Jethro bring them back? Was his community afraid of them and the miracles that happened in Egypt?

Events – They missed the first leg of the trip with the people testing God. They were around for everything else, including the complaining that got the thirty-eight years of going in circles. Moses, very probably, buried his sons and his grandchildren went into the Land. Since they were Levities they had a responsibility with the Tabernacle and not leading the people, like Joshua. Those two lived and saw a lot. Imagine having a father who glowed after his prayer time with God. So, if you read Levite in those first forty years, Gershom and Eliezer were there. (There was also a Gershon family in the Levites, they were not children of Moses.)     

Names – Exodus 18: 3+4 explains the boys’ names. I know a good amount of thought is put into naming children, this is seen throughout the Bible and is still done today. With that said I am sure the names reflect praise and thanksgiving to God. Gershom was named because Moses was a foreigner in a foreign land. Eliezer was named because God helped Moses and saved him from Pharaoh’s sword.  

If there is an “iah” or “el” in the front or back of a Hebrew name it is saying something about God. Those make good studies. Names got “recycled” and giving family names were/are a thing of honor. Be careful because it may look like they are the same people but check the Bible timeline, there may be hundreds of years in-between people with a similar description.   

1 Chronicles 23:12-17 deal with heritage and 26:24-28 cover job assignments. Again, they should be included when possible, in studies about people.

Gershom’s Family – Judges 18:30 is a dark side of this family that lasted for hundreds of years. When the tribe of Dan did not take their allotted possession of the land they went somewhere easier. Part of this includes stealing household gods and installing members of Jonathan, son of Gershom, as a priest. This lasted from the Book of Judges to the captivity caused by the Assyrians, which covers Samuel, Saul, David, and several of David’s grandsons. The Study Continues The 1984 Edition of the NIV has a footnote for Judges 18:30 that says it is a scribal tradition to name Jonathan as a grandson of Manasseh. The name Gershom is consistent with the name of Moses’ son. Hebrew Concordance: gê·rə·šōm — 12 Occurrences. If Jonathan is from the tribe of Manasseh, he could not be a Levite, which is why Micah recruited him to be his priest. The other option is there was an important unheard-of Levite named Manasseh who had a grandson. Was someone trying to protect Moses’ good name? The Study Continues A study into the name Manasseh is worth some time. It means “forgetting” and could add a twist into this verse. See https://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Manasseh.html. Do the scribes want to forget that worshipping the bronze snake continued for so long because of Moses’ grandson?

Shubael appears to be a family name as 1 Chronicles 23 has one as “first” and then 1 Chronicles 26 has one working for King David as a treasurer. This second Shubael recruited his cousins from Eliezer’s branch to serve with him.

Eliezer’s Family – 1 Chronicles 23:17 states that the first was Rehabiah and Eliezer had no other sons. But that Rehabiah had many sons. 1 Chronicles 26:24 list four grandsons.

            THOUGHTS

  • Moses interceded with God to not destroy the sons of Jacob. God offered a new people to come through Moses; would Gershom and Eliezer had been the start?
  • The bloodline of Moses may still exist today. 
  • The children of leaders do not always have a great life. 

The Sermons on Two Mounts- Stone, Rock, or Cornerstone 

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When Jesus was doing His “sermons” from the two mounts, He talked about stones twice. He referenced one prophecy that was being fulfilled and made a prophecy that happened forty years later. Jesus built His first lesson, starting with John the Baptist, laid a platform of parables about the kingdom, and finishes His fortress with a combination of Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16. These two lessons started His time (Matthew 21:42) on the Temple Mount and finished His day there (Matthew 24:2). He references a mistake the builders of the first Temple made with the cornerstone and how they corrected the mistake to finish the building, and foretold that the stones of the Temple would be torn down.

We love to throw the imagery of Jesus being our rock, fortress, refuge, foundation, and stronghold around (Psalm 18:2) but places that inspired David and others to use those thoughts would add reality to their words. The rocks or mountains in the Negev and the desert west and south of the Dead Sea hold the key. Masada is one such place that clearly shows what David was envisioning when he penned his praises to God. These tall rugged mountains often stand proud, surrounded by plains that afford good views of the land.

Stone or Rock—We moderns have broken the meaning of rock and stone and cemented them into a slurry of inappropriate use. In doing this, we lose some of the meaning of rock and handle the term stone with less importance. Because of my science background, I will admit the materials I am talking about have the same origin. The difference rests in where they are and if a man has done anything to them. What I see in Scripture is rocks are anchored in the ground and not moved by man, while stones, by human efforts, are dug free, cut out, or picked up and handled. Before you think I have fallen and hit my head on a rock, or someone threw a stone at me, let me give some examples.

