10/12: 10 Themes/memes in Matt's midsection part 1

Today we'll get started on 10 themes/memes in the middle section/swath of Matthew.

First, remember  and review the overall  "literary world" structure below, and in H and Y pp., 246-249:

What do these charts have to tell you about what's going on in Matt's midsection?


Then..on the word "theme" and "meme"

• Megathemes vs. metathemes, 
• Keynote vs. breakout sessions
• Subtheme, secondary theme?

What would you call this in music?

What';s a Meme?  and why is it helpful  (or not) to think about Matt's 7 themes as memes?

• Meme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

  
  
• Internet meme - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme
• Urban Dictionary: meme

Which is your favorite of the Fresno Pacific Memes?

This

This

This

This

This

or

This?

Remember that in EPIC culture and in Hebrew culture, word-pictures (or picture words) are huge

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1)Parables are central and divisive
2)"The Other Side"  (see  10/8  post)
3)TPH  (see  10/8   ;post)
4)Ten Mighty Deeds
5)The Woman With the Hem, Hemistiche and Chutxpah
6)The Holy Shift: From Right-Handed Power to Left-Handed
7)Titles  (see  10/1  post)
8)The "ostrich egg" principle
--

Parable

PARABLES  

 We have already hit some parables in Matthew (ch 7), and soon will find many more (ch 13);
and you will soon have whole "Parable Presentation" due....so we started talking about them today.

• comparison
• one main point
• multifacted..can be entered (but not exited) anywhere
• Work the Three Worlds
• Contexture
• loud fart
• sizzle
• surprising, and maybe shifting God character or Jesus figure

-------- literal meaning of Greek word "parable": Taking two things that have nothing in common and asking "What do they have in common?"  A creative comparison told in story form.  Thus the point is often "hidden" or "unobvious" at first..

A parable is a succinct story, or word-picture/picture in words.. in prose orverse, that illustrates a lesson. It is a type of analogy.^[1].

..The word "parable" comes from the Greek παραβολή (parabolē), meaning "comparison, illustration, analogy",^[3] ...often comparaing two items that seem incongrous, disparate, and have nothing to do with each other... Christian parables have recently been studied as extended metaphors,^[5] ..
Unlike the situation with a simile, a parable's parallel meaning is unspoken and implicit, though not ordinarily secret...The New Testament parables are thought by scholars such as John P. Meier to have been inspired bymashalim, a form of Hebrew comparison. The Tanakh contains only five parables;

          the New Testament dozens. 
           -Link

More:

“The greatest thing by far is to be master of analogy....it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of thesimilarity in dissimilars.”
(Poetics, 1459 a 5-8, "The Basic Works of Aristotle")

If Jesus "never opened his mouth once  (at least to 'outsiders') without speaking an analogy-metaphor-parable," (Matt 13:34-35).. what a genius!

And then surely the essence of genius is to do the same: our primary job as  interpreters/communicators is to find, exploit, and communicate connections between two apparently unrelated things; modeling the great connectedness of all things in theFreakonomic Kingdom.

  -------- the  one primary point
                                     of a parable
is that
                                          a parable has
      one primary point"
(Note that is a chiasm!).

Parables may have allegorical components, but are not usually allegories.  Press and push for the ONE PRIMARY POINT> 

---------Sub point of the main point:
this quote from Eugene Peterson helps us get how offensive Jesus' parables were to religious folk:

"gnostics delight in secrecy. They are prototypical insiders. They think that access to the eternal is by password and that they know the password. They love insider talk and esoteric lore. They elaborate complex myths that account for the descent of our spiritual selves into this messy world of materiality, and then map the complicated return route. They are fond of diagrams and the enlightened teachers who explain them. Their sensitive spirits are grieved by having to live surrounded by common people with their sexual leers and stupid banana-peel jokes and vulgar groveling in the pigsty of animal appetite. Gnostics who go to church involuntarily pinch their noses on entering the pew, nervously apprehensive that an insensitive usher will seat a greasy sinner next to them. They are however enabled to endure by the considerable compensation of being ‘in the know’ (gnostic means ‘the one who knows’). It is a good feeling to know that you are a cut above the common herd, superior to almost everyone you meet on the street or sit beside in church.
It is inevitable that gnostics will boycott the creation theater and avoid its language as much as possible, for metaphor is an affront to their gossamer immaterialities and inner-ring whispers, a loud fart in the salon of spirituality.” (Answering God, 75-76)

