Jennifer

The Conception and Birth of Christ: Part One

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Conception and Birth of Christ”

English translation used: Berean Standard Bible

Matthew 1:18-25 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 1:18)

Luke 1:26-56 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 1:26)

Luke 2:1-20 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 2:1)

 

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

 

THE SPLICE

This is how the birth of 1 Jesus Christ came about:

In the 2 sixth month, God sent 3 the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin  4 pledged in marriage to a man named 5 Joseph, who was of the house of 6 David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. So the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will 7 give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. 8His kingdom will never end!”  “How can this be, ” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Look, even 9 Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am 10the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

Now before Mary and Joseph were married, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because 11 Joseph her husband was 12 a righteous man and was unwilling to 13 disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him 14 in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name 15 Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

16 “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son.

 

Want to keep reading? To read the Splice “The Conception and Birth of Christ: Part Two”, click here.

 

NOTES

 

1 Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ means Jesus the Christ, because Christ is a title and not a surname. Christos is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Messiah. (Back)

 

2 sixth month: The sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy; she was miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist (see Luke 1:8-25). (Back)

 

3 the angel Gabriel: This is not the first time Gabriel has been sent by God to give messages to human beings. He was also sent to Daniel (Daniel 8:15-27; Daniel 9:20-27) and Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father (Luke 1:11-20). Gabriel‘s name is a combination of the Hebrew word El (“God”) and the Hebrew word geber (man) and means “man of God”. (Back)

 

4 pledged in marriage: When people became engaged in ancient Israel, they were as good as married and would require a legal divorce to separate. However, they were not married yet, and therefore not living together. To read about the betrothal and marriage practices of ancient Israel, click here. (Back)

 

5 Joseph: We don’t know much about Joseph. We know his father’s name was Jacob (Matthew 1:16). We know he was an obedient man of God (Matthew 1:19, 20, 21, 25, 39), at least when obedience involved Jesus. We know he was a descendant of David through the line of Solomon (Matthew 1:7), we know he was still alive when Jesus was twelve (Luke 2:41-42), and we know he was a carpenter by trade (Matthew 13:55). We know he had children of his own with Mary (Matthew 12:46-47, 13:55, Mark 3:31-32, John 7:3-5). And, we might assume that Joseph passed on his carpentry knowledge to Jesus (Jesus was a carpenter before His ministry, see Mark 6:3), but we can’t know that for sure. If Joseph died early on, one of his relatives or a family friend could have taught Jesus carpentry, or at least finished the education that Joseph had started. (Back)

 

6 David: King David. The name David, probably comes from the Hebrew word dod or dowd and means “well-beloved”. David’s history is recorded in Ruth 4:16-22; 1 Samuel 16:1 – 31:13; all of 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1:1-2:11; 1 Chronicles 10:14 – 29:30. David was also the author of many of the Psalms in the Bible, the most recognizable being Psalm 23. (Back)

 

7 give Him the throne of His father David: See 2 Samuel 7:8-17  (and Isaiah 9:7 ) for this promise of God. (Back)

 

8 His kingdom will never end!: 2 Samuel 7:13, 16 specifically mentions this part of God’s promise to David. See Revelation 21:1-22:5 to understand this everlasting kingdom (as best as we humanly can, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). (Back)

 

9 Elizabeth your relative: The name Elizabeth in Hebrew means “God is an oath”. You can read about Zacharias and Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-25, 39-80. (Back)

 

10 the Lord’s servant: The Greek word used here for the word servant is doulé and it means “female slave”. (Back)

 

11 Joseph her husband: See Note 4 regarding the marriage practices back then. (Back)

 

12 a righteous man: Righteousness isn’t something that a person accomplishes by themselves, for instance, by being a good person. The Bible says that no one is righteous on their own (Romans 3:10). Any righteousness that is attributed to a person is by God’s grace in granting them the God-given faith to receive it (Romans 1:17) ; it is the faith in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24). It is Jesus’s righteousness that is used in the place of the person’s sinful nature (1 Corinthians 1:30). (Back)

 

13 disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly: Deuteronomy 22:13-30 explains penalties for pre-marital or adulterous relations. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 gives the laws of divorce. Jesus makes clear in Matthew 5:32 that the indecency mentioned as grounds for divorce in Deuteronomy means sexual immorality. The Greek word used for sexual immorality is porneia and it applies to any sexual relations outside of marriage. (Back)

 

14 in a dream: The Greek word used in Matthew 1:20 for the word dream is onar and it means “a dream during sleep”. It wasn’t a vision like what many of the prophets experienced (such as Obadiah) or a visitation like what Mary experienced. Joseph’s information from God is delivered to him in dreams only, by an unidentified angel of the Lord (Matthew 1:20; 2:13, 19). The magi are also warned in a dream not to return to Herod after seeing Jesus (Matthew 2:12). (Back)

 

15 Jesus: The name Jesus is Iésous in Greek and Yehoshua in Hebrew. It means “Yahweh is salvation”. (Back)

 

16 Behold, the virgin will be with child: From Isaiah 7:14. (Back)

Supporting Scripture For Jesus’s Genealogy

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Genesis 5:3-32; Genesis 10:21-25; Genesis 11:10-27; Genesis 21:5; Genesis 25:19; Genesis 25:26; Genesis 29:35; Genesis 35:23; Genesis 38:29; Numbers 26:20-21; Ruth 4:17-22; 1 Samuel 17:12; 1 Samuel 17:17; 2 Samuel 12:24; 1 Chronicles 1:1-4; 1 Chronicles 1:17-28; 1 Chronicles 1:34; 1 Chronicles 2: 1; 1 Chronicles 2:4-5; 1 Chronicles 2:9-15; 1 Chronicles 3:1; 1 Chronicles 3:5; 1 Chronicles 3:10-17; 1 Chronicles 23:1; 1 Chronicles 29:22-23; 2 Chronicles 1:1; 2 Chronicles 9:31; 2 Chronicles 11:20; 2 Chronicles 14:1; 2 Chronicles 16:13-17:1; 2 Chronicles 21:1; 2 Chronicles 22:1; 2 Chronicles 22:11; 2 Chronicles 25:1; 2 Chronicles 25:27; 2 Chronicles 26:1; 2 Chronicles 26:23; 2 Chronicles 27:9; 2 Chronicles 28:27; 2 Chronicles 32:33; 2 Chronicles 33:20; 2 Chronicles 33:25

The Genealogy of Jesus: The Shared Lineage of Mary and Joseph

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice Series “The Genealogy of Jesus”

Matthew 1:1-17 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 1:1)

Luke 3:23-38 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 3:23)

Additional supporting Scripture listed here

 

Revelation 22:16
“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the Bright Morning Star.”

 

THE SPLICE

1 Jesus began His ministry when He was about thirty years old. This is a 2 record of the genealogy of 3 Jesus Christ the Messiah, the descendant of Abraham and David. The record is divided up into three parts. The first part is a shared genealogy of 2 Mary and 2 Joseph, working backwards from King David to God. The second part is 2 Joseph’s family lineage and the third part is 2 Mary’s family lineage. 2 Joseph was not Jesus’s biological family member, but Jesus was Joseph’s adopted son.

Here is the shared genealogy of Mary and Joseph:

4 King David, who was the son of 5 Jesse, who was the son of 6 Obed, who was the son of 7 Boaz by Ruth, who was the son of 8 Salmon by 9 Rahab, who was the son of 10 Nahshon, who was the son of 11 Amminadab, who was the son of 12 Admin, who was the son of 13 Ram, who was the son of 14 Hezron, who was the son of 15 Perez, who was the son of 16 Judah by 17 Tamar (they also had a son named 18 Zerah, Perez’s twin). 19 Judah and his brothers were the sons of 20 Jacob, who was the son of 21 Isaac, who was the son of 22 Abraham, who was the son of 23 Terah, who was the son of 24 Nahor, who was the son of 25 Serug, who was the son of 26 Reu, who was the son of 27 Peleg, who was the son of 28 Heber, who was the son of 29 Shelah, who was the son of 30 Cainan, who was the son of 31 Arphaxad, who was the son of 32 Shem, who was the son of 33 Noah, who was the son of 34 Lamech, who was the son of 35 Methuselah, who was the son of 36 Enoch, who was the son of 37 Jared, who was the son of 38 Mahalaleel, who was the son of 39 Cainan, who was the son of 40 Enosh, who was the son of 41 Seth, who was the son of 42 Adam, who was the son of God, as God was his Creator.

