Jesus, the Debater?

The words of the Lord are pure words,

Like silver tried in a furnace of earth,

Purified seven times.

-Psalm 12:6

Jesus taught those around Him with His words.  He used parables and humour to get His points across.  But when some came to test Him, He used debating techniques.  Jesus knew hearts.  He also knew the ultimate answers so He was prepared when He was questioned.

Matthew 22:15 says that the Pharisees “went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.”  Their entire purpose was to entangle Jesus, to catch Him in His talk.  “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”  Jesus perceived their wickedness.  They were not asking because they truly had a question.  They merely wanted to catch Him.  He asked them whose image and inscription was on the denarius.  That image was the answer to their question.  “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  Instead of entangling Him, they marvelled at His Words and left Him.

The Sadducees must now have their turn at catching Him in His Words.  They ask about a woman whose husband dies without leaving children.  Subsequently she marries the husband’s brother, who also dies.  She ends up marrying all seven brothers.  “Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her?”  Now that’s a question to ponder!  Jesus responds by sharing that in the resurrection, there will be no marriage and then states, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”  The multitudes who heard this were astonished at His teaching.  The Sadducees were silenced.

Jesus had silenced the Sadducees.  Now the Pharisees gather together again to plan their next attack.  One of them, a lawyer, tests Him with a question.  “Which is the greatest commandment in the law?”  Jesus answers them by stating the first and greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  He follows with the second, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.”  These two commandments embody the entire Law and the Prophets. 

While He still has them there with Him, He asks His own question.  “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”  No one was able to answer Him.  From that day on no one dared to question Him.

These discourses of Jesus are perfect examples of why students should learn the art of communication and debate.  Jesus did not stumble over His Words wondering what to say and how to say it.  He spoke confidently and persuasively.  He marvelled them, astonished them, and silenced them.  Becoming better at speaking will help us to make the difference that God wants us to make.  As Deborah Bush Haffey reminds us, we must be willing to “meet others in the public square with our arguments prepared persuasively in an attempt to advance the kingdom of God.  To do any less is to do less than we could to proclaim His truth in our society.”

The Humour of Jesus

I tend to be a serious person.  Don’t misunderstand me, I do enjoy a good laugh, but when it comes to matters of faith and the Lord Jesus, I am very serious.  When I have seen Jesus portrayed as having a playful sense of humour, I have been offended.  So I was surprised when I recently read Matthew 19 and found myself amused.  Jesus does seem to be using humour to get his points across.

The chapter begins with the Pharisees coming to Him and testing Him.  “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”  This reminds me of a scene in Fiddler on the Roof when the Rabbi tells the men that a certain passage of Scripture means that one can divorce his wife for simply burning the dinner.  Jesus answers the Pharisees by showing them in Scripture that when a man and woman are joined together, they are no longer two, but one flesh.  “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”   

The Pharisees want to know why then Moses commanded to give a certificate of divorce to put one’s wife away.  Jesus responds, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.”  He goes on to tell them that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. 

His disciples’ response to all this talk is amusing.  “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”  They seem to be saying that if one can’t divorce his wife, it is better not to get married at all.  Jesus must smile as He responds by pointing to those who can accept the disciples’ reasoning, eunuchs.  He makes a point.  Marriage is hard business, but most of us would not make the choice to remain single.  Instead we must make the choice to remember that, when we marry, we become one and being one demands effort. 

Later a young man comes to Jesus asking Him, “What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”  Jesus answers by pointing him to the commandments.  “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  The man then asks an interesting question, “Which ones?”  Why would he need to ask such a question?  Hasn’t he been taught from his youth to keep ALL the commandments?  Isn’t he rather asking, “How much can I get away with?  How much can I sin and still enter eternal life?”

Notice Jesus’ answer.  He doesn’t begin with the first commandments, the ones dealing with loving God with all our heart.  Rather He starts with those related with our treatment of those around us.  Jesus seems to already know what is in this man’s heart.  The young man had kept all of these commandments.  But when the young man heard the rest of what Jesus had to say, he went away sorrowful.  He was not willing to give all for Jesus or for eternal life. 

