“BUT GROW IN GRACE, AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.” (2 PETER 3:18

Some time ago a discussion on an internet forum that I was a part of involved a subject that was deemed by some to be “controversial.”  Meaning some of the views expressed were contrary to “what we have always taught.”  Some welcomed the discussion, but many if not most of the forum members labeled this type of discussion as divisive.  A number of the comments expressed the opinion that such subjects shouldn’t be studied, looked at, or discussed BUT that we should concentrate on learning to love one another and build “unity.” And, learning to love one another is important. 

However, a familiar passage came to my mind.  Peter tells us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord...”  I wondered to my self, “Just what does that mean?”  How does one grow in “knowledge” if one doesn’t look at or study a subject or doctrine?  Or, is this even what Peter meant?

I did a short study of this well known scripture and would like to share that with you today.

The passage quoted is found in 2 Peter 3:18.  Let’s begin by turning there.

This is the concluding verse to Peter’s second letter.  It is his final exhortation to those he was writing to—and to us, as this letter has been preserved as part of Holy Scripture.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and for ever.  Amen.”  (2 Pet. 3:18 KJV)

For the sake of this study we will be looking at “knowledge.”  Further study can and should be done on “grace.”  But, to understand what Peter is meaning and is referring to we need to go back to the beginning of this epistle and look at his earlier instructions.

Turn with me to the first chapter and we will begin in verse 1.

2 Peter 1:1 ¶ Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

2 Peter 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 

2 Peter 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
    
In verses 2 and 3 Peter uses the word “knowledge.”  “The knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” and “the knowledge of him.”  The Greek word that is translated here as “knowledge” is an interesting word.  It is epignosis, #G1922 in Strong’s.  It is a noun and is defined in the lexicon as “precise and correct knowledge.”  Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words gives us a bit more information.  He says, “denotes ‘exact or full knowledge, discernment, recognition,’” Also,“expressing a fuller or a full ‘knowledge,’ a greater participation by the ‘knower’ in the object ‘known,’ thus more powerfully influencing him.  It is not found in the Gospels or Acts.  Paul uses it 15 times (16 if Heb. 10:26 is included) out of the 20 occurrences; Peter 4 times, all in his 2nd Epistle.”

The verb form of this word, epiginosko, #G1921 in Strong’s, gives some additional information.  Again from Vines.  “Denotes (a) ‘to observe, fully perceive, notice attentively, discern, recognize’; it suggests generally a directive, a more special, recognition of the object ‘known’; it also may suggest advanced ‘knowledge,’ especially of spiritual truth;”

In almost all of the places used it is speaking of our “knowledge” of God and Jesus.  A special “full knowledge, discernment, recognition.”  It has to do with our “participation” in and relationship with God.

Let’s continue reading with verse 4.

2 Peter 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

Beginning with verse 5 Peter begins to give us some specific instructions. In many translations we see this as a paragraph break.

2 Peter 1:5 ¶ And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  

2 Peter 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  

2 Peter 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Peter tells us in verse 5 that to the “knowledge,” the relationship we have with God and Jesus, and to the great promises we have been given, we are to ADD something.  He says “giving all diligence.”  This is an expression, and admonition, we will see again later.  “Diligence” is defined as “with haste, with earnestness.”  It is something we should be giving special attention to.

So, with haste and special attention we are to ADD several things.  He says to our faith (as mentioned in verse 1) we are to add virtue.  Then comes KNOWLEDGE.  Other things listed are temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity or love.

There is quite a bit of material for additional studies, but for today’s study let us continue to focus on “knowledge.”  I found it quite interesting that the word “knowledge” as used in verses 5 and 6 is translated from a different Greek word than the one we looked at earlier.  It is gnosis, #G1108 in Strong’s.  The lexicon defines this word as “knowledge signifies in general intelligence, understanding.”  Vine’s adds, “primarily ‘a seeking to know, an inquiry, investigation,’ denotes in the NT, ‘knowledge,’ especially of spiritual truth.”  The verb form of the word, ginosko, #G1097 in Strong’s, Vine’s says, “signifies ‘to be taking in knowledge, to come to know, recognize, understand,’ or ‘to understand completely,’”

What Peter is telling us here it that we need to be gaining “knowledge,” taking in additional understanding, especially of spiritual truth.  And, we need to be doing it with haste and earnestness.  This is through study, a seeking to know, an inquiry into the Scriptures, an investigation.  This includes looking “outside” the box.  It doesn’t  mean to read someone’s literature, listen to someone’s sermon or tape and feel you have “added knowledge.”  Those things can sometimes give you direction for your own study.

Let us continue with Peter’s epistle.

2 Peter 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

2 Peter 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.  

2 Peter 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  

2 Peter 1:11  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Verse 8 makes it very clear that we need the items discussed in verses 5-7 to be in us.  This includes “knowledge,” the seeking to know, the inquiry, the investigation.”  He uses the word “KNOWLEDGE” again.  Here it is #G1922, the same word used in verses 2 and 3, dealing with our relationship with the Creator and His son, Jesus.

IF we lack these things, including “knowledge,” he says we are BLIND.  You might recall a church  that Jesus addresses in the book of Revelation.  They felt that they had everything they needed Spiritually speaking.  And, Jesus told them that they were “wretched, and miserable, and poor and BLIND, and naked.”

In verse 10 Peter gives us very specific instructions.  “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.”  There is that word “diligence” again.  Notice, how he says we are to do that.  Continuing with verse 10, “for IF (that big little word “if”) ye do these things (the things listed above, including “knowledge”), ye shall never fall.” 

Verse 11 tells us that IF we are doing those things we will be assured of entrance into the kingdom of God.  The Weymouth translation expresses it this way, “And so a triumphant admission into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be freely granted to you.”

Peter doesn’t stop his admonition with these verses.  He continues.

2 Peter 1:12 ¶ Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know [them], and be established in the present truth.
                        
Did you notice a very  interesting expression, “the present truth?” “Present” is  #G3918 in Strong’s–to be by, be at hand, etc.  The Weymouth translation renders it perhaps a little clearer.   “For this reason I shall always persist in reminding you of these things, although you already know them, and are stedfast believers in truth you already possess.”