Joseph and Mary have different lineages after King David. Two of King David’s and Bathsheba’s sons, Solomon and Nathan, are Jesus’s ancestors. 43 Solomon is Joseph’s ancestor and 44 Nathan is Mary’s ancestor

 

NOTES

 

1 Jesus began His ministry: Jesus is described as our high priest in Hebrews 4:14-15. Many use this verse and the mandates of Numbers 4 as the reason why Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His ministry. Jesus was neither a priest nor a Levite. He did not have to wait to turn 30 years old to begin His ministry—Luke shows us that Jesus was astonishing people at the age of twelve (Luke 2:41-47). Jesus began His ministry at about 30 years old because that was God’s perfect timing, and Jesus always did what His Father commanded (see Luke 22:42; John 14:31). (Back)

2 record of the genealogy: see Setting the Scene for the Genealogy of Jesus. (Back)

3 Jesus Christ the Messiah…: The Messiah is a fulfillment of promises made by God to both Abraham and David. To see God’s covenant with Abraham, see Genesis 17 and 22:16-18, and in particular Genesis 22:18, together with Galatians 3:8. For God’s covenant with David, see 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 which is cited, in part, in Hebrews 1:5 and 2 Corinthians 6:18. (Back)

4 King David: The name David, possibly comes from the Hebrew word dod or dowd and means “well-beloved”. David’s history is recorded in Ruth 4:16-22; 1 Samuel 16:1 – 31:13; all of 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1:1-2:11; 1 Chronicles 10:14 – 29:30. David was also the author of many of the Psalms in the Bible, the most recognizable being Psalm 23. (Back)

5 Jesse: Isaiah 11:1, 10 mentions that the Messiah will descend from Jesse. Jesse is mentioned in 1 Samuel 16 and 17. He is also mentioned in Ruth 4:17, 22 . (Back)

6 Obed: The name Obed means “worshiper” in Hebrew. We really don’t know much about him, except that he was Jesse’s father. See Ruth 4:22. (Back)

7 Boaz and Ruth: The book of Ruth gives us the story of Boaz and Ruth. In Hebrew, Boaz means “quickness” and Ruth means “friendship”. (Back)

8 Salmon: Matthew 1:4 and Luke 3:32 both call him Salmon in the original Greek, but 1 Chronicles 2:11 calls him Salma in the original Hebrew. Salmon and Salma are essentially the same name, both coming from the Hebrew word salmah which means “wrapper, mantle, clothes, garments”. We know almost nothing about him, except that he is the father of Boaz by Rahab, and his father is Nahshon. (Back)

9 Rahab: Rahab’s story can be found in Joshua 2:1-21, 6:17-25 and her faith is mentioned in Hebrews 11:31, as well as James 2:25. Two notes about Rahab: she lied (Joshua 2:4-6) and she was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1). The end never justifies the means; it is never acceptable to God that we lie (John 8:44 and Revelation 21:8, for example). It is also not acceptable to work as a prostitute or to employ a prostitute’s services (1 Corinthians 6:15-16). Any sexual activity outside of marriage, which God has deemed as between one man and one woman for life, is forbidden (see Genesis 2:24, Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:2-12; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 7:1-16, Hebrews 13:4). There are two exceptions that qualify for divorce, see Matthew 19:9 and 1 Corinthians 7:12-15, verse 15 in particular. As for Rahab, God only has imperfect human beings to work through, and although Rahab was beginning to see the light of God, her faith was probably at the “small and new” stage (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Another note: the mentions of Rahab’s faith in Hebrews and James is for welcoming the Israeli spies into her home and sending them out by a rope through the window (Joshua 2:15) so they wouldn’t be caught by the king of Jericho’s men, not because she lied about hiding them. (Back)

10 Nahshon: The name Nahshon comes from the Hebrew word nachash which means “serpent”. Mentioned in Exodus 6:23 as the brother-in-law of Aaron, he is also mentioned in Numbers 1:7 and Numbers 2:3, 1 Chronicles 2:10 as head of household/leader for all of Judah. (Back)

11 Amminadab: The name means “my kinsman is noble” in Hebrew. He was Aaron’s father-in-law (Exodus 6:23). (Back)

12 Admin: Matthew does not mention Admin as the father of Amminadab; Ram is listed as the father of Amminadab. In Luke 3:33, Admin is the son of Ram and Amminadab is the son of Admin. According to the Greek text, the name Admin is the same as Ram and they are both from the same word: Aram or Arni. Many English translations omit Admin all together from Luke 3:33, because it is assumed that Admin/Aram/Arni/Ram (Greek Text Analysis here) are all the same person, since all these names mean the same thing. However, there are a few English translations that keep Admin in as the son of Ram. This is because the original Greek has it listed in this way. 1 Chronicles 2:3-4:23 gives the genealogy for Judah and in verse 2:10, and there is no one named “Admin” between Ram and Amminadab. (Back)

13 Ram See Note 12. He is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:9-10. (Back)

14 Hezron: The name Hezron/Chetsron comes from the Hebrew word “chatser” which means “village, settlement”. Hezron is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 2:5 along with his brother, Hamul. He is also mentioned in Ruth 4:18-19. (Back)

15 Perez: Perez’s story, along with information on how Judah and Tamar ended up together, is told in Genesis 38. (Back)

16 Judah: See Note 15. Judah was the 4th born son of Leah and Jacob. The name Judah comes from the Hebrew name Yehudah which means “praised or celebrated.” In the Greek, Judah and Judas are from the same name, Ioudas. A detailed genealogical record of Judah’s descendants is located in 1 Chronicles 2:3-4:23. (Back)

17 Tamar: See Note 16. Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law. Tamar means “palm tree” in Hebrew. (Back)

18 Zerah, Perez’s twin: See Genesis 38:27-30. (Back)

19 Judah and his brothers: A record of the births of these 12 pillars of Jewish heritage can be found in Genesis 29:32-30:24 and Genesis 35:16-18, 22-26. The 12 tribes of Israel take their names from these 12 brothers and their names will be written on the 12 gates of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:12). You can read about the brothers’ history in Genesis 34, 37-50. (Back)

20 Jacob: Jacob’s story can be found roundly from Genesis 25-50. God renamed Jacob to Israel in Genesis 35:9-12. The name Jacob/Yaaqob comes from the Hebrew word aqab and means “heel/heel catcher, or to supplant/circumvent”. The name Israel means “God strives”. (Back)

21 Isaac: The name Isaac/Yitschaq which comes from the Hebrew word tsachaq and means “to laugh”. Isaac’s story (and promises of his birth) can be found in Genesis 15:1-6; Genesis 17:16-19, 21; 18:10-14; 21:1-8; 22:1-18; and roughly Genesis 24-28. His death is recorded in Genesis 35:28-29. (Back)

22 Abraham: Abraham started out with the name Abram, and both names mean “exalted father”. God changed his name to Abraham in Genesis 17:5. You can read about Abraham’s story within the chapters of Genesis 11-25. (Back)

23 Terah: We know very little about Terah. He shares his name with a place where the Israelites camped in Numbers 33:27.  You can read about him in Genesis 11:24-32. (Back)

24 Nahor: There are two people named “Nahor” in the Bible: One is Terah’s father and the other is the son of Terah, named for his grandfather. Nahor comes from the Hebrew word nachar, which means “nostrils” or “snoring, snorting”. You can read about them in Genesis 11:22-29. (Back)

25 Serug: The name Serug comes from the Hebrew word sarag and means “to be intertwined”, as in a wreath. He is mentioned in Genesis 11:20-23. (Back)

26 Reu: The name Reu has roots in the Hebrew word rea meaning “friend, companion”. He is mentioned in Genesis 11:19-21. (Back)

27 Peleg: Mentioned in Genesis 11:17-19, his name comes from the Hebrew word palag, which means “to split or divide”. (Back)

28 Heber: Heber or Eber, is mentioned in Genesis 11:14-17. The name Eber means “region beyond”. (Back)

29 Shelah: The name Shelah comes from the Hebrew word shalach and means “to send”. Shelah is mentioned in Genesis 11:13-15. (Back)

30 Cainan: This man Cainan is only mentioned in Luke 3:36. There is no Cainan mentioned in the Old Testament accounts for the genealogy of Shem, only Kenan/Cainan descended from Seth. It is possible that the Cainan who is descended from Shem is skipped in the Old Testament lists because he didn’t raise Shelah, but his father Arphaxad did. This could have been due to an early death of Shelah’s parent/s. The Bible is silent on the matter. Cainan shares his name with his ancestor Kenan/Cainan and comes from the Hebrew word qanan which means “nest”. (Back)