  • Matthew 27:60-Jesus was laid in a new tomb cut into rock (petra) and they rolled a large stone (lithos) into the entrance.
  • Matthew 7:24-the wise builder dug down and built his house on rock.
  • Psalm 118:22- the stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone.  

Rocks—David was around rocks. He sat on them as a shepherd and hid among them as a fugitive. He also picked up stones to throw in his sling. So, for him to take the poetic leap and see the qualities of God is not a huge jump. His heart and his creative nature as a songwriter/musician saw their qualities as a reflection of God’s love, care, and protection for him and Israel. There are many times the terms rock, refuge, and fortress appear in the same verse. I will list some but use a concordance or search tool to help you study.

David and the Psalmist use rocks, but so do the prophets. These are from the NIV. Your favorite version may use other terms.

Psalm 31:2

Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.

Psalm 62:2

Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 71:3

Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Psalm 91:2

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Isaiah 17:10

You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress.

            I will highlight Psalm 18:2– The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I like to think that David wrote that around the time of 1 Samuel 20:42 and then use part of it again in his opus work of 2 Samuel 22:2. David was running for his life, his world just collapsed and he pens a song to help remind himself who his God is. Psalm 18 pretty well covers David’s need for protection.

Stone—Rocks that are being useful to man are stone. There were gemstones in the breastplate that was made for the priest. David picked up stones to throw at Goliath. Rock was cut into stone water pots, blocks for buildings, thrown at people, and as memorials or markers. Depending on the translation you like Genesis 49:29 is the blessing to Joseph, and it says that I will be blessed because of the Hand of Shepherd and Stone/Rock of Israel. (I could not find a good Hebrew text that would clear that word up for me. Both terms are used in various translations).

Another type of stone that gets a lot of attention is the ones that become cornerstones. I have heard that the builders of Solomon’s Temple got a stone that they could not figure out where it belonged. In their frustration, they threw it away. They then complained that the cornerstone (the one that determined the angles and lines of the building) had not been sent. Psalm 118 tells the story that the one they rejected was that stone. They had to retrieve the stone. Jesus quotes that verse and Paul and Peter refer to Jesus as that stone. In Greek, the phrase is kephale gonia. I pieced together a loose translation of chief angle. Jesus is the chief stone that determined how His Church would be laid out and built.

Recap—Jesus is the Rock, who is our fortress and refuge, who became the Stone of Israel when He was born, and He became the Cornerstone of His Church. 

The Sermons on Two Mounts-Sadducees and Pharisees

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As Jesus was teaching, on the two mounts, on Tuesday of Holy Week, He had the Sadducees and Pharisees as antagonists and part of the audience. These adversaries challenged Him about doing miracles and His ride into Jerusalem and tried to trick Him so that the Herodians would have a reason to arrest Him. I introduced these groups in the post about Jesus’ audiences. But with all studies, my questions directed me to a deeper study of these two groups. Links to the Jewish Encyclopedia are below.

It seems lately that my studies move and challenge things I thought I knew. These two groups fit into that trend very well. The Sadducees and Pharisees were not the only sects of Judaism at the time of Jesus; I am aware of the Essences and the Zealots. I have gotten the idea that not only were these “denominations” but also “political parties” and together they determined lifestyles. Even though the common people may have been more aligned with the Pharisees and their practices, you just get the feeling that there were cast or definite lines drawn in the populations of Israel. So, it is no surprise that Jesus went to the people and not to the parties.

Specks vs Logs—To compare and contrast Judaism at the time of Jesus and Christian thought would lead to a lot of finger-pointing and other unproductive wastes of time. Jesus went to people because everyone in any party was not lost in the depths of the doctrine. The parables and teaching on Tuesday, on the mount, can be alarming when you realize that most of them focused on the religious of the day (Sadducees and Pharisees) and the end times.

As I read the articles in the Jewish Encyclopedia, it was easy to see the differences between the two groups. That is what I was looking for. The shared beliefs are no less important. Both groups honored the Temple, the Feasts, and the Torah. In reading the Gospels, it is also apparent they could work together when a threat presented itself. John the Baptist and Jesus may have drawn red flags from both sects.

John the Baptist—John wore the traditional garb of a prophet of Israel, skins of sheep, not fine flowing robes with blue trim. He called out the sins of the son of Herod. Those transgressions would have made his father proud. John’s pulpit and platform were the banks of the Jordan and the rocks of the desert, not the stones of the Temple that man had carved. The washing of people in the River was not the cleansings dictated by man, but celebrated the passing through of the Red Sea with Moses, the crossing into the promise with Joshua, and transferring the blessing with Elijah and Elisha. The words he spoke resonated through the land and his message prepared hearts for the kingdom to come. Crowds of common people flocked to John, they believed, repented, and were washed. The Pharisees, wanting approval, listened and did not believe, and John would not baptize them. That is why the Master Teacher answered the first challenge by the Sadducees and Pharisees on the Temple Mount with a question about John the Baptist.      