2 Peter 1:13  Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting [you] in remembrance; 

2 Peter 1:14  Knowing that shortly I must put off [this] my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.  

2 Peter 1:15  Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

He says he intends to continue to remind them not to neglect “these things.”  As long as he was alive, “in this tabernacle,” he says he will continue to “stir” them, and us, up by reminding them, or putting them in “remembrance.”  He says he knows that he would shortly die but he said he was going to make every effort to see that they, and us, were to ALWAYS have “these things” in remembrance.  Peter KNEW how important it was.  We can’t rest on our laurels.  We MUST be adding “these things,” including “knowledge.” 

Even though he goes on to additional instructions and teachings, he doesn’t leave the importance of what he has given in these first 15 verse.  He concluded the letter with a very direct reference back.  Notice again the passage we started with. 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”  Which Greek word for “knowledge” would you think Peter used here?  That special relationship and knowledge we as believers have with God and Jesus that he mentioned in verses 2 and 3 of chapter one?  Or, the “knowledge,” the seeking to know, the inquiry, the investigation” he includes in the seven “things” we are to give all diligence to add?

It is the latter.  He ends his letter by continuing to remind us, to put us into remembrance, of the need and absolute requirement that we “grow” in that “knowledge,” that continual seeking to know, to continue to inquire, to investigate.” 

Studying a subject, a doctrine, and presenting something a little different from our “accepted” and long held beliefs shouldn’t be viewed as divisive.  It should be viewed as a means, an effort to “grow in knowledge” as we are commanded to do.  We should be able to do as the Bereans did, search the Scriptures daily to determine whether these things are true.  The Apostle Paul instructed us to “Prove all things.”  Once we have “proved it” and can continue to prove it in the light of additional understanding, then we are told to “hold fast that which is good.”

Latest revisions 5/26/01, 3/16/2020

Jesus’s Passion–Was It Longer Than We’ve Thought?

 

There has been a widely accepted premise by many that Jesus’s Last Supper was a Passover observance. It has been thought that this was at the beginning of the 14th of the first month (which would have begun at sunset) with the Jewish Passover being observed 24 hours later.  What if that premise is not accurate?  What if that “Last Supper” was just that, a last supper or meal and perhaps occurring at least a day earlier?  It this were true then perhaps the beliefs and views now held by many would have to be reevaluated.  In this study we won’t be able to address every question, argument or “unclear” Scripture.  But we will try to honestly look at what the Gospels tell us of Jesus’s last hours.  And, perhaps we may find that  the length of His Passion was longer than we have assumed!

 
Mark, in his gospel account, tells us that Jesus was crucified at the 3rd hour (Mark 15:25), which as we reckon time was 9:00 A.M.  He further tells us that at the 6th hour, noon, there was darkness over the whole land until the 9th hour (verse 33).  And, verses 34-37 tell us that Jesus died at the 9th hour, 3:00 P.M.      What transpired between the time of the last supper and   Jesus’s crucifixion at 9:00 A.M. on the morning of His death? 

All of the gospel accounts agree that following the meal,   Jesus’s instruction regarding the bread and wine, and other teaching, they went out to the Mount of Olives where He often went. (Mark 14:26; Luke 22:39) When they came to a place called Gethsemane He went apart from the apostles to pray.  Mark recounts that   Jesus came back, found the apostles sleeping, and went back to pray two more times.  (Mark 14:32-42)

Here are some questions we need to try and answer.  How long did the “supper” last?  How long did it take to reach the Mount of Olives?  How long did  Jesus pray each time?

We do know that   Jesus spent a great deal of time instructing the apostles after Judas left, which was after the supper was ended (John 13:2). (Some feel this would be better translated ‘during supper.’)  Most of John chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16 cover   Jesus’s instructions.  It must have taken some amount of time.  If they gathered for supper at 6:00 P.M., the beginning of the day and a reasonable time for supper, it seems probable that a minimum of an hour was spent eating and in conversation.  “Communion” in many churches may take only a few minutes but in some churches that observe a  “New Testament Passover” services normally take from 1 to 1 ½ hours. The Jewish Seder takes several hours.  It is doubtful that   Jesus’s instructions would have taken any less than  1 to 1 ½ hours, probably more.  At the earliest they would have left  for the Mount of Olives at 8:00 P.M., but probably a bit later, maybe 8:30-9:00 P.M.

How long would their walk to the Mount of Olives have taken?  Our assumption has been that this supper was eaten in the “large upper room” but we do  not know the exact starting point.  A fairly safe guess would be that they were in Jerusalem or the immediate area.  Acts 1:12 references the distance from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives as a “Sabbath day’s journey.”  The margin says 3/5th of a mile.  The Davis Bible dictionary says, “A Sabbath-day’s journey was a journey of limited extent proper, in the estimation of the scribes, on a Sabbath day.  The expression occurs in Acts 1:12, where this is stated to be the distance between mount Olivet and Jerusalem, or from Jerusalem to a place on the mountain from which Bethany was visible (Luke 24:50).  If the measurement be made from the eastern gate of Jerusalem (the Jewish method of reckoning) to the site of the church of the Ascension, crowning the mount of Olives, the distance, as the crow flies, will be about 2250 English feet; but in actual travel it will be considerably more.”  A fairly conservative estimate would be at least 15 minutes to walk this distance.  I believe we can very honestly say that it would have been somewhere near 9:00 P.M., at least, when they arrived at Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

Can we assess the time  Jesus spent in prayer to His Father the three separate times?  We do know that   Jesus, upon finding the apostles asleep when He returned from praying asked, “Couldest not thou watch one hour?” (Mark 14:37; Matt. 26:40)  Knowing the enormous trial He was facing and the agony He  would soon be experiencing, it would not be too great of a stretch to estimate that Christ spent a minimum of one hour each time.  When this is added onto the time they would have arrived at the Mount of Olives we can determine that it is now around midnight.

Immediately thereafter, we are told, Judas and the multitude came to take   Jesus.  Undoubtedly some amount of time elapsed during the confusion that took place.  John 18:6 tells us the whole group went backward and fell to the ground.  This wasn’t something that happened everyday and would have taken a few minutes to get everyone regrouped.  Following this Peter took the sword he was carrying and cut off the ear of Malchus, the high priest’s servant. (John 18:10) We know that   Jesus touched the ear and healed him. (Luke 22:51) Again, a few minutes of turmoil.  The apostles were frightened and dropped back and fled.  (Mark 14:50) By now it likely would have been close to 12:30 A.M.

