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Jairus and His Daughter

[Sixty-Fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Jairus loved his daughter very much. As the leader of the local synagogue, he was a respected man. When he bowed down before Jesus, he sacrificed much of his dignity. What made his daughter’s illness especially painful was that she was twelve years old. At the time of Jesus, a child became an adult in the eyes of the community in their twelfth year. Plans for her marriage were likely under way. She would have been seen as a survivor, since many children died before their twelfth year.

The woman who interrupted Jesus’ trip to see Jairus’ daughter had also been ill for the same twelve years. Her illness was also very disruptive, since it meant that she could not go to the temple nor worship in the synagogue. Nothing any of the doctors could do for her helped her. Jesus was her last hope. And his healing made all the difference in the world for her.

When Jesus was delayed as he went to Jairus’ house, his daughter died. Jesus told Jairus to trust Him and not be afraid. No one knew what Jesus would do, just that He cared about the sick. When Jesus raised her from the dead, everyone was amazed.

The healing miracles of Jesus show us several things. They demonstrate he is God himself and that God has compassion for the sick and suffering. In fact, Jesus shared our sufferings and took them to the cross. There he died for the sins of the world and bore the sufferings that came because of it. His resurrection is the promise of the ultimate healing of all our sickness, sorrow, grief, and death. At his second coming, he will bring an end to it once and for all when he dries every tear from our eyes.

Jesus wants us to have compassion for the sick, too. He tells us to love them, to pray for them and to take care of them. He continues to show mercy to people who suffer through our care. In these ways, we show people that God loves them, too.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jesus Calms a Storm

[Sixty-Four in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: For people in ancient times, the sea was a symbol of chaos and evil. They had a good reason to think this way. Not only was the sea a place that could become violent at a moment’s notice, but they had no way of knowing about coming storms as we do today.

The disciples were veterans of the sea, not bothered much by the wind and waves, even when it was rough. That evening, the sea was in much trouble. They could not use their sails, which would be blown to pieces. So they labored to row against it. They soon became afraid they would sink.

Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, sleeping on the sails and the sack with rocks to keep the boat balanced on the sea. When they woke Jesus, he yelled at the wind and waves the way we would yell at a barking dog. The disciples shouldn’t have been afraid, since Jesus was with them. They realized then that Jesus is God and were more afraid of Him than the sea.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Jesus and the Woman at the Well

[Sixty-Third in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The long-standing hatred between the Jewish people and Palestinians has its roots over three thousand years ago, when the Assyrian Empire conquered the Kingdom of Israel and when the Babylonians conquered Judah. These empires left people behind in the land, who married people from these kingdoms and established their own traditions. The Jews who returned from exile in Babylon thought of them as traitors and sellouts. The Samaritans resented the Jews and their temple. By the time of Jesus, Jews would avoid traveling through Samaria. Jesus and His disciples did not.

The woman at the well had good reason to be surprised by Jesus. For him to take water from her would make him ritually unclean — unable to make sacrifices in the temple or enter the synagogue. More than that, she was considered a very immoral woman, the kind even Samaritans warned their sons to avoid. In speaking with her, Jesus showed her unexpected love and mercy.

Jesus engages her in a spiritual discussion by speaking of living water. At first, she may not have understood what he meant. She thought it would be great to go without drawing water from a well! Jesus followed up by telling her things that he could not possibly know — she had been married five times and now lived with a man to whom she was not married! Now she knew Jesus had to be a prophet and needed to know how to make things right with God.

Jesus told her things had changed; He is the Messiah! She went back to town and brought her friends to hear him teach. For two days, Jesus stayed with them. So it was that the first Gentiles came to faith in Jesus.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Matthew and the Pharisees

[Sixty-Second in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The Pharisees loved God so much that they tried hard to keep all of his commands. They even added more rules to be sure that they did this. They believed that if all of God’s people did everything God wanted them to do, then the Messiah would come, defeat the Romans in battle, and rule the world from Jerusalem forever.

But they had so many rules, it was hard to learn them, remember them, and keep them. Most people could not follow them all, so they really did not try hard. This upset the Pharisees so much that they called these people “sinners.” They thought they were as bad as tax collectors, who worked for the Romans and made themselves rich at their neighbors’ expense.

So, when Jesus saw Matthew at his tax collecting booth and called him to be a disciple, they were outraged. It got worse when he went to Matthew’s house to eat dinner. In the Middle East to this day, inviting someone to dinner is a sign of deep friendship. Sinners and tax collectors were considered unclean, and to eat with them would make you unclean. To the Pharisees, this meant Jesus didn’t take the law seriously at all. What they missed was that Jesus came precisely to save the lost, so he needed to go where they are.