31 Arphaxad: Arphaxad/Arpachshad is listed in the Old Testament accounts as Shelah’s father (see Note 30), however in Luke 3:36, we get the clarification that he is Cainan’s father, Shelah’s grandfather. (Back)

32 Shem: One of the eight humans on board the Ark, Shem is the son of Noah, probably the oldest one. Shem is one of the 3 ancestors that all humans are descended from, the other two being his brothers Ham and Japheth (Genesis 9:18-19). You can read about Shem within Genesis 6-11. (Back)

33 Noah: Noah’s name comes from the Hebrew word nuach and means “rest or rested”. You can read about Noah’s story in Genesis 5:30-32 and Genesis 6:8-Genesis 9:29. (Back)

34 Lamech: Mentioned in Genesis 5:26-31, Lamech didn’t have as long of a life as his contemporaries, living 777 years. The Bible is silent as to why Lamech died 5 years before the flood. (The math: Lamech died when Noah was 595 years old: Lamech was 182 when Noah was born, and he died at age 777. 777-182 = 595; Noah was 600 years old when the flood began). (Back)

35 Methuselah: Methuselah has the honor of having the longest lifespan in the Bible, clocking in at 969 years. It may seem incredible to us that people would have lived that long back then. However, the blessing of long life was a gift from God, and we must remember that things were not the same as today. For example, there was a separation of water that existed above our sky, (Genesis 1:6-8) and all living things were vegetarian (Genesis 1:29-30). Meat-eating only began after the flood (Genesis 9:2-3).  (Back)

36 Enoch: Enoch certainly had a limited life span in comparison with his contemporaries, as he lived only 365 years. In Genesis 5:24, it says that Enoch “walked with” God, meaning he was obedient to the ways of God, and then God “took him”, meaning he was supernaturally removed from the face of the earth by God and not naturally removed from temporal existence by death (also see Hebrews 11:5). We know that God took Enoch away supernaturally because he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). Nowadays, through the natural sense of death, God still chooses to sometimes take a person early or unexpectedly and we can’t possibly know why. Jesus addresses this unknown, in a way, in Luke 13:1-5. More importantly, He warns that we need to repent of sin, because we do not know when God will require our soul from us (Luke 12:20). There is also the warning not to attribute an unexpected death/early death or a gruesome death with especial wrongdoing on the part of the deceased. Another note about Enoch: In Jude 14-15, we are told that Enoch prophesied about the return of Jesus (the Lord), as also described in Matthew 16:27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and Revelation 1:7. This event is given more description (but not a full description) in Revelation 19:11-20:15.

You can read about Enoch in Genesis 5:19-24. (Back)

37 Jared: Jared’s name comes from the Hebrew word yarad and means “to go downwards”. He is mentioned in Genesis 5:15-20. (Back)

38 Mahalaleel: Mahalaleel has a beautiful name, stemming from the two Hebrew words mahalal and el. Put together, they mean “praise of God”. Mahalaleel is mentioned in Genesis 5:13-17. (Back)

39 Cainan: see Note 30. You can read about Cainan in Genesis 5:9-14. (Back)

40 Enosh: Enosh’s name means “man, mankind” in Hebrew. You can read about him in Genesis 5:6-11. (Back)

41 Seth: Born after the murder of his older brother Abel by his other brother Cain, the name Seth is from the Hebrew word shith and means “to set” or “to appoint”. You can read about Seth in Genesis 4:25-26 and 5:3-8. To read about the murder of Abel and punishment of Cain, see Genesis 4. (Back)

42 Adam: Adam is the only person in this list with no earthly father or a mother, and is the one through whom all humankind begins. Adam was created on the sixth day of creation. Adam’s name was given to him by God directly; it means “man”. You can read about Adam within Genesis 1:26-5:5. (Back)

43 Solomon: See Matthew 1:7-16 for the list of Solomon’s descendants. Also see Setting the Scene for the Genealogy of Jesus. (Back)

44 Nathan: See Luke 3:23-31 for the list of Nathan’s descendants. Also see Setting the Scene for the Genealogy of Jesus. (Back)

Setting the Scene for the Genealogy of Jesus

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The Biblical account of Jesus’s ancestral history is given to us in Matthew and Luke only. Although the Bible isn’t exactly clear on the lineages, there has been much said over the years about accrediting one account of the genealogy to Joseph’s family line and one account to Mary’s family line. If we are going to assume this idea, we can safely pin Matthew’s account on Joseph’s family lineage and Luke’s account on Mary’s family lineage. The reason why I would say that Matthew has given us Joseph’s family line is because of Matthew 1:16:

“Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”

Throughout Matthew’s account, he uses the Greek word gennaó where ever you see the English word father or fathered. Gennaó means “to beget” when applied to males and “to bring forth” when applied females. The word can be used metaphorically, but there is no logic to that here, when gennaó is used literally throughout the other 15 verses of Matthew’s account. Matthew is straight up telling his readers that Jacob is Joseph’s biological father.

Now look at Luke’s account of the genealogy, particularly Luke 3:23:

“When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,”

Mary is not mentioned, as women didn’t seem to count (they weren’t included when counting the feeding of the 5,000 or the 4,000, see  Matthew 14:21), but we could assume that Eli is actually Mary’s father. The original Greek Septuagint doesn’t say that Eli “begat” Joseph. The Greek word used in Luke for the English word son is huios and it can mean a biological son, an adopted son, a descendant, a subject of a king, or a figurative son (one regarded as a son, but not actually a son). The application of the word is broad. It is important to remember that women didn’t count when recording lineage back then. And, Luke never lists any women in the lineage, just the men.

Another thing to consider is why, if Joseph is not Jesus’s biological family member, bring up Joseph’s lineage at all? We can safely assume that Jesus was adopted by Joseph, whether a full legal adoption or a casual familial-accepted adoption, and adoption came with all the benefits that natural children had, including inheritance. Most importantly, it seems God saw Joseph as a surrogate/adoptive father for Jesus, because of the way He instructed and included Joseph in the information concerning the conception, birth, protection, and the continued care of Jesus (see Matthew 1:18-25, 2:13-23; Luke 2:4, 5, 16, 33, 39-52).

There is proof of some sort of adoption to be considered within Luke 2:41-48 and from Luke 3:23. In these verses, Luke gives us the account of Jesus, at the age of twelve, as He was left behind in Jerusalem after the Passover. Luke uses the two words “parents” and “father” within these verses and Mary herself refers to Joseph as Jesus’s “father” in Luke 2:48. And in Luke 3:23, the Greek word enomizeto is used for the English phrase was supposed.  It is a form of the Greek word nomizó which means “to hold by custom or by law”. Therefore, to call Jesus the adopted son of Joseph would make sense.

No matter how we view Matthew’s account or Luke’s account of Jesus’s genealogy, the real importance is that Jesus is God’s Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; 2 Peter 1:17) and His work on the cross is the reason why He was born in the first place (Matthew 20:28).

Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Men of the Gadarenes

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus and the Demon-Possessed Men of the Gadarenes”

Matthew 8:28-34 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 8:28)

Mark 5:1-20  (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 5:1)

Luke 8:26-39 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 8:26)

 

Revelation 12:7-9
7 Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

 

THE SPLICE 

Then Jesus and the people with Him sailed to the 1 other side of the sea, to the countryside of the 2 Gerasenes/the region of the Gadarenes, which is opposite the region of Galilee. When Jesus got to the other side, into the region of the Gadarenes, and when He got out of the boat and went onto the land, immediately 3 two men who were 4 demon-possessed met Him because 5 at least one of the men had seen Jesus from far-off. 6 At least one of the men was from the surrounding city.

The two men were coming out of the tombs, because 7 at least one of them had not been living in a house, but had been living among the tombs. Both of these men were so extremely violent, that no one could pass by that way. For at least one of the men, no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain. This is because even though he had often been bound with 8 shackles and chains, and kept under guard, the demon had seized him many times, so he would break his bonds. The chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and the demon would drive him into the wilderness/the desolate desert and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Also, for at least one of the men, he had not put on any clothing for a long time, and constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.