Several of the gospel accounts tell us that   Jesus  was taken to Caiaphas, the high priest.  But, John reveals that prior to this He was led away first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas.   John 18:13,  “And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.”  Although Annas was no longer an officiating high priest, having been deposed by the procurator of Judea, Valerius Gratus about 16 A.D., he was yet the most influential priest and so it was to him that  Jesus was first taken.  Annas would have been back in the city, another 15 minute walk.  And, it would have required a few minutes to wake him, explain to him what was going on (even though he probably was aware of the plan to take Jesus) and for him to decide to send  Jesus on to Caiaphas.  A conservative estimate of another 15 minutes or more passing before he sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas would seem appropriate.  By our estimates it would now have been at least 1:00 A.M.

How far from Annas’ home to Caiaphas’ palace isn’t known but another few minutes would have been required.  Perhaps close to another 15 minutes were expended.  It would now be 1:15 A.M.

When they arrived we find revealed in Luke 22 that they all, the chief priest and captains of the temple and the elders (vs. 52, 55), sat down together after a fire had been kindled in the midst of the hall.  Luke reveals that Peter sat among them.  How long did this all take to get a fire started and for everyone to get settled in?  Some little time I’m sure, easily 30-45 minutes.  It would now be near 2:00 A.M. 

Luke tells of Peter’s denial (Luke 22:56-62).  In verse 57, in response to the maid’s statement, we are told that Peter denied  Jesus.  Verse 58 says “and after a little while” when another said Peter was with them, Peter denied  Jesus again.  How long was a “little while?”  Maybe another 15 minutes?  Our time would now be nearing 2:15 A.M.

Now let us notice verse 59. “ And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this [fellow] also was with him: for he is a Galilaean.”  Peter then denied Jesus a third time, verse 60.  When the cock crowed  Jesus turned to look at Peter, verse 61.  It would have been somewhere near 3:15 A.M. or later.  At this time  Jesus was still in the midst of this hall or court area and was not inside.  The cock crowing  is one of the more famous stories in the Gospels.  However, there is one problem with the translation.  During the time of the temple in Jerusalem chickens were not allowed in the city.  To assure that chickens would not find their way into the temple, or worse yet, into the Holy of Holies, the priests simply forbid everyone in Jerusalem from having chickens. (This has been confirmed by the Jewish Mishnah Bava Kama 7.7.  Other historians and commentators have pointed this out.)  The “rooster” or “cock” that was heard was not a bird at all but a man.  That man was a priest at the temple who had the responsibility of unlocking the temple doors each and every morning before dawn.  He was known as the Temple Crier.  The Greek term, alekor, (Luke 22:34), which means, “cock,” can also mean “man, husband.” The Hebrew word  gever, translated  “cock” or “rooster,” also means “man” like the Greek alektor.  As he unlocked the door each morning he would cry out three statements in a loud voice: “All the priest prepare to sacrifice.”  “All the Levites to their stations.”  “All the Israelites come to worship.”  The timing would have perhaps been closer to 5:00 or 6:00 A.M.  From what we see in this narrative everyone is sitting around waiting, evidently for morning and the business day to begin.  While they are waiting, Luke tells us that those holding  Jesus began to mock Him and to strike Him.  (Luke 22:63-65)

Some may feel that there would have been an emergency meeting of the council in those very early morning hours.  That would have also taken a great deal of time.  Many don’t realize that the council was made up of 70 people in addition to the high priest.  It would have been a very time consuming job to send messengers to wake each one.  And, then for those individuals to get up and get ready and finally all arrive at the palace for a meeting would have consumed a vast amount of time.

Then verse 66 of Luke 22 reveals more of the time line.  “And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council,...”  The word translated “was” is better rendered “became” or “had become.”   The word “day” in the English is from the Greek “hemera,” #2250 in Strong’s.  It is defined, “the day, used of the natural day, or interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.”  The reckoning of the day beginning would be approximately 6:00 A.M.  Matthew says (chapter 27:1) “When morning was come...”  Mark says, (chapter 15:1) “straightway in the morning...”

Finally  Jesus was led in and questioned.  Mark tells us that they sought for witnesses against Him (Mark 14:55).  This would have also taken some time, maybe an hour or more, maybe two.  It would have now been 7:00-8:00 A.M.  Following this hour or two with the council  Jesus was led away to Pontius Pilate, the governor (Matt. 27:2; Luke 23:1; Mark 15:1; John 18:28).  Another few minutes would have been required to get there.   And for those taking him to explain why they were there would have taken a few more minutes.  It definitely would have been after 8:00 A.M. by now.

Pilate heard the accusations (Luke 22:2) of the multitude.  He then began to ask Jesus about the accusations, verse 3.  He ruled that he did not find any fault in Jesus, verse 4.  The multitude was “more fierce,” verse 5, in their response to Pilate’s ruling.  Pilate then decided to send  Jesus to Herod.  How much time was spent with Pilate?  A conservative estimate of an hour would seem in line.  It would now be approximately 9:00 A.M.

A few minutes more would have been necessary to move on to Herod’s home.  Yet another few minutes to introduce the situation to Herod would have been necessary.  Maybe another 30 minutes would have passed.  Herod was glad to see  Jesus (Luke 23:8) and even hoped to see a miracle.  Verse 9 says he “questioned with Him in many words,” an indication that this was not a brief 10 minute meeting.  Very easily another hour was taken up.  By now the time would have been 10:30 A.M.

What happened next?  Herod sends  Jesus back to Pilate (Luke 23:11).  Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people (verse 13).  Maybe another hour is spent in all of this.  By now it would have been near 11:30 A.M.  Pilate reviewed with them that he had found no fault in  Jesus and that Herod also had not found anything worthy of death (verses 14-15).  He tried to persuade them to let him release  Jesus.  He finally gave in to their demands when he saw he couldn’t prevail but washed his hands before them all declaring himself innocent of Jesus’s blood (Matt. 27:24).  Sensing the depth of belief that Jesus was innocent and the effort he made to try and get the multitude to back down it would be dishonest to think this all transpired in a few brief minutes.  Very likely this took a couple of hours or so.  It would not seem inappropriate to think the time would easily have been 1:00-2:00 P.M. by now.

