BIBLE
CHARACTERS IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON*
July
27, 2008
Compiled
by C. Norman Wood, 5440 Mt Corcoran Place, Burke, VA 22015
703-898-8818,
woodcn@aol.com
SUBJECT:
TRUTH
Bonar,
Horatius, "Calmness of Truth,"
POEM, Journal, Vol.2 (December 1884), p. 1.
All
truth is calm,
Refuge
and rock and tower;
The
more of truth the more of calm,
Its
calmness is its power.
Calmness
is truth,
And
truth is calmness still;
Truth
lifts its forehead to the storm.
Like
some eternal hill.
RESPONSIVE
READING: Sermon on the Light of the World (John
1: 18; 8: 1,2 [to ;],12-18,26)
TIME
LINE: The Year of Opposition and Development (Jesus' 3rd
year of ministry), Mid-October 29 AD in the treasury of the Temple
located in the court of the women, the most public part of the
Temple, on Mt. Moriah, in the city of Jerusalem.
“The
material in chapter 8 consists of a number of dialogues which
continue themes already discussed in chapters 5 and 7. It also paves
the way for the dramatic story of healing which follows in chapter 9.
This is clear from [v. 12], the second of the ‘I am’
sayings. The theme of Jesus as ‘light’ was begun in the
opening verses of the Prologue (1:4,5,9)." (Eerdmans
Commentary)
"The
dialogue partners turn out to be the Pharisees (v.13) rather than the
‘Jews,’ but the subject of the dispute is a continuation
of the earlier question about testimony.” (Ibid)
Jesus
"had many things to tell them [v.26] which would add to
their judgment. Those things were true because [he]
received them from the Father." (King James Bible Commentary)
Pharisees
[Fair'uh
see] (Heb. "to separate," Gr. "separated one")
(Abbreviated)
The
Pharisees are described by two first-century sources, the New
Testament and Josephus, and also by rabbinic literature, which covers
a broader period of time. Each source gives a different account of
the Pharisees and modern descriptions differ widely depending on
which sources are accepted and how conflicts are resolved. The
picture of the Pharisees derived only from the Gospels and formerly
accepted as historical, that they were little more than legalists and
hypocrites and were culpably blind to Jesus’ message, has
largely been discredited as early Christian polemic against Jewish
and rabbinic leadership. The interpretation of the Pharisees as
religious liberals emanated from modern Jewish apologetics and is ill
suited to antiquity. Though a comprehensive and secure description
of the Pharisees eludes us, some insight can be gained from each of
the ancient sources.
"The
Pharisees were strongly monotheistic. They accepted the Old
Testament as authoritative. They affirmed the reality of angels and
demons. They had a firm belief in life beyond the grave and a
resurrection of the body. They were missionary, seeking the
conversion of Gentiles (Matt. 23:15). They saw God as concerned with
the life of a person without denying that the individual was
responsible for how he or she lived. They had little interest in
politics. The Pharisees opposed Jesus because He refused to accept
the teachings of the oral law." (Holman Bible Dictionary)
“The
joy that lasts” EDITORIAL, Sentinel (2
December 2002), p. 28.
--Moments
of joy with a sacred source…better our lives, and the ripples
go outward.
•
It’s an act of prayer to claim that joy is normal, rightfully
ours, God-given.
--If
there is one name that best describes the God who produces and
expands those moments in us, it’s Love.
--The
healing laws of Love are larger than doctrine or creed, just as
Christ is far more the liberating power of God than the head of a
sect.
•
Christian Science is a set of universal ideas, ideas as universal as
Jesus' own promise: "I am the light of the world: he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life" (John 8:12).
---It's
this constant light or Christ that, even in dark times, allows us to
walk on, living according to whatever we grasp of this light's power
and realness.
Nay,
Mrs. Mary Lee Gough (CSB, President, and Normal Class Teacher),
"Is Mankind Hastening Toward
Self-destruction?," THE WORLD'S NEED AND THE MOTHER
CHURCH'S RESPONSE, Journal (July 1970), p. 365.
--Because
of the Master's inborn understanding of God as Sprit, Truth or
all-creative, all-intelligent, all-inspiring and protecting Love, and
of man as His perfect spiritual likeness, he understood the uplifting
effect the Christ, Truth, would have on those who understood and
practiced it.
•
He assured them, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
[John 8:12]
---He
knew that the human expression of this light, of God's love for all
His children, would be forbearance, justice, love, and respect for
one's fellowmen. These are the qualities of thought and attitude
that are certain to save mankind from the destructive drive of the
carnal mind and establish peace, happiness, and progress for all.
•
When mankind becomes fully aware that divine Love is the one primal
cause governing all, warfare will cease.
SECTION
III: The Truth Will Make You Free (John
8: 31,32)
TIME
LINE: The Year of Opposition and Development (Jesus' 3rd
year of ministry), Mid-October 29 AD in the treasury of the Temple
located in the court of the women, the most public part of the
Temple, on Mt. Moriah, in the city of Jerusalem.
