Robin Hood + Jesus (Mark 6 / Matthew 11)

Growing up, one of my favorite books was Robin Hood. I think every young boy loves Robin Hood. The idea of this wily, crafty bandit with exceptional powers of archery outsmarting his foes in order to redistribute immorally seized resources from corrupt local governments strikes at the heart of every blooming economist…er…boy.

My favorite chapter was when Robin’s third in command, Will Scarlet, is captured by the villainous Sheriff of Nottigham. Knowing that killing Scarlet would demoralize Robin Hood’s band, the Sheriff plans to hang the man for treason. But the Sheriff also feels as though killing Scarlet publicly could draw Robin Hood out into the open, so he sets a trap for him, just in case he tries something.

Of course, because he’s Robin Hood, he has to go attempt to save Will Scarlet’s life. The men dress up like friars, in brown robes and mill about inconspicuously among the crowd. But they can’t move too soon, or their cover will be blown.

Scarlet is led to the gallows. His young face feverishly scans the massive crowd for signs of hope – signs of familiar faces, a signal that help has come and will rescue him.

But he sees no such sign. Terror overwhelms him as he is pushed off the platform. The rope around his neck grows taut and Scarlet knows that no help is coming to save him. His close calls have finally caught up with him.

At that moment, Robin Hood blows his horn. The men spring into action. Robin Hood draws his longbow and lets fly a single arrow. It soars through the air, lancing the rope holding Will Scarlet’s flailing body. Scarlet drops to down, right into the arms of Little John, who is in a wagon, galloping past the gallows.

The guards attempt to stop the Band the Thieves but it is no use. Once again, they have been outsmarted.

This scene resonates with me for a number of reasons. First off, it speaks to the heroism and dedication that all young men dream of in their friends. We all long to belong to a devoted band of friends willing to all risk their life for you, if it came to that.

But secondly, it reminds us that in the end, Good wins. Even when it looks like Evil is going to win, Good will come through with a daring, last minute rescue.

HOW THIS RELATES TO THE BIBLE

So, how does this relate to the Bible? Well, I am in the process of reading through the New Testament using a Bible companion called the “Jewish New Testament” written by Rabbi David Stern (not the NBA Commissioner, but a devout Jew who came to accept that Christ really was the Messiah after studying the life of Jesus).

So, right now, I am in Matthew 11. I didn’t say I was very far.

Anyway, reading through that, I came across this passage, which has always perplexed me a bit.

Matthew 11
Jesus and John the Baptist
1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Now, this verse makes me go wha-what for a number of reasons. First off, there’s no way that John the Baptist really needs to know the answer to this question. He was there when Jesus was baptized and a loud voice said, from the sky, “This is my son, with whom I am well pleased.”

If that’s not a sign, I don’t know what is.

Also, it says that John knew Jesus in utero. In Luke 1, it says:

39A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

So clearly, John doesn’t need any additional information that Jesus is the Messiah. So what is going on here?

Stern says it’s code. According to all the old Rabbis who had combed the Scriptures, there were 7 Key Things that the Messiah was definitely going to do. These things were all taught because the Rabbis wanted to make sure good Jewish boys and girls could grow up to recognize the Messiah when He came. Those seven things were.

1. Make the blind see (Isaiah 35:5, 29:18)
2. Make the lame walk (Isaiah 35:6, 61:1)
3. Make the deaf hear (Isaiah 35:5, 29:18)
4. Raise the dead/Heaven with Life (Isaiah 11)
5. Help the poor (Isaiah 61:1)
6. Heal the infirm/sick (Isaiah 61:1)
7. Free the captives (Isaiah 61:1)

Notice the last one. Free the captives.

John was asking, in code, “Are you going to rescue me, because it’s not looking too good and I even hear they might think about killing me if they get the chance.”

He was saying, “If I go to the hangman’s noose, can I count on you to save me?”

What’s amazing to me is the response of Jesus. Look what He says.

4Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Jesus goes though every single one of the signs of the Messiah. But He leaves one out. He leaves out the Free the Captives. In code, Jesus responds to the question of John the Baptist by saying, “No. No, you won’t be rescued.”

Sometimes, God doesn't save us in the way that we expect. Sometimes, God doesn't show up in the way that we would have planned. Sometimes, cancer wins. Sometimes, AIDS wins. Sometimes, she leaves and there's nothing you can do about it.

But Jesus goes on to say that among those born of man, John the Baptist is the greatest. But that even the least in the Kingdom of Heaven are greater than he was. Why? John the Baptist was the greatest because he came at the end of a long line of prophets, but he alone got to actually see and speak with God incarnate. But he didn't have something that all of us have: the knowledge of the end of the story. John didn't know that God would lay down his life for all of us. John didn't know that Jesus would conquer the one obstacle that no man had ever been able to defeat: death. John didn't know that in the end, love wins.

But we do.

And that should give us hope.

Week 5: The Tower of Babel + The Call of Abram

This Week's Notes: This past week's notes are available for download here, available in Word document or PDF.



Click here or on Bill Cosby's picture for an mp3 file of his famous comedy routine about Noah. It's genius.

Week 4 - Cain + The Flood

So we're four weeks into our study of Genesis. You can get the past week's notes by clicking here or if you'd prefer a PDF file of the same document, you can click here.

