I was struck by the inter-textuality of the Bible. How often Matthew connects the stories of Jesus with the writings of Moses and the prophets. I especially like the double reference (in chapters 9 and 12) to going back to the prophet Hosea to learn what God meant by desiring steadfast love instead of sacrifices. I wonder how many readers take the time to do that.
I am noticing how different it feels to read this story as a whole, rather than the small sections that we normally read in worship services. Even though those are often "in order", there is a sweep to the story that we don't get with the small sections. I also feel more of a sense that this was what Jesus was about on the daily... teaching, preaching, healing. When you just read one story or parable at a time, I don't get that same sense of his ongoing ministry work.
Yes, the immersion in the story gets things across that get lost in shorter liturgical readings. It’s about sustained narrative attention; we notice more of what the evangelist was trying to do.
Yes, absolutely! For some reason the Bible is read (in churches) one verse at a time. But when I first identified as a Christian and had some questions about Christianity, I sat down one night and read the entire New Testament. (I read in an easy-to-read translation -- it was about 200 pages, about what I had to read for college history classes.) Later, as I matured as a Christian, I learned that apparently one didn't do that...!?? Which is a shame....
Matt 8: 5-13 stands out for me as one of the several times an 'unbeliever', the Centurion, shows greater faith than even the disciples. Even more than that is the humility he displays (also sorely and often demonstrably lacking among Jesus' followers) when he tells Jesus that his abode is not fit to receive Jesus and that Jesus need not travel in person. Jesus responds to the faith, consideration and humility, not the role, position or petition.
Totally. I find it funny how often the disciples look like idiots—and they or their immediate followers wrote those accounts, so they had no problem portraying themselves negatively or as flawed people.
Yes, and the centurion was surely a hated Roman soldier, assumed to be one of the oppressors of the Jews! (There is a message there... not sure I'm quite ready for it...)
I’m not going to take this further, because I am not ready to teach others, but I hope your comment, Ken, will invite further discussion about this as I am yearning for greater understanding. Perhsps you can join my prayerful petition for instruction - then we are two gathered in the name of Jesus. 🙏
I was struck by the interaction of the Canaanite woman and Jesus. (Matt 15:21-28. It doesn't start well for the woman, who by speaking to a man in public, one who is not a member of her family or her people, has already committed a terrible cultural faux pas. Jesus appears to be so "on task" to the lost sheep of Israel that he starts to brush her off. But this is a mother whose child is in great need. She is in the vicinity of one who can help her daughter - she's not going to quit now. (Anyone relate?) Look at the language she uses to plead her case - a metaphor! This is parable language - the kind of story-picture language that Jesus himself uses to teach. Language that the gospel of Matthew says even the disciples often don't understand. I like this woman, and I am gratified by Jesus' response to her plea for her daughter.
I'm reading Alabaster Press' version of Matthew (https://alabasterco.com/products/gospel-of-matthew) - it's a beautiful edition my daughter gave me, with photos on every page. The text is from the New Living Translation, which is very easy to read. A small thing I noticed is how much Jesus depended on peoples' faith when he healed them. It seems to be a reciprocal arrangement - he often tells someone he's just healed, "Your faith has healed you." However, in his hometown of Nazareth, we're told he couldn't do much healing "because of their disbelief".
I am reading along in a text with no commentary, and am finding it surprising how much I actually rely on commentary to explain what exactly is going on. I did resort to asking my MTS daughter why John had to send someone to ask Jesus if he was the one they were expecting. Hadn’t John just baptized Jesus and witnessed the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove? She explained it was probably for the sake of John’s disciples that he asked, not for himself.
My pleasure! Interesting explanation re John’s disciples. I always figured he sent his disciples because he was in jail by that point—in other words, he couldn’t go himself. It never occurred to me that he might have sent his disciples for their own sakes.
On public displays of the Ten Commandments and praying of the Lord's Prayer in public assembly, I think that those who advocate for such public display have not taken to heart the words Jesus spoke just before he taught the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:1, 5):
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven...
"Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they live to pray standing in the synagogues and in the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward." [CSB]
I was an evangelical Christian for 40+ years and read through the entire Bible a whole bunch of those years (starting when I was 9). And wrote books and Bible studies. No longer a Christian for lots of reasons and won’t be reading along, but I’d love for a bunch of Trump-supporting Christians to actually read the Gospels for once, take them to heart, and wake up.
