Don’t have time to read a whole e-book? Want to get the key ideas and principles in just a few minutes?  Or perhaps you would like to get a better idea of what an e-book is all about before investing the time to read the whole thing.  If one of these situations applies to you, or you would simply like to enjoy a podcast style discussion of one of our books, we have good news for you.

We are now producing Deep-Dive podcasts for a number of our e-books. These podcasts give a more in-depth look at a book’s central ideas than a simple blurb can do, and are stimulating ways to  engage with the book’s content and message. We now have the first podcasts available – providing short but meaningful looks at e-books we are sure you will enjoy. Listen to the podcasts on our sister-site, here, and check back often as we will be adding new podcasts each week.

If you are looking for a truly worthwhile goal to set for this new year, consider taking one of the many Bible courses that are available online. A good number, such as those available from Cornerstone Bible Courses, are completely free.  Cornerstone’s carefully prepared non-denominational and non-commercial courses provide in-depth information on the Bible – without advertisements or other distractions – to those who cannot attend Bible school or seminary, or who simply want to understand the Bible at a deeper level in their own personal study.  Significantly, all course materials – including e-textbooks – are provided for free and there are no charges of any kind.  If desired,  an optional  final exam can be taken online and a personalized certificate of completion is provided for all passing grades. You can download a free course and study materials today from the Cornerstone site, here.​​ 

And the Cornerstone courses are not the only Bible courses available online.  The Online Bible College Association is a new and growing association that provides an excellent service by listing worthwhile Bible courses they have personally checked to ensure they are not scams, and  provide quality, trustworthy material. A number of the courses they list are free. You can visit their helpful site and check it occasionally for new additions, here.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”  (Luke 2:14 KJV).

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14 ESV)

The angelic annunciation to the shepherds that is recorded in the Gospel of Luke is among the best known of all the stories of the New Testament, yet the wording of this annunciation as it is found in various versions of the English Bible is profoundly different.

While virtually all translations are in agreement regarding “Glory to God in the highest,” there is much disagreement as to what was promised on earth. Older Bible translations such as the King James Version and a very few modern ones, such as the World English Bible, state that the coming of the Messiah brought the promise of peace and good will to “all men.”

But most modern Bible versions state that the promise of peace was not made to all, but to “those on whom God’s favor rests” (NIV), “those with whom he is pleased” (ESV), or some variant of one of these (as AB, ASV, BLB, BSB, CSB, ISV, NAB, NASB, NLT, and many others).

There is obviously a great deal of difference between these translations – on the one hand peace is offered to all people, and on the other hand only to those with whom God is pleased. Why the divergence, and which of these readings should we choose?  The first question is the easiest to answer.  The KJV was based on the  Byzantine Text family which uses the Greek word eudokia in Luke 2:14, while most other English versions follow the Alexandrian Text which has the nearly identical eudokias – but although the difference consists of only one letter, the meaning is quite different, as we saw in the respective translations.

As far as which reading is preferable, there is division among New Testament textual scholars, but in general it is true that the oldest manuscripts we have favor the reading found in the older manuscripts of the Alexandrian Text and hence almost all modern translations opt for that reading.  As is often the case in such questions, there are arguments on both sides of the issue; but ultimately, even if the textual matter is unresolved, we can answer the question theologically – by looking not only at what the immediate context of Luke is, but also what the whole Bible tells us.  

Biblically, it is unlikely that God’s promise of peace refers to everyone regardless of their attitudes and actions. Nevertheless, in verse ten of the same chapter Luke says the angel announced “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” So there is certainly a sense in which the good news – the message of the Messiah’s birth – was made available to all. This is the wider sense in which John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” But that same verse tells us that despite the universal availability of the gift, it is still only “whoever believes in him” that “shall not perish but have eternal life.”

In the same way, Luke 2:10 gives us the universal availability of God’s promise of peace, but verse 14 tells us that it is “those whom God approves” or “those with whom he is pleased” who receive the promise. It is those who have God’s goodwill, or favor – because of their faith in him and in the one whom he sent – who find peace.

We catch a glimpse of this selective reception of peace in the teaching of Jesus himself. In Luke 10:5 Jesus tells his disciples, “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” This is the offer of peace that is freely made to all. But Jesus continued by explaining “If someone who promotes peace is there [literally “a son of peace,”] your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you” (verse 6).  It is only those who are the “sons” or “daughters” of peace who receive the peace God offers. 

As for whether we personally are a son or daughter of peace, the answer is simply whether or not we accept the news of the Messiah’s coming, and what that means in our lives.  If we do, then – as the angel announced – we will experience the peace the Messiah’s coming brought.

The word “gospel” means “good news” and in that sense, all the four gospels contain a joyful message. But there is one gospel that focuses on joy – we might almost say it is filled with joy – and that gospel is Luke. Joy may not be as noticeable as some of Luke’s other themes, but it is a very real emphasis of his gospel, nonetheless.  Luke begins and ends his account of the life of Jesus by focusing on joy, and between these two “bookends” he mentions joy more than any other gospel – in fact, more than any other book of the New Testament.

At the beginning of his gospel, Luke (alone) records two events in which great joy is  evident. Luke gives us a “prequel” to his account by recording the birth story of John the Baptist – whose parents are told “He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth” (Luke 1:14). Luke notes that while still in Elizabeth’s womb, John “leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44) at the sound of Mary’s voice, and that even her neighbors and relatives shared her joy (Luke 1:58).

In the same way, in Luke’s account of the nativity of Christ, joy is equally evident when the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds with the words: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  That “good news” was, of course, the beginning of the “gospel” – a message of potentially unparalleled joy for everyone (“for all the people”) that through Jesus Christ those who were lost and doomed could now be saved.
Once we enter the body of Luke’s gospel, we find multiple references to joy. Luke records Jesus’ admonition that we find joy even in times of persecution (Luke 6:23), that those like the seed that fell on rocky ground only temporarily receive the word with joy (Luke 8:13), that the seventy–two Jesus sent out returned with joy (Luke 10:17), and that Jesus himself was full of joy through the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21).

But it is the joy of the lost being found that underlies much of what the Evangelist writes.  Joy is at the heart of the three parables he records regarding the shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), the woman who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and the father who daily looked for the return of his lost son (Luke 15:11–32). Each of these parables ends with a joyful celebration: the shepherd invites everyone to rejoice with him, as does the woman when she finds her coin, and the father whose son had been lost has finally returned.

