A Virgin Birth? Is That Even Possible?

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Years ago I interviewed an ordained church minister and was startled when he allowed that he "didn't believe in the virgin birth and all that miracle stuff." That kicked off a crisis of faith for me. If the ordained ministry didn't believe in "all that stuff," what was I doing there?

I reached out to God in despair, as if to say, "Are you really there?" And I actually received an answer in the form of a vision. A few weeks later I was confirmed in the Episcopal (Anglican) church and was pleased to meet a bishop who very much believed in the Bible and "all that miracle stuff."

More recently I listened to a sermon by an Anglican priest, who declared that the Christian faith depended on miracles. In order to be a Christian, one must believe in miracles. Without miracles, the Christian faith becomes not just improbable, but thoroughly impossible. It would make no sense.

But What About the Truth of the Laws of Science?

Hold on to your seat: you may be amazed. Science does not teach truth (least of all, "Truth" with a capital "T").  The scientific method does not deal in truth, but theorems, such as the "law" of gravity. We had (past tense) this "law" due to the great mind of Sir Isaac Newton. From the observable facts, such as the movement of the planets (can an apple be a planet?), he deduced that substances which have "mass," i.e. weight, attract one another. The moon circles the earth because it is continually falling toward the earth in its orbit. Its speed keeps it in its orbit. He further theorized that, due to this "gravity," the earth would not be a sphere but rather an oblate spheroid--fancy words meaning the earth bulges at the equator due to the speed of its rotation. Long after his death, this was found to be an observable fact.

This "law" worked quite well for the next 300 years. But then enters Einstein and "relativity." Einstein theorized that mass distorts the space-time continuum, and that what Newton thought was bodies attracting one another was instead an object falling into the "gravity well" in space-time created by a massive body. Within a few decades, with more precise measurements, it was found that Einstein's theory was a better fit to the observable fact than Newton's theory.

New "law," right? Nope. Along comes astronomer Vera Rubin, who just died this Christmas Day. She discovered the "galaxy rotation problem" which, from the facts that she observed in the 1980's proved that the "law" of gravity did not work. Basically, there were not enough stars in the galaxies with enough mass to explain the rapid orbital speeds of the outermost stars. At their observed speeds, they would simply fly apart. Gravity didn't work.

Other scientists are trying to put the Humpty-Dumpty-Gravity-Law back together again by using Dutch astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn's 1922 theory for "dark matter." If you inject enough massive "dark matter" into a galaxy (perhaps ten times as much mass as the observable stars) then you can get the Newton/Einstein view of gravity to work again. Vera Rubin was disappointed. She would rather have seen Newton's Laws modified to fit the observable facts. Dark Matter may be the correct answer, but it has not yet been demonstrates that it actually exists.

Such are the "laws" of science. They are theories that can never by proven, although the buildup of observable facts may give us high confidence in them. But if a single fact should contradict the theorem, it must be tossed out the window and another theorem proposed which explains the new fact(s).

But What About a Virgin Birth?

The technical term for a virgin birth, that is, conception without a male, is parthenogenesis. Many lower life-forms use asexual propagation of life. Some lizards and snakes are known to reproduce using females only. An then there are snakes, Komodo dragons, and some sharks that normally reproduce sexually, but have exceptions known as accidental parthenogenesis. This is what we would be looking for scientifically, but instances of this accidental process in mammals and especially humans is unknown to modern science.

According to the Population Reference Bureau, there are about 107 billion people who were ever born. If the birth of Jesus were accepted as parthenogenetic by modern science, that would give the statistical chance of a virgin birth as one in a hundred billion. I said modern science. There are a number of cases known to doctors of the middle ages in which a nun who supposedly had no access to a male gave birth to a child. In the best-documented of these cases (less than a handful) the child was a female who grew up to look exactly like her mother. This is what we would expect, for the mother lacks the male Y-chromosome.

But some women (one out of 80,000) do have a Y-chromosome, and to outwards appearance are completely normal women. However, these women lack ovaries, and generally lack a uterus. (A handful of these women have given birth from a donated egg.) No women with a Y-chromosome plus ovaries are known to science--but of course, without the genetic tools of modern science, if there were one and she gave birth to a male, no one would notice anything unusual. With all these required conditions, the odds against a virgin birth for a male child are multiplied--to perhaps one in a hundred trillion?

But wait--there's more required conditions. Biblical scholars who have studied the leap of Christianity from its Semitic-society infancy to its Greek-society exponential growth maintain that Jesus could have come at no other time than he did. Ten years earlier, or ten years later, and the societal conditions that enabled a handoff of Christianity from a Semitic monotheistic religion to a pagan-dominated society would have been impossible.

My rough guess for the odds are that such an event should occur about once per life-time of the universe. In other words, a miracle. That's my input for the sixth day of Christmas, 2016.

(This was an easy one. Try figuring the odds against turning water into wine.)

Madonna and Child

Jesus, the Fugitive King

Fugitive, Triumphant King, then Fugitive Again

The last 8 days of Jesus' status as a fugitive are among the most documented times in his life, on a par with his trial and passion. We pick him up at the end of a 20-mile journey from Ephraim in Samaria, east to the Jordan River, then south along the river road into the province of Judea and on up to Jericho. It is almost time for the great feast--the Passover--and he has been joined on his trek by many other pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.

Day 1: Friday March 31, AD 30, The Tax Collector's House.

Jesus Calls Zacchaeus from the Tree

As Jesus passes through Old Town Jericho, he is met by two blind men crying out to be healed. One of them is especially highlighted by Mark's gospel: Bar-Timaeus, whose father Timaeus may have been known to some of Mark's readers. Matthew's gospel, as usual, expands the story to include both blind men. Healed by Jesus, the two blind men fall into the train of people behind Jesus. (Mt 20:29-34, Mk10:46-52, Lk 18:35-43)

Then as Jesus begins to enter the nearby New City of Jericho--built by Herod the Great--he spies a man who has climbed up a tree in order to see him. He calls out to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry down, for today I must stay at your house." Jesus needs a place to stay because it is still another fifteen miles to his destination in Bethany.

