John Sunday, Feb 20 2011 

Biblical history kennethbow 10:29 pm

John

John was Jesus’ first cousin and His best friend for 3 ½ years. Jesus’ mother and John’s mother were sisters. No man on earth knew the story of Jesus better than John. His gospel is a magnificent treatise to the life of Christ and it’s impact on planet earth.

His gospel is different than the others. Very different! It is written like John is sitting under a shade tree with his feet propped up, just daydreaming about the life of Jesus. He only selects vignettes, short insights or events, from 20 days in the life of Christ.

John uses the simplest words, and a small vocabulary to plunge us into the deepest mysteries of God. John uses the vocabulary of a six year old child. A child learns about 100 words a year and John uses about 600 words in his writing.

The words John selects are powerful words. He uses words like world, father, light, and truth. He uses the simplest words to paint a profound God and His plan.

Matthew writes to the Jew, so he begins his gospel at the lineage of Abraham. Luke writes to the gentile Roman world, so his lineage begins at Adam. John writes to the church, so he reaches all the way back to eternity. He begins with, “In the beginning”.

.John reaches back to the inky blackness of eternity, before there was the brush of an angel’s wing. He reaches back before there was the first blazing shaft of light that shattered the darkness. When there was nothing but God. In the beginning was the logos, the word, the thought, the intent. And the logos was God.

John does not cover the same material as the other three gospels do. The only miracle he repeats is the feeding of the 5000. He writes to the church about 60 years after the other writers. The church was facing many challenges.

When John wrote, there were those who said Jesus never really existed. There were others saying Jesus was not a human, but rather a phantom. Other views at that time proclaimed Jesus did exist but he was just a man with divinity projected upon him by his disciples. It was into this morass that John wrote his gospel.

John writes of no parables, and uses 7 signs to build his story of Jesus. He explains things like no other writer. When he tells a miracle, he often explains why he used that miracle. An example would be the feeding of the 5000. He tells us Jesus is the bread of life. The other three writers did not explain the connection for us. When Jesus heals the blind man, John explains Jesus is the light of the world. It is his explanations that give his gospel an added dimension.

He also includes things of immense importance. Consider how important John chapter three is to the doctrine of the new birth. The story of Nicodemas is the bedrock of salvation. Ye must be born again. That one inclusion validates the day of Pentecost and the doctrine of the New Testament church. Chapter by chapter, John gives the church a gospel for the ages. He delivers the most profound insight into Jesus the man, of any writer of history.

2/3 of John’s book is about the last week of Jesus’ life. Fully 1/3 of his book is about the last 24 hours of Jesus’ earthly life. After 60 years, the need was for a complete record of the importance of calvary. A whole generation had arrived that were not eye witnesses to the events of Jesus’ death. Someone needed to write it down and John succeeded as Heaven’s emissary.

We have the gospel of John and it is indeed magnificent!

 

Luke Saturday, Feb 19 2011 

Biblical history and New Testament kennethbow 8:23 pm

Luke

The third Gospel is the only one written by a gentile. Luke also wrote the book of Acts. His two works comprise 25% of the New Testament.

Luke was a doctor. The flavor of the man always comes out in his writings.

In Luke we see more conversation about women, gentiles, and the social outcasts.

When a beggar lays at the gate of the rich man, Luke says he was full of sores. Matthew would have said he was broke. Matthew’s perspective as a tax collector was his financial status, while Luke had the perspective of a doctor.

Luke’s gospel is written to the Greek, or Gentile world.

He uses Mark as his time line and repeats somewhere around 50% (320 of 661 verses), of the same material Mark provides.

Because he is writing to the Gentile world he begins his genealogy at Adam.

Matthew goes back to Abraham, Mark bypasses the genealogy, and Luke goes back to the first man Adam. John, who writes to the church, reaches back to the misty darkness of eternity.

It appears to me that Luke took the time to interview the people of the early church. He states that his book is from the beginning and that he had perfect understanding of it all.

When you read of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s account, you find some tidbits of information no one else includes. One example would be the details of Mary’s song and inner thoughts and feelings.