When the men met Jesus, they ran up and at least one of the men 9 bowed down before Him. And both of the men cried out (under the power of the demons), saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come to torment us 10 before the time?” More specifically, one of the men, shouting with a loud voice said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You, I beg You, by God, do not torment me!” The demon was saying this because Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the men, saying to at least one of the men, 11 “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Jesus was asking the demon in at least one of the men, 12“What is your name?” And the demon said to Him, “My name is 13 Legion; for we are many”; because for at least one of the men, 14 many demons had entered him.

The demon calling himself Legion began to implore Jesus earnestly 15 not to send them out of the country and all of the demons were imploring Him not to command them to go away 16 into the abyss. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding at an unspecified distance from them, yet nearby, on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, 17 “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 18 Jesus gave them permission and He said to them, “Go.” And the demons came out of both of the men, the unclean spirits entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, 19 about two thousand swine; and they perished by drowning in the water of the sea.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and 20 reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs, in the city and out in the country. And behold, the whole city came out and all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district, to meet Jesus and to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed at least one of the men who had been demon-possessed sitting down, at the feet of Jesus, clothed and 21 in his right mind, the very man who had been possessed by the “legion”. And the people who had come out 22 became frightened. Those who had seen what had happened described to the crowd of people how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well and all about the swine. When the people saw how it had been because of Jesus that the man had become well, they implored Him to leave them and their region, for they were gripped with great fear.

As Jesus was getting into the boat to leave, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And Jesus did not let him, but He said to him while sending him away, 23 “Go home to your people, return to your house and report/describe to them what great things the Lord God has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

And the formerly demon-possessed man went away and proclaiming throughout the whole city and in Decapolis, what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. And then Jesus got into the boat and 24 returned.

Gertie the Pig’s Portrait

 

NOTES

1 other side of the sea: The Sea of Galilee, because Luke 8:26 tells us they are opposite of the region of Galilee.  (Back)

 

2 Gerasenes/the region of the Gadarenes: The region was probably known by both names, depending on the people/culture. “The Gerasenes” takes its name from a city of Decapolis called Gerasa, and “The Gadarenes” takes its name from another city of Decapolis called Gadara. The main point is that both names for the region take their names from cities of Decapolis.  (Back)

 

3 two men: Matthew tells us that there were two men, while Mark and Luke mention only one of the men. This might be because the one man mentioned in Mark and Luke becomes a true follower of Jesus, as is evidenced in the man’s staying with Jesus (Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35), his wanting to accompany Jesus in His ministry (Mark 5:18), and his subsequent evangelizing afterwards (Mark 5:20; Luke 8:39). The Bible doesn’t really say why only one of the men is mentioned in Mark and Luke, so we can only guess. (Back)

 

4 who were demon-possessed: Who can be possessed by demons? Anyone who isn’t filled with the Holy Spirit. Not even Satan himself could occupy a true bond-servant of God because he would have to overthrow the Holy Spirit in order to do so. See 1 John 4:4.   (Back)

 

5 at least one of the men had seen Jesus from far-off: We do not know how far away Jesus was when the man/demon spotted Him. However, the Greek word used for distance in Mark 5:6 is makrothen and it means “from afar, far off, far away, a (long) distance”. It is most probable that the boats being used were ordinary fishing boats (more than likely belonging to one of the fishermen amongst the disciples). Back then, fishing boats were very plain, and didn’t have identifying tags or cute names etched to the stern or side to single them out. It would have been impossible for the demon-possessed man to know who was in the boat, in his natural state as a human being. Click here to see what a boat from Jesus’s time would have looked like.  (Back)

 

6 At least one of the men was from the surrounding city: We don’t know exactly which city was closest to the spot where Jesus and His crew landed. It is Luke who says that one of the men is “from the city” after mentioning that Jesus had sailed to the country/region of the Gerasenes, across from Galilee (Luke 8:26-27).  (Back)

 

7 at least one of them: Matthew does not give much information about the two demon-possessed men, therefore most of the information known about the human condition of the demon-possessed men is from Mark and Luke, but they only mention the one man. It is possible that Mark was writing of one man and Luke the other, but we don’t know this for sure. It is very probable that both men had been living in the tombs. We can assume that whatever was said about the one man was true for the other man as well, as long as it is remembered that the Bible isn’t exactly clear on the matter.  (Back)

 

8 shackles and chains: During the Roman Empire era, shackles and chains were made from iron. For an example of what shackles may have looked like for these demon-possessed men, click here.  (Back)

 

9 bowed down before Him: I have heard a pastor say in his sermon for a radio program that the demon-possessed man bowed out of mockery. This is not true. The demon bowed out of fear, since the demons were thinking that they would either be banished from the region or tossed into the abyss. Also see James 2:19, where in describing demons’ general reaction to God, the Greek word used for shudder is phrissó and means “tremble, to shiver in fear, shudder (in fear)”.  (Back)

 

10 before the time: The demons are well aware of what their future holds (see Revelation 20). What they feared was an early start to the torment, or perhaps something akin to the punishment meted out to some of their fellow demons who stepped out of bounds (Jude 1:6-7).  (Back)

 

11 “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”: We know from the Bible that demon-possessions can be violent, as evidenced by this story, as well as by Luke 9:38-42. There are many dramatic movies and reality TV shows depicting demon-possessions, hauntings and exorcisms for entertainment purposes. In truth, we don’t know how often demon-possession happens or if it even happens anymore at all. We don’t  have an abundance of information from the Bible on the subject of demon possession. But we do know that, in the Bible, attempting to remove demons from someone can be ineffective (Matthew 17:14-20) or even dangerous (Acts 19:1-16) to perform, if one is not in complete dependence on Christ to cast demons away. (Back)

 

12 “What is your name?”: Jesus was not asking the demon its name because He didn’t know it; He asked the name so that the witnesses watching what was happening to these men knew that many demons had been involved in the possession. It is also possible that the response from the demon was for the benefit of the two demon-possessed men, so that they would know who it was (and how numerous they were) that tortured them. Demons don’t have to obey humans, or give them information, so it is possible that these terrorized souls had only a partial understanding of what was happening to them.  (Back)

 

13 Legion: Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30 tell us the group name that the demons are collectively labeled with. Legión is a Greek word which refers to the ancient Roman army and its organization of infantry divisions. A legión contained at least 6,000 infantry, not counting the cavalry that was included.  (Back)

 

14 many demons had entered him: Jesus explains at least one way someone might get possessed by multiple demons in Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26. The thing that we must remember is we really don’t know that much about it. God has chosen to keep the Bible vague on the subject, perhaps for our own peace of mind. (Back)

 

15 not to send them out of the country:  Why would the demons want to stay in that region? It’s not clear from the accounts that we are reading, but Jesus does say in Matthew 12:43 that when a demon leaves a person, it wanders through waterless places, seeking rest but not finding it. It is possible that the demons had a comfortable situation here in this region, with plenty of people to infest and lots of sin to participate in, and therefore they didn’t suffer from the wandering described by Jesus. We just don’t know, but using our limited understanding of demons, this is a logical assumption.   (Back)

 

16 into the abyss: Our understanding of the abyss comes from several places in the Bible, but Jesus Himself sums it up succinctly in Matthew 8:12. There are demons already occupying the abyss, due to their obstinate refusal to stay in their proper place of authority (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6-7). We can safely assume that the “legion” of demons believe that they also will be cast into the abyss because they are traversing outside of the domain allowed to them by God; otherwise they wouldn’t logically be afraid of it.  Tempting humans (Ephesians 6:11-12), terrorizing humans (when allowed by God, 1 Samuel 16:14-23) and even harassing them with horrible disease and horrid events does seem to be allowed (again, when issued by God), as shown in the book of Job and in 2 Corinthians 12:7.  To be clear, we should never assume that someone has an illness or disease or that bad things are happening in a person’s life because demons are causing the problems. For a few references on hell/the abyss see Isaiah 30:33, Matthew 25:41, Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3; 7, 10.  (Back)

 

17 “Send us into the swine…”: Why would the demons ask to go into the swine? Jesus Himself tells us that when demons have no person to house themselves in, they are wandering with no rest (Matthew 12:43). And, although the Bible doesn’t specify this, I believe that Jesus would not allow the demons to simply go and infest someone else. The swine must have been the next best thing to possess, albeit, the least desirable thing, as animals don’t participate in sin; sin is a human activity as well as demonic activity (see 1 John 3:8). It is my belief that demons, although their first priority is to try to drag any and all humans from God (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8), revel in sin, terrorizing human beings, and mocking God’s order.  (Back)

