In The Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

When thinking about creation, Christians often turn to geologists and astronomers and even high school science teachers as they seek understanding. And though there is much to learn, there is much that leads astray. But for all the claims about the authority of Scripture, who ever begins there? Instead of beginning with science, read first about Scripture. Read commentaries.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and darkness covered the face of the deep…”

“…And God said, ‘Let there be light’…”

How much time elapsed in the age of the earth between the creation of the universe in verse 1 and “Let there be light” in verse 3? We have no clue in Scripture. [But many Christians, superficially familiar with this text, seem to wrongly assume that  “the beginning” (verse 1) equals “let there be light.” But it does not.  (in verse 3— Day One, begins, “And God said...” as do the following days also begin–, verses 6, 9, 14, 20, 24–with “And God said…)]

The Text

Gen 1:1 is not a preface, it is an absolute statement (G. Ch. Aalders: “this is the rendition that is found in every ancient translation, without exception”) [“In the beginning”– reshit: “The use of this root leaves no doubt that Gen 1:1 opens with the very first and initial act of the creation of the cosmos.” TWOT*];  “heavens and earth” is a merism, a figure of speech that signifies the whole, i.e. “the universe.”

Verse 2 tells us about the state of the earth following God’s act of creation in verse 1. Calvin, long before the evolution debate, wrote, “before God had perfected the world it was an undigested mass…this mass, however confused it might be, was rendered stable, for the time, by the secret efficacy of the Spirit.” [Whatever the cosmology of Calvin’s day, he saw an earth in verse two that would need further work in verses 3 and following, thus an elapse of unknown time. You can read Calvin’s  commentaries, free, online.]

NICOT: [Genesis, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, 1990] “Verse 2 then, describes the situation prior to the detailed creation that is spelled out in vv 3ff” [underline mine]. How much time elapsed before verse 3, “Let there be light”? Scripture is silent.

Time

But time compression, in describing events, occurs regularly in Scripture. In Genesis 4, we leap from the conception of Cain in verse one, to the birth of Abel in verse two, and with Abel now being a shepherd in that same verse.

Anyone who reads the Old Testament will see these leaps of time again and again.

The Earth–“Let there be light…”

Three conditions of the earth are described in v.2, the last being ‘darkness’ for which God provides the remedy in v. 3, “Let there be light…”

And in the following verses he provides the remedies for the other two conditions.

There is a wonderful symmetry here: Days one to three have been called, “Days of Preparation” and the last three, “Days of Filling” or from the general to the particular . e.g. day one has ‘light’ ; day four has lights (sun/moon/stars) set in order. Day two has sky and day five has birds of the sky, etc.

In these verses “heaven” and “earth” are used in a limited sense. “The dry land he called earth” [not the planet]. The heavens, here, as the NIV translates it, is our “sky.”

Days

Day One and the days that follow are the week in which God sets his creation in order for the creation of man.

“For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day” Exodus 20:11.

This verse is often wrongly used. [LInk See,  here]

Here, speaking of that week, “the LORD made” not created as in Gen. 1:1. “Made” can have the same connotation as our “making” our bed. We set in order what is already there. [In this case, the remedy for the messy conditions described in verse 2.]

Thus, this verse [Exodus 20:11] is parallel with what we read of the “days” of the week as described: …heavens, earth, sea, and all that is in them [the exact things named in the days of the week], NOT with the universe, the “heavens and earth,” of Genesis 1:1 [It does not reflect on the creation of the universe but on preparing “earth” for man; setting in order the earth that is dark and empty].

A completely unnecessary conflict among some Christians concerns the notion of a Scriptural age of the earth. The ability of devout Christians to fool themselves about their own knowledge is seen in the 17th Century scholars, Bishop Usher and John Lightfoot of Cambridge. The presumptions and false premises of devout and diligent Christians led to setting a date for the creation of the universe. Lightfoot’s first assessment was September 17, 3928 B.C. [What was happening on September 16th?!] Of course, as the first two verses of Genesis show, genealogies [which have their own problems of understanding] do not have anything to do with the age of the earth.

John Calvin, in the 16th Century, made many wise comments on Genesis: “He who would learn astronomy…let him go elsewhere….”

