As we get ready to begin our journey through the gospels, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Very often, the sections in the gospels are not in a historical order - they are organized thematically and theologically, not necessarily according to the order in which they happened. We will follow John's chronology as much as possible, but this means that there may even be some teachings of Jesus that come before the passion, or before the resurrection in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, that Jesus actually taught after the resurrection. You'll see when we get there, but the point is that we are trying, as much as possible, to follow the historical order of things.
2) Like any good teacher, Jesus repeated himself a lot, so, often that is the reason for differences between the gospels (he told the same story or lesson many times, changing it up for different audiences or contexts) - but that's good news because we can use the differences to help us interpret the meaning behind the teaching.
3) Pretty much everything Jesus taught is ultimately about the Kingdom of God, and that comes in 2 phases:
a. concealed
b. revealed (partly over time, and partly only at the end of the age)
I'll have a lot more to say about this as we go along...
4) Jesus was always having to manage large crowds who might riot and/or proclaim him the wrong kind of king (and Pilate had already violently put down such mobs), so the main reason for Jesus moving around so much is to put off his arrest and crucifixion until the right time. This is also the reason he sometimes tells people NOT to talk about him, or about him being the Messiah.
OK - here we go - I'll be posting the text soon...
Dear friends - Please take 10 minutes to watch this personal update from me:
I'm back, up and running, and ready to go - I should have a new JOURNEY episode within the next week or so - and because you are my loyal peeps, here is an exclusive, just-for-you, behind the scenes SNEAK PEEK into my new office:
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
And don't forget, if you would like to read my latest novel:
The Sword and the Clover - just let me know by email.
I'm happy to send you the PDF version, even if you haven't been a monetary supporter of the community - all I ask is that you don't share it with anyone else.
My email address:
Keep in touch!
JIm
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