 

18 Jesus gave them permission: The Bible gives no indication as to why Jesus gave the demons permission to possess the pigs. The only thing that we can be sure of is that Jesus allowed the death of the pigs for a reason. God is not arbitrary; He always has a reason, although we may never know what the reasons are, see Romans 11:33-36.  (Back)

 

19 about two thousand swine: There is a “legion” of demons possessing the men, which would logically indicate that the number of demons participating in the infestation would be at least 6,000. However, the demons could be using the word “legion” figuratively to mean “many”, as the spokesdemon mentioned in Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30. This number of 2,000 swine does not give us an exact indication of the number of demons, as each pig could be infested with multiple possessions, just like the men. It does tell us that there were at least 2,000 demons, though. The terror that these men must have suffered while under possession is unimaginable.  (Back)

 

20 reported everything: We don’t know how long the herdsmen were gone while they were reporting everything in the city and the country. It could have been a few hours or a few days. We can be relatively certain that at least a few people who heard these fantastic reports spread the news, too, but the Bible makes no mention of that.  (Back)

 

21 in his right mind:  The Greek word used in Luke 8:35 for this English phrase is sóphroneó, and it means “of sound mind”.  (Back)

 

22 became frightened: This fear reaction to Jesus’s power calls to mind the reaction of the disciples, when Jesus calmed the sea, right before this event (Mark 4:41). The power of God is frightening and amazing and nothing is too difficult for Him (Jeremiah 32:17).  (Back)

 

23 “Go home to your people…”: The people we love are the first mission field that we all have. God may add things for us to do later on, but our beginning task is to take our newly changed minds, our brand new beginning in life with Jesus and to tell those we know and love how He has had mercy on us and the great things He has done for us. But we can’t stop there. We must also show them the changes that have taken place by living a quiet and godly life (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). This is also how we will be able to identify other true followers of Christ, by the fruit of godliness in their lives (Matthew 7:16-20). Note that these things are a continuous showing of proof, the habit of our lives, not just a “one and done” thing.  (Back)

 

24 returned: We know from Matthew 9:1, Jesus returned to Capernaum.  (Back)

Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-in-Law and As the Sun Set That Night

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Heals Peter’s Mother-In-Law and As the Sun Set That Night”

Matthew 8:14-17 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 8:14)

Mark 1:29-34 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 1:29)

Luke 4:38-41 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 4:38)

 

Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

THE SPLICE

Then Jesus got up and 1 left the synagogue. And immediately after 2 they came out of the synagogue, they went into the house of Simon Peter and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick, suffering with a high fever. When Jesus entered into Simon’s home, immediately 3 they spoke to Jesus about her and they asked Him to help her. Jesus saw Simon Peter’s mother-in-law 4 lying sick in bed with the fever. Jesus went to her, and 5 standing over her, He 6 rebuked the fever and taking her by the hand, He raised her up, and the fever left her. And she got up immediately and 7 waited on Jesus and the others. When evening came, while the sun was setting and after the sun had set, the 8 whole city had gathered at the door. All those who had friends or loved ones who were 9 sick with various diseases, brought the sick to Him; they brought to Him all who were ill and many of those who were  10 demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill by laying His hands on each one of them.  Demons were coming out of the possessed people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But rebuking them, He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew Him to be the Christ. And all of this took place to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: “11 HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES.”

 

A Flower for My Mom

 

NOTES

1 left the synagogue: Both Mark and Luke tell us that just before this event with Peter’s mother-in-law, Jesus and at least Peter, Andrew, James and John had been in the Capernaum synagogue on the Sabbath (Saturday), where Jesus amazed the people there with His teaching. There was also a possessed man there in the synagogue, whom Jesus cleansed of the evil spirit. See Mark 1:21-27 and Luke 4:31-37. (Back)

 

2 they: Jesus and the disciples that were with Him. (Back)

 

3 they spoke to Jesus about her: We don’t know who “they” are; the Bible doesn’t specify. We will have to guess. My guess is that it was relatives and possibly servants in the household who had been caring for the lady, while Jesus and the disciples were at the synagogue. (Back)

 

4 lying sick in bed: For the common family, a bed could be anything from just the person’s cloak or possibly a straw mat or a thin mattress stuffed with wool or cotton. These beds were portable and were placed on the floor for sleep at night and rolled away during the day. Privacy in homes back then was non-existent and everyone slept in the same room. I found this page, which gives a nice description about ancient Israeli houses. (Back)

 

5 standing over her: People slept on the floor. See note #4. (Back)

 

6 rebuked the fever: The Greek word used for rebuked in Luke 4:39 is epitimaó and means “rebuke, charge, admonish, censure, to tax upon” and sometimes means “to honor”, but it certainly doesn’t mean “honor” here. (Back)

 

7 waited on Jesus: The Greek word used for waited is diakoneó and means “to minister, to serve”. It is used to describe someone serving others in general, providing for their general needs of life, but was particularly used to describe someone waiting on others at the table. The English word deacon is rooted in this word. To read about the qualifications needed for serving God as a pastor or deacon of a congregation, even in our current age, see 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-3.  (Back)

 

8 whole city: Capernaum. Some have estimated a city population of 1200 or so during Jesus’s time there. There have been some interesting archaeological digs concerning Capernaum. (Back)

 

9 sick with various diseases: The Greek word used for sick is kakós and means “badly” and explains the miserable condition of the person who is experiencing illness. The Greek word used for various is poikilos and means “many colored”, giving us an idea of the diversity of the illnesses. The Greek word used for diseases is nosos and means “disease, sickness”. HELPS Word-studies says that the word nosos refers to (usually) chronic, incurable diseases. Although Jesus did just cure Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, which was not necessarily life-threatening or life-altering, He was also curing people of illnesses that would not typically “cure” over time by using the sick person’s immune system. (Back)

 

10 demon-possessed: The topic of demon possession is a source of entertainment for some and ridicule for others. We really don’t know that much about it, as the Bible doesn’t give much information on demon-possession’s “how, what, when, where or why”. Too much of what is cited as facts about the subject is legend and lore, brewed by superstition and served with garnish by popular culture. Jesus Himself tells us that to remove a demon, prayer is required as well as faith (faith provided by God, not human-conjured faith), and is done by the Spirit of God, see Matthew 12:28, 17:19-21, and Mark 9:29. For information on the behavior of a demon looking to possess someone, see Matthew 12:43-45. For examples on what demons do to people when they possess them, see Matthew 8:28, Mark 5:2-20, and Acts 19:13-16. (Back)

 

11 HE HIMSELF: This quote is from Isaiah 53:4. The English translations of Isaiah 53:4  usually looking something like this: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried;”. This is correct word usage, but the Hebrew word used for grief in Isaiah 53:4 is choli and means “disease, grief, sickness”. And the Hebrew word used for sorrows is makob and means “pain, grief, sorrow”, and allows usage for mental or physical pain, grief or sorrow. The Hebrew word used for bore is nasa and means to “take away, lift, carry”. (Back)

Jesus Calms the Storm on the Sea of Galilee

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Calms the Storm on the Sea of Galilee”

Matthew 8:23-27 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 8:23)

Mark 4:35-41 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 4:35)

Luke 8:22-25 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Luke 8:22)

 

Psalm 107:29
He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

 

THE SPLICE

1 On that day, now, during one of the days when Jesus had been teaching, when evening came, 2 Jesus got into the boat, and His disciples, following Him, got into the boat as well, and He said to them, 3 “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out, leaving the crowd, and they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and 4 other boats were with Him.  But as they were sailing along, Jesus fell asleep and He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And behold, there arose a great storm on 5 the sea; a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and the waves were breaking over the boat, covering the boat with waves, so that the  boat was already filling up with water. They began to be 6 swamped and to be in danger. The disciples came to Jesus, and woke Him up and 7 said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing? Save us, Lord; Master, Master, we are perishing!” He said to them, 8 “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the surging waves of the sea, saying “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down, and the waves stopped, and it became perfectly calm. And He said to the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? Where is your faith?” And the disciples were very much afraid/fearful, as well as amazed, and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, what kind of a man is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

 

 

 

NOTES

1 On that day: Due to the nature of the English language, we would consider this phrase (as used in Mark 4:35), “On that day” to mean “on the day of the events that were just being discussed”. This Greek sentence simply means that “on the day of the sailing”.  It is most probable that Jesus was teaching the crowds and using the parables in Mark 4 (and possibly those in Luke 8) over several days’ time, there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. See Mark 4:1-34 and Luke 8:4-18. (Back)