There are a lot of evangelical Christians who have been asking for the "Trump Christians" to wake up. (People with a public platform include Russell Moore, David French and David Brooks.) I began rereading the New Testament in 2016 partially as an antidote to Trumpism, to convince myself that Trumpism is NOT Christian. My confidence grew as I read (and reread.) Unfortunately, as someone else has said, Trump followers watch Fox News (and OAN and other media) and don't really read the Bible.
You’re right. They don’t read the Bible. Which is why I said I’d love for them to. Honestly, most of them don’t read period.
My brother was a pastor for 20 years and has a podcast called Unbinding the Bible. He finally had to leave his church last year because he couldn’t get through to the Trump supporters after trying for 1 years. Check out his latest episode (#194). It’s so good.
Yes, I'm listening now. I feel his pain. And I pretty much agree with everything he has said. In my church setting, there is a small collection of people who agree with me and support each other. One such person is a woman of Mexican heritage who often texts me with her frustrations regarding church conversations she hears (in Texas) about immigrants. It is nice to have some friends who will be supportive in their opposition to Trumpism.
I should have said this before I blathered away with my earlier comment:
What a great compilation of passages from Matthew that are still in current use! And the film clips add some much weight to the words. Brilliant, truly. Thanks for pulling that all together, Joel
As I mentioned in agreement with Marla, I did a serious reading and rereading of the New Testament in 2016. I blogged on each chapter and then repeated it all again in 2017, mainly to immerse myself in the New Testament, especially the gospels, and then compare/contrast my readings with what I saw in American church culture. American church culture often ignores the warning about two masters (Matthew 6:24), worshiping money, the American flag, and a comforting brand of politics and so ignores the radical nature of the life and teachings of Jesus. I now identify as a "woke evangelical" -- my church friends don't like the word "woke" and my other friends don't like the word "evangelical"... 😳😃
Love this. If evangelical just meant “good news” like it used to, then people would be fine with it. But it has come to define a set of beliefs, many of them toxic (which you probably don’t hold). I wrote a book about it called unbelieve.
And one more thought... we don't often read something that has been *this* translated. Not only from the original language into other languages, but then translation after translation from that point.
If you’re talking about interpretation and baggage and how many cultures this can and has been “translated” through, I thoroughly agree. That’s why I enjoy read-throughs like this so much. Being able to process larger chunks of scripture as a whole makes it a lot easier to strip away preconceived notions.
That's true, but I was more thinking about the huge variety of English translations available (I assume other languages also have many translations to pick from, but don't know that directly). You can read it in everything from King James to "The Message". They might all be working from the Greek, but they certainly come up with very different results. According to the American Bible Society there are more than 900 English versions! .
That’s super fair. There are a lot of people who know a lot more about it than I do. But from what I know and have read your two examples help illustrate the issues well. The message can generously be called a paraphrase. The man who did that translation, if memory serves correct, didn’t actually work from the original languages and had a clear theological framework that comes through very loudly in his “translation”. The KJV on the other hand was a good translation at the time. But older manuscripts have been discovered and we can say with certainty that the KJV is inaccurate in a number of places. I’m not as well education on the subject as I’d like to be, but for my opinion I think the HCSB and NASB are generally accepted by scholars as accurate to the original languages and approachable in English. Textual criticism is a soapbox I’m a little extra drawn to, sorry to make this all under your comment. I absolutely appreciate what you were trying to say, and agree that the breadth of translations is a little nuts. Part of that is also due to publishing and copyright and profit.
I’m not entirely sure what you mean here, but if I’m understanding correctly for most modern English translations that’s not true. Especially for the New Testament, translators are working with the original language. Most of the New Testament was written and Greek and we have very strong evidence that what we have is original.
I was struck by the inter-textuality of the Bible. How often Matthew connects the stories of Jesus with the writings of Moses and the prophets. I especially like the double reference (in chapters 9 and 12) to going back to the prophet Hosea to learn what God meant by desiring steadfast love instead of sacrifices. I wonder how many readers take the time to do that.
Excellent point. The evangelists all make use of the OT, but Matthew is saturated in it.
Also mentioning Isaiah.
Yes!
I am noticing how different it feels to read this story as a whole, rather than the small sections that we normally read in worship services. Even though those are often "in order", there is a sweep to the story that we don't get with the small sections. I also feel more of a sense that this was what Jesus was about on the daily... teaching, preaching, healing. When you just read one story or parable at a time, I don't get that same sense of his ongoing ministry work.