Before we go through the events which followed Pilate’s finally agreeing to their demands and sentencing  Jesus to be crucified we can immediately see that we have a major problem with our time
line.  We are now into the early afternoon of the day following  Jesus’s last supper with His apostles and He has yet to be scourged and crucified.  And, we know from the scriptures we rehearsed earlier that  Jesus was crucified at 9:00 A.M.  This day of His “trial” must of necessity be earlier than the day of His crucifixion.  We are seeing that the last supper could not have been eaten on the early hours of the 14th and  Jesus killed on the afternoon of the 14th of the month, the time of the Jewish Passover.

When Pilate finally gave in to the demands of the crowd and had washed his hands and declared his innocence he had  Jesus scourged before sending Him on to be crucified (John 19:1; Mark 15:15; Matt. 27:26). No details are given pertaining to the scourging.  However, much can be read in commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc.  Although, the act of scourging may have taken but a fairly short time, the preparation of the prisoner (Jesus), bringing in the trained individual to administer it, letting the one who endured this beating (Jesus) “recover” somewhat all took some time.  Another 30 minutes to an hour very likely passed while  Jesus went through this part of His ordeal.

The governor’s soldiers then took Him to the common hall (Matt. 27:27).  And, notice, it says “they gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers”.  A band or cohort. Notice what Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says concerning a band, “It was also used for a larger body of men, a cohort, about 600 infantry, commanded by a tribune.  It is confined to its military sense.  See, e.g., Matt. 27:27, and corresponding  passages.”  This must have taken up some little time to round up all 600 of them from all the areas in the city where they were on duty.  By now, it would very likely have been somewhere between 3:00-4:00 P.M. or maybe a bit later.

We read that now the soldiers were allowed to mock and harass Jesus.  He was stripped and had a scarlet robe and a crown of thorns they had made put on Him.  They spit on Him, hit and beat Him.  This surely continued for some time, probably until they began to tire of their cruel games, near the end of the day or around 6:00 P.M. (Matt. 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20)   Luke and John do not mention  Jesus’s treatment at the hands of the soldiers. All of the gospel accounts move immediately to Him being led away to be crucified.  When did this occur?  Since we know He was actually crucified about 9:00 A.M. this would have had to occur sometime in the early morning.  Of necessity Jesus was kept under guard or in some kind of a cell during the night following His scourging and the cruel mistreatment at the hands of the soldiers.  He, frankly, endured more pain and suffering than most of us have realized.

In the gospel account of the apostle John we are told that after the scourging and the soldier’s mistreatment of Jesus Pilate again attempted to prevent  Jesus from being killed.   John 19:4-8,
  “Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And [Pilate] saith unto them, Behold the man!   When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify [him], crucify [him]. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify [him]: for I find no fault in him.   The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.  When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid;” Notice verse 4, “went forth again.”  Continuing in verses 9-12 Pilate returned to  Jesus and spoke further with Him.  Following this discussion he brought  Jesus out (verse 13).  Here we are given a time,  John 19:14,  “And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”  As most of us have noticed, John gives a different reckoning of time.  Some say he refers to the hours from the beginning of the 24 hour day or from 6:00 P.M.  The 6th hour as given here would equate to midnight.  Others feel the time was reckoned from mid-night putting the sixth hour at 6:00 A.M.   It is clear that Pilate tried throughout the night until at least midnight to keep  Jesus from being killed, maybe all night.  So, we are told that after all of his efforts fail he finally delivers Him to be crucified.

The gospel accounts do not tell us the exact time but knowing the crucifixion occurred at 9:00 A.M., it is not logical to suppose He was led out until daylight, 6:00 A.M. or later.

When Jesus was led away He was forced to carry the cross or stake He would be crucified on (John 19:17).  We are told in the other gospels that Simon, a Cyreanian, was conscripted to carry it.  Apparently  Jesus was so weakened that He was unable to continue.  He was taken to Golgotha, the place of the skull, and was crucified with two thieves at 9:00 A.M. (Mark 15:25).

When we look at and put together all the clear scriptural evidence that has been preserved by the four gospel writers we can not help but determine that the last meal, the “last supper,” could not have been eaten the previous evening to  Jesus’s crucifixion and death.    If we are honest with the Scriptures we must conclude that the passion of Jesus Christ was much longer than we have thought, not just 15 or 16  hours but more than likely closer to 40 hours, 40 being the number of trial and testing.  

   3/18/2011, latest revision 1/7/2020

“…The Times Of This Ignorance God Winked At” (Acts 17:30)

Although in the midst of another study  this verse came to mind.  So I turned to it and read it , “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”   What was Paul saying?  What did he mean that God winked at “this ignorance?”

As I usually do when beginning to study a Scripture or passage I checked various translations.  A few follow what the KJV has, “winked,” but most I found used the word “overlooked.”  This was a bit clearer but I still was uncertain just what was meant by this.

As I have mentioned in other studies, commentaries are just various men’s comments, but they can sometimes give some insight.  So, I checked a number of commentaries.  Most seemed to feel that  the times of this ignorance was prior to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.  One commentator’s comments really didn’t appear to agree with what I am seeing of the God of the Bible.  Just so that I don’t misquote him by trying to paraphrase what he said I’ll quote him verbatim.  “...but rather the sense is, he despised this, and them for it, and was displeased and angry with them; and as an evidence of such contempt and indignation, he overlooked them, and took no notice of them, and gave them no revelation to direct them, nor prophets to instruct them and left them to their stupidity and ignorance.”  No, I don’t believe that is at all what is being said here.

To help us come to understand let us look at the context and not just at this one verse.  We can look a the whole story but let us pick it up in verse 15.  We find that Paul is brought to Athens.  While he waited for Silas and Timothy to join him (verse 16) he was stirred in his spirit seeing that the whole city was given to idolatry.  Verse 17 tells us that he “disputed” with the Jews and other religious people in the synagogue and in the market.  In verse 18 we are told that certain philosophers encountered him.  They had apparently heard him speak and they referred to him as a “babbler” or some as one that was setting forth strange gods.  So, in verse 19 we find that they took him up to Mars Hill and asked him to share more of “this new doctrine.”  In a parenthetical clause we are told that these individuals spent their time in doing nothing else but to tell or listen to someone else giving some new thing.