Later, Jesus would remind his disciples and the Pharisees that everyone is sinful and cannot be good enough to please God. He came to die for us all, to pay for our sins, and to bring the forgiveness of sins to us. He came to look for us, find us all, and to save us. So, people like Matthew are just the kind of people he wants as his disciples.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Wedding at Cana

[Fifty-Eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Weddings are very joyful occasions. Everyone dresses their best. There is music, dancing, and feasting. The bride and groom are excited because their life together will soon begin. Weddings in our culture, however, are very different from those during the earthly life of Jesus.

Jewish weddings in first-century Galilee were seven days long, most of it eating, drinking, dancing, reciting wedding poetry — and eating. On the first day, the bride and her wedding party would walk from her house to her groom’s house. They would say their vows in his house or under a tent that stood for the house. Then the party would begin.

Cana was a small town in Galilee, a few miles north of Nazareth. Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were invited to attend a wedding there. It is likely that Mary was a relative or a close friend of the groom’s parents. The family was likely well-off. They could afford a large wedding feast, with lots of guests and servants to cater for the event. They had six large stone jars to contain water to be used by the guests to remain ritually clean.

For one reason or another, the feast ran out of wine. Since the only drinks used in Galilee at the time were water and wine from the vineyards near Nazareth, this was a major problem. Hospitality was very important at weddings. The groom would have to be sure there was plenty to eat and drink. Running out of wine was a disaster in the making.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, asks him to take care of the problem. Jesus’ reply sounds cold in modern English, but it was not cold or disrespectful on that day. It roughly means, “How is that our problem, Ma’am?” Yet Mary trusts Jesus will do what is necessary to solve the problem and tells the servants to do what he tells them to do.

By turning over 120 gallons of water into the finest wine, Jesus saved the couple a lot of embarrassment. More than that, He showed His mother and His disciples that He was God and cared for people in their everyday lives. The church believes that the fact that Jesus attended this wedding blessed all marriages by making wine for the celebration. It is mentioned in every traditional wedding.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

John the Baptist

[Fifty-sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore post: Four hundred years had passed since the last prophet had spoken. Now, a new prophet had come. When he grew up, he dressed like the Prophet Elijah, ate the same foods Elijah ate, and preached in the same places Elijah preached.

John the Baptist had all the credentials to be the Messiah. His father was a priest descended from Aaron. His mother was related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and so descended from King David. An angel in God’s temple announced his birth, while his father was offering prayers on behalf of the people to God. Both of his parents were very old, like Abraham and Sarah, and barren, like Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Many people wondered if he was the Messiah. But he wasn’t. As the last prophet before him predicted, he came to prepare God’s people for the Messiah.

God named him “John (God’s gift)” in the same way He named Isaac and changed Jacob’s name to Israel. The angel announced he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets. Yet from the very start, he and his parents understood John was not the Messiah, but the one who would reveal him to the world and prepare the way for him.

When he baptized Jesus, John finally knew it was his cousin, Jesus. He pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” The Messiah had come not as a conqueror, but as the final sacrifice for the sins of the world. Now His baptism gives us the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

How did Jesus Grow Up?

[Fifty-fifth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The Gospels give us only brief glimpses into the first thirty years of the life of Jesus. We have, of course, the Christmas story. They mention the circumcision of Jesus on the 8th day (we celebrate it on New Year’s Day). After forty days, Mary, his mother, and Joseph, his adoptive father, take him to the temple to redeem him and to purify Mary. There, they meet Simeon and Anna. Then sometime in the first two years, scholars from the east came to their house in Bethlehem, worshiped him, and gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Warned by an angel, they moved to Egypt while Herod the Great vainly tried to kill him and instead slaughtered innocent boys. In a matter of months, they moved back to Nazareth and settled there. Then, that’s it for twelve years. We hear about Jesus among the teachers in the temple, and then silence again for sixteen years!

False teachers, psychics, and prophets of other religions could not resist. They tell stories of a self-centered child animating clay pigeons, raising a child from the dead to testify that he did not shove the child off a roof, and similar things. Some have him moving to India to learn under gurus. Islam has it that he spoke while in the cradle. None of these things happened, but are simply stories made up to fill a vacuum they believe exists.

So, what were Jesus’ first thirty years really like? We don’t know precisely, other than that it was perfectly normal. He grew up as the son of a faithful Jewish craftsman. He learned his father’s trade, living what was a kind of middle-class life. Likely, they worked to build the nearby capital of Herod Antipas, called Sepphoris. He would have studied the Torah, learned Hebrew, observed all the customs of the law, and studied under rabbis. He likely spoke Koine Greek and gained knowledge of Greek and Roman culture. He grew up so normally that no one who knew him could imagine him as God. Luke sums it up: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Wise Men Worship Jesus

[Fifty-First in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: The Wise Men were scholars in Babylon, in Iraq today. One thing they studied was astrology. They saw a star that told them that a king would be born in Israel. So they went to see Him. They did not arrive on Christmas Eve at all, but a few months to a year afterward. They found Mary and Jesus at home in a house.

