6. companions on the quest

Lesson #6 Companions on the Quest

(4: 14 6: 16)

1 Companions on the Quest

As we entered Lesson #5 Jesus was about thirty years of age (3: 23). Eighteen years had passed between the closing of chapter 2 and the opening of chapter 3, eighteen years during which Bme Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

As chapter 3 opened, Luke again anchored his narraBve in historical Bme and place, creaBng temporal and spaBal verisimilitude: In the Aeenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when PonFus Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and TrachoniFs, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas . . . (3: 1-2). In chapter 3 Jesus prepared to iniBate his public ministry, A.D. 27-29.


Following the heros journey moBf, aSer Jesus rst trial (his temptaBon by Satan in the wilderness), Jesus relocates to Capernaum, iniBates his quest and gathers companions to accompany him.

In this sequence we nd Jesus teaching and performing miracles, but we also nd that opposiBon against him quickly emerges, beginning in his own hometown of Nazareth, where he is driven out of town and nearly thrown o a cli! Nonetheless, he presses on, gathering a band of unlikely followers.


With John the BapBst paving the way and Jesus bapBsm accomplished, Jesus launches his public ministryand it is wildly successful.

We read:

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. (4: 14)


And then Luke does something totally unexpected.

ASer the statement about Jesus overwhelming success in v. 14, Luke inserts the story about Jesus rejecBon in his hometown of Nazareth, a story that Lukes sourcesboth Mark (6: 1-6) and Maahew (13: 54-58)place considerably later in their gospels, the result of increasing opposiBon to Jesus.

By placing Jesus rejecBon in Nazareth at the beginning of Jesus public ministry, Luke foreshadows Jesus complete rejecBon by the Jewish authoriBes and the people, culminaBng in Jesus crucixion by the Jewish and Roman authoriBes three years later.


Not me.

Companions on the Quest

Thats a very slick literary move on

Lukes part. I like it!

6

Ill bet Luke has some other

rhetorical tricks up his sleeve, too!

Nazareth!


Capernaum !

Nazareth today, with the Church of the AnnunciaBon at photos center.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas


Nazareth and the Brow of the Cli overlooking the Jezreel Valley.



Dr. Creasy teaching this very story on the Brow of the Cli.



ASer Jesus rejecBon at Nazaretha rejecBon that foreshadows Jesus nal rejecBon at the crossLuke launches into a series of seven vigneaes of Jesus teaching and healing, each vigneae illustraBng his increasing popularity.

Three quesBons follow the seven vigneaes, and the sequence closes with Jesus assembling his 12 Apostles.


A. Seven Vigneaes (4: 31 5: 32) 1. Healing the demoniac in the synagogue in

Capernaum (4: 31-37) 2. Healing Peters mother-in-law at

Capernaum (4: 38-39) 3. Healing others in and around Capernaum

(4: 40-44) 4. Calling Peter the sherman (5: 1-11) 5. Cleansing the leper (5: 12-16) 6. Healing the paralyBc (5: 17-26) 7. Calling Levi the tax collector (5: 27-32)

B. Three QuesBons (5: 33 6: 11) 1. FasBng (5: 33-39) 2. Picking Grain on the Sabbath (6: 1-5) 3. Healing on the Sabbath (6: 6-11)

C. Twelve Apostles Assembled (6: 12-16)


Not me.


No surprise there: 7 vigneaes 3 quesBons 12 Apostles.

13

Weve seen sets of 3s, 7s and 12s all over Scripture, along with 40s.


Entrance to the archaeological site of Capernaum.



Capernaums 4th-century synagogue, built over the remains of the original 1st-century basalt structure.


Jesus casFng out a demon from the man in the synagogue (fresco), 11th century. Lambach Abbey,, Austria.



Peters house where our rst vigneae takes placeis only 37 yards from the synagogue at Capernaum!

Peters house


John Bridges. Christ Healing the Mother of Simon Peters Wife (oil on canvas), 1839. Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, England.


What Was Wrong with Peters

Mother-in-Law?

We are told in both Maahew and Mark that Peters mother-in-law was in bed with a fever (Maahew 8: 14, 15; Mark 1: 30, 31). The Greek word for fever used by both Maahew and Mark is puretovV, [poo-ret-OS] from the root pu:r, meaning re.

Although drawing upon Maahew and Mark as sources, Luke the physician uses the phrase great fever (Greek = pretw: megavlw), a medical term typically associated with dysentery or malaria.


Nazareth!

Capernaum! Capernaum! Mt. of BeaBtudes!


Sea of Galilee


Mt. of BeaFtudes, a place where Jesus oAen went into the hills to pray.


Caravaggio. Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew (oil on canvas), c. 1603-1606. Buckingham Palace, Royal CollecBon, London.


Jesus Cleanses the Leper (mosaic), c. 1174-1182. Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Sicily.


Healing of the ParalyFc (tempera on plaster), 2nd century. BapBstry of the 2nd-century ChrisBan church in Dura Europos, Syria.

[This is one of the oldest extant ChrisFan wall painFngs. The wall painFngs from the Dura-Europos site are on display in the NaFonal Museum of Damascus.]


Son of Man is a self-referenBal Btle used only by Jesus in referring to himself. It is a direct allusion to Daniel 7: 13-14

As the visions during the night conFnued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man. When he reached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him, he received dominion, splendor, and kingship; all naFons, peoples and tongues will serve him. His dominion is an everlasFng dominion that shall not pass away, his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.