Then beginning in verse 22 we are told of Paul’s message.  He begins by addressing them as the men of Athens and tells them that he has perceived that they were in all things too superstitious, or perhaps better rendered, more religious than others.  He tells them (verse 23) that he had seen all of their “devotions” or idols and sacred items.  He states that he had seen an altar with the inscription “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.”  We will come back to this but I feel that we find a key to understanding verse 30, when Paul speaks of this altar with it’s inscription and says “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

Then verse 24 through verse 29 Paul declares the TRUE God to these Athenians.  Paul declares Him as the creator, the giver of life and breath, one that can not be contained in any manmade building.  It is good to read these verses in their entirety but I won’t go through them all here. But let us read verse 29 and also verse 30 again.  “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”

So, what do we find here?  Paul concludes his message of revelation of who this unknown God is by stating clearly that He is so much more that gold or silver or stone.  And then he states “And the times of this ignorance...”  What ignorance is he referring to?  Let us go back to verse 23 that I said we would come back to.  Notice again what Paul says in reference to this altar with the inscription,  “Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship,...”  “This ignorance” in verse 30 undoubtedly is their ignorance of the True God.    So, Paul states that “the times of this ignorance,” all the preceding time up to that moment of revelation through his message to them, God winked at or overlooked., He wasn’t declaring them guilty of idolatry.  However, Paul continues, “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”  Repentance is to change one’s mind, to change the way of thinking and that  can not be done until revelation and understanding comes. It is “now” when ignorance is no longer an excuse that one must repent, change the mind and way of thinking.

Jesus gave us the same basic teaching.  In Luke 12, verses 47 and 48 we read the conclusion of a teaching He was giving.  “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will (wasn’t ignorant of what his lord expected and had given him to do), and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he that knew not (was ignorant), and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.  For unto whosoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”  The one in ignorance is not held to the same accountability as the one who knows.

James tells us, James 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”  While in ignorance, not knowing to do good, sin was not imputed.  However, once the knowledge to do good came he was “commanded to repent,” to change his thinking and his ways.  If not, then it was sin.

Paul tells us in Romans 5:13 that even prior to the giving of the Old Covenant there was sin in the world, however since His law was not codified and written down that sin was not imputed or charged to the individuals account.  But once the covenant was made and He had given His laws, written them on tables of stone, the people were no longer in ignorance.  When they sinned, transgressed those laws, He declared them guilty, that sin was imputed and put to their account.

By God’s wonderful grace we have our sins and unrighteousness “winked at” while in our ignorance.  But, when revelation comes, then He commands us to repent, change our thinking and actions. John tells us in Revelation 12:9 that the devil, the adversary, has deceived the whole world.  That includes you and me.  We may not all be in the same deception.  You may have received revelation that I have not yet received.  I may have been given insight and revelation in areas that you are still in deception, are still in blindness.  God is “winking” or overlooking my ignorance and your ignorance.  However, once revelation comes He commands us to repent, to change our way of thinking.

It has been my experience that when the Spirit leads us into truth, when we are given revelation, we can become very judgmental of others who may still be in their ignorance.  We may begin to compare ourselves among ourselves, which Paul tells us is unwise, and somehow begin to feel that we are somehow superior to or in some way better than others. Paul tells us in Romans the 14th chapter that we should not be judging another if they believe and do things differently.  He says, “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?”  Our view of others should be just as God’s view.  We need to “wink at” and overlook any ignorance that may be there and concentrate on truly repenting and changing our own thinking.  Of course, we may be praying for others to receive the revelation we have received but must keep in mind that it is in His “due season” and leave it in His hands.

Jan. 1, 2020

“Do You Believe You Are Born Again and Are Going to Heaven When You Die?”

I was asked this question some time ago by the pastor of a small church we were visiting.  He and I were visiting after the service and he asked me that question, I’m sure out of concern for me and my future.  I know that the vast majority of Christians would reply with a resounding “yes” to both parts of that question.  I only answered part of his question.  I told him, that, yes, I believed I was born again.  I didn’t respond to the second part, “going to heaven when you die?”  I don’t know if he realized that I only partially answered his two part question.

But, why didn’t I give him an answer to the last part of his question?  “Everyone” it seems within the Christian faith, church, community believes that heaven is their destination upon death.  The reason I didn’t give him a “yes” answer is because I don’t see that promised anywhere in Scripture.  I know that virtually every preacher, minister, Bible teacher that I listen to or watch teaches and states frequently that all saved are “going to be with Jesus” when they die.  But, I have yet to find any teaching, article, booklet that they have presented to demonstrate the doctrine of going to heaven  from the Bible.

You may in your mind, maybe out loud even, be shouting that I’m wrong, a false teacher, a heretic.  I understand your thinking.  Most of us have been taught from childhood, even if we weren’t Christians, that the reward of the saved was life in heaven for all eternity.  But, I ask, did your teachers ever give you an in depth and detailed message or study from Scripture “proving” that?  Or, did they occasionally refer to or quote a passage somewhere that they told you was saying that?  As I said earlier, I can’t find any such teaching or message.  Why?  Because, frankly, if one studies the Bible with an open mind and without a predetermined premise the doctrine of going to heaven can’t be demonstrated.

So, then, where did we get this doctrine, this teaching, that seems to be “universal” within the Church?  Thankfully there are some who have asked this question, who have researched and have presented the answer in various publications, articles, etc. that we can access on the internet.  I, in the next few paragraphs, will share just a few quotations with you.

One of the first articles I came across as I spent a little time searching was entitled “Judaism Originated the Idea of Heaven, Hell.”  This piece was written by Rabbi Marc Gellman, the senior rabbi of Temple Beth Torah in Melville, New York, where he has served since 1981.  He has answered many questions in his newspaper column “The God Squad” and on his TV and radio broadcasts of the same name.

Here are a few quotes from this article.  “Judaism actually originated the ideas of heaven and hell, which were absorbed (and modified) by Christianity and later Islam.”  Then just a few sentences later he says, “In fact, it was not even Judaism, but the Greek philosophers like Aristotle who introduced the ideas of matter and form that led to the religious doctrines of heaven and hell.  The Hebrew Bible is silent on the subject, but during the period following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Israel in 333 BCE, the period called Hellenism, Greek thought penetrated deep into the new and emerging thought of the rabbis.” 

