Bible Questions

[GreenMunchkin]

Seriously, I start too many threads, I know. Am sorry But I watched The Gospel of John over Christmas and it reminded me of questions that I've always had but never really asked, so if anyone could answer these, I'd be really grateful:

~ Was there 1 disciple called Judas, or 2? I feel stupid asking, but it's always been one of those peripheral questions.

~ In Matthew 7:11, Jesus calls the disciples evil... meaning people are evil, I guess. What does He actually mean when He calls us evil? Without wanting to sound like a child, it sort of hurts my feelings a little... and surely abiding in Christ means we're rescued from evil?

~ In Matthew 5:22, my Bible notes that some manupscripts say "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister without cause..." I'm not quite sure how to reconcile the "without cause"... what constitutes cause, for example?

~ In John, Jesus seems to express Himself differently than in the other 3 Gospels... why is that? I found it really disorientating.

Would appreciate any help with these. Thank you berry much

 

[StreetPreacher82]

Here is a page with a little more information. Not quite what you want, but it is a start.

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/gospel-of-john.htm

 

[Hentenza]

LOL!!!! You might start a lot of threads but they are great threads that stimulate thought and learning.

Seriously, I start too many threads, I know. Am sorry But I watched The Gospel of John over Christmas and it reminded me of questions that I've always had but never really asked, so if anyone could answer these, I'd be really grateful:

~ Was there 1 disciple called Judas, or 2? I feel stupid asking, but it's always been one of those peripheral questions.

There are 2 apostles named Judas. Thaddaeus (who is also called Judas son of James) and Judas Iscariot.

~ In Matthew 7:11, Jesus calls the disciples evil... meaning people are evil, I guess. What does He actually mean when He calls us evil? Without wanting to sound like a child, it sort of hurts my feelings a little... and surely abiding in Christ means we're rescued from evil?

Actually, Matthew 7 is part of the sermon of the mount which spans from Matthew 5 through Matthew 7:29. Jesus is not addressing the disciples but the crowd that was listening to Him. The point of Mat 7:11 can be understood in context by reading Mat 7:7-12.

7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?
10"Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
11"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
12"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.



Jesus is telling the crowd to ask God by praying to God. Verse 11 is an exhortation revealing how much more loving the gifts from God who is in heaven would be to us sinners if only we ask. We are evil (sinners) but God is pure and will give His children (us) what is good if we ask in prayer.

~ In Matthew 5:22, my Bible notes that some manupscripts say "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister without cause..." I'm not quite sure how to reconcile the "without cause"... what constitutes cause, for example?

I am not sure if there is a "just cause" to be angry at your brother, BTW- brother here is used in a general sense not a brother by birth. It seems to say that we should be angry as God would which is to be angry at the sin (just cause for anger) but still love your "brother" (without cause because we are all sinners). But that's just me.

~ In John, Jesus seems to express Himself differently than in the other 3 Gospels... why is that? I found it really disorientating.

The gospel of John concentrates more on the spiritual than the historical. I have always thought of it that way. I can expand on this if you like.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Here is a page with a little more information. Not quite what you want, but it is a start.

http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/gospel-of-john.htm

Thank you

LOL!!!! You might start a lot of threads but they are great threads that stimulate thought and learning.

There are 2 apostles named Judas. Thaddaeus (who is also called Judas son of James) and Judas Iscariot.

Hey, Hen! Happy New Year!

Ah, ok... sometimes he's called Thaddeus sometimes Judas... why did they sometimes have 2 names?

Actually, Matthew 7 is part of the sermon of the mount which spans from Matthew 5 through Matthew 7:29. Jesus is not addressing the disciples but the crowd that was listening to Him. The point of Mat 7:11 can be understood in context by reading Mat 7:7-12.

[snipped]

Jesus is telling the crowd to ask God by praying to God. Verse 11 is an exhortation revealing how much more loving the gifts from God who is in heaven would be to us sinners if only we ask. We are evil (sinners) but God is pure and will give His children (us) what is good if we ask in prayer.

I snipped That's what I was asking I think, yes: by "evil", he means sinners? He doesn't mean evil in the way we use it today?

I am not sure if there is a "just cause" to be angry at your brother, BTW- brother here is used in a general sense not a brother by birth. It seems to say that we should be angry as God would which is to be angry at the sin (just cause for anger) but still love your "brother" (without cause because we are all sinners). But that's just me.

That's the thing... it sort of struck me as a bit of a dangerous loop-hole in some ways. It seemed very arbitrary, and following Christ is anything but, so it confused me. Still does, really. I think if am understanding you right, it's essentially saying "Love the sinner, hate the sin"?

The gospel of John concentrates more on the spiritual than the historical. I have always thought of it that way. I can expand on this if you like.

Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind terribly. I don't like that He sounds so different - makes me uncomfortable, so expansion would be awesome.

Thank you, Hen

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Shuffle poke for helpsies...