But while Matthew records, for example, some of the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12–14), Luke alone includes Jesus’ words “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety–nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). In the same way, all four gospels record the miracles of Jesus, and the resurrected Jesus appearing to the disciples, but only Luke records the joy of the people at Jesus’ works (Luke 19:37), and only Luke (Luke 24:41) and John (John 20:20) record the disciples’ great joy at seeing their resurrected Lord.

When we look for it, we find joy throughout the third gospel. Given what we have seen of this continued focus, it is perhaps not surprising that Luke’s account ends in exactly that way – with the words “Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy ...” (Luke 24:52).

If we want to read a gospel account that highlights the joy that Jesus and his disciples had, or we would simply like to read the Bible’s most joy–filled book, we need look no further than Luke.

*Extracted from our free e-book Lessons from Luke: Understanding More of the Third Gospel. Download a free copy here.

Is it possible to have two truths that are opposite, yet both are still true? That’s not just a philosophical question, but one with important theological and practical implications.  Theologically, we know that Jesus was both God and man, but what about views of the Christian life that seem to be diametrically opposed, yet both are true?

For some, Christianity is about reaping the many physical as well as spiritual blessings God’s word apparently promises those who walk in his ways. For others the Christian life is not one of success, but of suffering, and life for these believers may be a hard one – especially if they are focused on fighting the sins and problems of the present evil world. But we can miss the point of Christianity if we live at either end of this spectrum. 

When we only focus on and seek the good things associated with the blessings of the Christian life, we can fall prey to the errors of unbiblical prosperity gospel teachings – and our Christian walk can become short-sighted and self-centered.  The truth is, true Christianity has always involved suffering for the sake of God or of others.  Jesus himself said that “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33 NLT), and we can see this from one end of the New Testament to the other – from John the Baptist being thrown into prison and executed (Matthew 14:1–12) to the apostle John being reviled and banished to the Island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Seen this way, Jesus’ primary command was “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

On the other hand, when we only focus on the suffering involved in Christian life – we can become discouraged and fail to appreciate the many things in life that God intended us to enjoy.  Jesus himself said that “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10), and the apostle Paul tells us that God is a God “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17). Seen this way, walking with God is exemplified by the  Psalmist’s words “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

But these two approaches and attitudes are not really contradictory. The truth is, the Christian life involves both suffering and success, pain and blessing – and it is intended to be so.  

The same Jesus who said: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), also said “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34).

The same Paul who wrote: “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:3), and “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29) also wrote “I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:23), and “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).

So  there is no contradiction when Paul stresses both truths together: “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17). And while we may tend to only think about the positive aspect of this statement as being in the future, other scriptures show that it also means now:  “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:5). In fact, Paul repeats this idea of present suffering and blessing just two verses later “And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:7).

That is why Paul described himself to the Corinthians as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10).  As Christians, we suffer and we rejoice, we are afflicted and we are blessed. We ask for and receive blessings, yet we accept suffering when necessary to better walk with God and to serve others.  Any Christian life that only seeks blessing or suffering is not an authentic and true Christian life.  Any life that embraces both is truly Christian and truly blessed.

What one thing do you think almost all the men and women mentioned in the Bible as faithful followers of God had in common?  The answer – apart from the obvious one of their righteousness – was that they all are said to have had to wait.  We may not always think about this aspect of the lives of the spiritual “Hall of Fame” greats, but it is the one consistent trait of their stories.

Abraham and his wife Sarah waited for a son – God let them wait for twenty-five years until their waiting was eventually rewarded (Genesis 21:5). The same is true, of course, of Abraham’s waiting to inherit the land God promised him. Although he only received a small portion of it in his lifetime (Genesis 23:17-20), he was willing to wait faithfully for the fulfillment of the promise.  

The patriarchs descended from Abraham waited in the same way. Isaac waited twenty years for a son (Genesis 25:20), Jacob waited fourteen years for a wife (Genesis 29:18-30), and Joseph waited thirteen years – some of them in prison – before God brought him to the position of greatness he had promised him.

Moses waited forty long years in the wilderness before seeing the land God had promised. Joshua and Caleb waited in the wilderness, too, and then during the years of struggle before the promised land was finally taken.

David was anointed king years before he became king, but waited patiently till God brought his destiny about. In fact, David speaks often in his psalms about waiting – for example “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits … my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:5-6 ESV).

We see many of the prophets of Israel and Judah having to wait  – sometimes even to hear God’s message (Jeremiah 42:7, etc.). The prophet Habakkuk was told regarding God's vision for him “If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” (Habakkuk 2:3 NLT).

And we find many others who had to wait. The patriarch Job waited under great suffering till God healed and restored him (Job 7:3), and Noah, Daniel and other heroes of the Old Testament are all said to have waited.  

In the New Testament, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist,  had to wait till she was old to have a child. Simeon and Anna are said to have waited years to see the Messiah. Jesus himself had to wait some thirty years to begin his mission of salvation – and had actually waited for untold time since its planning (Revelation 13:8). The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem before they could begin their Spirit-empowered ministry (Acts 1:4); Paul had to wait many times in his ministry (Acts 28:30; etc.); and you and I are told to “Wait patiently for the LORD … Yes, wait patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14 NLT).

In our own lives we may have to wait for things we need and for things we long for – perhaps we are waiting for work, or for a husband or wife, or for needed healing, or something else.  It can be hard to continue to wait, especially when what we hope for seems nowhere in sight, but we should remember that we are not alone in our waiting.  God lets us all wait for something and rewards us when we seek him first and continue to trust him. As Jeremiah proclaimed: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25 ESV).

We may have to wait, but we should never give up the trusting expectancy God desires us to have. Just because a needed answer has not come yet, we should also not give up on praying for it. Jesus gave several parables to teach this, telling his disciples “that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1-8 NIV).

Above all, we need never doubt that while we wait, God works with us in mind – and he works to make things worth our waiting.  As the prophet Isaiah learned and confirmed for us, God is a God “who acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4 ESV).

Many Christians who have read the words of the apostle Paul “Do everything without complaining” (Philippians 2:14), accept this teaching in the understanding that if we have true faith we do not ever need to complain, but this is not really true.  The Bible shows there is a right time and a right way to voice our frustrations and complaints in life (see our article “Go Ahead and Complain!” here). 

