SUNDAY- 2-19-17
Fatima [2nd mile]
https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima [2nd mile]
NOTE- I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type
post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to
do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But I did journal every
day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here.
ON VIDEO-
.Herodians
.2nd mile
.Sin unto death
I went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went
to as a kid.
Turned the camera on right at the end- then walked down
Kennedy Blvd. - a walk I did many times as a kid.
I talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared-
and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’.
I always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law
versus grace.
I also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body
being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was
good to mention them again [past teaching- verses below]
PAST TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses
below]
. The Jews had various responses to
the empires that ruled over them during various times.
Alexander the Great instituted
Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered.
They could keep their
religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule.
Some Jewish people rejected any
compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and
lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community.
This was a few centuries before
the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the
20th century.
A Bedouin boy was looking for his
goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found
the scrolls.
The scrolls might have been
hidden there by the Essenes-
Now- when my friends asked me
about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this-
but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact
that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we
had had all along.
I did read up this week- and
basically had it right.
The earliest Hebrew manuscripts
of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D.
These manuscripts went back about
1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the
Old testament- and some complete books.
The only book missing was Esther.
So- this was indeed a very
significant find for scholars.
But the Scrolls also contain some
of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so
this too was significant.
There were Jews at the time of
the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in
charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of
Christ].
These are referred to as
Herodian’s in the bible.
Some wanted a revolution to rid
Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this
group].
Some thought if they returned to
a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like
the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees.
And some took more of a political
compromise- these were the Sadducees.
Eventually a war with Rome would
be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on
the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he
went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the
Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are
very valuable to scholars].
NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover
how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement].
Frankly- there is a lot of
confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church
had some type of plot to keep certain books out].
Or stories about how the Church
taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her.
Actually- we read in the gospels
that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of
life-
And Jesus had a ministry to the
down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women-
And if true- it would not demean
her in any way-
That’s how this tradition more
than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure.
So a few years back the Church
officially said ‘we don’t know’.
Ok- Plot?
[parts]
(594)
SERMON ON THE MOUNT- ‘Agree with your adversary
quickly, while you are ‘in the way’ with him’. Look at this principle. Jesus
puts it right before he speaks on divorce. Divorce court is the single most
contributor to personal bankruptcy. How many times do we see litigation and
‘getting even’ as the primary motivator for going to court? I heard of a guy
who sold his house and vehicles for 50 dollars [or some outrageous value] just
so his ex wouldn’t get it. Paul says ‘why harm your brother, or own family
member. No man ever yet hated his own flesh’! Jesus said your wife was your own
flesh. Two have become one. Why sue yourself! As you read further Jesus says
‘if someone takes you to court for your shirt, give him your coat too’! The law
of non resistance. This next one is good also ‘if you are compelled to go 1
mile, go 2’! I have heard that in Jesus day the Roman Empire had mile markers
all over the place. When a Roman soldier compelled you to carry his pack, you
by law were required to carry it. But only 1 mile. Sure enough the legalistic
Pharisees figured out a way to just do the bare minimum. So you had these mile
markers all over the place. Well after the mile is up, these new Jesus
followers said ‘let’s go for one more’. What! Are you outta your mind! The
first mile is like the first covenant. The law had you under its grasp. That
first mile was like ‘I will do this requirement, but I will be cursing under my
breath the whole way’. Now mile 2 was different. Your were still doing all the
same requirements of law, but you didn’t have to! The ‘law keeper’ was still
watching [soldier] but the terms were turned around. It’s almost like you were
in charge now. He couldn’t tell you anything. He almost felt guilty! As a
matter of fact after the second mile was completed he was almost your friend!
When you are in the second mile [under grace] you still do the moral
requirements of the law, but you don’t have the soldier forcing you at the
point of a gun [law mentality].
VERSES –
And whosoever shall
compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Know
ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If
any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye
have of God, and ye are not your own?
16 If any
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he
shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto
death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
17 All
unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
1st John 5
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts-
re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks-
John.#
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