TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Why did Judas betray Jesus?

At practice on Sunday, we discussed Judas's betrayal of Jesus.  We talked about the various theories for why he did it - that he'd lost faith, that he was trying to force Jesus's hand, that he was greedy - and ultimately all scripture tells us clearly is "Satan entered him".  This logically raises the question "If Satan entered Judas and drove what he did, was Judas set up?"  This is an especially important question in light of Matthew's clear demonstration that Jesus was in control all the time.

I recommend this short article on the topic, if you've ben wondering about this.  It's especially appropriate today - "Maundy Thursday"- as we remember the Last Supper and the subsequent betrayal.

Jesus chose Judas to be a part of the twelve, but yet knew he would betray him (Mark 14:18, 21; John 6:70). Luke tells us in Luke 22:3 that, “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot.”
So, was Judas a mindless zombie, set on an uncontrollable mission by the hand of God to betray Jesus?
No.
God did not force Judas’ hand. Judas made conscious choices every step of the way and eventually he chose to betray Jesus.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Passover

The Jewish day begins at sunset, so Passover actually began last night.  But today is the first full day of the holiday.  As Gentile Christians, we don't often talk much about Passover (unless we're reading through Exodus) but Holy Week coincided with Passover in Jesus Day.  Click on the images below to learn a little more about the day from Chosen People Ministries.  The first walks you thru a normal Passover Seder, the second walks thru how the symbols of Passover relate to Jesus.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Holy Week & the Gospel of Matthew

This is another one of those posts where the "topic from practice" isn't a question asked before but one that we plan to cover in the next practice.  Tomorrow begins "Holy Week"- the 8 (modern) days encapsulating Jesus's ministry in Jerusalem, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter.  Each gospel presents this period a little differently, so let's take a quick look at how Matthew deals with this amazing week.

• Sunday - Palm Sunday & the Triumphal Entry:  Matthew 21:1-11
• Monday - Cleaning of the Temple:  Matthew 21:12-17
• Tuesday - A Day of Parables:  Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 25:1-28
• Wednesday - Jesus Anointed:  Matthew 26:6-13, Judas Makes his Deal:  Matthew 26:14-16   
• "Maundy" Thursday - The Last Supper:  Matthew 26:17-30, Jesus's Arrest:  Matthew 26:36-55
• "Good" Friday - Sanhedrin Trial: Matthew 26:57-68, Roman Trial:  Matthew 27:11-31, Crucifixion & Burial: Matthew 27:32-61
• "Silent" Saturday:  The Bible says nothing
• "Resurrection/Easter" Sunday:  Matthew 28:1-10

Consider reading thru and studying each of these passes on the appropriate day during this upcoming week.  It may deepen your understanding and appreciating for the material.

Here's a printable PDF of this list to keep in your Bible.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Chapters & Verses

The last couple of chapters, you may have noticed that the break between chapters doesn't quite follow the action.  In both chapter 21 and chapter 22, the first section would probably fit better in the chapter before.  (Although, for quizzers, you're probably just as happy not to have another dozen verses to add to your study total!)

So where did the chapters and verses come from?  Did the Biblical writers actually insert them into their original writings?  Wouldn't it have been weird to read a letter from your buddy Paul and see him break it up into "verses"?

There's an old joke among Bible scholars that the chapters and verses of scripture were chosen by "a drunk monk on horseback".  But the process was a little bit more scholarly than that.

The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions.
The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan's verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Biblical Hours

Okay, this one isn't a question that came up in practice, but one that I think might come up in the next practice.  In this week's chapter, we read...

About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around...
Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

...but that kind of timekeeping doesn't sound anything like what we have today.  So how did Jesus (and Jews of his era) keep time?

The Jewish day was divided by sunset and sunrise (notice sunset comes first).  There were 12 hours in the day and 12 hours in the night.  For the daytime, they were roughly:

1st hour - 7:00 AM
2nd hour - 8:00 AM
3rd hour - 9:00 AM
4th hour - 10:00 AM
5th hour - 11:00 AM
6th hour - 12:00 PM
7th hour - 1:00 PM
8th hour - 2:00 PM
9th hour - 3:00 PM
10th hour - 4:00 PM
11th hour - 5:00 PM
12th hour - 6:00 PM

So, the verses could be translated...