Kraybill, from your Upside Down Kingdom textbook: 

"the parables sizzle into the minds of the religious heavyweights: 
your attitude is the opposite of God's"  p. 158
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Remember the "Teenage Affluenza" video that we watched, for which students used
terms like:

• subversive
• satirical
• inductive
• abductive
• interactive
• juxtaposing
• convicting
• evolving
• comedic
• abductive
• pointed
• ironic
• interactive
• offensive (to some)

in describing?  These are all great sub-definitions of a parable.

Remember the "Ignatius the Youth Pastor" video?
Remember how/why it is a parable?:

------

HERE"S WHAT WE"LL DO IN  NEXT CLASS for your Parable Presentations assignments (You do not have to work ahead and prepare for this, but if your party would like to, it would be useful.)

>)Sit  at the table marked by your party name.

>>>From 11-11:11:30

For the first fifteen minutes read, as a group, the parable assigned to you.  Discuss it, use some "three worlds theory" to decide what you think the main point is.   Consider the literary context: what comes before/after the parable, etc.  Take into consideration any info from the "historical world" you may be aware of; you might want to peek at what the Bible Background Commentary has to say about yout parable (linked below, and one is in class to be shared).

(Note: you are not reading as if you were a member of your "party" this time)

Sadducees Party
The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12-14, see whole chapter for context here
(see pages  in the BBC here)

Pharisees Party
The Good Samaritan  Luke 10:25-37, see whole chapter for context here
(see pages 217-218 in the BBC here)

Zealots Party

The Friend at Midnight, Luke 11:1-13, see whole chapter for context here
 (see page 218-220 in the BBC here)

Essenes Party
The Prodigal Son ,Luke 15: 11:32, see whole chapter for context here
 (see page 232-233 in the BBC here)

4)Ten Mighty Deeds

 In all JCC classes, we call these "mighty deeds"  In this article below, you'll see David Bauer calls them "mighy acts"/  What's interesting is Matthew calls them this, and not "miracles" (as some other writers do, or "signs" as (John's gospel does.)  This is in one sense a "drop-down box," but also is on purpose.  Any thoughts on why?

And what do the deeds witness to?  How is Jesus able to do these deeds?  What are they "signs" of/to?

 

See this below from FPU faculty Greg Camp/Laura Roberts:

It is time to consider one aspect of Jesus’ public ministry: the wonders & mighty deeds. This section in chapters 8-9 of Matthew comes immediately after the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5-7.  Traditionally, these acts have been called “miracles,” which potentially predisposes the reader toward a particular understanding that is not necessarily represented in the gospel.  Mark calls them “deeds of power.”  Luke calls them “deeds of power” and “paradoxes.”  John calls them “signs.”  Matthew calls them “wonders” and “mighty deeds.”  Each gospel differs in the number of stories they tell.  Matthew, Mark and Luke all have around 20, John only 7.  All have some which are unique to their gospel and some which appear in others.  As we learned this morning, each gospel is different.  Even in talking about the same event, the writers will emphasize different things.  By Matthew’s characteristic description of these actions as “wonders” or “mighty deeds,” one question to keep in mind is cui bono? or for whose benefit?  On one level, Jesus is serving and ministering to people.  On another level, throughout the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is constantly locked in a power struggle.  With whom is the conflict in these chapters?

Discussion: LOOK AT PAGE 9 at this link.

1.   What kind of mighty deed?

a.    Healing. Most are healings of physical disability (in all gospels around half of miracles are healings!)  The ailments are permanent and limiting; these are not healings of a common cold.

b.   Exorcisms.

c.    Resuscitations. (Explain not a resurrection, keep same body and will die again.)

d.    Other, misc., ‘nature’

2.   What is the context for the mighty deed?

A quick survey of settings should show there is no predictable place, person, or situation.

