Bible Background

In Matthew 2, we read:

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 ³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 ⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
   who will shepherd my people Israel.’^[b]”

 ⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 ⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The magi, also known as wise men, sought Jesus to worship Him, (Mt. 2:2,) sought Him and became overjoyed upon finding Him, (Mt. 2:10), worshipped Him (Mt. 2:11) and brought Him gifts (Mt. 2:11).  How different the focus is of many churches today.  Some people today have their eyes and hearts set on what they will get from Him rather than what they get to give to Him.  While we are His people, we are not kings on a throne.  He alone is King of Kings.  So let us keep our hearts and minds and expectations in check about this.  We must always remember, as the wise men did, that it is a privelige to be in His presence.  Let us bow down and worship Him, rejoice over Him, and give gifts to Him today!

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.”  James 1:25

Once a person looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, he or she will be blessed if he or she continues to do this.  James uses a stronger description in Greek than the smoothed-out NIV version, which is, “not a hearer of forgetfulness but a doer of work”.   To continue to do this is to internalize God’s word continually, making an intentional effort to let it impact and transform your life day to day, moment to moment.

Reference: Douglas Moo, The Letter of James, p.95

“But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25

“To look intently” here means “to look carefully at,” and “to investigate”, in the same way one would look carefully into a mirror or at one’s reflection in a pool of water. The Greek verb has the basic meaning of “looking by bending over”, such as in John 20:11, where Mary “bent over to to look into the tomb”. She was looking carefully, investigating. We are to look carefully into God’s law and His word, not just give it a passing glance.

Reference: Douglas Moo, The Letter of James, p. 93.

Jerusalem, Old City

Some of you have been asking about our Bible Background Icon.  This is a picture of Jerusalem, Old City, in the distance, with the new city in the foreground.  We looked out the window from our hotel in Jerusalem and captured the moment–the inspirational glow of God’s warm, loving kindness, effervescing through the beautiful world He made and His magnificent city, Jerusalem.

Luke 3:21-22:

²¹When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²²and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Have you ever wondered what people thought when they heard a voice from heaven?  Actually, they were accustomed to it!  In the 5th century B.C., the era of the biblical prophets had ended with Malachi’s ministry, according to Jewish understanding.  So, from then on, God spoke to the people from heaven in a soothing voice, which many likened to the cooing of a dove.  It was called the “bat kol”, which means daughter voice, because it was gentle like a dove.

Recommended Reading: Understanding Jesus by Joe Amaral, p.38-40.

Goats Grazing In Israel

^“He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.” Deuteronomy 8:15  God brought Israelites water out of a rock.  This would have truly been a miracle.  This picture of goats grazing on a rocky crag in Israel gives an idea of the “thirsty and waterless” land.

To love one’s enemy is to not harbor enmity in one’s heart toward that person.

Jesus was responding to a common oath sworn by the Essenes, one of the three main religious sects of the day (the Pharisees, Sadduccees, and Essenes).  The Essenes recited a vow of hatred twice a day before their common meal, vowing, “to hate forever the unjust and to fight together with the just.” (War 2:139)

Jesus is redirecting traditional practices that do not reflect God’s own heart or mindset.  That is why he says, “You have heard that it was said…But I tell you…” (Mt. 5:43-45).  Now, read the entire passage in light of this background:

Matthew 5:43-48:

43″You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

To love one’s enemy is to not harbor enmity in one’s heart toward that person.  Loving one’s enemy involves not holding a grudge toward them.  Sometimes letting go of the unseen attitude in our heart is more difficult than actually doing good acts.

Capernaum_Israel_Houses_Unearthed

Peter and Andrew did not just fish on the lake.  Rather, they lived right by it.

Peter and Andrew lived on the lake of Galilee  Here is a view of the  Lake of Galilee from Peter’s neighborhood in Capernaum, with remains of neighboring houses.

Galilee was a region and Capernaum was a town in the region of Galilee.  Jesus spent the early years of his ministry in Capernaum.

^“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.” Matthew 4:18

When the fisherman returned from a night of fishing, they hung their nets to dry.  If they did not hang them to dry, the nets would rot easily and quickly.

Luke 5:1-11:

¹One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a]with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, ²he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

 ⁴When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down^[b] the nets for a catch.”

 ⁵Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

 ⁶When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

 ⁸When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

   Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” ¹¹So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”  John 21:3

During Bible times, fisherman fished at night on the lake of Galilee.  They did so becauuse the fish could see the nets during the day but could not see them at night.  The nets were made of linen.