The Old Testament book of Habakkuk provides a clear example of the kind of complaint that God accepts – and is more than willing to hear – and provides a helpful lesson in faith at the same time.   The prophet Habakkuk lived in a difficult time – when many problems plagued ancient Judah and the nation was clearly about to be crushed by the powerful and brutal Babylonian Empire. 

This was the time in which Habakkuk respectfully took his complaints to God, asking the age-old questions “Why do you allow bad things to happen to good people?” (Habakkuk 1:1–4; 13) and “Why do you allow good things to happen to bad people” (Habakkuk 1:13–17).  In the course of the book, we see that God graciously answers Habakkuk’s complaints and by its end we see the prophet’s faith is greatly strengthened (Habakkuk 3:17–18).  But along the way this book gives us valuable lessons regarding times when we feel we have valid complaints we desire to bring before God.

1. Faith can complain!  Habakkuk shows us as clearly as any other biblical book that God is willing to listen to our heartfelt complaints (they are specifically called complaints at the end of Habakkuk 2:1), and that they need not go unverbalized, which so often leads to the actual degradation of faith.

2. We should expect God to answer. Habakkuk exclaimed “I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me” (2:1). The prophet apparently received a direct verbal answer from God and while that may not be our experience, God is able to lead us to find answers if we faithfully expect them.

3. We must be willing to wait for an answer. We saw in the last point that Habakkuk said he was willing to wait till he received an answer and when it came, God told him “the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

4. We need to remember that God expects us to trust him till the answer comes.  That is how we express faith in our lives rather than simply refusing to honestly voice our complaints. Habakkuk summarized this truth in saying “the righteous person will live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV and the majority of translations) – timeless words that are quoted no fewer than three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).

5. We need not doubt that it will work out in the end.  After Habakkuk verbalized his frustrations and complaints to God – and eventually came to see what he needed to understand – he could confidently accept that when God’s time was right “ the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:4).

6. We can rejoice in God’s wisdom. This is clearly a lesson Habakkuk learned: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,” Habakkuk wrote “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17–18).

7. We should offer praise with our complaint. A final aspect of right complaining that Habakkuk displays is that he combined praise with his complaints – both as he complained to God (Habakkuk 1:12–13; etc.), as well as when he received the answers for which he was looking (Habakkuk 3:19).

The Bible contains numerous examples of righteous individuals – Moses, Job, David, and many others – who complained to God in a sincere and respectful way, and who found answers to their questions. But the book of Habakkuk is perhaps unique in showing us that taking our complaints to God is not only not a lack of faith, but also it can actually be faith strengthening.

Atheists have long pointed to the suffering in the world as “proof” that God cannot exist – claiming that if God were all powerful and all loving, he would not let suffering occur.  But to find the very simple answer to this dilemma of why suffering exists, we need only take a step back from the question and ask why do humans exist? 

The Scriptures make it clear that humanity exists because God wishes to share everything he has with his human children (Romans 8:32) – for all eternity (John 10:28).   But as C.S. Lewis wisely pointed out, God will not give eternal life to anyone who will make themselves and others eternally unhappy.  The only way this can be achieved is to have a physical world in which people are born but cannot live forever unless they choose to live in a way that would make them and others happy – and then those people are given eternal life by God (1 Corinthians 15:49–52).

Once we understand this great purpose of human life and see that a temporary physical existence is necessary before we can be trusted with an endless spiritual existence, it is not difficult to see that while we are physical beings, we have to be capable of experiencing pain.  If we were not, we would unknowingly put our hands on burning hot objects, or injure and destroy ourselves in any of hundreds of other ways.  We have to be able to experience pain – suffering – in order to live in a temporary physical world. 

Some may ask, “Wouldn't it be better if people were not born rather than being born into a life with the potential to experience pain or suffering?” But we should ask ourselves if a newborn baby that has to be slapped on the bottom by the delivering doctor – in order for the sudden pain to jolt it into breathing – would choose not to experience years and years of potentially happy and fulfilling life just to avoid that initial few seconds of hurting? 

In exactly the same way, our experience of pain during the relatively brief years of our physical lifetime will be ultimately well worth enduring for the painless eternity we are offered in the life after this one. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18 ).   Paul goes on to explain this in more detail:

"For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us" (Romans 8:22–24 NLT).

So suffering had to be for a short time if we are to live eternally without causing ourselves or others ongoing pain. But we must also realize that in this life we bring much suffering on ourselves – we all sin, and sin inevitably leads to suffering. Other suffering is accidental, or caused maliciously by others. 

But God does not just allow us to suffer and ignore the fact that we do. He understands that suffering may try our faith. But he knows that if we trust him and endure, our faith is made stronger for being tested (James 1:2–4).  He even uses our suffering to help us. God may allow pain to help us turn to him, to examine ourselves, and to become more like him.  Also, we cannot really learn true empathy and kindness by simply deciding to have these qualities – they often come only by seeing how we need them ourselves when we suffer. Paul says this explicitly: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4).  Even Jesus learned through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8) and was able to become an understanding helper to us (Hebrews 4:15–16).   When we experience suffering, we also learn more of the depth of the love of Christ who endured immeasurable suffering on our behalf.

And there is yet another, extremely important dimension to the suffering that the Christian may endure. From John the Baptist, who was beheaded (Matthew 14:1–12), to Jesus and the early apostles, the New Testament is full of examples of those who suffered righteously. But if we suffer as a result of our faith – through persecution of some kind – then, as Peter wrote, “you share the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:12). And as Paul reminds us, we will be rewarded for this: “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17).

Of course, even those who are spared persecution in this life encounter suffering in one form or another – we all do. And when we do, we can not only be confident that this is the only way God could make the world for our eventual benefit, but also that God will use the suffering we endure, if we ask him, to guide and grow us now, and to bless and reward us in that future time when he will end humanity’s temporary suffering, and he “will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4 NLT).  Our present sufferings are, indeed, nothing compared with what God plans to give us as a result of them.

People who study the apostle Paul’s armor of God passage most often focus on the pieces of that spiritual armor: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, etc. However, I ask you to consider the reason Paul gives for putting on that armor of God. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul writes: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (emphasis mine). Verse 13 continues that theme: “take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” And then verse 14 begins, “Stand firm.”

