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New Testament understanding through the Jewish perspective (view source)
Revision as of 19:52, November 6, 2008
, 19:52, November 6, 2008stopgap measure, seeing if this will work
The first feeding was in the Jewish area of the north west shore of the sea of Galilee. He had come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and had sent out his followers to preach and practice the kingdom among the Jews, and not the Samaritans or the Gentiles. And it was in this area that he had the multitudes sit down on the green grass in groups of fifty and a hundred as Israel long ago had grouped in the desert. He had chosen His twelve to " sit on the thrones":of Israel, not abolishing Israel, but fulfilling Israel in the new nation and people he was forming. It was green grass at that time of year because of the season and because it was at the Jewish end of the north shore fed by the seven springs ("heptapeigon" in Greek) which would become linguistically corrupted to its present name of Tabgha. There these seven springs gushing forth from warm water underground sources brought a steady flow of warm currents into the Sea attracting the many fish, most notably, the fresh water Tilapia, "Musht" in Arabic, "Amnon" in Hebrew, and "St. Peter's" fish to the Christian tourist. Such was the case up until this warm flow was stopped up by the 1950's water diversion project of the State of Israel diverting the flow to the National Water Carrier taking irrigation to the Negev, causing "the flowers to bloom" . And there in the back of the present day Church of the Primacy at the lip of the Sea, and indeed the base of the church itself, can be seen the 1st century steps leading down to the little harbor where the fishermen disciples of Jesus, along with so many others in the 1st century, had tied up their boats and rigged and repaired their nets. In this area, up the hill a bit, Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gave the blessing, and fed them all, through the hands of the disciples, filling thousands of their stomachs to the amazement of the disciples who saw it all happen before their eyes and from their own hands. And so the Messianic Kingdom was dawning then and there before their eyes. And in that spot, the Byzantines would build a church whose floor now appears as part of the floor of the present "reconstitued" Roman Catholic Church of the Multiplication, and there under the altar of both churches is the Byzantine Mosaic of the Feeding but with four loaves and two fish and not five loaves and two fish as so clearly presented in the Gospel of Mark. But the sensitivity of the Byzantines was accurate and thought out for they saw that the fifth loaf was Jesus Himself and His presence among them at the Eucharist. Of special note in the Gospel and for the early church (whose deacons distributed the blessed bread to the people of the Lord unable to attend the assembly) is that it was 12 baskets that remained over and distributed - a basket each for the reconstitued Israel descended from the 12 Fathers the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All so Jewish, in the Jewish Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas.
The first feeding was in the Jewish area of the north west shore of the sea of Galilee. He had come to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and had sent out his followers to preach and practice the kingdom among the Jews, and not the Samaritans or the Gentiles. And it was in this area that he had the multitudes sit down on the green grass in groups of fifty and a hundred as Israel long ago had grouped in the desert. He had chosen His twelve to " sit on the thrones":of Israel, not abolishing Israel, but fulfilling Israel in the new nation and people he was forming. It was green grass at that time of year because of the season and because it was at the Jewish end of the north shore fed by the seven springs ("heptapeigon" in Greek) which would become linguistically corrupted to its present name of Tabgha. There these seven springs gushing forth from warm water underground sources brought a steady flow of warm currents into the Sea attracting the many fish, most notably, the fresh water Tilapia, "Musht" in Arabic, "Amnon" in Hebrew, and "St. Peter's" fish to the Christian tourist. Such was the case up until this warm flow was stopped up by the 1950's water diversion project of the State of Israel diverting the flow to the National Water Carrier taking irrigation to the Negev, causing "the flowers to bloom" . And there in the back of the present day Church of the Primacy at the lip of the Sea, and indeed the base of the church itself, can be seen the 1st century steps leading down to the little harbor where the fishermen disciples of Jesus, along with so many others in the 1st century, had tied up their boats and rigged and repaired their nets. In this area, up the hill a bit, Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gave the blessing, and fed them all, through the hands of the disciples, filling thousands of their stomachs to the amazement of the disciples who saw it all happen before their eyes and from their own hands. And so the Messianic Kingdom was dawning then and there before their eyes. And in that spot, the Byzantines would build a church whose floor now appears as part of the floor of the present "reconstitued" Roman Catholic Church of the Multiplication, and there under the altar of both churches is the Byzantine Mosaic of the Feeding but with four loaves and two fish and not five loaves and two fish as so clearly presented in the Gospel of Mark. But the sensitivity of the Byzantines was accurate and thought out for they saw that the fifth loaf was Jesus Himself and His presence among them at the Eucharist. Of special note in the Gospel and for the early church (whose deacons distributed the blessed bread to the people of the Lord unable to attend the assembly) is that it was 12 baskets that remained over and distributed - a basket each for the reconstitued Israel descended from the 12 Fathers the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. All so Jewish, in the Jewish Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas.