That causes me to think Luke must have sat down with Mary and spent time talking to her. I can envision him sitting quietly many years later, at the end of her life, recording her words as she softly speaks of those bygone years. As she wistfully remembers, he dutifully records.

Not only does he provide information about people’s feelings and inner thoughts, he also documents his writings with names, offices and titles of over 50 people. This gives his work a credibility the other gospel writers do not have to the world of scholars.

One example of his documentation is the introduction of John the Baptist in chapter 3. Luke places 7 men in the scripture for historical evidence. He mentions an emperor, a governor, three tetrarchs, and two high priests. These are the kind of things that give Luke credibility with the world of scholars. This also gives further credibility by association to the other Gospels who give the same information. For this alone Luke is invaluable.

Another contribution of his is the writing of parables spoken by Jesus. He records 18 parables not recorded anywhere else. We are indebted to him for the famous parable of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and many others.

I am going to go out on a limb here and state my opinion for what it is worth. I know that Luke traveled with Paul. I am somewhat sure he joined Paul on one of his missionary journeys, because the text of Acts changes from they, to the first person of I and we. So my thought is that somewhere Luke sat and listened to Paul tell his insight into the life of Jesus. My best guess would be this occurred while Paul was being held at Caesarea.

Just like when he started his book by making the journey to see Mary, I can see Luke taking notes at the feet of Paul and then the Holy spirit washing them though the man Luke with his training, his education, and his perspective. From out of that flowed the gospel of Luke.

The gospel written to the Greeks adopts the Greek idea of the perfect man. The Greeks created their Gods by deifying man into a God.

Luke very ably and perfectly adopts their premise and presents them with the perfect man, who was indeed God, Jesus Christ the savior of the world.

 

Thanks for reading today!

 

 

Mark Thursday, Feb 17 2011 

Biblical history and Doctrine and New Testament kennethbow 8:54 am

My last blog was about Matthew, today is Mark.

I will post Luke and John next.

The Gospels.

Four books that the Holy Ghost approved out of the 200 gospels written about Jesus.

Mark

Mark’s gospel was the first gospel written in 50 AD. It was written to the Roman world. It came at a very critical time! The Caesars were killing the Christians in Rome and there was fear and consternation across the empire. Nero was on a rampage! The need was for direction. And the need was now!

So we have the Gospel of Mark. It is the shortest Gospel because time was of the essence. It is the fastest paced Gospel. It uses hurry up adverbs 42 times. Words like immediately, and straightway are the norm.

I am convinced Mark’s Gospel was dictated by Simon Peter. This was a commonly held belief well into the second century. Papias says this in AD 60-150. Papias call Mark Peter’s interpreter. Probably Peter spoke in Aramic and Mark translated into Greek. Finally, Peter calls Mark his “son”, 1 Peter 5.13.

Mark is the timeline that Matthew and Luke work off of. 90% of his gospel is found in Matthew and Luke. He is fast. He has three miracles in the first chapter. The other writers wait until chapter three before introducing a miracle.

Because it is to the Roman world, Mark quotes the Old Testament only one time. He ignores the Mosaic law, then explains the Jewish laws and the passover. Once again, time was pressing them to get this message into the hands of suffering Christians.

It is the shortest gospel, and is proclaimed by an eyewitness, so hence the nod goes to Peter. Matthew repeats over 90% of Mark in his gospel and Luke repeats over 53%,(330 out of 660 verses).

It is interesting to me that Mark does not mention anything about Jesus before Jesus’ baptism. No birth, no early years, or any other information.

Also, Mark deals with Jesus’ humanity. Mark shows Jesus tired, weary and hungry. The Roman world and the new Christians needed to be reminded He was the Messiah. The Avatar, the highest form of God in humanity.

In all probability, the Christians of that day expected the return of Christ any day. They no doubt saw no need for a record of his life, for they would all remember. However when He did not return quickly, it became obvious a whole new generation needed the facts to be recorded.