Jesus then tells His disciples that it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  There is some discussion as to what this means exactly.  Does He mean a sewing needle or a gate in Jerusalem?  The reaction of the disciples shows Jesus’ use of humour.  Jesus is talking about a real camel and a real needle with an eye.  The disciples were “greatly astonished” and asked, “Who then can be saved?”  Their eyes must have shown their amazement.  “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  At this point Peter seems to realize that following Jesus means something far different from what the disciples had been thinking.  Were they looking forward to the day that Jesus would sit upon an earthly throne?  “We have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?”

I learned something new about Jesus when I looked into this chapter with fresh eyes.  Just as I use humour at times to point out things to my children, Jesus used humour with His disciples.  That humour has been recorded so that He can also teach us.  Humour must be a part of our communication.  As Mary Hirsch said, “Humour is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood.”

The Importance of Relationship

Last week I attended a memorial service for a young mother who was only 41 years old.  A service like this forces us to consider afresh what is important in this brief life on earth.  This young mother, Miriam, struggled with cancer for three years, yet through all her struggles, she remained true to what really mattered, relationships.  Each day our attention is drawn in many different directions and in our busyness we tend to lose our perspective of what counts.  We must continuously evaluate the activities of our days.  The Psalmist asked God to “teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  Our life on earth is short and we must use the time we are given wisely.

Jesus lived His life on earth wisely.  He did not lay up “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.”  As Jesus told a certain scribe, “the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”  He lived His life with a completely different perspective.  His relationships were what mattered.  He gave His heart to the Father, His guidance to His chosen disciples, and His love to the people who surrounded Him on a daily basis.  We are called to follow His example.  Relationships must also be what matter to us in our everyday lives.

In Matthew 15 Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites.  “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:  ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honour Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.’” Our relationship with the Father must take precedence in our lives.  Just as Jesus took time away by Himself to pray, so must we.  Often times we allow our schedules to crowd out our precious time with the Lord.  Our hearts drift far from Him.  Let us draw near to Him not with our mouths, but with our hearts.

Let us also draw near to those special ones whom God has placed in our lives, our family.  How easy it is to take family for granted while we flit about from activity to activity.  Throughout the book of Matthew, we see Jesus spending time alone with His disciples.  He taught the crowds in parables and later explained the meaning of the parables to His chosen few.  We must also take time with our family, time to teach and time to let each one know of their value to us and to God.  Too many families are falling apart.  Someone must be the one that pulls them together with wisdom and guidance.  Miriam did this with her family and her daughter’s words concerning her mother’s death stand as a testimony to Miriam’s diligence in the life of her family.   

Great multitudes followed Jesus and He was moved with compassion for them.  He healed them, taught them, and fed them.  Jesus ministered to those who came into His life.  In the same way, we are to reach out to those whom God brings into our lives.  People and their needs cannot be overlooked as we hurry ahead with our plans for each day.   Worth must be given to each person with whom we come in contact.  We must reach out in the same way that Jesus did, with love and compassion.

Life is short and our influence is small.  Yet the choices we face daily are many.  Prayerfully we can make choices that really matter, where our influence will make a difference.  We can choose to put God and people at the top of our priority list.  This is the more excellent way, the way of love.  Let us walk in that way.

“Come to Me, All You who are Heavy Laden”

Thus says the Lord:

“Stand in the ways and see,

And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,

And walk in it;

Then you shall find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not walk in it.”

-Jeremiah 6:16

In Matthew 11 John the Baptist is in prison.  He has been there for quite some time expecting to be released by the Coming One, Jesus.  He had heard in prison of the works of Christ and so he sent two of his disciples with a question.  “Are you the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”  Jesus had the credentials of the Messiah and he knew that John would recognize those credentials.

The question for us today is do we recognize His credentials?  Do we believe that He is the Coming One, the Messiah?  Have we trusted our life into His hands?  This chapter ends with the Words of Jesus, “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus invites us as individuals who are burdened with sin to come to Him.  In accepting His invitation we will find rest for our souls.  In Jeremiah 6 the people said that they would not walk in His ways.  They chose a path without rest.  What is our choice today?  Will we accept the rest of redemption or will we resist and go our own way burdened and heavy laden?  The choice is ours to make.