Yes, the immersion in the story gets things across that get lost in shorter liturgical readings. It’s about sustained narrative attention; we notice more of what the evangelist was trying to do.
Yes, absolutely! For some reason the Bible is read (in churches) one verse at a time. But when I first identified as a Christian and had some questions about Christianity, I sat down one night and read the entire New Testament. (I read in an easy-to-read translation -- it was about 200 pages, about what I had to read for college history classes.) Later, as I matured as a Christian, I learned that apparently one didn't do that...!?? Which is a shame....
Dang! That’s one way to do it!
Matt 8: 5-13 stands out for me as one of the several times an 'unbeliever', the Centurion, shows greater faith than even the disciples. Even more than that is the humility he displays (also sorely and often demonstrably lacking among Jesus' followers) when he tells Jesus that his abode is not fit to receive Jesus and that Jesus need not travel in person. Jesus responds to the faith, consideration and humility, not the role, position or petition.
Totally. I find it funny how often the disciples look like idiots—and they or their immediate followers wrote those accounts, so they had no problem portraying themselves negatively or as flawed people.
I take heart in that kind of humility. It makes a case for the church body being ‘the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts’.
Same here.
Yes, and the centurion was surely a hated Roman soldier, assumed to be one of the oppressors of the Jews! (There is a message there... not sure I'm quite ready for it...)
Fascinating to contemplate.
I’m not going to take this further, because I am not ready to teach others, but I hope your comment, Ken, will invite further discussion about this as I am yearning for greater understanding. Perhsps you can join my prayerful petition for instruction - then we are two gathered in the name of Jesus. 🙏
I think there are a lot of folks who should consider whether they are ready to speak rather than listen, Sara.
Amen.
I was struck by the interaction of the Canaanite woman and Jesus. (Matt 15:21-28. It doesn't start well for the woman, who by speaking to a man in public, one who is not a member of her family or her people, has already committed a terrible cultural faux pas. Jesus appears to be so "on task" to the lost sheep of Israel that he starts to brush her off. But this is a mother whose child is in great need. She is in the vicinity of one who can help her daughter - she's not going to quit now. (Anyone relate?) Look at the language she uses to plead her case - a metaphor! This is parable language - the kind of story-picture language that Jesus himself uses to teach. Language that the gospel of Matthew says even the disciples often don't understand. I like this woman, and I am gratified by Jesus' response to her plea for her daughter.
What a wonderful story. It also reminds me of the story of the widow who pesters the judge—to positive effect.
I'm reading Alabaster Press' version of Matthew (https://alabasterco.com/products/gospel-of-matthew) - it's a beautiful edition my daughter gave me, with photos on every page. The text is from the New Living Translation, which is very easy to read. A small thing I noticed is how much Jesus depended on peoples' faith when he healed them. It seems to be a reciprocal arrangement - he often tells someone he's just healed, "Your faith has healed you." However, in his hometown of Nazareth, we're told he couldn't do much healing "because of their disbelief".
That’s a great insight.
I am reading along in a text with no commentary, and am finding it surprising how much I actually rely on commentary to explain what exactly is going on. I did resort to asking my MTS daughter why John had to send someone to ask Jesus if he was the one they were expecting. Hadn’t John just baptized Jesus and witnessed the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove? She explained it was probably for the sake of John’s disciples that he asked, not for himself.
Thanks for doing this, Joel.
My pleasure! Interesting explanation re John’s disciples. I always figured he sent his disciples because he was in jail by that point—in other words, he couldn’t go himself. It never occurred to me that he might have sent his disciples for their own sakes.
On public displays of the Ten Commandments and praying of the Lord's Prayer in public assembly, I think that those who advocate for such public display have not taken to heart the words Jesus spoke just before he taught the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:1, 5):
"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven...
"Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they live to pray standing in the synagogues and in the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward." [CSB]
Yes! Jesus seems to speak directly against what we seem to take away from it—especially to the extent it’s performative.
I was an evangelical Christian for 40+ years and read through the entire Bible a whole bunch of those years (starting when I was 9). And wrote books and Bible studies. No longer a Christian for lots of reasons and won’t be reading along, but I’d love for a bunch of Trump-supporting Christians to actually read the Gospels for once, take them to heart, and wake up.
There are a lot of evangelical Christians who have been asking for the "Trump Christians" to wake up. (People with a public platform include Russell Moore, David French and David Brooks.) I began rereading the New Testament in 2016 partially as an antidote to Trumpism, to convince myself that Trumpism is NOT Christian. My confidence grew as I read (and reread.) Unfortunately, as someone else has said, Trump followers watch Fox News (and OAN and other media) and don't really read the Bible.