 Are you picking up a pattern? “Stand firm” is not limited to Ephesians 6. Paul encourages the Galatians to stand firm (5:1), as well as the Philippians (4:1) and the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:15). James also encourages believers to stand firm (5:8), as does Peter (1 Peter 5:9). Standing firm spiritually is a major theme of the apostles’ teaching.

My favorite “stand firm” passage is 1 Corinthians 16:13: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” This verse consists of four terse commands, each closely related to the others.

Command 1: Be on your guard. In Greek, this command is expressed in one word: gregoreo. In its secular usage, this was a military term meaning “Be alert! Be vigilant!” Paul borrows this command from the military and applies it to our spiritual warfare against the lies and enticements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. “Watch out!” he commands throughout his inspired writings. Watch out for false teachers and false gospels. Watch out for temptations to stray from focusing on Jesus. Be on your guard!

Command 2: Stand firm in the faith. Paul uses “the faith” here exactly as Jude uses it in Jude 3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” In other words, the faith in which we are to stand firm is the good news about Jesus, that Jesus himself preached: In Jesus, the kingdom of God has come.

Command 3: Be courageous. As in Command 1, this term in the Greek is one word: andrizomai. A more accurate translation might be “Act like men!” Courage is part of that, but the emphasis seems to be upon maturity. “Exercise a mature-in-the-faith courage!” is Paul’s command. Maturity in the faith is a theme throughout 1 Corinthians. In 14:20, Paul has just pleaded with these believers “do not be children in your thinking . . . but in your thinking be mature” (NASB). To stand firm in the faith, one must be mature in the faith.

Command 4: Be strong. A bit more Greek? This command is a verb in the passive voice. Passive verbs receive rather than perform action. A better translation than “Be strong!” is “Be strengthened!” The spiritual strength we need to stand firm in the faith is not something we can create ourselves. It is something God creates within us as we submit to Him in Christ. Be strengthened!

Four spiritual imperatives: Stay alert! Stand firm! Behave mature! Be strong with God-given strength! That’s a recipe for Christian faithfulness.


By Loren Stacy – Reprinted with permission from The Bible Advocate July-August, 2021.

There are four  things every Bible reader thinks they know about the story of the first woman:
 
1. Her name was Eve
2. She was created from man’s rib
3. She tempted the man to sin
4. She was told she would suffer pain in childbirth for her sin.
 
What many Bible readers do not know is that each one of these four points is debatable. For example, regarding the woman’s name as “Eve,” this is only true if – taking the story literally – God spoke to the first man and woman in Hebrew. That may or may not be true, of course, but we should remember that the woman was called Eve  – “Life” in Hebrew – because  she became the “mother of all living” only later as time progressed (Genesis 3:20).  In any case, archaeologically and linguistically we know that there are many languages older than Hebrew – which is actually somewhat of a “late-comer” among the known languages of the world. In a much older Sumerian (Mesopotamian) story, the god Enki unlawfully ate plants, and various parts of his body became diseased. A goddess who healed Enki's rib was called Ninti, whose name means “lady of the rib” or “lady of life” – evoking the story of Eve whose name means “life” and who was said to be created from the rib of Adam.
 
The creation of Eve from Adam’s rib is also another point of debate. We will not look at that here as the situation is complex and far from settled. But it is worth noting that other translations and understandings of Genesis 2:21–23  do exist.  Instead of focusing on this point we will look at the two others listed above (points 3 and 4), as these have doctrinal significance for our understanding of the message of Genesis 3.
 
As for Eve tempting Adam, we should remember first and foremost that the biblical account never actually uses the word “tempt.” Rather, it simply says that Eve took the forbidden fruit and ate it and “also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6).  In this, the biblical story is actually very different from the ancient Mesopotamian story – found in the Epic of Gilgamesh – where the character Enkidu who lives in the “Edin” wilderness is seduced by a temple prostitute after which his wild animal companions reject him and he feels forced to leave the area of the Edin. Although the biblical account makes no mention of sex being the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, some Christian traditions have interpreted it that way, while others reject the interpretation as having no biblical basis (see Genesis 1:28 – spoken before the forbidden fruit incident).
 
But perhaps most interesting of all – and most biblically significant – is the insubstantial nature of the idea that Eve was cursed, for her sin, to endure pain in childbirth.  In most translations we read something to the effect that “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing, in pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16 ESV, etc.).  But the Hebrew word typically translated “pain” in this verse is actually the word for “work” or “toil” – the same Hebrew word used in the following verse when God tells the man “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it.” (Genesis 3:17 NKJV, etc.). Interestingly, some translations – such as the NIV’s “with painful labor you will give birth” – try to straddle the fence with this verse by including the literal “labor” or “work” as well as the traditional rendering of “pain.”
 
Furthermore, the word translated “childbearing” in this verse in many Bible versions is actually the Hebrew word for “pregnancy.”  So a more literal reading of  the curse on the woman is that God told her “I will increase your toil and your pregnancies.” The punishment on the woman was not fundamentally different from that placed on the man – it was simply expressed in a different way.
 
In all – or at least the majority – of these ways we see that the story of Eve has been interpreted, translated, and understood by its readers in somewhat different ways to what the Bible actually says.

The book of Jeremiah contains a statement by the prophet that many find troubling: “Alas, Sovereign LORD! How completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ when the sword is at our throats!”  (Jeremiah 4:10).    On the face of it, this statement – which appears to accuse God of deception – contradicts what the Bible clearly teaches that God cannot and does not lie (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:18; etc.).  But several explanations are possible to account for this apparent contradiction and we will look at them in turn.

First, it has been suggested that by a small change to the vowel points of one Hebrew word in this verse, the meaning can be better understood as “they shall say” (meaning the false prophets who had foretold peace – Jeremiah 6:14; 14:13; 23:17; etc.)  rather than Jeremiah himself being the speaker.  Viewed this way, the verse would mean that the false prophets were complaining to God that he had not brought about what they said he had predicted. This kind of irony – ridiculing the prophets who claimed to be speaking under inspiration from God – is certainly possible and would fit the context well, but there are other possible explanations that do not require any change to the biblical text.

It is possible that Jeremiah implies that God allowed the people of Judah to be deceived by the false prophets they themselves supported (Jeremiah 5:31). This seems to be the case in other situations such as that which we find mentioned in the book of Ezekiel: “And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel” (Ezekiel 14:9 ESV). This appears to also be the case in what the apostle Paul wrote: “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11). From this perspective, God does not directly mislead his people, but permits others to do so, especially when it fits his purpose of allowing the rebellious people’s hearts to be hardened.