"Must stay"? Could that be for Jesus' safety? Zacchaeus is the chief tax collector for the district of Jericho, a rich and powerful man who reports directly to Pilate's Chief Financial Officer in Jerusalem. It would require some persuasion and not a little political capital for the Chief Priests in Jerusalem to convince Pilate to over-rule Zacchaeus, arrest Jesus, and deliver him into their hands. Jesus and his disciples will sleep well tonight.

No, Jesus gives the reason for his 'must'. Zacchaeus says, "Lord, I give half my fortune to the poor, and will repay anyone I have  cheated." Jesus says, "Today salvation has come to this house, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." As the house-gate closes behind them, the crowd complains, "He's gone to be the guest of a sinner." (Lk 19:1-10)

Jesus ends the day with a parable about how a servant should manage money entrusted to him. Judas Iscariot, whose management of the money purse for the disciples had come into question, is sure to have been an attentive listener. (Lk 19:11-27)

Day 2: Saturday April 1, Simon the Leper's House

Mary Anoints Jesus with Nard

Lazarus--the man whom Jesus called out of his tomb--normally resides at the Bethany house of his sisters Martha and Mary. But he is hiding out instead at the home of Jesus' disciple Simon the Leper, whom Jesus had healed from his skin disease. The problem? The chief priests would dearly like to kill Lazarus, who is a walking, talking symbol of the great power of Jesus--yes, that same Jesus who is a threat to their power in Jerusalem. (John 11:55-12:1, 12:9-11)

So here we find Jesus and his disciples joining them in their Bethany hideout, with Martha and Mary in their traditional roles: Martha is serving the evening meal, and Mary is paying attention to Jesus. Mary produces 12 ounces of pure nard--a gift so expensive that it must have been intended for her dowry. She begins to anoint Jesus with it, starting at his head and ending at his feet. Only Matthew's Gospel mentions the head, for Matthew is always on the lookout for Old Testament fulfillment: David's head was anointed by Samuel the prophet to proclaim his kingship, and Mary will do the same for Jesus, the Son of David.

Judas objects to this, backed up by some of the other disciples: He says, "Why was this perfume not sold  and the money given to the poor?" (This from the disciple who had the reputation of pilfering from the money purse.) Jesus allowed Mary to keep the nard to anoint his body after his funeral, saying, "You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." Here we learn that  it was their custom to give generously to the poor from their donated funds. (Mt 26:6-13, Mk 14:3-9, Jn 12:2-8)

A note on the timing here: Matthew and Mark place the story of the anointing several days later, after Jesus' first visit to the Mount of Olives. But we must remember that the Gospels were not written to be a biography of Jesus but rather to proclaim the message of the Gospel. Matthew, Mark, and Luke condense Jesus' 3-year ministry as if all the events took place over the course of a single year. If we were to use those as a guide, the anointing would seem to have occurred two days before Passover. 

John's Gospel, on the other hand, frequently gives us information that allows us to ascertain date and location more accurately. In this case, John specifies that the Simon Leper dinner and the Jesus-anointing events take place six days before Passover.

Day 3: Sunday April 2, the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem as the Messiah King

Today is the big day. Sabbath is long over, Passover is near, and great crowds abound in Jerusalem. Halfway between Bethany and Jerusalem is the village of Bethpage, where Jesus sends in two disciples to pick up a donkey colt for him to ride on. As usual, Matthew doubles down with two of them, a donkey and its colt. But Jesus  must ride the colt, to fulfill the prophesy (Zechariah 9:9).

The crowds were delighted, and the chief priests were horrified, hearing the words from the crowds that terrified them the most: "Behold, your King is coming to you!" "Blessed is the coming kingdom of our  father David!" "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" The chief priests could do nothing, and the temple police could do nothing. The crowds would have overwhelmed them.

Jesus spent some time looking around the temple, then he and his disciples returned to Bethany. Perhaps the temple police could have followed them and arrested Jesus later, but it is more likely that they would have been beaten by the crowds and humiliated.

Day 4: Monday April 3,  Jesus Hides Out in Bethany.

Historic Photograph of Bethany (highly retouched)

Jesus returns on Monday to Jerusalem. (Remember, other than Sabbath, the Israelites had no names for days of the week, just numbers.) But Jesus is perhaps short on patience, for he behaves oddly. He curses a fig tree which had come into leaf for springtime, but as yet had no figs: "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" The disciples listened curiously.

Then Jesus repeated what he had done three years previously: He overturned the tables of the moneychangers, and drove out the buyers and sellers of animals. He said, "My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a robber's den." More startling, he began healing the blind and the lame: those disabled persons who were banned from the temple, and would normally hang out at the pools of Bethesda outside the temple's Sheep Gate.

The priests and Pharisees were shocked and afraid of him, while visiting Greek-speakers sought him out. But when he prophesied his death, he began to hear opposition from the crowds. Who wants a king  that says he's going to be soon dead? John's Gospel (at John 12:36) notes that Jesus hid himself from these antagonists. Matthew notes that they spent the night in Bethany. (Mt 21:10-19, Mk 11;12-19; Lk 19:45-48, Jn 12:20-50)

Day 5: Tuesday April 4: The Mount of Olives.

Jerusalem As Seen from the Mount of Olives.

The olive trees were cut down by the Romans in their war with the Jews.

In the  morning we find Jesus returning from Bethany, and the disciples amazed by the withered fig tree. Jesus turns it into a lesson on the power of faith, implying that his disciples could do the same thing.