It is certainly reasonable to assume that Mark knew all the early church leaders and populace. He was a relative of Barnabas and traveled with Barnabas and Paul on their one and only missionary journey together.

Mark is also believed to be one of the few men who accompanied Simon Peter to Cornelius house in Acts chapter ten.

So it was the first Gospel written of the four in your Bible.

It is authored by Mark and dictated by Simon Peter and inspired by God himself!

Thanks for reading today!

 

Matthew Wednesday, Feb 16 2011 

Biblical history and Doctrine and New Testament kennethbow 3:28 pm

Matthew

The Bible is the best selling book of all time. Therefore it is reasonable that the Bible is the most read book of all time. Statistics say that Matthew is the most read book of the Bible for almost everyone starts there!

Now if you or I were going to write a book that we knew more people were going to read more than any other book in the history of the world, would we start it out with a long list of names that no one can even pronounce? Yet God in His wisdom does just that! Why?

Well, one supposition is that He loved the Jewish nation and preferred them with the first Gospel in honor to His commitment to them through the centuries. One thing is for sure; Jesus was not the Messiah they were looking for! He did not fit the image of their expectations!

The Jewish nation were looking for someone to come in and overthrow the Roman grip on their land. Jesus came to overthrow the grip Satan had on their land. So we have the Gospel of Matthew…

• Matthew was a tax collector, therefore he speaks of money more than any other writer, (example, Peter go catch fish and there will be a coin in it’s mouth)

• He starts his genealogy with Abraham instead of Adam because his book is to the Jew

• He has 31 passages unique to him, 10 parables, 2 miracles, 9 discourses, 6 events

• He is the only gospel writer to mention the church

• Uses the term Kingdom of heaven because the Jews did not use the name “God”

• Writes like a tax collector, Example 8 beatitudes at start of book and 8 woes at

end, like bookends

• His style is narrative, discourse. Jesus’ story then, speech or sermon. 5 times says “when Jesus had ended these sayings”

• Quotes the Old testament more times than any other New Testament writer (129 times)

• 16 times says “that it might be fulfilled”

• 2 great sermons, sermon on the mount, and Olivet discourse (one at beginning of book, one toward end of book)

There had been 400 years of silence! Then Matthew’s gospel pulls it all together.

It is the bridge.

Matthew portrays Jesus as the King of the Jews. His gospel is considered as the most important book in Christendom by the French skeptic Renan!

One of the great contributions of Matthew to oneness people is his information on the transfiguration. In chapter 16 Matthew begins the story of Jesus leaving the area of Galilee and going north to the regions of Caesarea Philippi. Jesus literally turns His back on the country of Israel and goes to a gentile region and spends about 8 days with His disciples.

After 6 days of rest and relaxation, He poses the question to them, who do men say that I am? It is a supreme moment in Jesus’ earthly journey. For 3 1⁄2 years He has prepared this select group of men for this revelation. They offer the current scuttlebutt of names, and then Simon Peter makes the famous reply, “Thou art the Christ”.

Jesus no doubt breathed a sigh of relief knowing they had truly got the concept of His being the messiah. Two days later is a remarkable event. I call this “When a good Jewish son took over the family business”.

The event is called the mount of transfiguration. Jesus waits another 2 days and then takes Peter, James, and John with Him up on the mountain. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all inform us what happened there.

Jesus is transfigured before them and Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus. The disciples are speechless, and stunned. Peter finally blurts out an inane babbling, something about three temples.

These three disciples are witness to the transfer of all spiritual spokesman ship from the Father to the Son! A voice booms from the heavens and says, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him”.

This same voice had spoken at the baptism of Jesus, but had not said, “Hear ye him”. At that moment, the eternal spirit of God proclaimed His residence forever to be in the man Christ Jesus. Christ’s earthly ministry was complete. The only thing left was to be the perfect sacrifice.

Never since that moment has the voice of God ever spoken outside of Jesus Christ! The voice that spoke worlds into existence, the voice that spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai, now speaks only through the mouth of Jesus Christ! He is God manifest in the flesh!