Sadducees—The core of this sect were the children of Levi through his son Aaron, Moses’ brother. They were wealthy. I have heard that the moneychangers and the inspected sacrifice business belonged to them. You could not use common money in the Temple. It had to be Temple money. “Flawless lambs” came from Bethlehem (the Christmas story) and they held sway over all of that. I found little about the Temple tax. There was a provision for taking care of the tent and walls of the sanctuary in the desert. My guess is that was the basis of that tax. The Jewish Encyclopedia says the Sadducees were the stricter of the two sects, being able to use Torah to dictate and interpret laws for their advantage while protecting their income and appearing holy was a win-win situation.

In Matthew 16:11+12 Jesus tells the disciples to beware of the yeast/teachings of the Sadducees and Pharisees. There are, in my opinion, two different yeast that wants to spread into our thinking. To me, the Sadducees used their position to fleece the sheep and become wealthy while downplaying the supernatural world. The Pharisees used their learning to box in their importance and then opposed anybody that was not part of THE sect.  

Acts 23:8 explains that the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection or angels or spirits. Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible do not have the terms Sadducee, Pharisee, or resurrection in their pages, but there are angels in the Torah. Elisha (Jesus), who came after John the Baptist (Elijah) raised people from the dead. So, Jesus raising Lazarus in front of witnesses, just before Passover challenged both sects. 

When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, the priest, the sons of Aaron, no longer had a platform to wield power from, so they disappeared as a sect of Judaism. Herod the Great used Rome’s power to expand the Second Temple, so it is poetic that they tore it down. As part of his power, grab Herod installed Boethus, a brother-in-law, as Chief Priest. This move shifted power/control to him and revived the Sadducees. This was because of the power of the Pharisees over some things in the Temple.

Pharisees—I learned a lot from doing this study. Like the Sadducees, the Pharisees started after the Babylonian exile. Of the two sects, they were not as stern as the Sadducees and they were the progressives. The article below has several verses that may give a “priesthood” responsibility to every man in Israel, especially to teach his sons how to read. They did side with the people and became favored by them. The Pharisees introduced many of the customs we see Jesus taking part in. 

Once the Temple was destroyed, the synagogue took over as the focus of the spiritual life of the Jewish people. The Pharisees had started these community-centered places of worship.   

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12989-sadducees

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12087-pharisees

https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7605-herodians

https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3467-boethusians

https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13831-sofer     a scribe

The 1905 Jewish Encyclopedia, on the Pharisees, the article has a section about hypocrisy. They assert that the first text of many New Testament books had the word Sadducee replaced with the word Pharisee and that pro-Paul people did it. No, I have not checked that statement, but a few lines on these sects from the New Testament are in order. 

  • Paul seemed to be proud of his Pharisee up bring-Philippians 3:5 and Acts 26.
  • Matthew, Mark, and John also were influenced by Pharisees.
  • Jesus, as the Christ, had problems with how their great learning had clouded their thoughts and attitudes.
  • The Pharisees and Sadducees had a problem with Jesus because He was not one of them.
  • Not all Pharisees opposed Jesus-John 3:1 Nicodemus, Acts 5 Gamaliel, Luke 7:36-one had invited Jesus to dinner, but did not offer water to wash with.
  •  The Pharisees and Sadducees both had their own teachers of the law. (Mark 2:16, Luke 5:30) On some things they held to different views of the law. I had thought that the “teachers” would have been all Sadducees.
  • Matthew has eight times that he used Sadducee and Pharisee together in the same verse. Matthew and Luke talk the most about these two sects.
  • John the Baptist and his washings are referred to several times in the New Testament regarding these two sects. John 1:24 and Matthew 3:7 talk about them coming to John to be washed and John denied them. I have a feeling this was due to what John preached-repent, for the kingdom is near. In Luke 7:29-30, the common people received Jesus’ words because John had baptized them. The Pharisees and the experts (or lawyers, or scribes) who were not baptized did not accept Jesus.
  • The combinations of names and titles are interesting. Besides Pharisees and Sadducees, there are Herodians, chief priest, teachers of the law, and lawyers or scribes. These may vary because of your favorite translation. There are several times the combinations make little sense to me. The Herodians doing anything with the Pharisees (Mark 3:6 and 12:13) seem out of place. The chief priest agreeing with the Pharisees (John 11:47, 18:3) is also a question mark. Both sects had their own scribes or experts of the Law, and both had their own teachers of the Law. I will bet the meetings of the Sanhedrin were noisy affairs. 
  • The seven woes in Matthew 23, now, are not so cut and dry who Jesus was talking about. At first, I thought the teachers of the law were a code for Sadducee. Really, I still lean in that direction, but given the combinations that are in the Gospels that is now hazed over some.    