3.   How does Jesus perform the mighty deeds? (method)

Jesus’ method is difficult to categorize - sometimes touches, sometimes not, sometimes because asked, sometimes he seeks out, sometimes because of faith, (sometimes faith seems to result, but usually not in Matthew or other Synoptics). Jesus’ method is not formulaic. In thinking of healings and exorcisms today we often seem concerned over having the right formula, saying the right words. But there is no one formula or method that Jesus uses. At points it is hard to categorize or generalize about the mighty deeds, but Jesus has this enigmatic quality in general, so no real surprise.

4.   What is the response? (limit to recorded response in text)

a.    Varied

General reactions of the crowd are amazement, wonder, fear and glorifying God. Response of persons healed is to tell everyone they can find, even when Jesus has told them not to do so. After Jesus turns the water to wine John records “and his disciples believed in him.” What does this mean? Some of the mighty deeds involve demons, and upon their immediate recognition of Jesus as the Holy One of God Jesus silences them. The Pharisees, either when they see or hear about the mighty deeds, are incensed and counsel against him.

b.    Raise questions about who Jesus is (his identity)

What they reveal about his identity is that he has power from God—that is how he explains how he can do what he is doing, and that is why he is such a problem for the religious leaders (doing things only God or the power of God can do). Be careful, mighty deeds do NOT reveal Jesus’ divinity. Other people in the Bible do miracles and they are not divine (Moses, Elijah). And many would say mighty deeds and wonders happen today, but the person who God uses to make them happen is not thought divine, but is simply thought to have God’s power, being used by God.

5.   Why does Jesus perform this mighty deed? (Limit to purpose recorded in text, if any)

Jesus’ motivation is often left unassigned. We draw our own conclusions. Jesus responds to people who come to him and ask for healing, either verbally or by virtue of their being where he is. People are always bringing the sick and possessed to Jesus. It is NOT to draw crowds. Mighty deeds do bring the attention of the public, but this cannot be the primary reason, if it is a reason at all, because Jesus does some in private, silences some recipients, refuses to do them on command. The feeding of the 5000 happens because the crowd has gathered while listening to his teaching, not because he was doing mighty deeds. In general, Jesus does not seem overly concerned with PR. The relationship between faith and mighty deeds is complicated. That Jesus did these solely to generate faith is not an adequate answer when we look at these stories in Matthew—more often faith is a precondition rather than a result (in Synoptics).

6.  What does Matthew emphasize in the stories of Jesus’ “mighty deeds”?    

It is best to try to make sense of purpose in the broader context of each Gospel. Jesus’ mighty deeds are closely connected to the kingdom of heaven and to Jesus’ teaching/proclamation in Matthew. We mostly see Jesus teaching/preaching and doing mighty deeds together. They are presented as a manifestation of the kingdom. The kingdom is present in Jesus’ words and deeds. Faith is usually a precondition (vs. result) for miracles in the Synoptics. The connection between faith and struggle appears frequently in these stories. Faith is demonstrated when one who is seeking a mighty deed encounters a barrier and overcomes it.

                 

Earlier in this course, the case was made that the miracles are connected with the first temptation that addresses whether the definition of wholeness in God’s kingdom is limited to physical well-being. The miracle narratives demonstrate clearly that Jesus responds to physical needs and that these are important. But it is also important to note that these accounts move beyond being limited to physical well-being to a fuller-orbed sense of wholeness (restored hand, can work; leper can be around people). Also, these reflect the limits of the Roman peace, the realities of malnutrition, difficult working settings which may lead to injury, no’ social services’ etc.

WHY DOES MATTHEW TELL US MIRACLE STORIES ABOUT JESUS?

a. Jesus’ miracles are closely connected to Jesus’ teaching/proclamation in Matthew. We see Jesus teaching/preaching and doing miracles together mostly (summary statements that Jesus taught, preached, healed in 4.23-25, 9.35-38).

b. Faith is usually a precondition (vs. result) for miracles in Mt. 

c. Mt’s concern to show Jesus asfulfilling scripture is evident in the way he handles the miracle stories. Jesus’ healing ministry is underscored in Mt’s gospel (4.23; 9.35; 10.1, 7-8;  12.15-16; 14.14; 15.30; 10.2; 21.14-15), as healing is one of the most striking aspects of the prophcied messiah’s ministry.  Mt identifies specific prophecies as fulfilled via miracle in his gospel:  Mt 1:22-23 explains the virgin conception fulfills Is 7.14.  Mt 8.17 explains Jesus’ exorcisms and healings fulfill Is 53.4.  Jesus’ miracles in Mt 11.5 correspond to the miracles described in Is 29.18-19, 35.4-5, 61.1.

d. Miracles show God’s power and God’s kingdom

They show that Jesus is God’s anointed, that he has been anointed with God’s power/Spirit.