But quite different, the second feeding, then after a "foray" of Jesus passing out of the Tetrachy of Herod Antipas, and Through the Valley of the Doves, the way that led to Gush Halav, where the Apostle Paul's parents had been born and lived and from which (Jerome) had been exiled to Tarsus in Cilicia, and coming into the non Jewish Phoenicia, and seeing such faith as never had been in Israel, and knowing what the promise of the Father had been that all the peoples of the world would be blessed in the choosing and the seed of Abraham, and knowing that that is also why he was called and where it would all lead, Jesus returned and passed into the Gentile area of the Tetrachy of Herod Antipas' brother Philip and to the Roman Decapolis, to the eastern gentile shore of the Sea of Galilee, and there, this time not on the green grass but on the barren hill, He did the same, He blessed the bread and this time there were many small fish, the Galilee "sardines", and fed the gentiles just as He had the Jews, miraculously, and to their stomachs full, and this time there were Seven baskets left over. For seven was known to be the number, not only of completion, and perfection, and fulfilling of the epoch, but also it was the number signifying "all the peoples of the world." For it was seven nations that Israel had dispossed coming into the Land (Deut. 7:1) - the Hittites, Girgashites (these were still living in the Decapolis in the first century), the Amorites, Canaanites, Perrizites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And it was, according to first century thinking as well as Biblical formulation, 7x10 = 70 peoples which constituted the whole of the peoples of the world around Israel (Gen. 10). And so the Kingdom of Heaven would now be open to all the peoples of the world, and "unto the ends of the earth."
But quite different, the second feeding, then after a "foray" of Jesus passing out of the Tetrachy of Herod Antipas, and Through the Valley of the Doves, the way that led to Gush Halav, where the Apostle Paul's parents had been born and lived and from which (Jerome) had been exiled to Tarsus in Cilicia, and coming into the non Jewish Phoenicia, and seeing such faith as never had been in Israel, and knowing what the promise of the Father had been that all the peoples of the world would be blessed in the choosing and the seed of Abraham, and knowing that that is also why he was called and where it would all lead, Jesus returned and passed into the Gentile area of the Tetrachy of Herod Antipas' brother Philip and to the Roman Decapolis, to the eastern gentile shore of the Sea of Galilee, and there, this time not on the green grass but on the barren hill, He did the same, He blessed the bread and this time there were many small fish, the Galilee "sardines", and fed the gentiles just as He had the Jews, miraculously, and to their stomachs full, and this time there were Seven baskets left over. For seven was known to be the number, not only of completion, and perfection, and fulfilling of the epoch, but also it was the number signifying "all the peoples of the world." For it was seven nations that Israel had dispossed coming into the Land (Deut. 7:1) - the Hittites, Girgashιtes (these were still living in the Decapolis in the first century), the Amorites, Canaanites, Perrizites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And it was, according to first century thinking as well as Biblical formulation, 7x10 = 70 peoples which constituted the whole of the peoples of the world around Israel (Gen. 10). And so the Kingdom of Heaven would now be open to all the peoples of the world, and "unto the ends of the earth."
From close to the ground - two stories, two Feedings, two messages (with one Church to embrace them both), and two real occurances. .
From close to the ground - two stories, two Feedings, two messages (with one Church to embrace them both), and two real occurances. .
Tel Dan in the north of Israel provides a good example. An enemy desiring to gain entrance to the city, must ride or go on foot along the bottom of the high outer walls exposed to view and weapons of the defenders on the ramparts. He then must turn left to approach the outer gate. The holes may still be found sunk into stone within which were the posts of the outer gates which swung open and shut. Around this gate area is stony but leveled ground upon which the defending force could be amassed. Then the intruder host must again turn left to force entry into what can only be called the "gateway"., a more accurate translation than "gate". The turn is a calculated defensive stratagem as it breaks a charge, causing horse and man to be slowed at a crucial point and to be exposed sideways. Surviving intruders than find themself in an wide area, which in peaceful times is the location for the King and his elders and for the rendering of judgrment "at the gates". At Tel Dan the King's huge judgement seat has been reconstructed over the widely spaced original holes in the stone and to the side is the ledge serving as the seat of the elders. But in war time, the area is full of warriors. Then the stone road leads out of this area and up* narrowing, again important as it allows entrance to only two at a time or at the most three, but almost immediately, the intruder is confronted with the pilasters. These were protusions from the side of the walls lining the road into the city, usuallyin pairs or triplets on either side of the road , which make for rooms for soldiers or guards. In Caananite times they were shallow rooms, in Israelite times deeper. Intruders would be attacked from either side of the road from these rooms, successively as they made their way up. They were also and at the same time attacked all along the way from up above them as the the road was below ground level and shadowed by embankments all along the way. The way now was slow blocked by dead and dying man and horse. Then the road turned again, this time to the right, slowing and exhaustng and exposing the attacker, and only then could the the intruder be said to be in the city - only to be met by more defenders. This then was the the gateway.