 

[AnneSally]

Ah, ok... sometimes he's called Thaddeus sometimes Judas... why did they sometimes have 2 names?

Lol, I always wondered about that too, was it that they had Jewish names and then Jesus renamed them?

I always wondered about Paul because he was Saul, I thought Saul was the bad one and then Paul was when he became good........I think that is Sally's very simplistic incorrect reasoning.

 

[Simon_Templar]

in regards to John, each of the gospels provides a slightly different perspective on Jesus.

For example,
Matthew portrays Jesus as the son of David and the rightful king of Israel
Mark portrays Jesus as the suffering servant
Luke portrays Jesus as a man
and John portrays Jesus as God

These are also represented by four animals, the Lion, Ox, Man, and Eagle. Which interestingly are the four appearances of the Cherubim, the living creatures of revelation.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are often referred to as the synoptic gospels because they tend to focus more on providing over view of Jesus' life and for the most part they all contain roughly the same events and a similar time line. Matthew was of course a disciple, but Mark and Luke were not written by members of the twelve disciples (though both mark and luke have direct ties to the twelve)

John on the other hand does not focus on providing an overview of Jesus' life, but only of his ministry. It begins with his baptism. John also was the among the 'inner circle' of James John and Peter, and John himself was particularly close to Jesus. Thus it appears that he witnessed things (such as the meeting with Nicodemus) that the other apostles didn't.

The primary difference though is in that John focuses on Jesus as God and on showing Jesus' divinity. The other gospels are, in a sense, more human and thus John can seem a little different.

John is my favorite of the gospels.

 

[-~Truth_N_Trust~-]

I agree with th PP who have said that John is more 'spiritual, divine, God' focussed. Even the opening paragraph, which is amazing and describes that Jesus is God - it's a great indication of what we can expect in John.

Also, renaming people is very common in scripture, God did it a fair bit, often to symballise something about their character or experience or a big change/commitment. For instance Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, Saul became Paul (although I think he just used paul - the greek - instead to seperate his new identity as a Christian from his old identity as persecutor)... see where I'm going...

 

[AnneSally]

John is my favorite of the gospels.

mine too...

 

[sealacamp]

Seriously, I start too many threads, I know. Am sorry But I watched The Gospel of John over Christmas and it reminded me of questions that I've always had but never really asked, so if anyone could answer these, I'd be really grateful:

~ Was there 1 disciple called Judas, or 2? I feel stupid asking, but it's always been one of those peripheral questions.

~ In Matthew 7:11, Jesus calls the disciples evil... meaning people are evil, I guess. What does He actually mean when He calls us evil? Without wanting to sound like a child, it sort of hurts my feelings a little... and surely abiding in Christ means we're rescued from evil?

~ In Matthew 5:22, my Bible notes that some manupscripts say "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister without cause..." I'm not quite sure how to reconcile the "without cause"... what constitutes cause, for example?

~ In John, Jesus seems to express Himself differently than in the other 3 Gospels... why is that? I found it really disorientating.

Would appreciate any help with these. Thank you berry much

Acts 1

Here are the names of those who were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas (son of James). 14 They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.

This is clearly another Judas as the one that betrayed Jesus was dead at the time this was written. It is not clear that he was a disciple although it is certain that he was a follower of the Lord.

11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

In the KJV the word evil is used and I believe that is not as accurate as the term sinful people stated here. Also Jesus was not speaking to the disciples specifically he was speaking to everyone on this earth. What He is noting here is that there are no good people yet we do good things for those we love. So how much more will God who is good do good things for us?

As for getting angry without cause I believe that is better aligned with envy, jealousy, or other self centered anger types of emotion. So if someone is behaving badly, or treating someone unjustly there would be a cause for getting angry.

As for any differences of Christ expressing Himself I have never noticed that. What I have noticed is that everyone that views the exact same event will walk away with a different impression of what happened.

Sealacamp

 

[Secundulus]

Jesus is telling the crowd to ask God by praying to God. Verse 11 is an exhortation revealing how much more loving the gifts from God who is in heaven would be to us sinners if only we ask. We are evil (sinners) but God is pure and will give His children (us) what is good if we ask in prayer.

This is profound. Even without the Bible, I would know without a doubt that God exists because of exactly what you say here. The Bible simply gives us the context of who exactly he is.

God does answer prayer which is why, when we pray we should be very specific in asking for what we need. Do we deserve it? No, at least I am sure that I don't deserve any answer. But he always gives an answer and takes care of me anyway.

God is Great. God is Abba.
-------------------------
If you were a Christian when you were seven years old, remember the faith and belief you had then.

Did you doubt God? Did he give you what you asked for?

Pure and unfeigning belief is what he desires. I am 49 now, but I have learned to trust and believe in God as if I were once again only seven years old. After all, no matter how wise and mature we see ourselves, we are still only little children in God's eternal eyes. Ask, and believe without doubt, and you will receive. Even when you don't ask, you still receive. I cannot explain this and don't know why. I only know that this is how it works. I thank him daily. I look forward to the day that I can prostrate myself before his glory and thank him in person.