There are lots of theories as to what the Star of Bethlehem actually was. Some scholars think it was a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, which appeared to approach each other in the sky three times around the time Jesus was born. Others point to the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, which occurred about the same time. Also suggested have been comets, novas, and other signs in the sky. Any of these would inspire ancients who believed in astrology to go visit the newborn king. It may not have been any of these. Christian scholars have pointed out that God was quite capable of creating a star to use solely for the birth of His Son.

Assuming a newborn King of the Jews would be in King Herod’s palace, it made sense to visit him. What they didn’t know is that, in the last few months of his life, Herod was very paranoid. He was known to kill viciously anyone, including his wife and his sons, whom he thought were planning his overthrow. So, then, when the angel warned the wise men not to go back to Herod, it was a very good thing.

Even though tradition says there were three Wise Men (think: We Three Kings of Orient are), no one knows how many came. Matthew doesn’t number them. Perhaps it is because they presented Jesus with three royal gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

They were the first Gentiles to realize who Jesus was and to worship Him. The church celebrates the coming of the Wise Men on the twelfth and last night of the season of Christmas.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Mary and Elizabeth

[Forty-Eighth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Blog Post: At first glance, Mary and Elizabeth do not seem to have much in common — other than King David as their common ancestor. Mary was a very young woman, barely out of childhood. Elizabeth was very old and had no children. Mary lived on the outskirts of the Holy Land, out in small town Galilee. Elizabeth is at the center of Jewish life, the wife of a priest, living in the bedroom communities of Jerusalem. It is clear that the women knew of each other, but not that they knew each other. Elizabeth’s pregnancy is an obvious blessing from God. Everyone knew her to have been barren until old age, like mother Sarah. Mary was a teenager pregnant outside of marriage. Likely, everyone assumed Joseph was a bit too eager and frowned upon it.

One thing is sure. A prompt visit to a distant relative was a wise thing, — it allowed the community a chance to calm down about something they didn’t approve of. So imagine the joy of yet another miracle. The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth. The baby John the Baptist, still in her womb, recognized the presence of the Messiah, still in her cousin’s womb, and leaped for joy. Elizabeth suddenly knew the whole truth — that God had become a man in the womb of her young relative. Mary was the God Bearer, the Mother of God. God had kept his promise — the Messiah had come to save His people from their sin.

Mary responded to Elizabeth with thanksgiving to God. She sings the first song in Luke’s musical. Called the Magnificat, which we sing in Vespers services. In this song, she marvels God has so richly blessed a poor girl. She remains with Elizabeth for three months.

The early church fathers saw something special in the faith of these two women. Both of them believed what God revealed to them from the very start. Their husbands, Zechariah and Joseph, at first doubted. In the end, all four of them firmly trusted in God, who finally came to save — and did so through two very unlikely women, neither of whom should have conceived, one very young and one very old.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Peace of Rome

Encore Post: After the defeat of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, had gained sole control of the Roman Republic. With a combination of political skill and military power, he unified a badly divided empire. Having the Roman Republic declare him its first citizen and bestow upon him the titles Augustus and Son of God (meaning “Son of Julius Caesar”), he gained absolute power while retaining the trappings of the Republic. This political unity would more or less hold for two hundred years. Successfully pushing warfare to the edges of the Empire, Augustus established the Pax Romana — the Peace of Rome.

This peace was a great blessing in the Mediterranean world. Travel was free of political barriers. A network of durable roads was constructed from Rome to the edges of the empire. Many of these are still in use today. Roman culture bestowed status on rulers and wealthy individuals who constructed public buildings, such as aqueducts, baths, theatres, and temples, resulting in a sustained construction boom. A unified currency made trade relatively easy to conduct.

Rome was justly proud of its unified legal code, which, except for the highest levels of society, was stable and, for the most part, objectively enforced. Being a practical people, the Romans adopted and adapted Greek culture and language. Where possible, Rome preferred to allow local nations to rule themselves, as long as they paid their taxes, were politically loyal, raised troops when needed, and bowed to Roman law when it conflicted with their traditions.

God prepared the way for his Son by establishing this common government. It allowed the apostles to fan out quickly across the entire Mediterranean world with the Gospel. It protected St. Paul in Jerusalem and allowed his appeal to the Emperor. The census of Caesar Augustus led the Holy Family to Bethlehem. It assured the fulfillment of prophecy by sending the true Son of God to the cross rather than to death by stoning. It placed objective guards at his tomb to bear witness to his resurrection.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Note: This series of blog posts is available as a Kindle book and eventually as a print booklet at: Amazon.com: Preparation for the Gospel. Please note the author makes a small profit on the sale of this book.