 ”Moses wrote in a popular style things which without instruction, all ordinary persons, endued with common sense, are able to understand; but astronomers investigate with great labor whatever the sagacity of the human mind can comprehend. Nevertheless, this study is not to be reprobated, nor this science to be condemned, because some frantic persons are wont boldly to reject whatever is unknown to them. For astronomy is not only pleasant, but also very useful to be known: it cannot be denied that this art unfolds the admirable wisdom of God.”

On the relationship of natural and special revelation see R.C. Sproul, Youtube (Link) and Augustine, Commentary on Genesis

HOW Many Take Exodus 20:11 (six days) Out of Context and Misuse it. LINK

*TWOT, The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Moody Press (1980), Harris, Archer, Waltke, eds.

[While many ‘like’ few share. It would be nice to see some (one?!) shares on facebook, etc. !]

“Born Again” Or “Born from Above”?

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Two of the most familiar verses in the Bible are in John, chapter 3. But familiarity does not ensure clear understanding.  That takes a little work on our part and paying attention to context.  The Easter  post (link) touched on John 3:16.  Here, we look at verses 3 and 7.

Verse 7 is most often quoted as, “you [ye, i.e. plural] must be born again.”

The word translated as “again” (actually, a paraphase) is anothen [the ‘o’ is omega, the ‘e’ is epsilon].  In Greek, ano means “above” and anothen means “from above.”

Leon Morris in the NICNT uses “anew” as does the ASV. But “anew” shifts the focus FROM the Source, from the Object, from God, TO man and the resulting condition, “anew.”

F. F. Bruce translates it, “You all must be born from above.” Merrill C. Tenney, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary notes: ‘“Anothen”…in the Johannine writings…means “from above” and it should be rendered thus here.’

The NICNT*  notes that  anothen  ‘means “from above” in every other place where it occurs in this Gospel.’  It also notes that ‘there is no Aramaic adverb with the meaning “again.”’

The focus of v.3 is on the Kingdom of God and the condition needed to see it (equals ‘enter it’).  Jesus tells Nicodemus that anyone must be born from above to see it.  Jesus then goes on and emphasizes that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” [water and Spirit (water,  NOT a reference to physical birth)  most likely are an hendiadys– ‘one through two’–  a figure of speech used for emphasis—”The substitution of a conjunction for a subordination” thus, something like “water of the Spirit.”  There could be an allusion to the baptism of repentance of John which the Pharisees rejected.]

And then Jesus repeats this pair all over again: v.7, “You all must be born from above,“ v.8, “…born of the Spirit.”

It is the theme with which John began the Gospel--the children of God, those of the Kingdom, are “born…of God.”

“ But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13). [The word order in Greek is “…who not of…but of God were born“]

Thus, at the start, John contrasts those born of the flesh (1:11–“his own people received him not”), with those born of God.

The familiar “again” has often been used in such a way as to have the effect of shifting the emphasis of the focus from God/Spirit/above (above = heaven) to man. This diminishes the powerful three-fold emphasis on the act of God.

[“Again” goes all the way back to the infancy of English translations with Wycliffe.  John Wycliffe worked from the Latin Vulgate, which has “from above” (desuper) in verse 3, but “again” in verse 7.  As noted above (Bruce, Tenney), “it should be rendered” as “above.” Even with the plethora of modern translations, the traditions of men have a strong hold and die hard. (Mark 7:8, 13)]

We are “born of God…born of the Spirit…born from above.”

***

*NICNT The New International Commentary on the New Testament, F. F. Bruce, Gen. Editor

A Mustard Seed

Reading the Gospel of Mark, the beginning chapters brought to mind an old, distorted view of Holy Scripture that can cause confusion for some. This is another failure to understand context. This troubles some modern, technical minds. We all find it hard to make the paradigm shift to appreciate the Semitic mind.

The problem: “a mustard seed which…is smaller than all seeds on earth…”

This tiny seed is less than half the size of a poppy seed. Still, a botanist or flower gardener can show us smaller seeds, but that is entirely irrelevant. Jesus is not speaking as a botanist. He tells us at the start (Mark 4:30) that this is a parable. In parables we find hyperbole, e.g. the camel (or rope?) that cannot pass through the eye of a sewing needle [forget the ‘urban legend’ of the gate] but may be swallowed instead of a gnat!

Understanding context keeps us from focusing on gnats.