Tel Dan in the north of Israel provides a good example. An enemy desiring to gain entrance to the city, must ride or go on foot along the bottom of the high outer walls exposed to view and weapons of the defenders on the ramparts. He then must turn left to approach the outer gate. The holes may still be found sunk into stone within which were the posts of the outer gates which swung open and shut. Around this gate area is stony but leveled ground upon which the defending force could be amassed. Then the intruder host must again turn left to force entry into what can only be called the "gateway"., a more accurate translation than "gate". The turn is a calculated defensive stratagem as it breaks a charge, causing horse and man to be slowed at a crucial point and to be exposed sideways. Surviving intruders than find themself in an wide area, which in peaceful times is the location for the King and his elders and for the rendering of judgrment "at the gates". At Tel Dan the King's huge judgement seat has been reconstructed over the widely spaced original holes in the stone and to the side is the ledge serving as the seat of the elders. But in war time, the area is full of warriors. Then the stone road leads out of this area and up* narrowing, again important as it allows entrance to only two at a time or at the most three, but almost immediately, the intruder is confronted with the pilasters. These were protusions from the side of the walls lining the road into the city, usuallyin pairs or triplets on either side of the road , which make for rooms for soldiers or guards. In Caananite times they were shallow rooms, in Israelite times deeper. Intruders would be attacked from either side of the road from these rooms, successively as they made their way up. They were also and at the same time attacked all along the way from up above them as the the road was below ground level and shadowed by embankments all along the way. The way now was slow blocked by dead and dying man and horse. Then the road turned again, this time to the right, slowing and exhaustng and exposing the attacker, and only then could the the intruder be said to be in the city - only to be met by more defenders. This then was the the gateway.
This picture of the Gateway did not directly influence the wording of the saying of Jesus above, but it did directly influence the words of the Old Testament Scripture and these , in turn, did directly affect the wordings used by Jesus.
This picture of the Gateway did not directly influence the wording of the saying of Jesus above, but it did directly influence the words of the Old Testament Scripture and these , in turn, did directly affect the wordings used by Jesus.
Example 6. Beyond the words but through the words
Judaism has often been described as Orthopraxy - "straight doing" instead of Orthodoxy - "straight opinion or believing". Though not entirely true, there is much truth in this. But Christianity has a lot of orthopraxy in it - for being a believer is not just a matter of believing the meaning of words.
There is a church, Peter of Gallicantu - Peter of the Crowing of the Cock - that is just outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem (2 miles by miles). One enters through Jaffa Gate (opening west towards Jaffa), also known as Bab elHalil = Gate of the Friend (opening south toward Hebron, the city of Abraham, the "friend of God") and passing right to the west of the City, one passes by the museum Citadel of David (where General Allenby received the surrender of Turkish forces in World War 1), the Kishle - the old Turkish police station (then British police station, then Israeli), through the narrow street of the Armenian quarter and tunnel with its cathedral and seminary, and just before reaching the Jewish quarter, passing out of the Zion Gate into the Mt. Zion of the Crusaders, down the hill, to the church. A walk 2,000 years ago would have taken you as you go westwards, through the ever increasingly populated residential section that King Herod built for the priestly families he imported from Italy to ensure loyalty to himself (Josephus).