Although it was still too dangerous to attempt to arrest Jesus publicly, the priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees of the Sanhedrin (the high council of the Jews) began to challenge Jesus on the temple grounds. The priests and elders challenged his source of authority. The Pharisees and Herodians sought to catch him up on paying taxes to Caesar. The Sadducees challenged him on the resurrection. A scribe questioned him on the greatest commandment. Jesus answered them all and they despaired of gaining any headway by this tactic.

Jesus sat for a time in the treasury room of the temple, where the people would bring their cash offerings. There he commended a widow who brought two pennies, "all she had to live on." Leaving the temple, he taught his  disciples on the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the future return of the Savior. Leading his disciples to the Mount of Olives, he continued his teaching into the night and revealed his coming death two days hence.

This day in the Bible features a phenomenal amount of Jesus' teaching, possibly including some that should spill over into Wednesday. The scripture is vast: Matthew 21:20 thru 26:5, Mark 11:20 thru 14:2, Luke 20:1 thru 22:2, but nothing from John.

Day 6: Wednesday April 4: Judas Makes a Contract.

Judas Makes an Agreement with the Chief Priests

No activities of Jesus are known for certain on Wednesday of Holy Week; perhaps Jesus rested this day. The day off may have given Judas his opportunity to strike a deal with the high priests to betray Jesus. Judas was soon to be unemployed--that is, deprived of  his Master--and a cushion of money would grant him some security as he figured out what to do with the rest of his life. Thirty pieces of silver--an ancient price for a man's life--would suffice quite well.

On the other hand, Judas had seen Jesus do many powerful things. Perhaps his betrayal would force Jesus' hand and he would strike down his foes with just a word from his mouth. As far as the foretold death of Jesus, Judas was probably just as confused as the rest of the disciples: what is this, some kind of parable?
(Mt 26:14-16, Mk 14:10-11, Lk 22:3-6)

Day 7: Thursday April 6: The Upper Room in Jerusalem.

Passover Meal in the Upper Room

It is time for Jesus' disciples to prepare for his Passover  feast come evening, but this is arranged with some considerable stealth and subterfuge. The disciples don't know where the feast will take place, and Jesus doesn't tell them. Instead he sends them looking for a man with a water jar who they are supposed to follow into a house, there to meet the owner of the house. The name of the home owner remains unknown even up to this day, but it may well have been Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy but secret follower of Jesus. (Mt 26:17-19, Mk 14:12-16, Lk 22:7-13)

Jesus the Fugitive has been hanging tight with the Twelve, his closest disciples, making them fugitives along with himself. But there are plenty of indications that more of his disciples are in town, with presumably more freedom of motion. This would apply especially to his many women followers, who may well have assisted in serving the Passover Meal. But as the meal begins, with servers bustling around bringing the food and drink, Jesus surprises  them with a fast one: He dresses himself as if he were a servant and begins to wash the feet of the Twelve, prompting an initial objection from Peter. (John 13:1-20)

As the meal itself gets under way, a dispute arose among his feckless followers as to which one among them was the greatest. Were they jockeying for who would be in the lead after Jesus died? Jesus, of course, called them to task for this and brings them back into line. (Mt 26:20, Mk 14:17, Lk 22:14-16, 24-30)

As they began eating, Jesus was troubled, and said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples were shocked, looking around and saying "Is it me?" But Jesus was not responsive. John, who was Jesus' personal assistant, was always closest to him. Somehow Peter got John to ask Jesus which one was the betrayer. Jesus showed him by passing a morsel of bread to Judas, then telling Judas, "What you are to do, do quickly." Judas got up and left, but the disciples assumed he was being sent on some errand because he was in charge of the money. (Mt 26:21-25, Mk 14:18-21, Lk 22:21-23, Jn 13:21-30)

As the door closed behind Judas, Jesus warned the rest of the disciples that they would also betray and desert him,  eliciting cries of denial, especially from Peter, who would "go with him even to death!" Jesus responded saying, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." (Mt 26:31-35, Mk 14:27-31, Lk 22:31-38, Jn 13:31-38)

Then Jesus instituted the parable of his death, sharing with the disciples the bread which symbolized his body, and the wine which symbolized his blood, all shed for the redemption of the world (Mt 26:26-29, Mk 14:22-25, Lk 22:17-20).  As the meal comes to a close, John's gospel details four chapters of final teachings and prayers by Jesus (John 14, 15, 16, and 17).

After singing a closing hymn, Jesus and the Eleven left the upper room into the darkness of the night, going to their favorite spot on the Mount of Olives. Did they not have permission to sleep in the upper room? Was the Mount of Olives a better hiding place? We don't know. From what is revealed in the Gospels, the reason for the location move seems to be that Jesus had an intense need to pray--and his usual and best praying spots were alone, outside, and atop some mountain or hill.
(Mt 26:30, 36-46, Mk 14:26, 32-42, Lk 22:39-46, Jn 18:1)

Day 8: Friday Morning April 7, The Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

Waking the Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus wanted his disciples to pray with him, but after an eventful day and a full meal, they were unable to stay awake. As Jesus wakes the disciples, torchlights appear in the distance. It was the  arresting party, led by Judas, who of course knew the location of Jesus' sweet spot.

The arresting force is described as a "large crowd," which means, of  course, that they outnumbered the disciples on the Mount. They're carrying swords and also clubs, which indicates that not all of them are law enforcement professionals. They included some of the high priests themselves along with their trusted officers, probably the entire temple police force, and--surprise--a cohort of Roman soldiers.

Who knows how much political capital the high priests may have used up to convince Governor Pilate to allow them to use his rent-a-cops? In any case, the soldiers seemed to be there as backup, for when Peter swung his sword at the servant of the High Priest, there was none to stop him.

Jesus shut down that action, and said, "Who are you looking for?" They replied, "Jesus the Nazarene." Then Jesus replies, "I AM," using one of the names of Almighty God. The  force of Jesus' word knocked the whole arresting party away from him and onto the ground.