 

2 Jesus got into the boat: Matthew 8:18 tells us that Jesus ordered the departure to the other side of the Sea of Galilee due to the crowd that was surrounding Him, most likely due to its size (see Matthew 4:25, 8:1; Mark 4:1, 5:21, 24; Luke 8:4). Before He got into the boat and left, a scribe in the audience expressed a desire to go with Him and one of His disciples said that he wished to stay behind. To see Jesus’s answers to both of these people, see Matthew 8:19-22. (Back)

 

3 “Let us go over…”: Jesus and His disciples were sailing to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, but we are unsure of His departure point. The departure point could be Capernaum or Bethsaida due to Matthew 8:14-17 and Matthew 9:1. It is likely that they had been traveling all along the coast of the sea (see Mark 4:1). Because of Matthew 8:28 and Mark 5:1, we do know that they are traveling to the region of the Gadarenes/Gerasenes. Luke is a little clearer on the location, as he states that they sailed to the country(side) of the Gerasenes, opposite of the region of Galilee (Luke 8:26). The land mass was probably known as both the Gadarenes region and  the Gerasenes region, just like how today different people/cultures refer to the same places using different names. (Back)

 

4 other boats: We are not told who is in the other boats, but it makes sense that there were many people with Jesus and the Twelve, including women and (probably) children (see Matthew 18:2, 27:55; John 6:9). Luke 10:1 says that there were at least 72 disciples walking with Jesus at one point, although most of them fall away (see John 6:66) . (Back)

 

5 the sea: The Sea of Galilee. It is also known as the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1), as well as the Lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1). For some interesting facts about the Sea of Galilee, click here. And click here to read about the fascinating find of a 2,000 year old boat at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee, during an archaeological excavation in 1986. You can find the boat mentioned on page 6 of the newsletter.  (Back)

 

6 swamped: Many English Bible translations use the word swamped for Luke 8:23. The Greek word used here is sumpléroó which means “to fill up completely or to complete; fulfill; accomplish”. (Back)

 

7 said to Him:  The disciples were probably panicking and yelling, especially over the sound of the stormy gales of wind. The Greek word used for said in Matthew 8:25, Mark 4:38 and Luke 8:24 is the generic word legó, meaning “to say”. This word only indicates that speech is in progress, and does not provide an emotional state for the speaker. (Back)

 

8 “Why are you afraid…”: We never need to fear, not even death, when we have been called by God to be His own and He has given us that God-gifted faith in Christ. God promises that He works all things for the good of those who belong to Him and love Him (Romans 8:28). Please understand that God is most concerned with the good that affects our eternal state, and not necessarily the comfort of our temporal abode on this earth (see the horrors inflicted on Paul and others throughout the book of Acts). (Back)

Jesus Walks on Water

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Walks on Water”

Matthew 14:22-33 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Matthew 14:22)

Mark 6:45-52 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with Mark 6:45)

John 6:15-21 (Greek Text Analysis beginning with John 6:15)

Psalm 25:4
Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.

THE SPLICE

The disciples were collecting the fragments of food left over from the 1 feeding of the 5,000 men, plus the women and children.  And those who had witnessed this miracle of feeding so many people from five barley loaves and two fish, said, “This is truly 2 the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew back up to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when it was later in the evening, Jesus 3 made His disciples go down to the sea, get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to 4 Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. Now while Jesus was sending the crowds away, and after the disciples had gotten into the boat, they started to cross the sea towards 5 Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

After bidding the crowd farewell, 6 Jesus had sent the crowd away. He left for the mountain and went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and He was there alone on the land and the boat was in the middle of the sea, a long distance from the land. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing and the wind was contrary and against them, so the boat was battered by the waves. 7 Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars and at about the 8 fourth watch of the night, when they had rowed about 9 three or four miles, Jesus came to them, walking out on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened/terrified because when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that 10 it was a ghost, and they cried out in fear, saying, “It is a ghost!”. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”  Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, Peter became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” The disciples were willing to receive Jesus into the boat when they realized it was Him and when Peter and Jesus got into the boat, the wind stopped and all those in the boat and the boat were immediately 11 at the land to which they were going. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, 12 “You are certainly God’s Son!”  They were utterly astonished by this, for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their 13 heart was hardened.

An Old Boat

NOTES

1  feeding of the 5,000: Many Bible scholars have estimated that the crowd was more like 15,000 people, because the women and children weren’t included in the count, according to Matthew 14:21. To read about the feeding of the 5,000 men, see Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:1-14. To read the Splice about the feeding of the 5,000, click here. (Back)

2  the Prophet: In reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18 and it is reinforced that the Prophet is the Christ in Acts 3:20-23. The Prophet is mentioned in Deuteronomy 18 because the Israelites are prohibited from participating in spiritism, such as using mediums, witchcraft, necromancy, spellcasting, divination, etc. and God promises a Prophet (and other prophets) that would speak to them, for Him. Today’s popular pastimes, such as using talking boards or tarot cards, are included in the prohibition of spiritism.  Believers in Christ should be waiting on God for answers (who doesn’t lie, see Hebrews 6:18), not demons (their leader is the father of all lies, see John 8:44). See Deuteronomy 18:9-22 for the information concerning spiritism and the announcement of the Prophet, and see Acts 16:16-18 about the slave-girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination. See Exodus 22:18 where God commands that those who practice sorcery (witchcraft) in Israel should be put to death. (Back)

3  made His disciples…: The Greek word used for made in Matthew 14:22 and Mark 6:45 is anagkazó and means “to force or compel” and has a flavor of urgency along with the command. (Back)

4  Bethsaida: Where historical Bethsaida was actually located is up for debate, but we can estimate it’s location to the NE shores of the Sea of Galilee. Bethsaida was the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Phillip (John 1:44). It is a possibility that James and John were from Bethsaida, because James and John were fishing partners with Peter and Andrew (see Matthew 4:18-22 and Luke 5:10), but John does not mention himself or his brother in 1:44. He also doesn’t mention his own personal recruitment (nor his brother’s) into Jesus’s ministry in his Gospel. Although Jesus is sending them to the town of Bethsaida (Mark 6:45), they are already in a secluded spot (Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:32) associated with the town (Luke 9:10). Also, they are actually heading towards Capernaum once they are on the sea of Galilee (John 6:17), possibly because of the strong winds and inability to control the boat. Capernaum and Bethsaida are not that far apart, as best as we can judge two thousand years later. Unfortunately, Bethsaida no longer exists as a town, nor does Capernaum. However, there is a bus stop named Bethsaida Junction, along Israel’s Highway 87, about 4 1/2 miles northeast of the Capernaum ruins. (Back)

5  Capernaum: Capernaum is Jesus’s home base. He moved from Nazareth to Capernaum at the beginning of His ministry (Matthew 4:13). Peter and Andrew have a house there (Mark 1:21, 29) and it’s possible that Jesus recruited Matthew from Capernaum because of Matthew 9:1, 9 and  Mark 2:1, 14. Capernaum has been the site of extensive excavations and digs since the 1800’s, and there is a memorial built over what is supposed to be Peter’s house and some churches that were built there in the 4th and 5th centuries. The memorial has a partial glass floor so you can see the remains of these ancient ruins. Capernaum itself is now owned by the Franciscans and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy of Jerusalem. (Back)

6  Jesus had sent the crowd away: The Greek text for Matthew 14:23 says “And having dismissed the crowds”. The Greek word for dismissed is apoluó and means “let go, send away, divorce”.  (Back)

7  Jesus saw the disciples: See Mark 6:48. Understanding that the disciples are already far away from the land (Matthew 14:24; Mark 6:47) and it’s dark (John 6:17), this must be a miraculous sighting, using His power as God to see these details, where human eyes could not. The Greek word used here for see is horaó and can be used metaphorically or literally.  (Back)

8  fourth watch: The fourth watch, the last watch of the night, was between 3am and 6am. Roman guard duties were divided into four watches throughout the night. The first watch was from 6pm to 9pm, the second watch from 9pm to 12am, the third watch 12am to 3am, and then the fourth. (Back)

9  three or four miles: The Greek text for John 6:19 says “stadia twenty-five or thirty”. A stadia is a Greek measurement of distance and where we get our word “stadium” from. A stadia is about 1/8 of a mile or the distance of a Greek race course. (Back)

