what does this mean?

[Jesmincan]

Hey all , wasn't sure where to post this, so thought this would be he best place! In Matthew 13:55 it says "... And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" does this mean that Judas is his actual brother, the one that betrayed him or is it not being literal?

Also, before that, what does the parable of the net mean at the end when it says, "therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old"?

Thank you

 

[paul1149]

Hi Jesmincan,

Judas was a popular name back then. Jesus' brother Judas went on to write the book of Jude.

The other verse comes after Jesus explained a parable to the disciples. In the parable, which he had told to the general population, He had likened the Kingdom of heaven to wheat and tares. After this explanation, Jesus then told another parable to the disciples, the one of the net, and explained that one too.

When He was done He asked if the disciples understood what He was saying. They said they did. Then He said "Therefore..." and continued with the verse you cited.

Jesus was saying that if the disciples sharpened their spiritual discernment, they would be able to take kingdom principles and apply them to situations of everyday life that people could relate to. The "old" would be the principles found in the Word of God. The "new" would be the application that people could relate to. In this way the hearers would come to understand the Kingdom better, in a way that affected their lives.

HTH,
Blessings.

 

[football5680]

Hey all , wasn't sure where to post this, so thought this would be he best place! In Matthew 13:55 it says "... And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" does this mean that Judas is his actual brother, the one that betrayed him or is it not being literal?

It doesn't refer to a literal brother and the Judas mentioned in not Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. In Aramaic there was no way to say something like cousin without using circumlocution so they would have simply said brother. There is more evidence to prove this but I already addressed your main concern.

Also, before that, what does the parable of the net mean at the end when it says, "therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old"?

Verse 52 is not actually connected to the parable of the net. The parable ends at verse 50.

What the verse is saying is that the teachers of the law who are also called scribes, are able to bring out the treasures of both the new and the old. Saint Paul is a great example of this. Saint Paul was zealous Jew who was well versed in the Old Testament. Saint Paul was able to accept the new which is the message of Jesus and when he did this he was able to bring out the treasures of the old which refers to the Old Testament references to Jesus. Saint Paul showed how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in the Old Testament and he was also able to get a better understanding of what the message of the Old Testament truly was because he saw the fulfillment of it in the person of Jesus.

 

[Johnnz]

There were two men with that name.
Luke 6:12-16

12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. NIV

John
NZ

 

[Jesmincan]

Thank you, that is a lot clearer to me now I appreciate it

 

[seashale76]

Hey all , wasn't sure where to post this, so thought this would be he best place! In Matthew 13:55 it says "... And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?" does this mean that Judas is his actual brother, the one that betrayed him or is it not being literal?

Also, before that, what does the parable of the net mean at the end when it says, "therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old"?

Thank you

I'll just tell you what the Orthodox Church believes on the matter. This is the brief version. Joseph was an old man who was a widower with children when he was betrothed to the Theotokos (Mary). Joseph was chosen to care for her when she was older. Her parents took her to the temple at the age of three where they dedicated her to a life serving God, and part of that was a life of virginity. None of those mentioned were his actual brothers through the Theotokos as she was a virgin her entire life. One was a step brother of sorts- at least in the case of James. In fact, St. James was older than Christ and went with Mary and Joseph on their flight to Egypt. The others were cousins or kinsmen (either through the Theotokos or Joseph).

Regarding the parable- here is what The Orthodox Study Bible has to say:

13:47-50 The image of the fishing net gathering the good and wicked together is similar to the parable of the wheat and the tares (vv.36-43). This parable further emphasizes that even those gathered into the Church are subject to judgment.
13:52 St. John Chrysostom notes that Jesus does not exclude the OT, but rather praises it as a treasure. Those who truly write or speak of the kingdom of heaven will draw from the unity of the new and old Testaments, for both are holy, with the New being the fulfillment of the Old. This indeed is how Matthew composed his gospel (see note 1:22).

 

[Jesmincan]

I have another question! In Matthew 15 verse 21 - 28 is "The faith of a canaanite woman", and it says Jesus says to her "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel" and then, "it is not right to take the childrens bread and toss it to the dogs"... what does he mean by this? Does he not want to heal her daughter?