Go to your Bible and look. God has never spoken again outside the mouth of Jesus Christ! What a wonderful revelation to the oneness of God.

Truly in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily!

Thanks for reading today!

 

51 and fading……. Saturday, Nov 20 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical kennethbow 7:25 am

He was fifty one years old. He had never been this weary. He was weary in body, but even more weary in his soul.

His life dream was not happening. He had failed to reach his goal in the last four tries.

Questions bombarded his mind. Did he do the right thing? Should he quit? Maybe life was not worth it all anymore!

To make it worse he was all alone.

He walked and thought and brooded. On the horizon was a big city. It was a sinful city. Should he try again? Maybe just once more!

700,000 people were over there in the new city only 100 years old. He was aware it was not an easy city. Soldiers, merchants, slaves and prostitutes.

As he trod toward the outskirts he made what he thought might be his last important decision of life, after all he was despairing of life.

Slowly he stopped as the people on the road drifted by. He was just another traveller on this fine Roman road. Some where along the outside of the metropolis, Paul made a decision.

He decided, I will try again. The past four failures will not keep me from trying again.

Only this time I am making a decision.

This time I will only preach Jesus Christ and him crucified!

He had no fore boding that he was about to do what no other man in history would ever do again.

In the next eighteen months he would establish the largest church in the history of the world.

Corinth, the second largest city in the Roman Empire, the hardest challenge of Paul’s three journeys, would fall before the great apostle.

Paul at his lowest, was Jesus at His best.

God picked up His human crayon and drew a picture for all millenniums.

When I am weak, then am I strong.

It really isn’t about you after all.

Would you just let Jesus be the artist and you be the canvas?

Thanks for reading today!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

 

Pontius Pilate Thursday, Nov 18 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical kennethbow 8:58 am

Pontius Pilate

His name is infamous.

Many people know his name.

Millions know his deed.

He judged Jesus of Nazareth.

Like so many who are infamous or famous, few actually know who he was.

Most would say something like this….He was the Roman governor who passed judgment on Jesus to be crucified. That is all most people know of him. Because of his act of judgment, he is viewed as a terrible person and goes down in history as a rogue.

How did he arrive in the land of palestine in the first place? What happened to Herod Archelaus?

The story of the land of Palestine is long and bloody. For centuries this fabled land was a pawn in the hand of world powers. Kicked back and forth like a backwater, unimportant prize to the most recent conqueror.

Some two centuries before the arrival of Jesus, a family in this land got tired of the iron heel of the conqueror and began to fight back. They became known as the Macabees.

Part politician, part freedom fighters, their only aim in life was to free their land of subjugation. They fought, they bartered, and eventually they won. Well, kind of.

Eventually there came of this family a very subtle and talented man who began a political ascent with the Romans. He was known in history as Herod the great.

Herod was a patriot. No price was to high to achieve his goals of promoting himself and the land he loved. He cajoled and finagled until he persuaded the Caesar to appoint him as King of the Jews.

From his new position he began to push, shove, and drag Israel into being modern. His greatest achievement was the rebuilding of the temple that was standing when Jesus Christ came.

His most heinous crime was the slaughter of all the babies two years old and younger in the attempt to prevent any king from usurping the throne he had worked a lifetime to secure from Rome. (10,000 or more babies were slain).

He died in 4BC. At his death he followed Alexander the Great’s example of dividing your kingdom into several parts. He gave his lands to his three sons. To Phillip he gave the eastern provinces. To Herod Antipas he gave Galilee and Samaria. To Herod Archelaus he gave Judea.

Archelaus ruled the area of Judea for about ten years. He was such a cruel and ruthless man that even Rome could not stomach his reign. Rome used it’s imperial jurisdiction and removed him from his throne and appointed a governor.

Caesar appointed Quirnius Caponius, then Ambivius, then Annius Rufus, then Valerius Gratus, and finally Pontius Pilate.

Pilate ruled from 26 ad until 36 ad. Pilate proved to be so cruel Rome removed him from power. But not before history placed him in the spotlight.