Signs and Common Sense—The interaction of Jesus with religious leaders outside of Jerusalem frequently involved the law and why Jesus was not keeping it the way they thought it should be done. The signs and healings probably got delegations from both sects into the countryside to check on this traveling rabbi. So, in Matthew 16, when the Pharisees and Sadducees asked Jesus to perform a sign from heaven, that was overkill. Do you think they came with their own cartload of sick people? Casting out demons, feeding thousands, and healing people for years should have been enough. No, they wanted on-demand miracles. I am glad Jesus came to give life; if it was me, I may have thought of something else to do to them. This episode led to the teaching about the yeast they want to spread in the Church. 

Post Jesus Interactions—The Pharisees who became believers by the time of Acts 15:5 just knew that Gentiles had to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses. Why? Because that is what they had always done, and their fathers, and their fathers. How could anybody be blessed if you don’t do it with formula and my way?

            Paul—He is the penultimate picture of grace and a symbol of two men acting as one body. A Pharisee asked and got permission from a Sadducee (chief priest) to kill Jews and then preaches Jesus to Gentiles and helps turn the Roman world on its ear. Philippians 3:5, Acts 9; 23:6-9; and 26:5. 

The sermons on both mounts could be looked at as Jesus cleaning out the yeast before Passover.

The Sermons on Two Mounts-Kingdom of God/Heaven

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In the two sermons from the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives Matthew records Jesus using the phrases kingdom of God and the kingdom of Heaven. Most of the time Matthew uses the phrase kingdom of Heaven. Only four times does the kingdom of God show up in Matthew. Contrast that to Mark, Luke, and John that use the phrase kingdom of God. PLEASE this does not signal two different kingdoms but two different audiences. Matthew is directing his Gospel to a Hebrew audience; the others are for a more Greek/Gentile reader.

So, why did Matthew use the kingdom of God at all? A careful look at who Jesus was talking to when Matthew changes terms is very important. Matthew 12:28 (Pharisees), 21: 31, and 43 (Sadducees) or the “rulers” of the people. 19:24 is after the rich young man (ruler) left and Jesus uses both “God and heaven” to address His disciples. (For you to get the most out of this please review the reference websites-they are Jewish.) Heaven is the term of the Pharisees and the people, while God is more of the Sadducees and priests. I believe that Jesus used the different terms to needle the rulers, to cause a reaction. Those two groups held very different opinions on angels, resurrections, and what heaven and hell were like. The Sadducees and the resurrection are mentioned in Acts 23:8, Matthew 22:23, Mark 12:18, Luke 20:27.   

References: Messianic thought – https://engediresourcecenter.com/2019/09/04/what-is-the-kingdom-of-heaven/         Traditional Jewish thought- https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/heaven-and-hell-in-jewish-tradition/

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4848230/jewish/Heaven-and-the-Afterlife.htm

The Sermons – Jesus’ response to the demands from the Sadducees were the parables of the two sons and the rebellious tenants. He used the kingdom of God in both of the explanations. These prophetic rebukes came to pass in 70 A.D. (CE) with the Romans destroying Jerusalem and the Temple. Basically, when the Temple was gone, so were the Sadducees (priest). Note-there is a group of Kohen’s (Levitical priests) still living in North Africa. 

For the Seven Woes and the parables on the Mount of Olives Jesus used the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom prepared by the Father, these were to the Pharisees or His disciples. Jesus also talks about earthly kingdoms (24:7) and the message of the gospel of the kingdom going to the whole world. Matthew uses the word kingdom more than any other writer. Luke is second.

Heaven – Matthew’s target audience was Jews. I believe that the Holy Spirit gave him the wisdom to reproduce Jesus’ words the way he did. The Jewish believers would have related more to the Pharisee’s teaching about heaven. The thought of the day was that heaven was divided into three different levels. Looking at what is going on in heaven gives you a clue as to the level they were talking about. Birds fly in the heavens, clouds float in one, and the Father lives in the third. No, this is not how Christians view the idea of heaven. Remember, Paul a Pharisee, talks about a man who went up to the third heaven and got a superior revelation.    

Olam Ha-ba (“World to Come”) and Gan Eden (“Garden of Eden”) are and were views of the Jews about the afterlife. So, Jesus talking about heaven carries more of the “Garden of Eden” and the world before Satan stole the rule of the earth from Adam. Come, Lord Jesus!

Chapters 24 and 25 – These contain the sermon/parables about the timing of Jesus’ return, how to be prepared, and what we are to do while He tarries. Chapter 25: 31- 46 carries a definite message that not everyone will make it into Heaven. Like the parable of the Ten Virgins, it is directed at people who sit in churches and do not produce the fruit that the Father wants.