Thanks

 

[Johnnz]

Jesus was born a Jew within a Jewish culture. He therefore came within the expectations of the Jews' Messiah. But we see Jesus making contacts with non Jews, those whom Jewish people saw as outside of God's direct covenant with their nation. But Jesus made such interracial contact in fulfilment of the promise made to Abrham long before Torah was given and te Jewish nation existed.

Jesus' words to her would have repeated what she already knew, that she was from an outcast people. But she nevertheless challenged Jesus, who responded positively.

John
NZ

 

[seashale76]

I have another question! In Matthew 15 verse 21 - 28 is "The faith of a canaanite woman", and it says Jesus says to her "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel" and then, "it is not right to take the childrens bread and toss it to the dogs"... what does he mean by this? Does he not want to heal her daughter?

Thanks

More commentary from The Orthodox Study Bible:

15:21-28 The story of ministry to this Gentile woman illustrates the Jewish orientation of Matthew's gospel. This account is also mentioned in Mk 7:24-30, but with two major differences: (1) Matthew record's Christ's words concerning the lost sheep of the house of Israel (v.24), while Mark does not, and (2) Matthew records the woman using the title Son of David, a Jewish term for the Messiah, while mark does not. Christ went to the Gentile cities not to preach, but to withdraw from the faithless Pharisees. This is confirmed in Mark's gospel, where we read that Christ "wanted no one to know" He was there, and here, where Christ says that He was only sent to the house of Israel.

15:22 This woman shows immeasurable love--she so identifies with the sufferings of her daughter that she cries "Have mercy on me," for she sees her daughter's well-being as her own and her daughter's sufferings as her own.

15:23 Christ refuses to answer, not only because she is a Gentile and His ministry before His Passion is first to the Jews, but also to reveal this woman's profound faith and love. Several of the Fathers see the disciples' request to send her away as an attempt to persuade Jesus to heal the daughter, as if to say, "Give her what she wants so that she will leave." Christ's response indicates this interpretation is correct, for He again refuses to heal the daughter.

15:21-28 This passage is read on days commemorating female martyrs.

15:26-28 Having evoked this woman's love and persistent faith, Christ now reveals her humility. She accepts her place beneath the Jews, who were the chosen people of God, yet still desires a share in God's grace. Christ's hesitancy was not a lack of compassion, but a conscious means of revealing the virtues of this woman, both to the disciples and for her own sake.

Her ultimate acceptance by Christ also points to the gathering of the Gentiles into the Church after Pentecost, no longer as dogs, but as children who are invited to eat the bread of eternal life.

15:29-31 Christ's healing of the multitudes here shows that these Jews actually had less faith than the Canaanite woman (vv. 21-28). Christ healed the woman "with much delay, but these immediately, because she is more faithful than they. He delays with her to reveal her perseverance, while here He bestows the gift immediately to stop the mouths of the unbelieving Jews" (JohnChr).

 

[paul1149]

I love this story because it shows Christ's passion for personal relationship over religion.

At first it seems Jesus is callous toward the Samaritan woman. But He acts that way only because she is pretending to be someone she is not in order to obtain her miracle. She is off at a "proper" distance, mouthing Jewish religious terms not her own to gain favor. As a Samaritan, she is an outcast from the house of Israel and its religious life.

Knowing her love for her daughter, Jesus draws her out until that love compels her to come in close. She falls at his feet and addresses Him personally as "Lord". This is a beautiful tender moment of relational worship. He presses her just a bit more, until she answers with a faith that reflects not religion, but God's good character, and then He performs the miracle He wanted to do the whole time.

He was willing to perform the miracle from the start, but He wants the woman to know that she does not have to approach Him via the correct religious trappings (see Jn 4). The woman came away with far more than she asked for. Not only did she get her miracle, she got personal relationship with the Savior, even as a Samaritan.

 

[Jesmincan]

Wow thank you, this is clear to me now, what a lovely story to be included thank you everyone for helping me to understand !

 

[hedrick]

I should note that the idea that Judas wasn't a biological brother is based on the idea that Mary never had sex (not just the virgin birth, but no sex before or after). This is a Catholic / Orthodox tradition, but one that Protestants generally think there's no evidence for. For us, the most straightforward reading is that Jesus had actual brothers.

I agree that this is a different Judas than the disciple who betrayed Jesus.

paul1149's explanation of why Jesus seems so cold to the woman is interesting. I would classify it as speculation, though reasonable speculation.