10  it was a ghost: This is not proof that ghosts exist. It is possible that due to their fear, the disciples were grasping at legend or superstition to explain the unexplainable. For those who belong to God, there is no possibility of ghostliness, as 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 gives us the clue that once our souls are absent from the body, we are together with the Lord. For those who reject God’s grace, we can only look at Jesus’s parable about Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) which says that Lazarus was taken by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (a place of comfort) and the rich man to Hades (hell). The parable doesn’t say “there is no such thing as ghosts” but it certainly does give the footing to say so. Ghosts or not, we know that God controls all things (Ephesians 1:11) for His purposes, even the demons (Job 1:6, 12, 2:6), and therefore it is God who should be feared, not ghosts (Matthew 10:28). (Back)

11  at the land: Matthew 14:34 says that they landed at Gennesaret, a town about 2-1/2 miles to the Southwest of Capernaum. This was an instantaneous landing at Gennesaret (John 6:21), and therefore a miracle, as the disciples had rowed out 3 or 4 miles out to sea when Jesus approached the boat (John 6:19).  They were ultimately going to be heading out to Bethsaida, as Mark 6:45 says, and they do finally get there in Mark 8:22. But as we are told in Mark 6:53-55 as well as Matthew 14:35-36, Jesus made this side trip and healed many people while He was there. (Back)

12  You are certainly God’s Son: The disciples had seen lots of miracles (Matthew 11:4-5, 20-21) performed by Jesus before He walked on water and facilitated an instant landing of their boat. The wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), healings (much of Matthew 9, Mark 5:21-42, Luke 7:1-10, John 5:1-9) casting demons out of people (Matthew 8:28-33, Mark 5:1-20) and they had JUST seen (and participated in) an NBA stadium’s worth of people (approximately) fed from 5 loaves and 2 fish (see Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-15). (Back)

13  heart was hardened: From Mark 6:52. The Greek word used for heart is kardia and means “the heart; mind, character, inner self”. The Greek word used for hardened is póroó and means “harden, petrify, callous”. The words together give the meaning that the collective minds of the disciples were unperceiving or dull to the miracle that they had witnessed in the feeding of the 5,000 men. (Back)

Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Heals the Centurion’s Servant”

Matthew 8:5-13 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 8:5)

Luke 7:1-10 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 7:1)

 

2 Corinthians 5:7
for we walk by faith, not by sight

 

THE SPLICE

When He had completed all 1 His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to 2 Capernaum. And a 3 centurion’s 4 slave, who was 5 highly regarded by the centurion, was 6 sick and about to die. The centurion 7 heard about Jesus, and when Jesus entered Capernaum, the centurion came to Jesus by sending some 8 Jewish elders to Him. The centurion was imploring Him to come and 9 save the life of his 10 slave, saying, 11“Lord, my 12 servant is lying 13 paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” The Jewish elders, earnestly implored Him on the centurion’s behalf, saying 14“He is worthy for You to grant this to him;  for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” Jesus said to the centurion through the Jewish elders, “I will come and 15 heal him.” Now Jesus started on His way with the Jewish elders; and when He was not far from the house, the 16 centurion sent friends to meet Jesus and said to Jesus through these friends he had sent to Him, “Lord do not trouble Yourself further, for 17 I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but 18 just say the word, and my servant will be 19 healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my 20 slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, 21 He marveled at the centurion and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “Truly I say to you I have not found such great 22 faith with anyone in Israel/not even in Israel have I found such great faith. I say to you that many will come from 23 east and west, and 24 recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the 25 sons of the kingdom will be 26 cast out into the 27 outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus said to the centurion’s friends as a message for the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have 28 believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment. When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in 29 good health.

 

NOTES

1 His discourse: Jesus had just finished giving the Sermon on the Mount, which included the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7; Luke 6:20-49). He had also healed people, including a man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-15).  To read the Splice about the man with leprosy, click here. (Back)

 

2 Capernaum: Capernaum was Jesus’s base of operations. He had moved there from His hometown of Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry. Peter had a house in Capernaum, which seems to have been a suburb of or a part of Bethsaida. Peter’s brother Andrew also lived at Peter’s house. It could be logically assumed that James and John (the sons of Zebedee), who were fishing partners of Peter’s and Andrew’s, had their homes in Capernaum as well, but the Bible doesn’t mention where James or John lived. We do know that Jesus didn’t have a home of His own. See Matthew 4:13, 18-21, 8:20; Mark 1:16-19, 21-29, 2:1;  Luke 5:10,  9:58, John 1:44. (Back)

 

3 centurion: A centurion was a Roman army captain in charge of one hundred soldier subordinates. (Back)

 

4 slave: The slave belongs to a Roman, and not a Jew. It seems this Roman may be a Jewish proselyte of sorts, but the Bible doesn’t state that. God allowed slavery for the Israel of Old Testament times. It is important to understand the distinction of OT Israel only, and to understand that the Bible is not talking about the world of today; it isn’t even talking about the Romans and their slavery practices way back then. Today, slavery is a difficult topic to talk about because of the ugly and wrong justifications that were used by Europeans to kidnap people from Africa and sell them as property, which the Bible makes NO allowance for (Exodus 21:16). To get a basic understanding about what the Bible says about slavery for the Israelites of old, see Leviticus 25:35-55. (Back)

 

5 highly regarded: The Greek text says “valued highly” and the Greek word used in Luke 7:2 is entimos and it means “held precious, honored, honorable in rank”. (Back)

 

6 sick and about to die: The Greek word used for “sick” in Luke 7:2 is kakós and means “badly, grievously or diseased”. (Back)

 

7 heard about Jesus: It must be remembered that EVERYONE was hearing about Jesus, the Man who was preaching with authority about the kingdom of God and about repentance, healing people’s bodies of horrible ailments, and casting out demons (an unimaginable torture) and the crowds were amazed by it. Jesus was causing quite a stir in Israel. See Matthew 4:17, 23-25, 7:28-29, 8:16, 17, 28-33 for a sample of these events. (Back)

 

8 Jewish elders: The Sanhedrin (see Greek word presbuteros). The Sanhedrin was the group with all the power in Israel—under the authority of the Romans, that is. The Sanhedrin was headed up by the High Priest (Annas and Caiaphas at the time of Jesus’s ministry, see Matthew 26:57, Luke 3:2, John 18:13), and was comprised of scribes and the Pharisees, among others. The Sanhedrin will later be the group responsible (along with some input from the Herodians, see Mark 3:6 and Matthew 22:15-16) for demanding Jesus’s crucifixion, after an illegal arrest in the dark, and a fake trial with phony witnesses. See Matthew 26:3-5; 47-68, 27:11-26; Mark 14:1, 10-11, 43-65; 15:1-20; Luke 22:4-5, 47-53, 66-71; 23:1-25; John 11:47-57; John 18 and 19. Here’s a fair explanation about the Sanhedrin from Wikipedia and one from Britannica.com. (Back)

 

9 save the life: The Greek word used for save in Luke 7:3 is diasózó and means to “escape safely, perfectly whole” or “to save all the way across”. (Back)

 

10 slave: Luke 7:2, 3, 10 tells us that this person is an actual slave, a person owned by another person. The Greek word for slave used in the Luke verses is doulos and means “slave”. Many Bible translations like to use the word “bondservant” or simply “servant” and that is true, it does mean “servant/bondservant”. However, the English word servant gives the feeling of a person free to make their own choices or able to quit the job, if they don’t like the pay or the boss. The truth is, a bondservant/doulos, is a bondslave. A bondslave has no rights, no personal ownership or freedoms; a bondslave has no legal personhood. (Back)

 

11 Lord: The Greek word used for Lord in Matthew 8:6 is kurios and means “lord, master, sir” and gives the implication that the person being called “lord” is the owner of or master over the person using the word kurios. When you call Jesus “Lord”, you are saying He is the absolute owner of you, over any other authority including your own free will, just like the centurion was saying here. (Back)

 

12 servant: The centurion never calls the person that he owns (that is also dying) a “doulos” (slave). He uses a different word, pais, which means “a child, boy, youth” and implies a youthful slave, possibly still in training. We can tell from this word, which the centurion uses several times, that this slave is probably a child. Just to be clear, Luke never uses the word pais himself, even though he quotes the centurion as using it; Luke always refers to the ill person as “doulos”. Matthew does use the word pais apart from the centurion, in Matthew 8:13. Matthew does not use the word “doulos” in describing this ill person at all. (Back)