In a second article by Rabbi Gellman, “Answering Questions on the Afterlife,” he states, “The Judaism that made the case for heaven was rabbinic Judaism not biblical Judaism, where the idea of a soul and of heaven is either underdeveloped or nonexistent depending on the scholarly opinion you endorse.  However, after the rabbis encountered Greek philosophy through Aristotle, who was the tutor of Alexander the Great, who conquered Israel in 333 BCE, the philosophical dualism of matter and form was transposed into the religious duality of body and soul.”  In the next paragraph he says, “This enabled Judaism, and later Christianity, to enthusiastically teach that our souls survive in ‘the world to come’”

Rabbi Gellman has addressed this question in various articles for “The God Squad.”  In yet another piece, “You Can Thank Aristotle for the Concept of the Soul’s Life After Death,” he states the following. “The pre-greek Bible had Hebrew names that are translated as soul (nefesh), but the nefesh was not an immaterial essence that survived death.  The nefesh was more like the life within us that ended with death.  In the Bible, death is considered to be the end of us.  There is a biblical idea of the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, but it’s not a developed doctrine.  After Aristotle, however, Judaism became a religion that taught the existence of bodies that die and souls that live on after death in the world to come (what Christians came to call heaven).”  A bit later in the article he says, “No single theological change even approaches the significance of the Jewish/Christian adaptation of the Greek philosophical notions of matter and form into the body and soul.”

I came across an excerpt from a book written by Lisa Miller, a staff writer at New York Magazine, former religion columnist for the Washington Post, former senior editor of Newsweek Magazine.  The excerpt was entitled “How Jews Invented Heaven.”  Here is one paragraph.  “It may astonish readers to know, then, that it was Jews that invented our idea of heaven.  They did not invent the idea of an afterlife, or the idea of heaven as the home of God – those ideas had been around for thousands of yeas, long before the Jews ever existed as a people.  But the idea of heaven as we understand it – a place in the sky where the righteous go after death to live forever with God – that concept born to Jews sometime during the second century before the birth of Jesus.  It was, if you will, a theological miracle.  Heaven, at its root, is a Jewish idea.”

On the website answers.com the question was asked, “Where did heaven and hell teaching originate?”  Here are a couple of points made.  “The Christian concepts of heaven and hell have their origins in several regional religions of the time including Zoroastrianism and the various religions found among the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians.”  “The idea of heaven and hell came from the Zoroastrian religion.  In 586 BCE, Judah was annexed by Babylonia and many of its people deported to Babylon, with no expectation of ever being able to return....The Jews had a high regard for the Persians, so it is natural that they would have been receptive to ideas from the Persian religion. Zoroastrianism.”  In the next paragraph we read, “Heaven and hell, as places of reward and punishment, had always been part of Zoroastrian belief.  However, prior to the Babylonian Exile, the Hebrew did not believe in heaven and hell.”

These quotations I have shared all came from short articles, many were newspaper columns.  However, longer pieces with more detail can also be located.  I’ll share a few quotes from a couple of these as well.

On the website truthortradion.com under the title of “The Origin of Orthodoxy” is an article entitled “Where Did the Idea Originate that Believers Would Live Forever in Heaven?”written by David Rogers.  There is much in this article but I will only pull out a few sentences.  “The idea that the soul or spirit is like a ghost that can separate from the body and still have consciousness and movement without the body was introduced into Judaism after the Babylonian captivity and came from there and other religions into Christianity.  The idea of a disembodied living soul did not come from the text of Scripture.” Dropping down a couple of paragraphs we read, “Once the religions of the world accepted the idea that the “soul” or “spirit” did not die when the body died, the next step was to determine its post-mortem address, in other words, where does the soul live after the body dies?  The answers vary from religion to religion, but there are some similarities.  A study of the various religions of the world shows that it was, and still is, very common to believe that “good” people go either to the abode of the gods (sometimes called “heaven”), or to some wonderful place on earth, while evil people go to a place of punishment or torment.  These beliefs eventually found their way into both Judaism and Christianity.”

Here are another quotation or two from this article.  “The impact of Greek religion and the Greek language on the doctrine of life after death among the Jews cannot be overstated.  Alexander the Great conquered Israel in 332 BC.  As a result, by 250 BC there were so many Jews speaking Greek (many of whom could not read Hebrew) that it became necessary to develop a Greek translation of the Old Testament.  This translation is called the Septuagint.  It is significant that the translators chose the Greek word “Hades” to translate the Hebrew word “Sheol” in the Hebrew text.  This choice had a very powerful impact because the souls in Sheol, according to Scripture, are all dead, but the souls in Hades, according to Homer and other Greek and Roman writers, are all alive.  Thus, by the stroke of a translator’s pen, everyone throughout the Old Testament who had died was granted life in the grave.”
 
There is much more in this article but let us move on to one more article.  This one entitled “Origins of the Heavenly Destiny Concept” is written by Pastor Tim Warner of the Oasis Christian Church in Tampa, Florida and founder of the Pristine Faith Restoration Society.  A sub-title of this article is “Greek Mysticism & Gnosticism.”  Here are a few quotes.  “Where did the idea of an eternity in heaven come from?  Certainly not from Judaism, from which Christianity sprang!  There is no such concept in the Old Testament.  It definitely did not come from Jesus’ teaching,...”  “The idea of a heavenly destiny was common in the first century among pagans schooled in Greek philosophy.  It entered Christianity gradually.” “Justin Martyr was an orthodox Christian writer who lived in the early second century.  He strongly opposed the ‘heretics’ who promoted the ‘heavenly destiny’ concept.”  “Irenaeus was the pastor of the church in Lyons, Gaul, a student of Polycarp the disciple of John, and a martyr for the Faith.  He made it his life’s work to refute the Gnostic sects, with their ‘heavenly destiny’ ideas, and denial of the resurrection of the body.”

I could go on quoting these writers and the writers of many other articles but I think it is clear that the entrenched Christian teaching regarding the spirit or soul of the dead going immediately to heaven came from Greek philosophy, most likely through the Babylonians into rabbinical Judaism and from there it was absorbed by the early Christian church.  As many of these quotes state, the concept of a soul or spirit departing the body and going to heaven is not found in the Bible.  Many passages that speak of a resurrection are misinterpreted by many to fit this false teaching.