I close this blog with a poem from Horatius Bonar.

Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face

Here, O my Lord, I see Thee face to face;

Here would I touch and handle things unseen,

Here grasp with firmer hand th’ eternal grace,

And all my weariness upon Thee lean.

Here would I feed upon the bread of God,

Here drink with Thee the royal wine of heaven;

Here would I lay aside each earthly load,

Here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.

This is the hour of banquet and of song;

This is the heav’nly table spread for me:

Here let me feast, and, feasting, still prolong

The brief, bright hour of fellowship with Thee.

I have no help but Thine, nor do I need

Another arm save Thine to lean upon:

It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed;

My strength is in Thy might, The might alone.

Mine is the sin, but Thine the righteousness;

Mine is the guilt, but Thine the cleansing blood;

Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace,

Thy blood, Thy righteousness, O Lord my God.

The Value of Shakespeare

A week ago our reading club presented a thumbnail sketch of The Tempest by Shakespeare.  The participating students ranged in age from 7 to 18 years old.  It was an enjoyable experience for all who participated.  And although some in the audience did not understand much of what was happening, they enjoyed watching the performance.  But why would seven year old students enjoy participating in a Shakespeare play?  Why would we even consider such an activity for our reading club students?  Is there any value in reading, studying, and performing Shakespeare? 

Many of us have the idea that Shakespeare is too difficult to even bother reading him.  Homeschoolers, even those with high school students, say that Shakespeare is not worth their effort.  They did not understand him when they were in school and they don’t expect their children to understand him now.  But as Michael Mack, Director of the University Honours Program and Associate Professor of English at Catholic University of America said in the Freshmen Convocation of 2008, “(Shakespeare) gives you a serious headache the first time you try to understand him – the second.  But if you stick with him, you can expect a breakthrough, and the excitement and satisfaction of being able to say, ‘I get it.’”

“I get it!”  As Michael Mack says, there is a satisfaction that comes with understanding Shakespeare.  It is satisfying to chuckle with the humour, to grasp the meaning behind the words, and to feel the poignancy of the characters.  When Petruchio and Kate discuss whether it be the moon, the sun, or a rush-candle shining so brightly, we can enjoy the humour and significance of the scene.  We are burdened by the consequences of sin when Lady Macbeth washes her hands and mourns that “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”  Whether comedy, tragedy, or history, we can delight in reading Shakespeare.

But beyond being able to say, ‘I get it,’ there is value in reading and studying Shakespeare.  Shakespeare gives his readers relevant insights into living in the real world.  Because Shakespeare was a keen observer of men, he wrote with insight about human nature.  He saw and wrote about the deeds of men and how those deeds affected events and characters.  His writing becomes more than a difficult story; it becomes a lens into the world in which we live.  Through his writing we can discover more about ourselves and more about how real people think and act.  We can experience the consequences of our actions, whether sinful or godly.   As Peter Leithart writes in Brightest Heaven of Invention, Shakespeare is a “stimulating source for reflections on pastoral practice, history, politics, love, and life in general.”

Reading and studying Shakespeare is attainable for most students.  I have studied Shakespeare plays with my children since some of them were in the first grade.  My method is easy and it works.  First my children read a prose version of the play from Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb and from Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield.  This gives them an understanding of what is happening in the play.  Then we listen to the unabridged play on CD while we follow along with the text.  We may do this once or twice depending on time and understanding.  After we have listened to the play on CD, we watch the play, usually on a DVD.  When I first began studying Shakespeare, we did not watch the play, but a friend reminded me that Shakespeare is to be seen.  After watching the play, we discuss it with a group of friends.

In our reading club one of the older students edits the play into a thumbnail sketch.  This is an excellent assignment for the editing student as they must understand the play fully to be able to edit it appropriately.  All the students participate in the thumbnail sketch, some with more lines, others with less.  We often have more than one student portraying one character throughout the play.  This year we had five different students play the part of Ariel.  Each one played Ariel for a scene.  Other students played the same part throughout the play.  Our goal is to allow everyone the chance to participate at their own level of ability.  When these students finish the Shakespeare play for the year, they have the satisfaction of understanding it fully and of sharing their understanding with their friends.