For one brief moment there he stands. All of history will condemn him for this one moment. His name is forever associated with consummate evil.

Three to six years later Rome removed him from power and history says Pilate committed suicide soon thereafter.

What man in history is so well known yet so unknown?

This fact screams to me, it isn’t about Pilate, it is about Jesus.

Without Jesus, pilate fades off the world scene and is never heard of.

Because of his intersection with Jesus, he is immortal.

The only way your life will ever have meaning and memory is if it becomes connected with Jesus.

Thanks for reading today.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

 

Why David? Why? Thursday, Oct 7 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical and Motivational and Old Testament kennethbow 6:57 am

‘Why, David, why?”

The place was another nameless cave.

The men stirred about restlessly.

Gradually, and very uneasily, they began to settle in.

All were as confused as Joab, who had finally voiced their questions.

Joab wanted some answers.

Now!

David should have seemed embarrassed or at least defensive.

He was neither.

He was looking past Joab like a man viewing another realm which only he could see.

Joab walked directly in front of David, looking down on him, and began roaring his frustrations.

“Many times he almost speared you to death in his castle.

I’ve seen that with my own eyes.

Finally, you ran away.

Now for years you have been nothing but a rabbit for him to chase.

Furthermore, the whole world believes the lies he tells about you.

He has come, the King himself, hunting every cave, pit and hole on earth to find you and kill you like a dog.

But tonight you had him at the end of his own spear and you did nothing!

“Look at us.  We’re animals again.  Less than an hour ago you could have freed us all.  Yes, we could all be free, right now!  Free!  And Israel, too.  She would be free.  Why, David, why did you not end these years of misery?”

There was a long silence.

Men shifted again, uneasily.

They were not accustomed to seeing David rebuked.

“Because,” said David very slowly (and with a gentleness that seemed to say, ‘I heard what you asked, but not the way you asked it’), “because once, long ago, he was not mad.  He was young.  He was great.  Great in the eyes of God and men.  And it was God who made him king – God – not men.”

Joab blazed back, “But now he is mad!  And God is no longer with him.  And, David, he will yet kill you!”

This time it was David’s answer that blazed with fire.

“Better he kill me than I learn his ways.

Better he kill me than I become what he is.

I will not practice his ways.

I will not throw spears, nor will I allow hatred to grow in my heart.

I will not avenge.

Not now.

Not ever!”

Joab stormed out into the dark.

That night men went to bed on cold, wet stone and muttered about their leader’s views.

That night angels sang and dreamed, in the afterglow of that rare, rare day, that God might yet be able to give His authority to a man who did not throw spears.

Thanks for reading today!

 

3 Things Wednesday, Oct 6 2010 

Biblical history and Motivational and Old Testament kennethbow 7:05 am

Unlike anyone else in spear-throwing history, David did not know what to do when a spear was thrown at him.

He did not throw Saul’s spears back at him.

Nor did he make any spears of his own and throw them.

Something was different about David.

All he did was dodge.

What can a man, especially a young man, do when the king decides to use him for target practice?

What if the young man decides not to return the compliment?

First of all, he must pretend he cannot see spears.

Even when they are coming straight at him.

Secondly, he must also learn to duck very quickly.

Lastly, he must pretend nothing at all happened.

You can easily tell when someone has been hit by a spear.

He turns a deep shade of bitter.

David never got hit.

Gradually, he learned a very well kept secret.

He discovered three things that prevented him from ever being hit.

One, never learn anything about the fashionable, easily mastered art of spear throwing.

Two, stay out of the company of all spear throwers.

Three, keep your mouth tightly closed.

In this way, spears will never touch you, even when they pierce your heart.

Thanks for reading today!

 

Spear Throwers Tuesday, Oct 5 2010 

Biblical history and Motivational and Old Testament kennethbow 3:36 pm


David had a question:

What do you do when someone throws a spear at you?

Does it not seem odd to you that David did not know the answer to this question?

After all, everyone else in the world knows what to do when a spear is thrown at them.

Why, you pick up the spear and throw it right back!