Judas had already identified Jesus with a kiss, but if he was expecting Jesus to take charge by speaking a powerful word, this was all he would get. Jesus told Peter to put away his sword and allowed the soldiers and police to bind him and lead him away. The  disciples were confused by all this, and knew of nothing better to do than run away.

Their long-time fugitive leader was now a prisoner, and things were about to get worse.

(Mt 26:47-56, Mk 14:43-52, Lk 22:47-53, Jn 18:2-12)

This is the final post of an 8-episode blog series on Jesus the fugitive.

Jesus' Last & Most Secret Visit to Judea

Jesus the Fugitive Sets Himself Up to be Killed.

Jesus Slips into Judea near Bethany and Raises Lazarus.

Late Winter, AD 30. Two notable events took place on this visit: The action of Jesus and the action of Caiaphas the High Priest.

1. On Jesus' fifth visit to Judea, he avoids Jerusalem but takes his most explosive action yet (John 11:1-44). After hearing that his friend Lazarus is desperately ill, Jesus delayed his departure from his safe hide-out near the Jordan by two days. When he told the disciples he was going to Judea they said, in effect, "What? But the Jews are trying to stone you there!" Nevertheless he was determined to go, and Thomas said, "Let's go with him, so that we may die when he dies."

By the time Jesus arrived near Bethany, where Martha and Mary lived, Lazarus had been in the grave four days. Now Jesus had raised adults and children from the dead before, but it was either in secret, or so close after the death that doubt could be cast on it by his disbelievers. No such case here: no one had heard of someone raising the dead after four days in the grave. When he asked for the stone to be rolled away from the tomb, Martha said, "But Lord! By this time after his death there will be a stench!"

There was no stench. Jesus called to Lazarus and he walked out of the tomb, still wearing his grave clothes. Jesus gained many new believers because of this, but there were others present that went to the temple authorities and reported what had happened. But Jesus had escaped again, this time going to  Ephraim, a primarily Jewish town which was nonetheless in the region of Samaria, beyond the reach of the Jerusalem authorities.

2. The temple authorities were in shock, and called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, the high council of the Jews. With such a powerful act as this under his belt, Jesus would be able to challenge the authority of the High Priests, which would destabilize the government of Judea and bring the Roman military down on them. Something had to be done (John 11:45-54).

The Jerusalem authorities responded with greater resolve to arrest Jesus and bring him before the council. Apparently this time they had convinced the temple police to cooperate with them, for previously they had refused to arrest him. It was still important that he be arrested with as much secrecy as possible, for if they seized him from out of a crowd it might provoke a riot, which would likewise bring the Roman military down on their heads. So the Sanhedrin gave orders that if anyone knew where Jesus was hiding, to report it to them so that they might arrest him.

There was but one remaining Jerusalem visit coming up for Jesus, at which time the Jews would have to find a way to finally get rid of this thorn in their sides, using whatever limited power that they had.

Check back next week to see just how they nabbed their fugitive, and what they had to go through to make sure that he was finally killed.

This is part 7 of an 8-part series on Jesus the Fugitive and his visits to Judea. 

Not in Galilee. Not in Judea. Where's Jesus?

Fugitive 6: Jesus Flashes the Feast (Hanukkah)

Jesus Hides Out, but makes a Flash Appearance in the temple at Hanukkah.

A. Where's Waldo-- er, Jesus?  After September of AD 29, the activities of Jesus disappear from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, not to reappear until late winter or early spring of AD 30 (Their last mention of Jesus in AD29 is at Mt 19:1 and Mk 10:1). But Jesus was quite busy. The Gospel of John picks him up at October's Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), while Luke's Gospel picks him up in November for the sending out of the 72 disciples (Jn 7:10, Lk 9:57).

After the feast of Tabernacles in AD 29, Jesus withdrew across the Jordan to Perea, within the realm of Herod Antipas and beyond the reach of the authorities in the Temple. Jesus may have given the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven in Perea (Luke 13:18-21). A likely place for him to stay would have been the city of Amathus, east of the Jordan and a few miles north of Jericho. He could not have been as far away as Capernaum, for reasons which we'll see in part 7 of this series of posts.

B.  Jesus Flashes the Temple.  After the two parables, just one brief appearance of Jesus is recorded in Judea, during the 8-day Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) which takes place in Jerusalem on December 21-28. The temple grounds are full of people hostile to Jesus for hinting at his own deity. They challenge him to be more clear, and he directly asserts that he is the Son of God. Some intend to throw rocks at him, and others want to seize him, but--yet again--he slips out of their grasp (John 10:22-39).

C. Back to the Wilderness. Jesus crossed the Jordan again, going back to the place where he met his first five disciples back in the Spring of AD 27: Andrew, John, James, Peter, and Nathanael/Bartholomew. There he was revered by those who remembered the teachings of John the Baptist (John 10:40-42).

Jesus will make one final visit to Judea (but not to the temple) before his triumphal return on the back of a donkey. Watch for that here next week.

This is an 8-part series on the visits of the ultimately fugitive Jesus to the province of Judea. 

Jesus messing with the Authorities in Judea

Fugitive 5: Dodging Arrest at the Feast of Tabernacles

Jews lived in booths to remember their 40 years in the desert.

"Go to the Feast of Tabernacles," say his brothers.

The four brothers of Jesus advised him that if he were to be taken seriously as a prophet, he needed to be seen in Judea. The 7-day Feast of Tabernacles was at hand (October 12-18, AD 29), but Jesus said he wasn't going, at least publicly (John 7:1-9). He did indeed go, and that may have occasioned the incident with the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus alternately kept hidden, or appeared in great crowds where the authorities hesitated to arrest him lest it cause a riot.

Jesus was busy. John records 4 other events during this sojourn in Judea, while Luke records no less than 12 additional events. All these took place within a month or so after the Feast of Tabernacles.