"The
first step in the progress toward true discipleship is belief [v.31]
in Jesus Christ as Messiah and Son of God." (MacArthur Bible
Commentary)
"'Truth'
[v.32] here has reference not only to the facts surrounding Jesus as
the Messiah and Son of God, but also to the teaching that [he]
brought." (Ibid)
Jews
(Abbreviated)
“Jew”
is the name derived from the patriarch Judah, at first given to one
belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the southern kingdom of Judah
(II Kings
16:6;
25:25;
Jeremiah
32:12;
38:19;
40:11;
41:3),
in contradistinction from those belonging to the kingdom of the ten
tribes, who were called Israelites. The history of the Jewish nation
is interwoven with the history of Palestine and with the narratives
of the lives of their rulers and chief men….
“In
the NT,…(‘Jew’) is used in contrast to ‘Gentiles’
(John 2:6; Acts 14:1), to ‘Samaritans’ (John 4:9), and to
‘proselytes’ (Acts 2:10; cf. John 4:22). This would
indicate that 'Jew' in the NT is applied to one who is Jewish by both
nationality and religion.” (Interpreters Dictionary) "In
the New Testament 'Jew' can designate both Jesus and many of his
followers, as well as some of his adversaries." (Oxford Guide to
People & Places) The Jewish parties in the New Testament are:
Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Herodians, and the Essenes. The
Synoptic Gospels name "Jesus' enemies as scribes and Pharisees,
high priests and Sadducees; the Gospel of John simply uses the
general term 'Jews.'" (Holman Bible Dictionary)
Comstock,
Jonathan F., "Continue,"
Sentinel, Vol.22 (July 1920), p. 907.
--If
there is one statement of Jesus that is fixed in my thought, more
than another it is, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my
disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free."
•
From the time I first attended a Christian Science church as a small
boy till now as a young man, I have read those words on the wall over
the Readers' desks, and now I find them a help to keep me in the
paths of righteousness.
---Many
times when I have desired, in the error of discouragement, to quit
some job or to stop short of accomplishment of some purpose, the word
"continue," has come to me and I have worked the harder to
do my task in proving that my consciousness is filled with good
thoughts to the exclusion of undesirable ones.
--To
continue means to abide or stay.
•
We may abide or stay in the truth; and this means to hold to what we
now know of Truth and reach out for more, which is progress.
Simpson,
Mary E., "Truth the Basis of True
Knowledge," Sentinel, Vol.21 (18 January
1919), p. 384.
--To
heal according to Christian Science, a spiritual understanding of the
Bible is necessary,--a spiritual understanding of creation,--and this
can be gained only by earnest, prayerful study of the Christian
Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy.
•
Through the study of this book and Mrs. Eddy's other writings, we
lose the belief in matter as substance, and find it to be simply
"another name for mortal mind" (Science and Health, p.591).
---A
sick patient is apt to regard a diseased member of his body, not as
thought externalized, but as something separate from his thought of
it; and this begets fear, which is the worst foe of the body, and
causes the disease to appear aggravated to mortal sense.
SECTION
IV: Jesus Heals the Woman with the Issue of Blood (Luke
8: 43-48)
PARALLEL
GOSPELS: Matt 9: 20-22; Mark 5: 25-34
TIME
LINE: The Year of Popularity and Fundamental Principles (Jesus' 2nd
year of ministry), 28 AD.
“On
the way to the house of Jairus a woman suffering from a hemorrhage
touches Jesus’ clothing hoping to be healed” (Eerdman’s
Commentary). Within the story of Jairus, “however, Luke, as
Matthew and Mark, inserts the episode of the healing of the women
with a [hemorrhage]. Lev 15: 25-30 tells how such a tribulation was
not merely a physical misfortune, but that it virtually excluded her
from her place within the people of God.” (Oxford Commentary)
"Judaism, as well as the other ancient Near East cultures,
considered a menstruant woman taboo." (Women in the NT)
Remember that Mark was written first, and this is a Markan technique
used previously.
The
healing of the woman with the issue (hemorrhage) is an example of the
way in which Jesus accepted imperfect faith in order to render it
perfect. Luke abbreviates Mark's account. For
one thing he fails to say that the woman had “spent all that
she had” on “many physicians” and that she “was
no better but rather grew worse.” (Eerdmans Commentary) "In
some [manuscripts it is] omitted altogether, as in Mt. 44."
(Peake's Commentary) "He also “omits the hemorrhaging
woman’s interior dialogue (‘If I touch even his
garments….’) in Mark and adds Jesus ‘perceiving in
himself that power had gone out of him,’ heightening the
narrative emphasis on Jesus’ prophetic knowledge.”
(Eerdmans Commentary)
"In
summary, Jesus saves (8:43-48) and gives life to the dead (8:49-56)."
(HarperCollins Bible Commentary)
"a
woman having an issue of blood"
The
woman was superstitious. "She is financially, physically, and
socially bankrupt." (Women in the New Testament) She thought
that a kind of magical virtue resided in Jesus’ body, ready to
flow out to heal without any act of will on his part, or any act of
faith on hers. All that she had to do was to touch, and in doing so
she was careful to touch that portion of his garment which to a Jew
was holiest--the tassel, which every Jew was required to wear on the
four corners of his cloak to remind him of Jehovah’s commands—a
reminder of Israel’s obligation to the law. But since there
was real faith mingled with her superstition, Jesus allowed her to be
healed, only calling her back afterwards to make her faith perfect.