Jesus’miracles are one mode of God's assertion of the power of the kingdom.  The kingdom in fullness still future, but has become reality in J's words and works. 

What is striking about Jesus as a miracle worker is its de-emphasis.  It is debatable that we ever see Jesus perform a mighty deed to demonstrate his power for his own sake.  Miracles are performed for the restoration of the person and to the glory of God, rather than as proof of anything.  Jesus miracles are in fact generally recognized as glorifying God not Jesus, just as Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of God not of himself.  The deeds are signs of the in-breaking of the kingdom, it is true, but they are not the only or "best" sign.  Striking is the restraint of the gospel writers in recording the miracles.  There is little made of them (they simply describe them and go on), and so one must conclude that while these deeds were one aspect of Jesus' ministry they were not its essence or climax.  The miracles are done as a sign of the kingdom of God breaking in, the reality of God's kingly rule present.

Jesus' miracles show God's power and God's kingdom.  How, in relationship to the 4 kinds of miracles we've identified in the gospels? 

i. resurrections show God's power over life and death.             

            ii. healings and exorcisms show God's power as well, and beyond that are unquestionably tied to the coming of the kingdom.  Isaiah talks about coming age of healing when kingdom comes in fullness all will have full healing.  Jesus heals some but not all--genuine manifestation of kingdom, of power of God, but not fullness.  J's mighty works aimed at restoration and release: leper was unclean, unable to mingle. body is healed but person also restored to fellowship with people. (J's table fellowship restores those who are outcast) woman with flow of blood is ritually unclean, cut off from all that is important in Judaism.  Demoniac is unable to relate, uncontainable.  Exorcism restores him to a state of mind which allows him to relate to people, relate to the community.  The kinds of cures in J's healing miracles  are restorative.  They heal conditions which were debilitating, limiting, marginalizing.  People are often made whole in a way that allows them back into the community, so that they are no longer unclean or no longer have to beg but may work and contribute.  The healings and exorcisms reveal the kingdom as an whole, inclusive community.

iii. The last category, of "misc" miracles is where the teaching connection is the most clear I think.  There is symbolic meaning in Jesus' miracles too--they are signs which reveal something about who Jesus is (the one who brings the kingdom) and about the shape of the kingdom itself.  These misc miracles have an "object lesson" quality I think.  Feeding of 5000, J is bread of life.  There is this symbolic thing in the miracles too, the place where the teaching of the kingdom is most visibly a part of what the miracles are accomplishing--Jesus teaching in word and deed, sometimes in these mighty miraculous works.

-by Camp/Roberts

--

In thinking about  living selflessly like Jesus did...

fill in this blank:
The Scripture suggests that Jesus was able to do miracles, and have 

supernatural knowledge, because he was ___________.

If you answered "God" ...
and not 'human"...read on:
--------------------------------------------

Some theologians call this "Spirit Christology" or "kenosis",  whether or not  this proposed theology is consistently true. If it is, it would almost move this question into the realm of "essential" doctrines, because it then provides the very key to how we are to live in relation to daily Christian life, walking in the power and possibilities of the Spirit; doing the "greater works than Jesus" that Jesus flatly and unapologetically predicted we would do. Now, not every proponent of "Spirit Christology" or "kenosis theology" is biblical or orthodox, so hear me when I say that I know I don't agree with everyone using these categories. The basic argument would be this; to put it bluntly, as one preacher did for shock value:

"Jesus did nothing on earth as God! "