A. Jesus travels to the Feast of Tabernacles in secret, making a public appearance teaching in the temple on the 4th day of the feast, and again on the final day. Officers were actually sent to arrest Jesus, but they were instead astounded at his teaching (John 7:10-52). The captain of the temple guard  was an ex officio member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jews. Although the chief priests had issued a warrant for Jesus' arrest, the temple guard was not cooperative. There is no mention of an appeal to the Roman authorities for his arrest;  possibly that would have been denied out of hand.

B. During this visit it is possible that the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, although it may have occurred during some other visit of Jesus to the temple. (John 7:53-8:11 was not in the original Gospel as written by John, but was inserted some time later.)

C. Four more events recorded by John's Gospel:

-  In the treasury of the temple, Jesus calls himself the light of the world (8:12-30).

-  The Pharisees won't accept Jesus' prophecy and plot to destroy him (8:21-59).

-  Jesus heals a man born blind on the Sabbath, infuriating the Pharisees (9:1-41).

-  Jesus relates the Parable of the Good Shepherd (10:1-41).

D. Twelve events recorded by Luke's Gospel:

-  Jesus teaches on the cost of following Jesus (9:58-62).

-  72 disciples are sent out to the villages and towns of Judea, and return later with their testimonies (10:1-24). Jesus wanted to follow this up with a personal visit to each of the villages, but there was not enough time left in his ministry to accomplish that. Instead, the risen Jesus gives that as his first command for what his disciples are to do.

-  A teacher of the Law hears the story of the Good Samaritan (10:25-37).

-  Jesus takes refuge with Martha and Mary in Bethany (10:38-42). This was not far from Jerusalem, but apparently the chief priests and Pharisees either did not know where he was, or lacked the wherewithal to send out an arresting party.

-  Jesus gives a lesson on prayer, including the Lord's Prayer (11:1-13).

-  Jesus is accused of being from Beelzebub, an insulting name for the devil (11:14-36).

-  Jesus tells of judgment coming against Pharisees and teachers of the law (11:37-54).

-  Jesus deals with hypocrisy, etc., and tells the parable of the rich fool (12:1-59).

-  Jesus' teaching: news of the day vs. "repent or perish" (13:1-5).

-  Jesus tells the parable of  the non-producing fig tree (13:6-9).

-  A crippled woman is healed on the Sabbath, right after the synagogue service, further infuriating the Pharisees (13:10-17).

After these things, Jesus went to hide out across the Jordan River in Perea.

This is the fifth of an 8-part series on the visits of Jesus to Judea.

Fugitive 4: Jesus Skips Passover

What did Jesus Do Instead?

A Lifelong Custom Abandoned

For most of his life, Jesus and his family had attended the Feast of Passover in Jerusalem, making the trip from Galilee into Judea and into the temple to sacrifice a lamb. Then in the late winter of AD 27 he left his career as a carpenter, and after wandering in the desert for 40 days began a new career: Prophet of God.

But that didn't mean that he was going to give up a lifelong practice. In April of AD 27 he attended the Passover Feast again as had been his family custom. He probably travelled to Jerusalem with his family, for he had been in their company immediately before Passover, first at Cana and then at Capernaum. He may have had 5 newly minted disciples in tow.

In April of AD 28, Jesus attended Passover again, this time with 12 disciples in tow. He had other disciples, but these were the men he had specially selected to be with him and travel with him. This time in Jerusalem he got himself in a peck of trouble, first for healing on the Sabbath, then for hinting that he might be the Son of God. The first of these--breaking the Sabbath--was seen as breaking the special relationship between God and Israel. The second of these turned the whole Jewish sacrificial religion on its head and threatened every religious authority. Not only did he become persona non grata in Jerusalem, but the religious authorities were looking for a way to kill him off.

But now it's April of AD 29 and it's Passover, and they're having the feast again in Jerusalem. But where is Jesus?

Jesus is in a most peculiar place. He's not at his Capernaum home 85 miles north of Jerusalem. No, he's across the lake, in the "wilderness," preaching to a huge crowd and healing people. And a most peculiar thing happened out there.

It happened to be a year when one of the yearly Jewish fasting days immediately preceded Passover. Pious Jews would not be carrying any food with them, for this was a day for abstaining from food. So sundown came to end the fast, but there was no food to buy in the "wilderness."

No problem. His disciples had 5 loaves and 2 fish (in spite of the fast). Jesus took what they had and fed it to 5,000 men plus associated women and children, and they all were satisfied. Powerful!

But in spite of this power, Jesus was staying away, not only from Jerusalem, but from all the territory of Judea. After the Passover of AD 28, he stayed away from the temple for 18 months. During this time he visited:

The towns and villages of Galilee (of course),
Tyre and Sidon, two Mediterranean city-states of Phoenicia,
Some of the territory of the Ten Towns (Decapolis), avid followers of Rome,
Some of the towns and villages in Perea, the other kingdom of Herod Antipas
Some of the towns and villages in Trachonitis, the kingdom of Herod Philip, and
Some of the towns of Samaria, second-class citizens of the people of God.

He was gone so long from Judea that his brothers began to rag on him about it.
Tune in next week to see what Jesus did about that.

This is part 4 of an 8 part series about the visits of Jesus to Judea.

Fugitive 3: Stirring the Pot

Jesus messes with the Pharisees and their Sabbath

Second Judea visit of Jesus' Ministry (AD 28).

After the Spring of AD 27, Jesus' ministry was primarily done in Capernaum or during a tour of Galilee. Summer, Autumn, and Winter passed before Jesus returned to Judea for a brief visit to Jerusalem for the Passover in April. Three and possibly four incidents occurred during this visit to Judea:

1.  On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was apparently travelling in company with several Pharisees. Along the way, one or more of Jesus' disciples plucked some grain from a farmer's field, rubbed it between their hands to shed off the chaff, and ate it.