 

13 paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented: It is very difficult to watch someone that you love suffer in agony, even more so when that person is a child. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:6 for fearfully is deinós and means “vehemently, terribly, grievously”. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:6 for the word tormented is basanizó and means “to torture.” We don’t know what illness this young person had, but whatever it was it left him paralyzed, tormented and about to die. (Back)

 

14 He is worthy: It sounds like these Jewish elders felt like they had to qualify the Gentile centurion’s request, and this was because most Jews, especially religious Jews, didn’t like to associate with Gentiles. It’s actually surprising that these Sanhedrin members affiliated with this Roman guy at all. While it is true that Jesus was preaching to and healing the Israelites exclusively (He didn’t go to Rome or China to preach/heal, see Matthew 15:24), He clearly helped non-Jews as well, as this event shows, as does the story of the Canaanite woman (see Matthew 15:21-28). Jesus also tells the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37, after a lawyer asked Jesus to define who he should consider as a neighbor. (Back)

 

15 heal him: The Greek word for heal used in Matthew 8:7 is therapeuó and means to cure or heal, like a doctor’s healing. (Back)

 

16 centurion sent friends: Although the Bible does not mention it, we can safely assume that at least one of the Jewish elders (or a servant of one of the elders or of the centurion) ran back ahead of the others to let the centurion know that Jesus was on the way, going to this centurion’s house. How else would the centurion have known that Jesus would be on His way? The centurion’s knowledge is born from a natural event: someone told him! There is not one shred of evidence or Biblical back-up to state that this was some sort of a supernatural event, with the centurion displaying a “second sight” gift. (Back)

 

17 I am not worthy: The centurion is not alone, because none of us are worthy of Christ. The reason why we are not worthy of God is because of our sin and our sinful nature (Romans 3:9-20, 23). Our sin and sinful nature is something we can never hope to fix for ourselves, it is something only Jesus can fix (Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:5-7, 2:1-9) . Realizing this and admitting it is a preliminary step towards salvation. (Back)

 

18 just say the word: One of the powers of God is the ability to simply speak things into existence, including wellness. See Genesis 1 for the most popularly known example of God’s usage of this ability. (Back)

 

19 healed: The centurion uses a different word for healed, than the word that Jesus used in Matthew 8:7. In both Matthew 8:8 and Luke 7:7, the centurion uses the Greek word iaomai, which means “to heal”, but it also does have spiritual implications. Perhaps the centurion was not asking so much for a physical healing but a spiritual healing for the child, since he was dying. Maybe the centurion was asking for both types of healing. We are all in need of spiritual healing (Romans 3:23), which is what salvation really is (Isaiah 53:5). (Back)

 

20 slave: The centurion does indeed use the Greek word for slave here, doulos meaning “slave”, when referring to the example slave he uses in his explanation to Jesus. He does not use this word when referring to the young, sick person whom he holds in high regard, even though Luke made it clear that this dying child is a slave in Luke 7:2-3. (Back)

 

21 He marveled: Jesus didn’t stand awe-struck by human beings very often. The Greek word used in Matthew 8:10 and Luke 7:9 for marveled is thaumazó and means “to wonder, marvel” and can also mean to “admire”. The only other time I can find that Jesus “marveled” at people would be in Mark 6:6, which also uses the Greek word thaumazó . In this scene, Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith in Nazareth. He still healed a few sick people, even though the town was offended by Him (see Mark 6:1-6). (Back)

 

22 faith: Faith in Jesus is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). It is granted to all of the elect of God (Romans 12:3), and it is through this faith that makes us children of God (Galatians 3:26-29). The Greek word for faith is pistis and means “faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness”. For examples on what this kind of faith can enable a person to see, experience and believe (where otherwise they wouldn’t), see Hebrews 11. (Back)

 

23 east and west: From Matthew 8:11. The Greek phrasing used here for “east and west” is anatolōn kai dysmōn and means “rising (of the sun) and setting (of the sun)” and therefore, east and west. (Back)

 

24 recline: Reclining to eat is almost an absurdity for modern diners. It involved leaning back, propped up on an arm, feet away from the table. Here’s a good explanation on eating in ancient Roman times. (Back)

 

25 sons of the kingdom: Jesus is speaking of the Jews, in a general sense. Jesus is underlining that faith is the requirement for salvation, faith in Him specifically, and not faith in one’s lineage. All people, whether Jew or Gentile are called to Christ individually, not as a nation or creed. Each person is responsible for their own reactions to God’s calling (Galatians 6:5, Philippians 2:12). See Galatians 3 to expand a little on Jesus’s statement. (Back)

 

26 cast out: The Greek word used for cast out in Matthew 8:12 is ekballo and means to “banish, cast out, expel, throw”. It has the feeling of driving someone out and away, with an aura of contempt. (Back)

 

27 outer darkness: The outer darkness is hell. It is the most extreme of all darkness, because the light of God, both physical light and moral light, does not shine there. See Matthew 22:13, 25:30, 2 Peter 2:4 for examples on the darkness representing hell. (Back)

 

28 believed: It is important to understand that “just as you believed” is not a call to positive thinking. The centurion’s faith was pistis faith, the God-gifted faith, and not a human-conjured faith. (Back)

 

29 good health: Matthew 8:13 says that the servant was healed that very moment. Luke 7:10 says the child was found in good health. Matthew uses the Greek word iaomai, which gives the healing from Jesus the supernatural credit it deserves, and Luke uses the Greek word hugiainó which tells us the slave was found totally healthy, sound and whole. (Back)

Jesus Cleanses A Man with Leprosy

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Scripture Used to Create the Splice “Jesus Cleanses a Man with Leprosy”

Matthew 8:1-4 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Matthew 8:1)

Mark 1:40-45 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Mark 1:40)

Luke 5:12-15 (Greek Text Analysis starting with Luke 5:12)

 

Leviticus 13:45-46
45 A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ 46 As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

 

THE SPLICE

When Jesus came down from the 1 mountain, large crowds followed Him. While He was in one of the cities there was a man 2 covered with 3 leprosy, and when the man saw Him, he came to Him, and bowed down before Him, falling on his knees and to then to his face, beseeching and imploring Him, saying “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and 4 touched him, and said to him, “I am willing, be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was cleansed of it. And Jesus 5 sternly warned and ordered him to tell no one, saying to him, “See that you tell no one, say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest and 6 present the offering, that Moses commanded/make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” And Jesus immediately sent him away. But the formerly leprous man went out  and began to proclaim it freely and to  spread the news around, to such an extent that 7 Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but He stayed out in unpopulated areas; and people were coming to Him from everywhere.  The news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

 

NOTES

1  mountain: Jesus had just finished teaching what we call “The Sermon on the Mount” and the inspiring Beatitudes. To read about The Sermon on the Mount and The Beatitudes, see Matthew 5-7 and Luke 6:20-49. (Back)

 

2  covered: The Greek word for covered used in Luke 5:12 is plérés and means “full, abounding in, complete, completely occupied with”. This tells us that the person who came to Jesus was in an advanced state of leprosy. (Back)

 

3  leprosy: The Greek word for leprosy is lepra and comes from the Greek word lepis which means “a scale (of a fish)”. The Hebrew priests had a procedure to follow, as ordered by God, in order to deem a person a leper. A person with leprosy amongst the Jews could expect an unhappy, humiliating, and lonely existence (Leviticus 13:45-46). If the person with leprosy happened to become cleansed or cured of the skin ailment, the priest performed a lengthy ceremony which deemed the formerly leprous person ceremonially clean and re-introduced them to social life, as commanded by God. Current-day leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease is rare and not easily transmitted. (Back)

 

4  touched him: This was a huge deal! This poor person had been cut off from all social aspects. No one touched him while he had leprosy and he had been saddled with it for a long time, since he was completely covered in it. (Back)

 

5  sternly: The Greek word used in Mark 1:43 for sternly is embrimaomai and means “to be moved with anger, to admonish sternly”. Jesus was not giving out gentle warnings to people, regarding keeping quiet about their encounters with Him. They rarely seemed to listen. (Back)

 

6  present the offering: See Leviticus 14. (Back)

 

7  Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city: Because of the formerly leprous man’s disobedience, Jesus couldn’t move around in the cities to actually go to the sick people who needed Him. The sick had to be traveled out to Him to be cured, making a miserable person even more so and putting an unneeded stress and strain on those who loved them/carried them out there. (Back)