It is also possible that Jeremiah’s statement is  posed as a question rather than  a statement – in other words, the prophet is asking “How can it be, God, that you allow people to be deluded by false prophets?”  Viewed this way, Jeremiah is wondering or marveling out loud about the situation rather than making a critical statement. 
 
But there is a final and perhaps more likely possibility regarding the meaning of Jeremiah 4:10. Importantly, that verse is not the only passage where the prophet appears to emotionally accuse God of “deceit.”  In Jeremiah 20:7, using a synonymous word, Jeremiah states “You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me” (see also Jeremiah 15:18; etc.).   So, if we accept the words of Jeremiah 4:10 at face value, it is possible that Jeremiah meant that he had received God’s earlier promises of the peace that would eventually come to God’s people (Jeremiah 3:14–18; etc.) without realizing that this peace would only come later, after Judah’s inevitable downfall. Seen this way, Jeremiah may simply have supposed the positive eventual outcome was closer than it really was.

It is easy to presume that the Old Testament prophets had a kind of divinely granted understanding so that they knew when and how the prophecies they were given would be fulfilled. But we should remember that this was not the case at all.  The apostle Peter reminds us that “This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you” (1 Peter 1:10-11 NLT) or, as the ESV translates this verse, the prophets were “trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing.”

So, in conclusion, while we may not know for sure which of the various possible meanings of Jeremiah 4:10 is the actual meaning of the verse, it is certain that there are several ways in which the verse can be understood without it contradicting other, clearer, biblical verses.  As is so often the case with difficult scriptures, Jeremiah 4:10 may seem confusing, but in reality, there is no reason why its intended meaning need be seen as not being in harmony with the rest of the Bible.

Although we experienced some glitches with the first couple of our audio-books, these problems have been corrected now and so feel free to re-download a book you may have tried earlier.  Also, we have added a number of titles to our audio-book list and you should find that these are all smooth listening.  Check out the new titles on our dedicated audio-book page, here.  And don't forget that you can also listen to any of our audio-books on your Android phone using our free app.

Written by a biblical scholar and professional archaeologist, this book looks at a field that many people find fascinating and one that is of special interest and importance to those who believe that the Bible records many actual historical events.  The book is organized chronologically – from the earliest stories of the Bible to the era of the New Testament – and shows what archaeology has or has not found. It dispels many popularly held beliefs about supposed proofs of some of the Bible’s stories,  but shows how archaeology has confirmed dozens of the people, places and events recorded in the Scriptures.  The Bible and Archaeology may well amaze and encourage you through the wealth of factual evidence for the Bible that it provides.  Download a free copy directly (no email or registration needed) from our sister-site, here.

​The Gospel of Luke is frequently seen as the “Gospel of the Lowly.” It is said to be the gospel that champions the marginalized in society – women, the sick, tax collectors, and  perhaps especially, the poor. And it is easy to see Luke as the Gospel with a social conscience: it is Luke the physician who notices and looks with care at the lowly – often recording their words when no other gospel does. Near the very beginning of his account Luke alone records the words of Mary that God has looked with favor on “the humble state of his servant ... He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:48, 52–53).  In Luke, we are told Jesus was commissioned to preach good news to the poor (Luke 4:16; 7:22); and while the beatitudes in Luke speak of the blessing of the poor and the hungry, there are corresponding woes (only in Luke) on the rich and full (Luke 6:20–26).

Similarly, in Luke’s Acts, among other examples, we are told about poor individuals begging for alms (Acts 3:2–3), that some believers sold their possessions to help the poor and needy (Acts 4:32–35), and that the churches sent financial help to the poor in Jerusalem (Acts 24:17).

So we can be forgiven if we see all these (and many more) examples in Luke-Acts and presume that Luke champions the poor and needy. But is this really what Luke does? Luke certainly does often show the poor in a favorable light and also gives examples of the rich abusing their power and refusing to part with their riches (for example, the parable of the “rich fool” living a life of greed in Luke 12:16–21, and that of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31).

Looking at Luke Again

But this is not all that Luke does. Of the four gospel writers, Luke has the most to say about riches and poverty, but if we look closely, Luke speaks not only for the poor, but for the rich also.  We should not forget that Luke was doubtless not a poor man himself (physicians were as well paid in his day as they are in ours), and we should remember that Luke and Acts were apparently written for a rich man – the “noble” Theophilus (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). More importantly, while Luke gives examples of the righteous poor, he actually gives more examples of the righteous rich.

Luke details and praises the works of a number of individuals who unquestionably qualified as being very well-off in that society. We need only look at the centurion whose servant Jesus healed and who, as a benefactor, had built a synagogue for the Jews (Luke 7:2–4) or the centurion Cornelius who Luke tells us was “devout and God-fearing” and who “gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2). We read also of Zachaeus who had become wealthy as a tax collector, but who gave half of what he had and displayed great generosity when he heard the gospel (Luke 19:1–10). Likewise, Luke 8:1–3 lists a number of women (including the doubtless well-off Joanna, the wife of the manager of King Herod’s household) who we are told  supported Jesus’ ministry financially. These and other well-to-do individuals were all rich yet living righteously. And we should not forget Joseph of Arimathea, the wealthy man (Matthew 27:57), who gave his own tomb for Jesus and who Luke describes unequivocally as a “good and upright man” (Luke 23:50–53).

When we see all these rich but righteous individuals, we realize that Luke’s negative examples from among the wealthy are not a criticism of the rich, but of the rich who are captive to their worldly riches – as with the story of the rich young ruler who did not follow Christ when he had opportunity to do so (Luke 18:18–30). 

Looking closer still, we find that Luke not only mentions godly rich men and women, but also he often seems to alternate examples of unrighteous rich and righteous rich individuals (for example, the rich young ruler in Luke 18 and Zachaeus in Luke 19; etc.). This pattern can hardly be coincidental and  indicates that Luke was consciously showing both – purposefully setting one alongside the other and showing the universal acceptance of the gospel by rich and poor alike.  
​
The realization of this fact gives us a clearer understanding of Luke’s message. Luke does not “champion the poor and put down the rich” as is so often said. Rather, Luke levels the field – he equalizes rich and poor before God, showing the poor that they are elevated in God’s calling and reminding the rich they are humbled in theirs (as James 1:9–12 so clearly states). The rich are not put down in Luke’s writings – they are shown as having special responsibilities and opportunities to help others. But in showing this Luke emphasizes that there are many righteous rich, just as there are many righteous poor.