What does the Bible teach about death and the afterlife?  I’ll refer you to an earlier study that I did,  “What Is Death – According To The Bible? 

Dec. 9, 2019

“For In Due Season We Shall Reap, If We Faint Not”

Both Jesus and Paul speak much about sowing and reaping.  The title of this study is from Paul’s comments to the church at Galatia, Gal. 6:9.  As I was studying and meditating on this verse I began to link it to Jesus’ parable of the sower, recorded for us in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. 

He explained to His disciples that the seed was the Word.  He showed that the seed was sown into different soil.  The first was by the way side in the hard packed walk way.  The seed was snatched away by the birds and eaten.  He explained that this was the adversary coming and taking away the Word that was sown in the hearts.

The seed, the Word, that was sown in the next type of soil, the stony ground, was soil that was dry and without fertility.  The Word was unable to really take root before affliction, persecution, came and offence came.  Dryness and lack of soil fertility kept the seedling from living and growing,

When the seed was sown among the thorns, the briars and brambles and weeds, the seedlings were soon choked out.  Jesus said that this pictured  the Word being choked out by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust for other things.

But, then He tells of the seed falling onto good ground, good soil.  He says the seed, the Word, did yield fruit, fruit that increased and “brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, ans some an hundred.”  This, He said, is the Word sown on good ground, “such as hear the Word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit.”

What I was brought to see was although He just stated that the harvest would come in varying amounts, we have to realize that the same things that came upon the seed sown in the other types of soil would also come upon seed sown in good soil.  The adversary would also come to try and snatch the seed, the Word, away.  There would be dry periods and need for added fertility.  Weeds would come up and attempt to choke out the growing plants.

Paul alluded to this when he made the statement that he planted, Apollos watered and God gave the increase. (1 Cor. 3:6)   The seed, the Word, has to be tended, cultivated, nurtured.  The birds, the adversary, will come to snatch away the Word we have received.  We must be alert to his attempts and “resist the devil,” James 4:7.  Dry spells will come and the Word needs to be watered and fertilized.  We need to receive teaching and encouragement as we wait and anticipate the harvest.  The Word sown in good ground is not sown into thorns and briars and weeds, but weeds will spring up, the cares of the world, deceitfulness of riches, will come up against the seedlings to attempt to choke it and destroy it.

Also, in Mark 4 Jesus speaks of a man casting seed into the ground, verse 26.  I think verse 27 is very important, “And should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.”  When we read verse 28 we are told that the earth brings forth the fruit of herself, or the Greek word means “automatically.”  But, let us think about verse 27 a bit.  Is this indicating that the man sleeps, rises and sits back in his lawn chair doing nothing until harvest time?  I don’t think so.  As a farmer or gardener he tends to the emerging plants, watering if the soil is dry, adding some fertilizer as it is needed, cultivating the soil, pulling and cutting out the weeds that spring up. 
Let us go back to Gal. 6:9.  Paul states, “Let us not be weary in well-doing.”  The seed has been sown.  There is a time period until harvest.  What do we do?  We keep on in well-doing.  Perhaps we have sown a seed regarding a physical healing.  We have not seen the manifestation immediately.  We don’t stop believing.  We don’t stop trusting.  We don’t let the adversary’s negative words and lying symptoms divert us from believing the truth, “by His stripes you were healed.”  We water and tend to the seedlings.  We continue to chase away the “birds,” the bugs, the other pests. We keep pulling out the weeds.  And, then what?  Paul states, continuing in verse 9, “for in due season we shall reap.”  When does the reaping take place?  In due season, in harvest season.  That is God’s season to bring the harvest in.  But, notice the last thing Paul tells us, “if we faint not.”  We can’t let the harvest be stolen from us.  We can’t let the adversary steal what is ours.  We must continue to hold on.

Going back to Jesus’ parable of the sower, let us notice in Luke’s account, chapter 8 and verse 15,  “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.   He says we must keep the Word, hold onto it and then He says, “bring forth fruit with patience.”  The Greek word, hupomone, here translated “patience” is defined as “cheerful (or hopeful) endurance.  Just as the farmer is waiting and anticipating the harvest, cheerfully and hoping for an abundant harvest, we must have the same cheerful and hopeful endurance as we look forward to that “due season.”

November 2019

Was Luke, “The Beloved Physician,” A Medical Doctor?

Was Luke, “The Beloved Physician,” A Medical Doctor?

Not much is known about the man, called Luke, who is viewed by most scholars as the author of the gospel account by his name and the book of Acts. The Encyclopedia Britannica article “St. Luke,” written by E. Earle Ellis states, “Information abut his life is scanty.  Tradition based on references in the Pauline Letters has regarded him as a physician and a Gentile.”  Harold W. Attridge, The Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament at the Yale Divinity School says, “Traditions report that Luke was a companion of Paul, a physician and therefore someone learned in Hellenistic literary and scientific culture.  All of those are secondary traditions and most scholars view them as somewhat unreliable.”

Many individuals, Bible commentators, and others will dogmatically make statements regarding Luke that is based on tradition.  Not much is contained in Scripture.  The author of the gospel attributed to Luke and the book of Acts does not give his name.  Based on various things it does seem most likely that Luke is truly the author.  Although it appears that he traveled with the apostle Paul we find that Paul only refers to him by name three times.  Let us look at those three passages.

2 Timothy 4:11 says, “Only Luke is with me.  Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”  This is part of longer statement.  Paul in the previous verse tells Timothy that Demas has left him and in this verse tells us that only Luke is with him.  Paul continues to speak of another of his associates that was sent to Ephesus.  It appears that Luke was assisting Paul in his ministry.

In his letter to Philemon, verse 24, Paul sends his greetings to his “fellow-labourers,” which included Lucas, thought by many to be the man named Luke.  Adam Clarke, in his commentary, makes this statement, “Lucas - Is supposed to be Luke the evangelist, and author of the Acts of the Apostles.  On these suppositions little confidence can be placed: they may be correct; they may be otherwise.”  This individual, Lucas, was stated to be working, laboring, along with Paul in the ministry.

The third reference to Luke by Paul is found in Colossians 4:14.  It is a short verse, “Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.”  This is the verse, of course, that has generated the question in the title of this little study.  Most scholars, commentators, all dogmatically state that Luke was a physician, a medical doctor.  Was he?  We may never fully answer the question but let us look at some aspects that most have never considered.