About 9 AM he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about noon and 3 PM and did the same thing. About 5 PM he went out and found still others standing around...
Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

Source:  Here

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Who was the "Little Child" in Matthew 18?

This week in practice we discussed Matthew 18 and some asked "Who was the little child that Jesus put in front of the disciples?" Please keep in mind this is according to tradition and is neither scripture, nor something certain from history.  At best, historians of period talk about it as "something I heard once."

Tradition/legend says that the child in this story was actually Ignatius of Antioch.  He was a first century Christian who became the third bishop of Antioch (Peter was the first).  He wrote a number of letters to the church, was a student of John the apostle, and died as a martyr in Rome.  He was also known as "Theophorus" which means "God bearer", due to his reputation for faithfulness.  His writings were some of the earliest examples of Christian theology.  He died around 100 A.D.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Days of the Week

Over the last month or so, several topics came up in practice that I didn't have time to address during our short hour together.  I promised that I would get back to you on them, but it's probably too much to discuss during the next practice.  So, here is a quick write-up for you here, instead.

DAYS OF THE WEEK:

We discussed a few days back that the days of the week are named for old pagan gods.  The days were originally named for Greco-roman gods, but the Germans replaced them with their own, and English inherited this naming  The question was asked why Christians kept pagan names?  The answer was simple - convenience and that most people had forgotten the origins by the time English came around.

As requested, here's the listing of the origin of each name:

• Sunday:  "The Sun's Day"
• Monday:  "The Moon's Day"
• Tuesday:  "Tyr's Day" (One-handed god associated with oaths)
• Wednesday:  "Odin's Day" (Father of the norse pantheon)
• Thursday:  "Thor's Day" (You've probably seen the movie)
• Friday:  "Freya's Day"  (Wife of Odin)
• Saturday:  "Saturn's Day" (The only Roman god to remain in our calendar)

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: The Herods

Over the last month or so, several topics came up in practice that I didn't have time to address during our short hour together.  I promised that I would get back to you on them, but it's probably too much to discuss during the next practice.  So, here is a quick write-up for you here, instead.

ALL THE HERODS:

A few weeks back, we discussed the difference between Herod the Great in Matthew 2, and Herod the Tetrarch in Matthew 14.  The question then came up about Archeleus in Matthew 2:22, who was said to be "ruling in place of his father Herod."  I promised to do some research into the line of Herod for us all.  Here we go:

1. Herod the Great ruled from about 37 B.C. to about 1 B.C.*  Before he died, he split up his kingdom with his 4 sons (tetrarch means "ruler of one fourth").  When he died, his sons took over the last pieces he had ruled.
2. Archeleus ruled Judea (one fourth of Herod the Great's kingdom) from about 4 B.C. to about 6 A.D.  He's only mentioned once in scripture.
3. Herod the Tetrarch (a.k.a. Herod Antipas) ruled Galilee (including Nazareth) and Perea from about 4 B.C. to about 40 A.D.  He is both the man who killed John the Baptist and the one who Jesus comes before during his trial (Luke 23:6-12).
4. Philip ruled 4 B.C. to about 34 A.D. over Ituraea.  He's only mentioned in scripture as the husband of Herodias (Luke 14:3)
5. Herod Agrippa I took over Herod the Tetrarch's kingdom and ruled from 41 A.D. to 44 A.D.  He is the one who arrested James and Peter in Acts 12:1-3.
6. Herod Agrippa II (known as "King Agrippa") was the son of Herod Agrippa I and ruled from 50 A.D. to 93 A.D.  He was the one that Paul was brought before in Acts 25 & Acts 26.

*This, of course, raises the obvious question:  "How could Herod the Great die in 1 B.C., if B.C. means 'Before Christ'?"  It's because the exact B.C./A.D. split was set down a long time ago, when the exact dating of Christ's birth was uncertain.  We now believe Jesus was born around 5 B.C., although even now it is impossible to be certain, because the gospel writers did not write down an exact date.