We are pleased to be adding the audio book format to the available options for the free Christian books we offer!  Now you will be able to download and listen to our free books in the .mp3 file format that can be played on any computer, tablet, or smartphone. We plan to release audio book titles each month and to have all our books available in this format as soon as possible.  Our first audio offerings are already available –  Seven Promises from the Words of Jesus; A Brighter Light: Seven Simple Steps to Help Your Christian Light Shine;  and The Centurions – new and already very popular books by R. Herbert.   Click on any of these titles to download the free audio book and enjoy it as you commute, relax, or as part of your devotional study. 

The Bible's Book of Proverbs is often said to represent a collection of “human wisdom” and is frequently regarded as a book of practical rather than spiritual insights expressed in short, catchy sayings.  Yet this viewpoint vastly underestimates the book. 
The value of Proverbs can be seen in the degree to which Jesus and the apostles quote and echo this remarkable book – some thirty-five times.  Jesus not only quoted the book directly, but it appears to have connections to even some of his most profound teaching.
At times Jesus built his teaching directly around Proverbs –  as we find in Luke 14:7–11 where, at the  dinner in the Pharisee’s house, he reminded those present of Proverbs 25:6–7 which shows it is better to take the lower places of honor, and then to be invited to the head of the table. We even find important examples of Jesus’ use of Proverbs in one of the most spiritual of his teachings – the Sermon on the Mount.

The Proverbs on the Mount

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus quotes from or alludes to Proverbs numerous times.  For example, we can see the reflection of the proverb “… those who seek me find me” (Proverbs 8:17) in his words “seek and you will find” and “…the one who seeks finds” (Matthew 7:7–8). But the connections are more than incidental.  When we look at many of the Beatitudes themselves, we find a remarkable inverse similarity to what Proverbs 6 tells us about the seven things God hates:

This comparison does not include the final, 8th, beatitude “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness …” (vs. 10) because only the first seven beatitudes, like the seven evils mentioned in Proverbs 6, are actual characteristics of the person.  And although the Beatitudes cover many of the same ideas found in Proverbs 6:16-19 in a positive manner, we should remember that it was often typical of Jesus’ teaching to recast “negatively” worded concepts in a positive manner (Matthew 22:35–40, etc.).  We should also not forget that Jesus compared himself to Solomon and stressed that his own God-given wisdom was greater than that of the ancient king (Matthew 12:42).

Wisdom certainly figures frequently in Jesus’ mountainside sermon, and he ends it by telling his hearers that: “… everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man …” (Matthew 7:24).  In the minds of Jesus’ listeners, such a “wise man” would have been no different from  the individual held up as an example of right and godly living throughout the Book of Proverbs.
This comparison is not to lower the Sermon on the Mount to the level of “human wisdom” or to elevate Proverbs to the level of Jesus’ highest teaching. It simply stresses that Proverbs contains ideas that were clearly part of the scriptural background and thinking of Jesus – ideas that are certainly worthy of our attention and that are often deeper than we may realize.

* For much more information on the book of Proverbs, download our free e-book – Spotlight on the Proverbs – here.

Seven Promises from the Words of Jesus

By R. Herbert.

Living Belief Books, 2024, ISBN 979-8-89443-909-9

The promises recorded in the Bible are among the most important words in the Scriptures – and there are literally thousands of them! Even when we look only at the promises made by Jesus during his earthly ministry, there are hundreds of promises that could be considered. Yet many of these promises are prophecies that apply, for example, only to those who reject God, while others are clear promises made to those who submit their lives to him.  That type of promise is of particular importance to every believer, and it is on those promises that this new book focuses.  There are actually only seven such unconditional and ongoing promises that Jesus made regarding his relationship with his followers – promises for believers in every age – and it is these seven vital promises that this book examines. You can download a free copy of this new e-book to read on your computer, tablet, e-book reader, or smart phone, without registration or having to give an email address. Download a copy here.

​“[Jesus] went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene”  (Matthew 2:23).

Skeptics and other critics of the Bible have long claimed that this verse shows Matthew was in error, as there is no verse anywhere in the Old Testament that matches this statement.  It is true that there is no verse in our English Bibles saying exactly what Matthew wrote – but that does not mean that he was mistaken, or that his account of the life of Jesus was not inspired.

First, we should notice that Matthew says “what was spoken” so it is certainly possible that he was aware of orally transmitted accounts of what certain prophets had said verbally, but there is another and perhaps more likely explanation for what he wrote. 

Second, there were no quotation marks in ancient Greek so Matthew may simply have paraphrased what some of the prophets had written.  This becomes very likely when we realize that a number of verses found in the Old Testament speak of the messianic “Branch” who was foretold to come from the line of David. For example, the prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king (Jeremiah 23:5 and see also 33:15). In Hebrew, the word “Branch” is netser and it is from this word that the name of the city of Nazareth is derived.

We also find multiple references to the promised Messiah in the book of Isaiah – especially Isaiah 11:1 which tells us: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (see also Isaiah 53:1; etc.). This is important because Matthew quotes Isaiah directly in Matthew 1:23 (Isaiah 7:14) and 4:12–16 (Isaiah 9:1–2), and these quotations from Isaiah’s messianic predictions make it very likely that the Gospel writer could have had Isaiah 11:1 in mind when he wrote Matthew 2:23.

Matthew also says that the Messiah’s connection with Nazareth was confirmed by the “prophets” in the plural and, as we have seen, such a prophecy of the divine netser is found in both Jeremiah and Isaiah.

Finally, we should remember that Matthew 2:23 is by no means unique in the Bible. The New Testament writers often did not have physical access to the texts of the Old Testament  and many of their quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures are paraphrased slightly as they give a remembered meaning rather than a direct quotation. 