The Pharisees noticed this, and later in the day they challenged Jesus about it, accusing his disciples of working on the Sabbath. Rather than responding directly to their technical definition of working on the Sabbath, Jesus instead messed with them. He cited an historical  incident, when David's men (before he was king) ate food that was reserved for priests.

Jesus' implication was that his men deserved the same break that David's men got, because Jesus was a successor in the royal line of  David. This would hint that the Pharisees were standing in the presence of the rightful king of Israel. That may have gone over their heads, as the Pharisees are not shown as responding to this royal claim (Matthew 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5).

2. In Jerusalem, Jesus found a man just outside the temple (at the Bethesda pools) who had been crippled for 38 years. Even though it was the Sabbath, he healed the man, causing quite a commotion to be stirred up (John 5:1-17). John's Gospel refers to this time as a "feast of the Jews," which most Bible scholars believe to be the spring Passover in April of AD 28. This incensed the Pharisees, who spent some time and energy trying to ferret our who had done this foul deed (John 5:1-15).

3. Rather than admit his guilt (in the Pharisees' view), Jesus defended his authority to heal on the Sabbath, and referred to God as his own Father. These things enraged the Pharisees, and led the Jewish authorities to secretly begin plotting to kill him, although they denied it. (John 5:16-47). Then right after Jesus left Jerusalem he defiantly healed a man with a withered hand, on the Sabbath, and in the synagogue. That didn't enhance his popularity with the Pharisees one single bit  (Matthew 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11).

4.  The incident of the woman caught in adultery is a story strongly attributed to John the Apostle, but John did not include it in his Gospel. Later, another scribe preserved the story by including it in a master copy of John's Gospel. This scribe inserted it as taking place during Jesus' visit to Jerusalem in October of AD 29. But by that date Jesus' freedom of movement was curtailed by threats to arrest him. Also, it seems unlikely that the Pharisees would have asked his advice in this matter while they were actively seeking to kill him (John 7:53-8:11).

It seems more likely that this event occurred during the visit of AD 28, when collegiality between Jesus and the Pharisees was much more possible--a collegiality which is witnessed by Pharisees who invited Jesus to eat at their own house. That their request for Jesus' advice about adultery was a genuine plea for discernment is attested by history, which tells us that Jewish authorities banned the death penalty for adultery in--of all years--AD 30. Coincidence? I think not.

Tune in next week to find out what Jesus did the next year, when he was a wanted criminal.

Fugitive 2: Table-Turning for Free

Jesus Turns Over Tables and Gets Away With It.

First Judea visit of Jesus' Ministry (April, AD 27).

Four events in Judea are recorded in Jesus' early prophetic ministry, before he moved his residence  from Nazareth to Capernaum:

1. As a child in the family of Joseph and Mary, Jesus regularly visited Jerusalem during the Passover festival (Luke 2:41). But in his first Passover visit  as a prophet, he entered the temple grounds and overturned the tables of moneychangers and other merchants who were making a profit off the holy day event (John 2:13-22).

This  is sometimes held up as an example of righteous anger, defending the ability of Christians to be angry without sin. But Jesus did not just go to the temple and discover something wrong that made him angry. What he saw in AD 27 was the same scene that he had encountered every Passover since he was a child.

No, his actions were preplanned and methodical. Jesus as a Prophet could not stand by while something very wrong was going on in the temple. This was planned civil disobedience against the temple authorities (not the merchants), to point out that they were in the wrong. (Possibly, his actions could be used as a defense for civil disobedience by Christians today.)

There is no chance that the money-changers and the sellers of doves and sheep and cattle were doing something that was not permitted by the high priests of the temple. The ground of the Jerusalem temple was one of the most highly regulated places in the Roman Empire, just as it is today. More than permission, these merchants were almost certainly paying the high priests for licenses to conduct their business on hallowed ground. A significant money stream was flowing from these activities into the hands of the temple authorities.

These high priests were highly educated in the contents and application of holy scripture. They already knew that the temple was an inappropriate place to conduct business, especially in the holy days of unleavened bread--the Passover. But they had let that slide in favor of gaining income for themselves. Greed was more profitable than piety.

Still, Jesus was raising a ruckus and had to be stopped, so the high priests and temple police could protect and maintain their authority. Probably objections to the merchants had been raised by Pharisees in the past. But we can tell that the priests knew that Jesus' activities were a prophetic action, by the question they asked him: "What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?" In other words, "If this action comes from God's rule, then prove it."

Jesus' answer befuddled them. He said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." Jesus was talking about his own body as the temple of God, which the priests and cops missed. Probably they had rushed Jesus with drawn swords in order to stop him. This led Jesus to fear a premature loss of his life, so he told them the consequences if they were to strike him down with the sword.

They responded in confusion, "It took forty-six years to build this temple. How can you...?" Here ends the incident. Jesus must have turned his back on them and walked away. Perhaps this was preferable to the priests to striking him down, or even worse, to try him before the high court. Such a trial would have exposed the greed of the priests: better to ignore this if Jesus would just go away.

So Jesus got away with defying the authorities! No repercussions came from this event at the time, except that Jesus began to be known as a person who might be a prophet. Jesus remained in Judea for a time with no opposition that would make him a fugitive, as shown in three more events:

2. John's gospel notes that during the Passover festival, Jesus performed miraculous signs and gained many believers (John 2:23-25).

3. During this period Jesus' ministry became known to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the powerful Sanhedrin council of the Jews, reputed to be the richest man in Jerusalem (John 3:1-21). Nicodemus owned farmland in Galilee, and was interested in the activities of Jesus the Galilean. After meeting Jesus, Nicodemus probably worked in the background to assist Jesus against the Sadducees--the priests who controlled the temple.

4. After leaving Jerusalem and before returning to Galilee, Jesus spent time in Judea with his first disciples. They were baptizing his followers under the authority of Jesus (John 3:22, 4:1-2). During this  time Jesus was preaching the same message as John the Baptist: "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).