 

[synger]

Ah, ok... sometimes he's called Thaddeus sometimes Judas... why did they sometimes have 2 names?

Because they didn't have surnames back then, the way we tend to think of them. They used descriptors, like what they did and where they were born, or relationship descriptors like who their father or brother was. Or they used what we might consider "first" and "middle" names.

Judas was one of the common names at the time (as was Jesus, as was Mary, as was Simon, as was John). We see multiples of all these names. It's like going to an elementary school and calling "Hey, Michael!" and seeing how many kids poke up their heads. (Or "courtney" or whatever the popular name is this year)

So they used other descriptors. James son of Zebedee. John, the beloved disciple. Mary of Magdelene. Mary, mother of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. John the baptizer. Simon Peter. Simon the Zealot. Judas the Zealot. Jude(Judas) brother of Jesus, Judas Iscariot (from the town of Kerioth). James, brother of John.

In such a way, my friends might refer to me as "Synger Gordonsdaughter" or "Synger Michigander" or "Synger Webmistress" or "Synger Jean".... and they'd all be referring to me.

 

[CruciFixed]

Awesome facts Synger.
I have a question about the different Gospels of Jesus like how one will say "This happened like this" for example and then the very next book you see "This happened like that" like how one gospel says both of the criminals on the crosses were also yelling insults at Jesus and then another one says that one was screaming insults at Jesus and then the other one asked for Jesus to remember him and he stuck up for Jesus. Not quoting here but I am confused about stuff like that in the Gospels.

 

[CruciFixed]

Hey when some people are swearing at their kids why do they say "Jesus H. Christ" is the H just a form of blasphemy (obviously the whole thing is blasphemy) but did the H come from something biblical or are people just rotten blasphemers?

 

[synger]

Hey when some people are swearing at their kids why do they say "Jesus H. Christ" is the H just a form of blasphemy (obviously the whole thing is blasphemy) but did the H come from something biblical or are people just rotten blasphemers?

My favorite answer to that is that it stands for Harold. You know... "Our Father, who art in heaven; Harold be thy name..."

But I doubt anyone knows. Could be because of the IHS seen over depictions of Christ on Calvary in a lot of Christian art. It's the Greek depiction of the first three letters of Jesus' name. So maybe folks started thinking of it as a monogram, and H was his middle name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_H._Christ

 

[synger]

Awesome facts Synger.
I have a question about the different Gospels of Jesus like how one will say "This happened like this" for example and then the very next book you see "This happened like that" like how one gospel says both of the criminals on the crosses were also yelling insults at Jesus and then another one says that one was screaming insults at Jesus and then the other one asked for Jesus to remember him and he stuck up for Jesus. Not quoting here but I am confused about stuff like that in the Gospels.

There are actually a number of those supposed contradictions. Some of them are misunderstandings in the reader. But I also figure most of them are just eyewitness differences. It actually gives more corroboration to the story, in my eyes, than if all the instances agreed word for word. One witness says both thieves reviled him. One witness says only one did. But they agree that there were thieves on crosses beside him.

 

[Secundulus]

Awesome facts Synger.
I have a question about the different Gospels of Jesus like how one will say "This happened like this" for example and then the very next book you see "This happened like that" like how one gospel says both of the criminals on the crosses were also yelling insults at Jesus and then another one says that one was screaming insults at Jesus and then the other one asked for Jesus to remember him and he stuck up for Jesus. Not quoting here but I am confused about stuff like that in the Gospels.

Here is my belief about what happened. At the crucifixion, all the Apostles except John ran way and hid. Everything they believed had been destroyed overnight.

Then, a couple of days later, Jesus came back and spent around six weeks teaching them.

Then he physically left for good at the Ascension. The Apostles then spent another six weeks, probably in a confused state, still trying to figure out what happened.

Then at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came and they finally understood everything.

We know from scripture that they spent at least a couple of years together after this in Jerusalem together. I expect that they all spent many long nights together discussing what they remembered and writing down their collective memories.

Later, they all split up and began preaching the Gospel to the world. Matthew preached to the Jews (Gospel of Matthew). Peter preached to Rome (Gospel of Mark). Luke interviewed all the living witnesses and wrote their story (Gospel of Luke and Acts). John preached to the Greeks (Gospel of John). Paul preached to nearly everyone (Pauline Epistles).

All of the NT scriptures are the summaries of sermons that different Apostles preached all over the known world over the period of about 40+ years. Much else by the other Apostles was undoubtedly preached that was either not written down or which does not survive in written form.

Given what I said above, is it a surprise that some small details differ? I don't think so. I think it more significant to recognize how much they are all nearly identical and all preach the same theology.

We have the record of different people saying things at different times and in different places. The stories are all consistent with one another. Herein lies the evidence of authenticity.