This principle is even seen in the Old Testament itself.  The book of Ezra, for example, tells us “Your servants the prophets warned us when they said, ‘The land you are entering to possess is totally defiled by the detestable practices of the people living there. From one end to the other, the land is filled with corruption. Don’t let your daughters marry their sons! Don’t take their daughters as wives for your sons. Don’t ever promote the peace and prosperity of those nations. If you follow these instructions, you will be strong and will enjoy the good things the land produces, and you will leave this prosperity to your children forever” (Ezra 9:11–12 NLT). These exact words are not found in the Hebrew prophets, but the principles mentioned are found many times (Deuteronomy 7:1–4; etc.) and are clearly paraphrased in Ezra’s words.

So, the fact that the exact words of Matthew cannot be found in the prophetic writings as we read them in our English Bibles does not mean that Matthew was mistaken, or have any relevance to whether his Gospel was inspired. The biblical writers often paraphrased each other, and summarized what other inspired writers had written before them.

We can be assured that – as in this case – there are plausible answers to every supposed difficulty or contradiction within the books of the Bible.*
 
* For further information on this topic, download our free book Scriptures in Question: Answers to Apparent Biblical Contradictions  here.

THE CENTURIONS:
LESSONS FROM TEN NEW TESTAMENT MEN OF VALOR

By R. Herbert.

The New Testament records the interaction of ten Roman military men with Christ and the early Christians. These ten men are shown as men of honor and valor who all played some role in establishing and furthering the Christian faith. The Centurions looks at positive lessons we can learn from each of them because each soldier shows us something regarding character traits that are as important now as they were then – as vital and valuable to the Christian warrior today as they were to the centurions of ancient Rome. You can download a copy of this new e-book directly – without registration or email – here.

By Philip Shields*

Almost nobody you might ask – “who really ultimately was responsible for killing Jesus?” – gets it completely right. If you think I’m going to say we all killed Christ by our sins – please read on, because the full answer is much, much deeper and more meaningful even than that.
 
Many say the Jews did. Certainly they’re right. They did. Paul and others attest to that (1 Thessalonians 2:14-15). Many say the Romans did. They’re right too – for it was the Roman government that had him nailed to the cross and who thrust the spear into his side. Still others say that we ALL killed Jesus of Nazareth. Peter seems to say this to his sorrowful Pentecost audience (Acts 2:36-37), and later to a group in Acts 3:12-17, see especially verse 15. How did we ALL kill the Christ? By our sins, which required his atoning death. All these answers are correct, but there’s one more answer to who really killed the Christ. 
 
What was the Messiah? One answer is what John the Baptizer said: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Later, the apostle Paul referred to Christ as “our Passover Lamb” (1 Cor. 5:7), so the Passover and days of Unleavened Bread of Exodus 12 pointed to the REAL Lamb – the Lamb of God.
 
Who was responsible in Exodus 12 to select a lamb without blemish and to have a lamb ready on Passover and to kill that lamb for their family in that original Passover service? It was the FATHER of the household who presented and killed the selected lamb (Exodus 12:3).
 
So when we read that Jesus was called “the Lamb of GOD,” what was John referring to? God the Father had pre-selected the Word, who became flesh and became the Son of God (John 1:14) to be his Lamb. In fact, Jesus was as good as already slain from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:18-20). ALL the Passover lambs of Exodus 12 and afterwards, all pointed to the future fulfillment of Messiah, the Lamb of God.
 
God the Father presented a lamb for his household just as the Israelite fathers had to present one lamb or kid goat per household. (Exodus 12:3). The Lamb being offered had to be enough for the household. ALL who wish to be part of the Household of God will partake of Father’s lamb. So who really and ultimately had to kill the Lamb of God? Who alone truly could do it? Yeshua gave another clue during his final Passover, quoting from Zechariah 13:7. Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ’I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (Matthew 26:31).

Who is the “I” in “I will strike the Shepherd”? Who was going to strike the Shepherd? Remember that Christ was the Word who was God and WITH God (John 1:1-2). So let’s see what the original source – Zechariah13:7 – says, and notice how God calls that Shepherd “the Man who is my COMPANION.” it is God who is speaking. Jesus is quoted in Matthew 26:31 as saying “I will strike the Shepherd” – but he is quoting GOD speaking in Zechariah 13:7. So GOD will strike the Shepherd. Who is the Shepherd? Jesus himself says HE is the good shepherd (John 10:11); the Shepherd who would be struck by God.
 
John 3:16 tells us that GOD so loved the world that HE gave his one and only Son so that those who believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. God the Father saw that by sacrificing his only Son for a time he would be opening the door to potentially billions more sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). And Jesus was part of that plan from the beginning (John 10:17-18).
 
Notice what Isaiah tells us about that: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him STRICKEN, SMITTEN BY GOD, and afflicted…. All we like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4,6). Isaiah continues: “Yet it PLEASED the Lord to bruise him; HE has put him to grief. When YOU make His soul an offering for sin ... My righteous Servant shall justify many; For he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10-11). Did you catch that? HE – God – put his Servant-Son to grief.  I know it’s easier to blame the Jews or the Romans, but that misses the point of the entire Passover lamb symbolism!  Isaiah 53:10 says GOD made his Son’s soul an offering for sin in his love for all of us! Paul certainly understood this – that God “DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT DELIVERED HIM UP FOR US ALL” (Romans 8:32).
 
So ultimately the One who killed Christ was the head of the Father’s house – God our Father. The blood of the Lamb of God, whom the FATHER slew for his household, protects us from the Destroyer, saves us from the penalty of death that we earned, and covers us by his grace. That is what the Scriptures say – that GOD gave his only begotten son as His LAMB for any and all who believe and who become a part of his household.
 
* This post is condensed from the author's website (see https://tinyurl.com/348rbh8a) and is used here by kind permission.

Sometimes a little biblical detective work can open new windows into our understanding of the stories of the New Testament.

The Priest

The Gospel of John tells us that when Jesus was betrayed: “They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year” (John 18:12-13).  The apostle John apparently knew some of the high priest’s family and was able to provide this detail not found in the other Gospels.
Annas was the patriarch of a dynasty of priests.  He had served as High Priest for ten years, from AD 6–15, and when he was deposed by the Roman procurator Gratus, Annas maintained a high degree of power through arranging the appointment of his five sons (Eleazar, Jonathan, Theophilus, Matthias, Ananus) and his son-in-law, Caiaphas, to succeed him. 