One year later, Jesus would visit Judea during Passover again, but the results would be very different.
This is part two in an eight-part series on the visits of Jesus to Judea.
Check back next week for the next episode!

Jesus the Fugitive

Why Did Jesus Spend So Little Time in Judea?

Over the three-plus years of Jesus' ministry, he made few visits to Judea--the home of Jerusalem and the Temple: Only six times, in fact. Here is the list:

1. April 11, AD 27: Passover visit to the temple; overturned tables.

2. April 8, AD 28: Passover visit to Jerusalem; healing on the Sabbath.

X. April 18, AD 29: Skips Passover visit to Jerusalem, feeds 5,000 instead.

3. October 15-18, AD 29: Slips into the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles.

4. December 21, AD 29: Brief visit to the temple during Hannukah.

5. Winter, AD 30: Visit to Bethany; Lazarus raised from the dead.

6. April 2, AD 30: Enters Bethany & Jerusalem; April 3 temple cleansed; April 4 fig tree testifies;  April 5 Anointing; April 6 Last Supper; April 7 crucifixion.

Although Jesus' most important work was in Jerusalem and Judea, he was impeded from ministry there because there was an arrest warrant out for him (so to speak) with the intention of the authorities to put him to death. Most of his ministry took place in Galilee, with some visits to Phoenicia (to the northwest), Trachonitus (northeast), Samaria (northwest), Decapolis (northeast), and Perea (east).

This is the first post of an Eight Week Series:

For the next seven weeks we will examine Jesus' six visits to Judea (and his single Passover outside Judea), and how they were affected by his status as a fugitive from the temple authorities.

Don't miss it!

Did Herod Want to Kill Jesus?

"Go and Tell That Fox..."

Herod the Great did indeed want to kill the infant Jesus, and failed because Jesus' family fled to Egypt. But did his son Herod Antipas "the tetrarch" say he wanted to kill the thirty-something Jesus?

Yes?  You say that's in the Bible?

Let's Look Again...

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, saying, "Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill you." And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach my goal.' Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside Jerusalem" (Luke 13:31-33).

Ah. It was the Pharisees who said that. But can we trust these Pharisees? Let's dig some more...

Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him" (Matthew 14:1-2).

But when Herod heard [the news], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!" (Mark 6:16). 

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, "I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him (Luke 9:7-9).

When Pilate learned that Jesus belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time, Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had been hearing about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by him. He questioned Jesus at some length, but Jesus answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there accusing him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating him with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate (Luke 23:7-11).

Herod Antipas had wanted to see Jesus for a long time. Now He with his soldiers had Jesus in his custody, and could do anything he wanted with Jesus. But instead, Herod sent him back to governor Pilate. It doesn't seem as if Herod had wanted to kill Jesus. We must also remember that Herod never wanted to kill John the Baptist, but was maneuvered into doing so by Herod's wife.

Was the Pharisee lying when he said that to Jesus? Or was he just repeating an unfounded rumor that he had heard? We cannot tell. But we can be sure that he had a malicious intent to disrupt Jesus' ministry. He was taking advantage of a time when Jesus had crossed the Jordan River into Perea, which was the second of two kingdoms (along with Galilee) over which Herod Antipas reigned.

Who's Guarding the Hen House?

Jesus had a word for those Pharisees from Jerusalem, turning their murderous threat back against them in a prophecy.

"O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and I say to you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' " (Luke 13:34-35).

A SIGN I say, Not Feeding 5,000!

Why do Pharisees seek a sign?

In all four of the Gospels (twice in Matthew) we see Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the Law (scribes) coming to Jesus and asking, "Show us a sign." or "What do you do for a sign, that we may believe you?"

If we had someone among us today that did all the kinds of powerful miracles that Jesus was doing, we might be justified in saying, "These things must be a sign from heaven! Surely God is with this person!" But for the Pharisees etc., "a sign" had a special and technical meaning that Jesus was not fulfilling for them.

The most prominent of these occasions lies in Matthew, right after Jesus had fed 5,000 men from five loaves of bread, followed a few weeks later by him feeding 4,000 men from seven loaves of bread. Wasn't that a sign?

Technically, no it wasn't. The technical meaning of "a sign" requested here is derived from Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

You may say in your heart, "How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?" When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

For this occasion Matthew switches from his usual "Pharisees and scribes" to "Pharisees and Sadducees" to show that the request for a sign had special importance to the officials that controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin--the Supreme Court of the Jews. 

If Jesus had said, "such-and-such will happen next week," the Sanhedrin could take up the question of whether Jesus was a prophet or not. They were the men who "sat in Moses' seat" to take up great questions of the Law and who was a prophet or not. In First Kings 17:1, Elijah said, "As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." Elijah said it, and it happened just as he said. Elijah was a proven prophet.

But we can go deeper here. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to exert their authority over Jesus, to determine whether he was a prophet or not. But Jesus was not only a prophet, but also the Son of God. If he had acceded to their request and gave some trivial sign to prove himself, he would be granting their authority over him.

So he resisted. But for the benefit of all Israel, and all his future followers, he gave the single sign, the sign of Jonah: "As Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be in the belly of the earth." And this came true: Jesus resurrected from the dead some three days after he had been killed.

You and I still have this tool for recognizing a prophet today. Many claim to know what is going to happen, but few are proven correct. The "Late Great Planet Earth" did not produce the second coming of Jesus when the writer of that book said it would. Therefore, we know not to trust the writer of that book. He is no prophet.

What Was Young Jesus' Employment?

What Did Jesus Do Before he was 30?

Was Jesus a Carpenter?