Wow, better unpack that! Now, that statement doesn't have to imply He was not God.. He was, is and always will be fully God in my Book! It's just that He didn't. during His earthly ministry, anyway..do anything out of His innate, inherent and intrinsic Godhood. He voluntarily surrendered the rights to use and access His God hood's attributes... such as omniscience, or power to do mighty miracles. Several
Scriptures come into play: John 5:19 and 30 offer that Jesus did nothing in and of Himself, but only did what the Father and Spirit told/led/empowered Him to do. Philippians 2:6-11 asserts that Jesus didn't take advantage of, or even access of the rights and power of His Godhood, which would be "robbery," and a violation of the whole point of His incarnation; His coming to earth. Instead of functioning out of His eternal power and prerogative as Almighty God, He "emptied Himself". A by-product of this, is as Hebrews affirms "Jesus know every temptation we have endured by His own experience" (2:18 and 4:15). I also love to shock congregations by asking "When Jesus did miracles on earth, how was He able to do those miracles?" Well-trained evangelicals of course automatically answer, "Because He was God!" When actually, that may be the wrong answer all together. Of course He was God, no debate. But the only Scriptural answer to "How did He do those miracles?" is "in the power of the Spirit". And witness Matt. 12:28: He cast out demons; not because He was God and could do so, but as a human "by the power of the Spirit." Thus, that is the "key" key, crucial catch, and ancient but overlooked secret as to how we, mere humans, are to do the same works He did, even greater. (Jesus said that, not me. Blame Him: John 14:12) 

Answer: We do them through "checking in" with the same Father Jesus checked in with while on earth; and trusting,...radically; to the point where the supernatural almost becomes natural and norm... the same Spirit Jesus trusted. (Note Jesus, a few sentences later, suggests that is His secret, and ours. He simply passes the torch to us, but not without the sharing the same equipping Holy Spirit: verses 16-17).Such deep trust and dependency doesn't make us Jesus, of course, but they do position us to trust the timing and voice of the Father, and prompting and power of the Spirit, as radically as Jesus did...with similar and "even greater" results! If JESUS never did anything in and of Himself (John 5:19 and 30), who do we think WE are?

When Jesus asked, in Mark 5:30, "Who touched me?," did He mean it, or was this a test? If "Spirit Christology" is true, one could answer the former, without sacrificing an iota of essential, foundational evangelical theology. When Jesus said even He (Matthew 24:36) did not know the day or hour of His return, was that a lie?. No, and this "lack of knowledge" on the part of a member of the all-knowing Trinity poses no problem. I would propose that He knows now, but He chose not to know on earth. This was all part of His modeling a complete self-emptying. This, though, is core to my third question:" How consistent and complete is this theology.? Did Jesus ever do anything 'on earth as God', even though He was God? And Lord, is this profound truth so profound that to miss it allows us to miss the 'normal' life you have intended for us?"

Whatever the ultimate answer to this question the Lord would give me, the bottom line question I keep hearing in the meantime. and "real time" is haunting: "Have I yet trusted as completely and recklessly as I could in the leading of the Father and the power of the Sprit? I almost don't even care if I do a greater work or not, I just want to be found faithful, and be an answer to Jesus' wild and waiting prophecy of John 14:12. 

I love Dwight Edwards' penetrating, "must-be- wrestled- with" self-questions :

1. What have I done recently that could not be duplicated by an unbeliever, no matter how hard they tried?

2.What blatant evidence of the supernatural God has leaked out of my life?

Questions indeed!

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5)The Woman With the Hem, Hemistiche and Chutzpah

Jesus is healed of his racism by the Canaanite woman." That is a shocking, obviously overstated statement from "Jesus Freak" by Sarah Miles, p. 18)

Here's the text message:

Matthew 15:21-28 :

The Syrophoenician Woman 

²¹ Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” ²³ But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^[a]at us.” ²⁴ But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began ^[b]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ And He answered and said, “It is not ^[c]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord; ^[d]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her,“O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed ^[e]at once.

Obviously chapter 15 comes a bit later than our focus today (chapters 8-10), but it really is the logical (illogical to some) conclusion of all of Jesus' adventures in healing/miracles in ch. 8-10.