Entering the church, one is struck by the beauty of the dome and walls, and accustoming to the dim light both filtering through the stained glass and manificently and kalaidascopically shining through, one sees the theme - the betrayal by Peter of Jesus in the courtyard to the house of Caiaphas the High Priest Is the night descending or is the day dawning? Without realizing it, you have entered into the actual courtyard of the house, or to be more exact, the Roman Catholic church built on the actual site. Stairs leading off to the side lead you down into the middle section of the house (just as so many houses built today in modern Jerusalem are multistoried homes wrapped around a hill and thus are terraced stories) and you see that it is not only the Roman Catholics of the French order with their archaeologists who think this was the actual site. For you are now in the remnant church from the Byzantine period (4th cent.- 7th cent.) with its hewn out side "benches", altar in front, and right in the center of the sanctuary a strange holed area (now protected so you do not fall in). It was not known that this was a Byzantine church until the plaster put on after Byzantine times, making whatever was below non porous to act as a water reserve, was scraped off. And there on the neck of whatever was below, as you peer down, appear crosses incised on the wall of the neck - typical of the era Byzantine crosses. But what was it down there before it was a Byzantine viewing hole, and then a water reservoir, and then topped by a Roman Catholic Church?
Stairs leading off to the side lead you down to a lower level of the House, and entering it you wonder what this could ever be. It is a prison, just as the Talmud says was part of the house of the High Priest - a "holding" jail for prisoners who would be later brought before Pilate, the Roman Procurator, for trial. You see the carved out of the rock individual cells with their tell tale holes for lock enclosures and off to the side in slight elevated area is the guard post. But behind the quard post is a hole in the wall. Looking through the hole, one sees a deep carved out pit, at least the depth of two men, now lit up, but originally, dark, muddy, choking. This is the dungeon, and where the Lord would have been kept - until the next day and Pilate. Stairs leading off to the side lead you down to that dungeon bring you past the side walls and more incised Byzantine crosses and then the bottom, and on one wall, the one behind and to the right of the winding hewn out stairs, the tell tale carbonized sign on the wall of the swinging braizier used during the service. So this also was a church (or at least a chapel), in commemoration of Christ, his imprisonment and suffering, in the Byzantine period. Looking up, you can see the hole viewed previously from the Byzantine church above, and you can see the crosses.
Ascending the steps back again into the Byzantine church, on either side of the Altar, can be seen two paintings, this time from the "Roman Catholic era" - our own times. On the left is the portrayal of the denial of Peter, three times, that He knew the Man. True to the New Testament, He is croached by the fire in the court yard at the time of His denial. It was cold that night. And there climbing, or rather being led away, is Jesus, who has turned is head and is looking at Peter, also true to the Bible. There are no words of Jesus at this time, neither in the New Testament nor indicated by the portrayal here. This is the Biblical "enacted remez" or hint principle of interpretation (see "Example 2."). No need for words for its meaning is understood. It is understood resting on faith in the human ability to perceive what subsequent words could explicate and define. We know that Peter will soon leave, smitten by that look, stricken to the depth of his heart, but not to take the route taken by Judas from the village of Kyriot- that of suicide.
Then, passing to the other side of the altar, we see the painting of Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, meeting his disciples, Peter is among them, by the shores of Galilee. Jesus is cooking fish for them, over the fire. and we know, that is, knowing what had happened from the New Testament, that Peter would be spoken to by the Lord he had denied three times when croaching by the fire. Jesus would ask him three times " Peter, do you love me? Peter would answer, again three times over the fire, in the affirmative, and Jesus would entrust him, would once again entrust him, with what was on His heart, " Then, feed my sheep!" - three times.
And so, the Lord gave to Peter the gift that, I am sure, Peter could never forget, which had the power to change his life all the days left him - forgivness, and reconciliation , and restoration, by the only way that could have reached him to the depths of his being* - Three for three and over the fire!
"Love is accurate, or soon learns to be."
Note 1: The authenticity of the site finds added support from the following:
A stone plaque with the biblical citation of the offering made by Israel to the High Priest,
behind the church on the lowest level, excavated servant quarters rooms with the remains of the mill stone turned by donkey ("better for you to have a millstone tied to the neck and cast in to the sea, than to hurt one of these little ones..." - indicating a rich residence,
the nearby pools of water for ritual purification before entering the temple area. These "Mikveh" are distinquished by steps the lead to nowhere. That is, they go down to the pool that is truncated leaving room enough just for a man to dip and then ascend. Some of the steps have center divider allowing, requiring, one way down and the side up, facilitating crowds of pilgrims in the shortest of time.
And to the side of the house the original 1st century Roman stepped road, leading from the Mt of Olives (in plain view across the Kidron valley) where the Lord was arrested, and passing the house, on to the Temple area (also in plain view) where Jesus would be lead for His "trial" before Pilate
Note 2.. Sometimes, With the "I forgive you.", cook a good fish dinner and invite the person over - with all your heart. Make sure there is good wine and a good cup of hot coffee!
====The Scriptures:====
====The Scriptures:====