“When someone throws a spear at you, David, just wrench it right out of the wall and throw it back.

Absolutely everyone else does, you can be sure.”

And in doing this small feat of returning thrown spears, you will prove many things:

You are courageous.

You stand for the right.

You boldly stand against the wrong.

You are tough and can’t be pushed around.

You will not stand for injustice or unfair treatment.

You are the defender of the faith, keeper of the flame, detector of all heresy…..after the order of King Saul.

There is also a possibility that some 20 years from now you will be the most incredibly skilled spear thrower in all the realm.

Thanks for reading today!

 

The secret of the Apostle Paul’s success Monday, Jul 19 2010 

Biblical history and Biographical and Family and Marriage and Motivational and New Testament kennethbow 9:05 am

Paul was about 51 years old.  He was slowly making his way from Athens to Corinth.  His mind and body were on overload.  The events and journeys were taking their toll and he was off balance and on the ropes.

On the first journey there had been the opposition in many cities.  It had been a  continual fight until he reached Derbe.  Included in this section of his life was the near death experience of the stoning at Lystra.

Now he was headed toward Corinth with Athens in his rear view mirror.  He reveals his thoughts in his writings.  He was in despair.  He was so low he actually despaired of life.

Paul was at his lowest point. Looming in front of him was his greatest challenge.  Greater than the cities of Asia minor, greater even than Athens, the intellectual capital of the world.

Recently, he accepted the failed completion of a church in Philippi, then Thessolinica, then again in Berea, and finally the collaspe in Athens!

Somewhere along the dusty travelled road in AD 51, Paul decided I will preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, and nothing else.  Beaten and discouraged, Paul was not ready for what would happen in Corinth.

Corinth was the second largest city in the empire, boasting a population of 700,000 people.  Only the capital, Rome was larger.  The city was new, as it had been destroyed only 100 years before by the Romans and then rebuilt.  It show cased modern architecture.

Corinth was only a few miles from a seaport so there were sailors who came to visit the temple that offered 1000 prostitutes as a form of worship to the Gods of Corinth.  There were Roman officials, a large Jewish population, soldiers, orientals, and every strata of life.

Into this morass walked Paul at his lowest point.  The greatest apostle at his worst, pitted against the greatest challenge of his day.  The result is history!

In eighteen months Paul built the largest church in the history of the world.  The lowest estimates are 40,000 and most historians say the number was more like 80,000 people.

The failures of Athens, Berea, Thessolinica, and Philippi, faded as Corinth unfolded.

At the end of his second missionary journey, Paul had fully recovered in every way.  What was his secret?

While reading the books written to Corinth again recently I was struck by the big picture of chapter seven of the first letter.  So often I have seen the mechanics of this chapter, marriage, virgins, widows, servants, free men, etc.

I realized in all this discussion there rested the secret of Paul’s life and success like an un-mined diamond.

He addressed people that were unhappily married, he addressed virgins, he addressed servants, he addressed free men, he addressed widows, he addressed circumcision.

In all of it he stressed for people to be content!

That was Paul’s secret, to be content! He weaves this thread into many of his other writings.

To the Philippians…be content, 4.11

To Timothy…with food and clothes…be content, 6.8, 6.6

To the Hebrews….be content…13.5

It was the balm for every running issue of life.

Servants, be content!

Free men, be content!

Unhappy married people, be content!

Widows, be content!

Whatever your calling, be content!

Maybe, just maybe, if you could forget your Lystras, your Bereas, your Athens, you might reach your Corinth when you least expect it!

Maybe, just maybe, your greatest season of life is waiting for you when you become content.

When the servant seethes in resentment because they are not free, when the unhappy marriage poisons your daily life, when the past disappointments over whelm you, reach out and pick up Paul’s secret of success!

Find contentment in your life and maybe just maybe, there is a Corinth waiting for you!

Maybe at your lowest, and life’s challenge at it’s most formidable, contentment will bring you your greatest moment!

Godliness with contentment is great gain!

Thanks for reading today!

 

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