>>>1)Jesus "reluctance" to heal this Cannaanite/Syrophenician/Greek (Read "Gentile" or "Foreign") woman becomes a huge shift.  Did he come "Only for...Israel?"

See:

• JESUS' STRANGE COMMENT TO THE CANNANITE WOMAN

• WHY DOES HE CALL HER THAT?

  Matthew 15 Commentary - A Canaanite Woman's Faith

   

Ironically, the Gentile shows Jewish "Chutzpah".
Short Van Der Laan audio about "chutzpah"..click here 

From "Jesus Liked a Little Chutzpah":

A surefire way to immerse yourself in the culture of Israel is to take a public bus in Jerusalem. Because of the bumper-to-bumper traffic, everybody, rich and poor, rides the “Egged” buses around town.\

Ethiopian Jews wrapped in swaths of white fabric sit next to wizened Russian babushkas. A college-age girl in army fatigues chats on a cell phone. Little boys in black suits clamber up the huge steps, side curls and tassels bouncing in the breeze. Their long-skirted, head-scarved mother follows closely behind.

One afternoon when I was riding downtown, I got an even stronger taste of the culture. A grey-haired, matronly retiree climbed aboard and plunked herself into an empty seat halfway back. She hadn’t, however, paid any fare—she had just shuffled past the driver, feigning ignorance. Believe it or not, Jesus actually liked this kind of boldness.

Craning to make eye contact in his mirror, the driver called back to her over the crowd. “Eifo geveret?” (Where to, ma’am?) At first she stared out the window, pretending not to notice.

“Eiyyyfo, geveret?” The whole bus looked on.

Finally, she barked back a gruff response, completely impenitent. A flurry of indecipherable Hebrew filled the air, the gist of which was obvious: either buy a ticket or get off.
But the woman was immovable—glued to her seat, adamant. The driver threw up his hands at her, the universal (and widely used) Israeli gesture of annoyance and disgust.
The bus didn’t move either. Right in the middle of Nevi’im Street, a major artery with only a single drivable lane, the driver shifted into park, snapped open a newspaper, and sat back to read the headlines. Blocks and blocks of traffic snaked to a standstill behind us. After what seemed forever, the woman slowly rose and exited the side doors.
Half of Jerusalem came to a stop for this lady. That’s what you callchutzpah—utter nerve, sheer audacity that borders on obnoxiousness. Boththe woman and the bus driver knew how to push the boundaries of propriety for their purposes!

If you grew up as a small-town Midwesterner like me, you’d find this behavior nearly unimaginable. I come from the land of “Minnesota Nice,” where we’d rather die than violate our code of mild-mannered courteousness. For me, the bus ride was a cultural journey to the ends of the earth. We’re not in Minnesota anymore, Toto.

But an attitude of chutzpah (HOOTS-pah
 /ˈhʊtspə/) ) has been part of Middle Eastern culture since ancient times. If you were one of Jesus’ first-century disciples, you’d be quite familiar with this kind of behavior.

Consider, for instance, the Syrophoenician woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer after pleading with Jesus to heal her daughter (Mark 7:25-30). Jesus and his weary disciples had taken cover in a house in Tyre, hoping to evade the crowds, but her continual pounding at the door threatened to expose their hideout.

Exasperated, the disciples could tolerate her no longer, imploring Jesus, “Send her away! She keeps shouting at us!” But the distraught young mother pushed right past them, bowing before Jesus himself. Surprisingly, he rebuffed her too, like the Israeli bus driver: “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” His mission, at that point, was only to the Jews. But the desperate woman boldly contradicted the greatly esteemed rabbi. “Yes, but even the puppies eat the crumbs at the children’s feet!”

Unlike the lady on the bus, this woman’s tenacious, brazen nerve won out. Jesus healed her daughter and congratulated her for her chutzpah.

        Believe it or not, Jesus actually liked this kind of boldness. 