The Jewish High Priest normally served for life (Numbers 35:25, 28), so the rapid-fire changes in succession after Annas suggest that he may have worked to ensure that he kept control of things as the real power behind the temple hierarchy.  This maintaining power while technically deposed would explain why Annas was able to continue as head of the Jewish Sanhedrin (Acts 4:6), and perhaps explains why, when Jesus was arrested, he was first taken not to “Caiaphas, the high priest that year,” but to Annas.  In fact, so real was Annas’ behind-the-scenes power that Luke records the word of God came to John the Baptist “during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (Luke 3:2).

The Plot

In his Gospel, the apostle John gives us another bit of information relative to the dealings of the chief priests.   After Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave, John tells us that “a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.  So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him” (John 12:9).  Again, John may have learned this perhaps because of his contacts in the high priestly households; but it is clear that this was a very real plot to get rid of not only Jesus himself, but also Lazarus as evidence of Christ’s miracle.  Although Annas is not mentioned by name, it is inconceivable that such a plot would have been made without the knowledge of the chief priest and his sons – though it was more likely instigated by them as the “chief priests.” To understand the significance of this background, we must look at one of Jesus’ parables given at that time.

The Parable

In his parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man, Jesus told his listeners: “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-20).  The parable continues to say that when he died, in the afterlife, the rich man implored the patriarch Abraham “I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment” (vss. 27-28). Notice that although the NIV says “to my family,” the Greek actually says “to my father's house” (as translated in the ESV and almost all other versions).  When Abraham replies that “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them,” the rich man responds “No, father Abraham … but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent” (vss. 9-30).  To this Abraham states conclusively: “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (vs. 31).

The cast of characters in this parable is unmistakable.  Although “Lazarus” is not specified to be the Lazarus of Bethany Christ raised from the dead, the New Testament does not speak of any other Lazarus – had it been a different individual, John would surely have identified him as he does in other instances when multiple people shared the same name.

The “rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen” is surely the high priest Caiaphas whose robes were exactly as described. Conclusively, the rich man has a father and five brothers.  In the close families of ancient Palestine, “brothers” could mean blood brothers or brothers-in-law.  So the identity of these individuals is clear – they are none other than Caiaphas (the rich man), Annas (the father-in-law) and his five sons (the brothers-in-law).  If this were not the case, there would have been no reason for Jesus to include five brothers in the parable – the rich man could just have pleaded for his family.

For Jesus’ original hearers it was doubtless clear that his parable made the point that just as the rich man’s father and brothers would not believe even after the return of the Lazarus of the parable from the dead, so the actual high priestly family had not believed when the real Lazarus had indeed been raised.   Understood this way, the story of Lazarus and the rich man is paralleled by a number of other parables in which Jesus used actual historical situations of his day (for example, Luke 14:28-33; Luke 19:11-27).

A Lesson for Today

There is also perhaps a small practical lesson we can take from this understanding of Jesus’ parable: the unfailing discretion of Jesus.  Although the characters of his parable may have been recognizable to his audience, Jesus did not go as far as identifying them by name. This fits the pattern we see throughout the New Testament in which Jesus never identifies and condemns individuals by name, only as groups: the Pharisees, scribes, tax collectors, or whatever.  Although he could have publicly accused and discredited specific individuals on many occasions, Christ did not do so in his human life. In our own time – a time of heightened political invective – this is an example for every Christian to consider.

* Download a free copy of our e-book Lessons from the Life of Jesus here.

A BRIGHTER LIGHT:
SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS TO HELP YOUR CHRISTIAN LIGHT SHINE
By R. Herbert

Letting our “light” shine is a basic Christian responsibility, and this short book examines seven simple ways in which we can avoid short-circuiting the light God desires to show through us, and more effectively let that light shine. These principles can help us better reflect God’s nature, better do his work, and better fulfill his desire in our lives. Download a free copy of this new book directly – without registration or email address – from our sister site, here.

When we read the Bible, we  find the word “Christ” was originally a title (“the Messiah”) so the name "Jesus Christ" actually means, of course, “Jesus the Messiah. But in the New Testament the name is found as both “Jesus Christ” and “Christ Jesus”  – is there a difference?

Because the New Testament was written by different authors over a number of years, it is perfectly possible that different authors might have had different preferences in expression. And a particular writer might vary in word choice for the sake of style, so a difference might not be one of meaning but simply of form.

But it is also true that  word order works a little differently in the Greek language than it does in English. In Greek there is flexibility in the order of words in a sentence that we do not see in the English language, with the variation in word order being a way to show emphasis. This has led to some commentators stating that “Jesus Christ” probably stresses the human side of the Son of God while “Christ Jesus” emphasizes his divine nature. Although this is a popular view, it is probably wrong.

While “Jesus Christ” is found throughout the New Testament, we do not find the name “Christ Jesus” in the letters of Peter, John, James, or Hebrews. Most references to Christ Jesus are found in the writings of Paul (the only exception is in Acts 24:24, which discusses how Paul was talking to the Roman authority Felix about Jesus, so even there it is in a context related to Paul and influenced by him.

So “Christ Jesus” seems to be primarily a Pauline expression, but what, if anything, did Paul mean by using it  in distinction to “Jesus Christ”?   For example, in the book of Philippians, “Christ Jesus”  appears in Philippians 1:1, 8; and 2:5; while “Jesus Christ” is the form Paul uses in Philippians 1:2, 6, 11, 19; 2:11, 19. In the same way, in chapter 3 he speaks of Christ Jesus (3:3, 8, 12, 14), while he also refers to “Jesus Christ” (3:20). In Philippians 4,  4:7, 20, and 21 all have Christ Jesus, while 4:23 uses Jesus Christ again.  

Is there a pattern visible in the usage in these and other letters of Paul?  Some commentators say that when Christ comes before Jesus, Jesus’ position as Messiah is emphasized by Paul while when Jesus is before Christ, his work as Savior is emphasized. This would not seem to be the case because Christ Jesus appears in places where his saving work is specifically emphasized (e.g., 1 Timothy 1:15: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost”).

I feel that there is a more likely reason for Paul’s usage of the two forms of Christ’s name.   Paul will often use Christ Jesus in talking about how he is a servant or apostle of Christ Jesus, or when he stresses that  we are “in Christ Jesus.” In other words, Paul seems to use “Christ Jesus” when he stresses a relationship with Christ – stressing Christ’s supremacy in the relationship.
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Paul does not deny Christ’s supremacy when he uses the more usual  New Testament expression Jesus Christ, of course, but he seems to emphasize it when he uses the form “Christ Jesus.”