You’re right. They don’t read the Bible. Which is why I said I’d love for them to. Honestly, most of them don’t read period.
My brother was a pastor for 20 years and has a podcast called Unbinding the Bible. He finally had to leave his church last year because he couldn’t get through to the Trump supporters after trying for 1 years. Check out his latest episode (#194). It’s so good.
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll give it a listen.
Of course! Let me know if you’d like a complimentary copy of my book, unbelieve: poems on the journey to becoming a heretic. 💜
That’s supposed to say 10 years. 😅
Yes, I'm listening now. I feel his pain. And I pretty much agree with everything he has said. In my church setting, there is a small collection of people who agree with me and support each other. One such person is a woman of Mexican heritage who often texts me with her frustrations regarding church conversations she hears (in Texas) about immigrants. It is nice to have some friends who will be supportive in their opposition to Trumpism.
I should have said this before I blathered away with my earlier comment:
What a great compilation of passages from Matthew that are still in current use! And the film clips add some much weight to the words. Brilliant, truly. Thanks for pulling that all together, Joel
LOL! It was fun to pull together. Those lines just kept jumping out at me.
As I mentioned in agreement with Marla, I did a serious reading and rereading of the New Testament in 2016. I blogged on each chapter and then repeated it all again in 2017, mainly to immerse myself in the New Testament, especially the gospels, and then compare/contrast my readings with what I saw in American church culture. American church culture often ignores the warning about two masters (Matthew 6:24), worshiping money, the American flag, and a comforting brand of politics and so ignores the radical nature of the life and teachings of Jesus. I now identify as a "woke evangelical" -- my church friends don't like the word "woke" and my other friends don't like the word "evangelical"... 😳😃
LOL. I get it. We specialize in paying attention to the parts that support our biases.
Love this. If evangelical just meant “good news” like it used to, then people would be fine with it. But it has come to define a set of beliefs, many of them toxic (which you probably don’t hold). I wrote a book about it called unbelieve.
And one more thought... we don't often read something that has been *this* translated. Not only from the original language into other languages, but then translation after translation from that point.
If you’re talking about interpretation and baggage and how many cultures this can and has been “translated” through, I thoroughly agree. That’s why I enjoy read-throughs like this so much. Being able to process larger chunks of scripture as a whole makes it a lot easier to strip away preconceived notions.
That's true, but I was more thinking about the huge variety of English translations available (I assume other languages also have many translations to pick from, but don't know that directly). You can read it in everything from King James to "The Message". They might all be working from the Greek, but they certainly come up with very different results. According to the American Bible Society there are more than 900 English versions! .
That’s super fair. There are a lot of people who know a lot more about it than I do. But from what I know and have read your two examples help illustrate the issues well. The message can generously be called a paraphrase. The man who did that translation, if memory serves correct, didn’t actually work from the original languages and had a clear theological framework that comes through very loudly in his “translation”. The KJV on the other hand was a good translation at the time. But older manuscripts have been discovered and we can say with certainty that the KJV is inaccurate in a number of places. I’m not as well education on the subject as I’d like to be, but for my opinion I think the HCSB and NASB are generally accepted by scholars as accurate to the original languages and approachable in English. Textual criticism is a soapbox I’m a little extra drawn to, sorry to make this all under your comment. I absolutely appreciate what you were trying to say, and agree that the breadth of translations is a little nuts. Part of that is also due to publishing and copyright and profit.
It’s a very interesting point. It’s like a choose-your-own-adventure situation: Pick the Bible you like best.
I’m not entirely sure what you mean here, but if I’m understanding correctly for most modern English translations that’s not true. Especially for the New Testament, translators are working with the original language. Most of the New Testament was written and Greek and we have very strong evidence that what we have is original.
Like others here I noticed how frequently Matthew quotes the Old Testament as evidence that Jesus is the guy everyone's been waiting for.
Yes! Matthew’s building a case for Jesus’s identity.
It stuck out to me how often the Pharisees and religious people were offended by Jesus. He would never “fall in line” like they wanted him to.
Oil and water
whatever translation, as long as we all stick to the Nicene Creed and don't think for ourselves, we oughtta be safe from heresy and heliocentrism
Haha! Not heliocentrism!
https://substack.com/@philtanny/note/c-153680762