LINK: Jesus Liked a Little Chutzpah

____________________________________

>>>>6)The Holy Shift: From Right-Handed Power to Left-Handed Power

Robert Farrar Capon  (In  

"Kingdom, grace, judgment: paradox, outrage, and vindication in the parables")

also sees the Feeding of 500 as a huge shift in the gospel, both as a literary division:

______________

...and in Jesus' thinking...

 away from "right handed" power to :left handed"

 FIRST, A TEST FOR LEFT-HANDEDNESS:

GET TOGETHER WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS AND HAVE A GO AT THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES. REMEMBER THAT EACH TASK MUST BE CARRIED OUT INSTANTLY AND WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT.

1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?
2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?
4. Wink at and imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?
5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?
6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?
8. Tilt your head to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?
9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (when the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?

                     (LINK) 

CAPON...ON JESUS LEFT-HANDEDNESS..WHAT DOES HE MEAN?

IN THE FEEDING OF THE 5,000, JESUS' RELUCTANCE ABOUT SIGNS BECOMES MANIFEST (P. 14)...IT IS PIVOTAL (OAGE 21, 22)

 AFTER 5000 ARE FED, THE CROWDS ATTEMPT TO GET JESUS/TEMPT JESUS TO OPERATE IN RIGHT-HANDED POWER (28)...THIS IS A MAJOR SHIFT IN HIS THINKING TOWARD MOVING ONLY IN LEFT-HANDED POWER (55)

NOTE: JOHN'S GOSPEL DOES NOT MENTION JESUS' THREE TESTATIONS...THUS THIS WHOLE "RIGHT-HANDED" TESTATION IS HIS TTP VERSION OF THEM

“BUT JESUS WILL SAVE THE WORLD BY DYING FOR IT – UNDERGOING GHASTLY, UNIMAGINABLE SUFFERING. HE WILL NOT BE A CHARISMATIC, CONVINCING POLITICAL LEADER. HE WILL NOT BE AN INCOMPARABLE WARRIOR. HE WILL NOT RULE BY WINNING, BUT WILL WIN BY LOSING. HE WILL BE, TO THE CONTRARY, THE EERIE EXAMPLE OF WHAT ISAIAH HAD SEEN IN THE SUFFERING SERVANT CENTURIES BEFORE (ISAIAH 53:2-3)” (H. KING OEHMIG, SYNTHESIS 4/6/03). 

 

"UNFORTUNATELY (RIGHT-HAND POWER) HAS A WHOPPING LIMITATION. IF YOU TAKE THE VIEW THAT ONE OF THE CHIEF OBJECTS IN LIFE IS TO REMAIN IN LOVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, STRAIGHT-LINE POWER BECOMES USELESS. OH, ADMITTEDLY, YOU CAN SNATCH YOUR BABY BOY AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF A CLIFF AND NOT HAVE A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP ON YOUR HANDS. BUT JUST TRY INTERFERING WITH HIS PLANS FOR THE SEASON WHEN HE IS TWENTY, AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY IF HIS CHOSEN PLANS PLAY HAVOC WITH YOUR OWN. SUPPOSE HE MAKES UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR CAR, AND YOU USE A LITTLE STRAIGHT-LINE VERBAL POWER TO SCARE HIM OUT OF DOING IT AGAIN. WELL AND GOOD. BUT SUPPOSE FURTHER THAT HE DOES IT AGAIN ANYWAY—AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT IF YOU ARE COMMITTED TO STRAIGHT-LINE POWER? YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE A LITTLE MORE NASTILY EACH TIME TILL YOU CAN’T SHOUT ANY LOUDER. AND THEN YOU BEAT HIM (IF YOU ARE STRONGER THAN HE IS) UNTIL YOU CAN’T BEAT ANY HARDER. THEN YOU CHAIN HIM TO A RADIATOR TILL… BUT YOU SEE THE POINT. AT SOME VERY EARLY CRUX IN THAT DIFFICULT, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, THE WHOLE THING WILL BE DESTROYED UNLESS YOU—WHO ON ANY REASONABLE VIEW, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE STRAIGHT-LINE POWER—SIMPLY REFUSE TO USE IT; UNLESS, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU DECIDE THAT INSTEAD OF DISHING OUT JUSTIFIABLE PAIN AND PUNISHMENT, YOU ARE WILLING, QUITE FOOLISHLY, TO TAKE A BEATING YOURSELF.” (CAPON, PAGE 18-19)  

“EVERY ONE OF US WOULD RATHER CHOSE THE RIGHT-HANDED LOGICALITIES OF THEOLOGY OVER THE LEFT-HANDED MYSTERY OF FAITH. ANY DAY OF THE WEEK—AND TWICE ON SUNDAYS, OFTEN ENOUGH—WE WILL LABOR WITH MIGHT AND MAIN TO TAKE THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE ANYONE AND REDUCE IT TO A SET OF THEOLOGICAL CLUB RULES DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE ALMOST EVERY ONE.” 