Mark uses Son of Man 17 Bmes: Maahew uses it 29 Bmes, Luke 29 Bmes and John 12 Bmes.


Caravaggio, The Calling of St. Ma_hew [Levi] (oil on canvas), 1599-1600. San Luigi del Francesci, Rome.

[Painted for the Contarelli Chapel where it sFll hangs today, this painFng is placed between two other Caravaggios, The Martyrdom of St. Maahew and The InspiraBon of St. Maahew.]


Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the skins are ruined.

(Luke 5: 37)


Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Disciples Pick Grain (oil on wood), c. 1502-1556. Private CollecBon.


In Judaism, Shabbat (or the Sabbath) is the holiest day of the week, and it has three purposes:

1. To commemorate Gods creaBng the universe, and then resBng on the 7th day;

2. To commemorate the Israelites redempBon from slavery in Egypt; and

3. To foreshadow Olam Haba, the Messianic Age.

Pious Jews consider Shabbat as a bride or queen and honor God by honoring her.


I observe Shabbat because: 1. No one should be a slave to work; 2. G-d said to honor the Sabbath, therefore I do it, and by doing so I honor Him!


In LeviBcus 24: 5-9 we learn that only a priest may eat the consecrated bread in the tabernacle, and he may only eat it in a consecrated place.

In 1 Samuel 21: 1-8, the priest Ahimelech gives the consecrated bread to David, who is an outlaw on the run.


Why would Ahimelech do that?

Because David was hungry?


No! Since Davids life was at risk, it was proper to give him the consecrated bread, for human need takes precedence over ritual law. Not so with Jesus: his disciples simply wanted a snack!

Jesus was wrong in this case.


So, what should Jesus punishment

be?

Try to punish Jesus and Ill bite you!


A man was found picking up sBcks on the Sabbath? This man shall be put to death; let the whole community stone him outside the camp! (Numbers 15: 32-36)

Yikes!!!


Christ Healing the Man with a Withered Hand (mosaic), c. 1174-1182. Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Sicily.

. 46 Companions on the Quest

In this 3rd quesBon, which follows the picking grain on the Sabbath incident, Jesus deliberately challenges the religious leaders by publically healing a manin the synagogueon the Sabbath.

The religious leaders watch Jesus closely, anBcipaBng his acBons;

Jesus brings the man front and center, so that everyone can see what he is about to do;

Jesus heals the man. The religious leaders, knowing that this is a direct challenge to their authority, [become] enraged and discussed together what they might do to Jesus (6: 11).


Once again, Jesus is wrong! As I stated before, human need takes precedence over ritual law, but the man had a withered hand for many years, and he will conBnue to have a withered hand for many more years. Jesus could properly heal him before or aSer the Sabbathbut not on it.


In quesBons 2 and 3 Jesus works on the Sabbath, clearly breaking the Mosaic Law and the tradiBons that develop from it.

In quesBon #2 Jesus allows his disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath, simply because they are hungry, and he defends their acBons before the religious leaders;

In quesBon #3 Jesus challenges the religious leaders by healing a man on the Sabbathin the synagogue even though his condiBon is chronic and not life threatening.


Domenico Ghirlandalo. Calling of the Apostles (fresco), 1481. SisBne Chapel, VaBcan.


Not me.


Humm. Whats the dierence between a disciple and an

apostle?

52

Ooooo! I know! I know!

Disciple translates the Greek, mathvthvs [math-ay-TES] from the Greek root math-,

having the mental ability to think something through; hence, a learner, student or follower (we get the English words mathemaBcs and mathemaBcian from it).

Apostle translates the Greek, apovstolos from the Greek verb ajpostello, [ap-OS-tol-os] to send; hence one who is sent out to perform a task. Anyone can be an apostle, one who is sent. To be a capital A Apostle (one of the twelve), one must have been an eyewitness to Jesus enFre public ministry from his bapBsm in the Jordan River through his death, burial, resurrecBon and ascension into heaven (Acts 1: 21-22).


Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles (tempera on wood), early 14th century. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.


This lesson began with Jesus being rejected in his home town of Nazareth, foreshadowing the conict to come and his complete rejecBon at the cross by the Jewish and Roman authoriBes.

Then, in a series of 7 vigneaes and 3 quesBons we see Jesus escalaBng success with the crowds: he was praised by all (4: 15); they were astonished at his teaching (4: 32); news of him spread everywhere (4: 37); reports about him spread everywhere (5: 15); we have seen incredible things today (5: 26).

At the same Bme, opposiBon simmers among the religious leaders who view Jesus as being far to liberal in his thoughts and acBons, challenging their authority and the status quo.

Assembling his Apostles, Jesus has just begun!


1. Why does Luke posiBon Jesus being rejected in his home town of Nazareth at the beginning of his public ministry, rather than later on, as Maahew and Mark do?

2. How would you characterize Jesus abtude in these opening chapters of Luke, as contrasted with his attude in the Gospel according to Mark?

3. Is it correct to understand that Peter and the others respond immediately to Jesus call, instantly leaving their businesses, homes and families to become Apostles?

4. If you were a Jewish religious leader at the Bme of Jesus, how would you respond to his working on the Sabbath?

5. What criteria do you think Jesus used in selecBng his Apostles?


Copyright 2015 by William C. Creasy

All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video, photography, maps, Bmelines or other mediamay be reproduced or transmiaed in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informaBon storage or retrieval devices without permission in wriBng or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder.


6. companions on the quest

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