Checking numerous English language translations of this verse we see almost all translate it the same as the King James Version, “the beloved physician.”  A few vary it a little, such as, “well loved medical friend,” “dear doctor Luke,” and “our dear doctor.”  They all are in basic agreement as to the translation.

When we do a word study we find that the word “physician” is from the Greek iatros, Strong’s number G2395.  Both Strong’s Concordance and Thayer’s Greek Definitions give the one and only definition as “physician.”  They both do tell us that this Greek word is “from G2390.  G2390 is iaomai, and is defined as “to cure (literally or figuratively) heal, make whole.”  Iatros, G2395, is used 7 times in the New Testament and is translated “physician” in all 7 verses.

Matt. 9:12, Mark 2:17 and Luke 5:31 are three accounts of the same occurrence.  Jesus is responding to a question that His disciples had been asked by the Pharisees, “Why does your master eat with publicans and sinners?”  We’ll read His answer from Matt. 9:12, “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.”  He continues in the next verse, “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  Most commentators understand by this proverb Jesus was telling them that He was the Great Physician, who came to bring healing to the world.  He was saying that all men were in need of His healing of all Spiritual issues. 

Luke 4:16-29 gives us an account of Jesus teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth.  He was given the scroll to read from and He read from Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”  (Verses 18 and 19 of Luke 4) He told those in attendance that on that day that scripture was fulfilled in their ears.  Now, we will read His words to them recorded in verses 23 and 24.  “And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.  And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”  His reference to “Physician” was not calling Himself a medical doctor, but Healer, the one He had read the prophesy of from Isaiah 61.  He knew their thoughts, that they were thinking and would be saying, “Why don’t you heal the people here in your own home area as you did in Capernaum?”  He plainly told them that the people for the most part did not believe in Him, He was a prophet without honor in His own country.

In addition to these 4 verses and the one we are studying in Colossians 4 there are 2 more passages to look at.  They are found in Mark 5:26 and Luke 8:43 and recount the same incident.  We all are familiar with the story, the woman with the issue of blood that had continued for twelve years.  We read, here from Luke’s account, “And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,...”  Here and in Mark 5 it is pretty apparent that the word “physicians” does definitely refer to those practicing medicine.  There was no condemnation of her for going to doctors, but it clearly states that none of them could heal her.

Now, back to our question regarding Luke.  In Paul’s reference to Luke, “the beloved physician,” is he possibly stating that Luke had a spiritual gift of healing and was loved by many in the Colossian church because he had been used by God in their healing?  Was Paul saying, “the beloved healer?” 
Adam Clarke, in his commentary, in the preface to the book of Acts, seemed to anticipate my question, and I’m sure the question that others have had.  Speaking of Luke he states, “It is worthy also of observation that St. Luke himself does not appear to have possessed the gift of miraculous healing.  Though there can be no doubt that he was with St. Paul when shipwrecked at Malta, yet he was not concerned in healing the father of Publius the governor; nor of the other sick persons mentioned.”  While I agree that we don’t read of any healings attributed to Luke, we must keep in mind that he was the one writing the book of Acts where we read of the healing of a number of individuals through Paul, Peter and others.  If we look through the letters written by Paul we find absolutely no recounting of the healings he, Paul, was involved with either.  Luke was not “tooting his own horn” in the book of Acts and neither was Paul in his letters.  Adam Clarke’s argument isn’t very convincing that Luke didn’t possess the gift of healing. 

Something else we might question in Paul’s statement, “the beloved physician,” is why he would bring up a past career of Luke when he never does this for any others of the apostles, evangelists, and associates in the ministry.  He never speaks of Peter as “the beloved fisherman.”  I would believe his statement might be more appropriate if the situation was current. And, from what we have looked at it appears Luke was full-time in the ministry, not hanging his shingle out and “doctoring.”

So, where are we after looking at all of this?  I think we are still asking the question, “Was Luke, “the beloved physician,” a medical doctor?

November 2019

Renew, Renewed, Renewal, Renewing

            

As a part of another study I was looking at and meditating on a few verses penned by the apostle Paul.  Romans 12:2 is one of those that we often quote, his admonition to “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind...”  In his second letter to the church at Corinth he made the statement that “the inward man is renewed day by day.”  (2 Cor. 4:16) In his letter to the church at Ephesus he instructed them (and us) to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”  There are a couple more verses with similar statements made by Paul.

In doing a word study I discovered something that really was powerful to me.  There are three different Greek words that is used in these verses, all having the same basic origin.  They are anakainoo, Strong’s number G341, anakainosis, Strong’s number G342 and ananeoo, Strong’s number G365.  What I found that spoke to me was the definition given for these three words.  Renew, renewing, renewed are all valid and correct renderings but the primary definition given for all three is renovate, to renovate, renovation. 

Maybe it is because I have done renovations of homes, buildings, etc. that this struck me.  But, to renovate seems just more pointed than renew.  Notice some definitions of the word renovate.  This is from an on-line dictionary, “Renovate, renew, restore, refresh and rejuvenate all mean to make like new.  Renovate (a word ultimately derived from the Latin verb novart, meaning ‘to make new,’ itself a descendant of novis, meaning ‘new.’) suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding.” 
When one begins a renovation project the first step is to tear out and remove the old, damaged or dirty items.  If the plaster is bad, cracked and falling off we need to remove it before new dry wall can be put up.  Old floor tile, worn linoleum, filthy and threadbare carpet all must be torn up and removed before new floor covering can be put down.  Likewise, before our minds can truly be renewed, renovated,  the old thoughts, the old way of thinking, the old reactions to things must be gotten rid of.  Only then can the correct thoughts and way of thinking be “installed.”  Elsewhere Paul tells us to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Phil. 2:5) Christ’s mind is not compatible with our old thoughts and way of thinking.

I recently heard a speaker make the analogy of this to a card game.  When we draw a new card or are given new cards we have to discard a like number of old cards.  We can’t keep the old along with the new.  In order to have our minds renewed, renovated, restored and rejuvenated we have to discard a lot of old.  Thankfully we don’t do this on our own but the Holy Spirit is doing the work, handling the renovation project.

October 2019