Additionally, for those of you whose mind flipped out when someone asked, "Where there dinosaurs on Noah's ark" - this is a website of the Institute for Creation Research, based out of Dallas. The ICR is filled with reputable Ph.d-level Scientists who are followers of Christ who write articles about various issues. You can type in "Noah's ark" or "Dinosaurs" on the search button. For example, I found this article on the scientific feasibility of Noah's ark quite interesting.

Also, we had a question about interpreting the Bible.

I do have a question. You talked about exegesis and eisegesis as if they were equally valid ways to approach Bible reading. I have always heard that we never should use eisegesis, as that is putting our own meaning into God's word which may not at all be what the writer intended. We should always read trying to understand what the writer meant. What definition are you using for eisegesis?

This is an important question; you can read my response here.

Also, if you'd like, here's the reading schedule for the next month, just so you know where we are. Hope to see you this Thursday at 7 p.m.

Imago Dei: Why Disabled Children Are Crucial

This is a stunning, beautiful article by Al Hsu (my new favorite columnist from CT). Hsu and his wife have a baby boy named Elijah who was born with Down Syndrome, so he isn't just writing from a theological perspective:

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and the public needs to know that Down syndrome is not nearly as scary as many imagine. Recent articles in both the American Journal of Medical Genetics and Prenatal Diagnosis report that more than 90 percent of pregnancies prenatally diagnosed as Down syndrome are terminated. As prenatal testing becomes normative, expectant couples may be more likely to abort babies who are not exactly what they had hoped for.

Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche communities, which bring abled and disabled people together under one roof, warns in Living Gently in a Violent World that in a few years there may be no more children with Down syndrome in France because they will have all been aborted. In China, babies with disabilities are often abandoned. Extremist groups in the Middle East have even used people with mental disabilities as unwitting suicide bombers. The church must advocate on behalf of those most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Care for the disabled is a global justice issue.

You can read the whole article here

Blble75 Reading Schedule

Here is the list of what we'll be covering in the coming weeks. Click here if you weren't at last week's class and want the notes.

Remez

During class this week, I stumbled while attempting to explain the principle of "remez" - a rabbinical model of teaching Scripture. Here is a brief explanation, cobbled together through various internet sites

The great teachers (rabbis) during Jesus' day used a technique that was later called remez. In their teaching, they would use part of a Scripture passage in a discussion, assuming that their audience's knowledge of the Bible would allow them to deduce for themselves the fuller meaning of the teaching. Apparently, Jesus, who possessed a brilliant understanding of Scripture and strong teaching skills, used this method often.

Example:

Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46)

Here, Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1. In doing so, He is actually "hinting" at the entire text of Psalm 22. Go read it, and you’ll see. Pay particular attention to verses 13-18.

Here is another simple one from Jesus’ words (this was the example from class).

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.”Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
” ‘From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise’?” (Matthew 21:15-16)

Here, Jesus is quoting Psalm 8:2

From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

Why is it God has ordained praise from their lips? Because of His enemies, in order to silence them.

Who is Jesus suggesting are the enemies of God? The chief priests and Torah teachers.

This is why the chief priests and teachers of the law became indignant (Matt. 21:15). The religious leaders realized that Jesus was implying that they were God's enemies.

Jesus best fit the type of rabbi believed to have "s'mikhah" - the authority to make new interpretations of the Torah. Whereas most teachers of the law could only teach accepted interpretations, teachers with authority could make new interpretations and pass legal judgments. Crowds were amazed because Jesus taught with authority (Matt. 7:28-29), and some people questioned his authority (Matt. 21:23-27).

September 18 - Links

Notes from tonight are here.

Article from N.T. Wright about "How Can the Bible Be Authoritative." or you can click here to download it in PDF format.

Click here to read Marilyn Robinson's reaction to atheist Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion." It's good stuff, though you will have to have another browser window open for dictionary.com just to get through it.

Financial Hilarity

Editor's Note: This past weekend, our church did a service about finances. Sermons about money can be pretty boring, so to combat that, I asked our drama team to improv some scenarios, we workshopped the scripts and then came up with these (in my opinion very funny) sketches that talk about the 6 types of budget-blowing financial dysfunctions.

Skit 1: The Impulsive Spender
This skit illustrates the problem with people who blow their budget with impulse buying.


Skit 2: The Compulsive Spender
People who are compulsive buyers buy not because they "need" something, but because they're trying to fill a void with material possessions. This skit shows how ridiculous this dysfunction can be.


Skit 3: The Revenge Spender
People who are "Revenge" spenders are disciplined for long periods of time, and then get tired of the discipline of budgeting and blow their savings on something lavish. This skit illustrates the problem with people who "get revenge" on their budget - but really hurt themselves.


Skit 4: The Boredom Spender
This skit illustrates the problem with people who buy things simply to alleviate their boredom.


Skit 5: The Special Interest Spender
This type of financial dysfunction is caused by a person with an out-of-control hobby that siphons off hundreds - sometimes thousands - of dollars. As you can see from this skit, this can result in real marital tension.


Skit 6: The Status Spender
Status Spenders are people who buy things not because they need them, but because someone else has it. This results in envy and coveting, which this skit shows is never a good thing.