 THE MESSIAH WAS NOT GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD BY MIRACULOUS, BAND-AID INTERVENTIONS: A STORM CALMED HERE, A CROWD FED THERE, A MOTHER-IN-LAW CURED BACK DOWN THE ROAD. RATHER IT WAS GOING TO BE SAVED BY MEANS OF A DEEPER, DARKER, LEFT-HANDED MYSTERY, AT THE CENTER OF WHICH LAY HIS OWN DEATH.

"THE MESSIAH WAS NOT GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD BY MIRACULOUS, BAND-AID INTERVENTIONS"-CAPON

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF POWER IN THE WORLD. ROBERT CAPON CALL THEM RIGHT AND LEFT HANDED POWER. CAPON CAREFULLY SHOWS IN HIS BOOK, THE PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM, THAT JESUS TALKED IN PARABLES SO THAT OUR RIGHT BRAINS COULD GRASP WHAT OUR LEFT-BRAINS CAN NEVER. HE SAYS THAT THE GOSPEL IS A GOSPEL OF LEFT-HANDED POWER, THE POWER OF WEAKNESS, SUBMITTING, AND OBEDIENCE. HE SAYS THAT GOD USED  RIGHT-HANDED POWER IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WHEN WE WERE STILL YOUNG IN OUR DEVELOPMENT,  BUT THAT SINCE THE INCARNATION, GOD PRETTY MUCH STICKS TO THE NON-INTERVENTIVE APPROACH. ACCORDING TO CAPON THE WHOLE THING TURNED AT THE FEEDING OF THE MULTITUDE. JESUS HAD BEEN DOING MIRACULOUS SIGNS OUT OF COMPASSION, BUT THEN HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS IN DANGER OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD AS A PROVIDER OF RIGHT-HANDED POWER. WHEN PETER SUGGESTS THAT HE UNDERSTANDS WHO JESUS IS, MEANING THAT HE WANTS HIM TO BE THE PROVIDER AND PROTECTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE, JESUS SAYS, "GET OUT OF MY FACE, YOU SATAN."  IT IS WHEN WE THINK WE UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS UP TO, ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS KNOWLEDGE IS LINKED TO RIGHT-HANDED POWER THAT WE ARE IN THE MOST DANGER.  LINK

READ THE WHOLE SECTION OF CAPON  HERE.

SO HOW DO YOU SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN JESUS' TWO SHIFTS (TOWARD NONISRAELITES AND LEFT-HANDED POWER)?

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8)The "ostrich egg" principle
--ISTORICAL WORLD/INTERCALATION IN CHAPTERS 8-10:

To help with CHAPTERS 8-10,  a provocative threefold question..

Which would you choose:

• 1)Drink wine mixed with rubber, alum, and garden crocuses?
• '2) Eat Persian onions and yell out'Kum, Kum, Kum !'?
• 3) Carry around the ashes of an ostrich egg in a cloth?

You can read more about the intriguing reasons WHY at this link..


..but you'll remember an amazing "historical world" lesson:


These were the main options/remedies that would be given in that culture the bleeding woman we meet in Matthew  9..


And if you look at how the story is obviously INTERCALATED in three gospel accounts with another story (the young girl, daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler..

See also the "drop down" versions of same story in Mark 8 and Luke 5

you'll be able to do some quick comparing/contrasting the two stories,
and note that we are to get the "Literary world" message that Jesus is indiscriminate and inclusive in who he heals:


Older (a woman suffering for 12 years  and younger  ( a 12 year old girl),


poorer  and richer...


what other comparisons/contrasts do you find?


This is evidence for how meaningful the historical world context can be,
This is especially true in parables..

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