For the technical mind, “all” must mean “all.” But for the literary mind of the writer, it is a device to convey the point, as in the opening of Mark: “Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him [John] and were all baptized…”

No one thinks that if we had the exact census numbers for Judea and Jerusalem of that day, that they would equal the number of all those  who went out to hear John or the number of baptisms.

Back to the mustard seed, this extended simile, a parable, makes a vivid point. And the Jewish proverb (Plummer), “Small as a mustard-seed,” is used by Jesus in comparison with the resulting bush to emphasize “the sheer miracle of the growth of the Kingdom” (Albright).

The Easter Message and John 3:16

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[Photo taken in Verona, Italy]

John 3:16…Keeping the Easter Message

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” ESV

Many [a vast understatement!] Christians have lost their grade school grammar and so [thus] have lost the focus of this verse.  A few weeks ago, I heard a pastor, using this text, emphasizing that God sooooooo loved the world.  The main focus of the verse was not even acknowledged [‘love’ replaced Christ as the focus, for further reading, (be a disciple/learner) see my book on Love, Prayer, and Forgiveness].

‘So’ or ‘Thus’: ‘in a manner or way indicated,’ hence, “God thus loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…”

Or “This is how God loved the world, he gave his son…”  He gave him up to the cross, for you, for me.  This is how God loved the world.  And the great confirmation of this act of love came on the third day with the greatest event in all history: The Resurrection.

“For God so [thus; in this manner] loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

[John repeats the same thought in 1 John 4:9  “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” ESV]

jesus-resurrection-easter-sunday

Addendum: Delighted to find this translation!

NLT: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Holy Week–Hosanna!

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
–Zechariah 9

Jerusalem and The Passover Feast

The ISBE sets the scene:

Pilgrimage was made annually to Jerusalem for the Passover sacrifice…
Passover in NT temple days was a spectacle of excitement and devotion. Pilgrims near and far ascended to the holy city…
Days before Passover began, Jerusalem was a hubbub…Many pilgrims…arrived early to sell or barter their wares…

And numbers? Josephus’ assessment of 3 million Jews (including the city residents) is considered an “extreme exaggeration” or symbolic. But the throngs of pilgrims would have swelled to well over one hundred thousand.

Jesus and the Crowds

John tells us that “six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was…” (John 12:1), and dined with him and his sisters. This event attracted its own crowd of disciples and others.
“Now [on the next day] when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples” (Mat. 21), to fetch a donkey.
And then, “a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him…” (John 12:12).

So, here is the scene. With crowds of pilgrims converging on Jerusalem from every direction, some pilgrims who have heard of his approach meet Jesus, accompanied by a crowd of disciples, on the road outside of Jerusalem.

[Looking Ahead: As an important side note, let us not overlook the false claim that we may hear about the “crowds” accompanying Jesus outside the city, shouting, “Hosanna”  being  the same people in the “crowd” in the city before Pilate’s seat, shouting “crucify.” Though a popular refrain, it is poor gossip, which pays no attention to the setting, and has no foundation in the text itself. See Holy Week, Beware of Idle Conjecture-Link]

Hosanna

Hosanna is a transliteration [“to represent or spell in the characters of another alphabet” a word from a different language in one’s own language] of the Hebrew word in Psalm 118:25 which is translated, “Save now, I pray, O LORD;…”

W.F. Albright notes, in Matthew (AB) that it “is a prayer for deliverance (“Save now!”); it is not in any way a cry of praise….The meaning of the vocative [“a grammatical case in certain inflected languages to indicate the person…being addressed.”] la was misunderstood quite early, and the Greek translation therefore rendered the vocative O son of David as “to the son of David,”…[italic mine] What we have here, therefore, is an ancient liturgical text, a cry to the anointed king for deliverance”.

Thus, Matthew 21 verse 9: “Hosanna! [Save now!] O son of David…”

We see the same picture in the episode immediately preceding the Triumphal Entry, in the plea of the Two Blind Men (Mat. 20:29-34): “Take pity on us, son of David!”

“Sir, let our eyes be opened.”

Addendum

In the NT, palm branches are only mentioned here on ‘Palm Sunday’ in John, and in Revelation:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with **palm branches** in their hands,  and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

Here are key texts for Holy Week (Link)…from John for Maundy Thursday…Isaiah for Messiah Suffering…Romans for Good friday…