The Gospel of Mark, in the words of one of Jesus' detractors, calls Jesus a tekton: "Is this not the tekton, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3). The Gospel of Matthew is more precise: "Is  this not the tekton's son?" (Mark 13:55). A third  century church father wrote that Joseph was a maker of plows and yokes, so Joseph's customers would have been farmers. Jesus would have learned Joseph's trade at the side of his adopted father.

The King James Version translates this word as "carpenter," but a more literal translation is "builder." Tektons were construction technicians working in stone and wood. Jesus shows familiarity with the principles of construction in one of his parables (Matthew  7:24-27). If you build a house on the sand, you are just waiting for the first storm to come along and knock it down. But if you give it a good foundation with rock, it will withstand the storm.

Was Jesus a Farmer?

Around small villages the like of Nazareth, the residents would own fields they would work part time to grow crops. This was dry farming, and almost all the work was done around planting time and harvesting time. There is evidence that the family of Joseph did indeed own a plot of farmland outside Nazareth, and if so, Jesus would have certainly helped with the planting and harvesting.

The church historian Eusebius includes a story from his sources of a confrontation between Zoker and James, and the dominion of the realm of Roman emperor Domitian. These two men are the grandsons of Jude, who was the youngest brother of Jesus. They had been accused of plotting the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the little-known sect of Christians.

Zoker and James pleaded with the government representative that they were poor farmers who had but little money and what they had consisted of the value of 29 acres of land, which can safely be assumed to be located in Palestine. Scholar and Professor Richard Bauckham says, "Their farm was no doubt the inherited family property, which may have remained in possession of the family," and is probably a good indicator of "Jesus' own socio-economic background."

Zoker and James admitted that Jesus was coming back to take over the world, but that it would not happen until Jesus returned with the clouds of heaven. The two men were highly regarded by the church after this incident, for the way in which they had stood up to the Roman Empire and had been acquitted as guiltless.

Jesus shows extensive familiarity with dry farming in his Parable of the Sower and the Soils. He uses it to show what happens when seed is sown into less-than-ideal soil and compares that with the word of the Gospel told to less-than-ready hearers of the word (Mark 4:1-20).

Was Jesus a Shepherd?

If the family of Jesus were construction workers, their best income sources would be the many building projects going on in Galilee, especially the growing city of Sepphoris quite near to Nazareth. Rather than keep animals such as goats for milk, they may have traded services for their milk with other residents of the town. They would certainly not have a large herd of sheep.

However, it was traditional for young boys to help with tending flocks of sheep, and it is quite possible that young Jesus spent a  summer or two hired out to one of the local shepherds. By observation he would have learned that the sheep in the flock knew the voice of their own shepherd, and would have little regard for the voice of a stranger (John 10:2-5).

If Jesus took up any of these trades, they gained him little acclaim or notoriety in the annals of history. But there is one incident when young Jesus did indeed gain both acclaim and notoriety:

Was Jesus a Student of Scripture? 

At the age of Twelve, Jesus stayed behind in the Jerusalem temple talking with the teachers of Scripture, and they were amazed at his understanding and his answers, as he both listened and asked questions. This need not have been the same lessons that Jesus preached at the age of Thirty, but they were certainly beyond what was expected from a twelve-year-old.

If Jesus' mother had told him about the astounding events surrounding his birth, and the prophecies that had been given over him, this would have aroused his curiosity to learn even more from the Scriptures. If he indeed was the one who would bring salvation, what did the Scriptures say about this salvation-bringer?

Jesus' occupation, whenever he had the time, was to dive into the Scriptures and learn. Although he attended no recognized school for Scripture, Joseph must have provided him with important scrolls, such as the Book of Isaiah. Or perhaps the little synagogue in Nazareth had a rich library of scrolls, and he was allowed access to them.

Jesus' job was to know and proclaim the Gospel of the salvation he was to bring.

Did Jesus Get His Feet Wet?

I'm Back!

Had some distractions last week, like, root canals and totaling the car.

So, let's have some fun!

When there was a plot to kidnap Jesus and make him king (John 6:15), Jesus sent his disciples away by boat, perhaps to protect them from harm. The disciples were battling adverse winds, when they looked back and said, "WHAT'S THAT? It's a ghost!"

No, not a ghost. It was Jesus, walking on water. But did Jesus get his feet wet when he was walking on water? I say no, but some paintings of this event (and some movies) show his feet IN the water, not ON the water. Let's look into this.

Here's some grebes doing their famous "water-walking" courtship dance, They're moving their feet 14 times a second to stay upright, and they're definitely getting wet. I suppose Jesus could have moved his feet 14 times per second, but I don't think he did.

And here's some porpoises doing their own "walter-walking" trick, and getting wet in the process. Anyway, they don't have feet to walk with so they don't count.

Here's the so-called "Jesus Lizard" who can apparently walk on water. He's splashy, but a lot less wet than the grebes. Perhaps he's taking advantage of the surface tension of the  water?

And here's some kind of insect, definitely using surface tension to stay above the water, but he needs to flap his wings to provide locomotion. He's not walking, he's skating. Para-sailing?

A wasp can sit motionless upon the water--definitely using surface tension--while she takes a drink. But can she propel herself, or does she have to start flying to move?

Here's a spider that can sit on the water. I don't know if he can propel himself. The spiders I know have a really tough time with water.

Here's a beetle at rest using surface tension.

And here's the familiar Water Strider. We see them in droves on standing water and in the eddies of flowing streams. This is her native habitat, and she can propel herself across the water with a flick of a leg or two.

So here's my conception of Jesus walking on water. He does not sink into the water, and he does not do any 14-per-second thrashings.

My take is that Jesus used the natural surface tension of the water to catch up with the disciples. In fact, he was planning on passing them by and getting to land before them.

Surface Tension, huh? Does that mean that just anybody should be able to walk on water?

The answer is no, unless you are Jesus or you were Peter and had more faith and confidence than Peter had.

So, one would wonder, did Mother Mary have any problems with Jesus when it came to bath time?