"Not
only is she unclean, but her clothing, everything she touched, the
furniture she sits on and, of course, anyone who accidentally touches
her becomes unclean." (On Your Mark) By saying “Who
touched me?” and insisting on a full confession, he made it
clear to the woman and to others that he had healed her by his own
deliberate act, and was fully aware of all the circumstances of the
case.
Peter
(See
Section V below)
Bixby,
Flora A., "'Who touched me?,'"
Sentinel, Vol.31 (10 November 1928), p. 206.
--When
Jesus was on his way to heal the daughter of the ruler of the
synagogue, a great crowd followed him, pressing close upon him.
•
His disciples were surprised to have him ask, "Who touched me?"
---But
Jesus had felt the thought that had reached out to the Christ, Truth,
to be healed; and he called it out from the multitude.
--Before
we knew of the teachings of Christian Science, we believed that our
thoughts were our own, to do with as we liked. We allowed them to
wander in any direction, to include any imagination or fancy, or to
rest upon anyone without penalty or even detections.
•
Then we learned, as Christian Science teaches, that thoughts manifest
themselves in human affairs, and that we are as responsible for wrong
thinking as for wrong doing.
“The
Bible and Health-care Reform, ” Monitor (7
March 1994), p. 21.
--Christ
Jesus healed many people, and he did so without medication, without
examining bodily symptoms or ascertaining a sufferer's health
history.
--People
who came to Jesus for help found themselves inspired, purified,
spiritually reborn, as well as physically healed.
•
Healing was the effect of that spiritual cleansing and
renewal.
•
For example, Luke’s Gospel tells us that Jesus healed a woman
who had been bleeding for twelve years.
---She
had made her way through the crowd to touch just the edge of his
clothes and was healed.
•
Even though Jesus was on his way to another place where healing was
urgently needed, he stopped to be sure that this woman understood
what had, in fact, healed her.
---“Daughter,
be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole” (8:48).
Price,
Mrs. Naomi (CSB, Lecturer, President, and Associate Editor),
“Dominion over Blood Conditions,”
EDITORIAL, Sentinel, Vol.73 (15 May 1971), p. 859.
--Mrs.
Eddy writes, “The pallid invalid, whom you declare to be
wasting away with consumption of the blood, should be told that blood
never gave life and can never take it away, — that Life is
Spirit, and that there is more life and immortality in one good
motive and act, than in all the blood which ever flowed through
mortal veins and simulated a corporeal sense of life.” (S&H
376)
--Christian
Science maintains that man is not a material being but is wholly
spiritual.
--The
Bible relates the healing of a woman who had suffered from
hemorrhages for twelve years.
•
She touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes “and immediately
her issue of blood stanched.” (Luke 8:44)
---His
summary of the event was, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy
faith hath made thee whole,” thus showing that even disease
that has defied the skill of physicians will yield to the power of
the Christ, or Truth, that he revealed, when it is received into
human consciousness and accepted with faith.
--Christian
Science is based on the teaching of Christ Jesus and explains how the
same Principle of healing that he practiced may be demonstrated
today.
SECTION
V: Peter's Confession (Matt
16: 13-18)
PARALLEL
GOSPELS: Mark 8: 27-30; Luke 9: 18-21
TIME
LINE: The Year of Opposition and Development (Jesus' 3rd
year of ministry) near Caesarea-Philippi in the summer of 29 AD.
“Caesarea
Philippi is a district about twenty-five miles north of Galilee,
at the base of Mt. Hermon. It was different from the city of
Caesarea built by Herod the Great on the Mediterranean coast.”
(MacArthur Bible Commentary)
“[This
is] one of the most debated periscopes in [Matthew]. In [Mark] we
find the account of how the disciples for the first time recognize
Jesus as the Messiah; Peter speaks for them….” (Peake’s
Commentary) "Verse 20 suggests that it [Thou art the Christ]
was a conviction which they all now shared." (King James
Bible Commentary)
“All
Jesus’ previous activities in Galilee and the Gospel writers'
interpretations of him as teacher, healer, Messiah, and Son of God
come to a climax in Jesus’ dialogue with his disciples about
his identity ([Matt]16:13-20).” (Eerdmans Commentary)
Jesus'
"messianic claims had always alluded subtly to OT prophecies
[v.17 flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee] and been
substantiated with miraculous works." (MacArthur Bible
Commentary)
"The
primary function of this passage is to record the establishment of a
new community, one which will acknowledge Jesus' true identity and
thereby become the focus of God's activity in history." (Oxford
Commentary)
John
the Baptist, Elias, and Jeremias
Matt
16:14 "shows that public opinion placed our Lord on the highest
human pedestal by identifying Him with one of the national heroes of
the past, i.e., John the Baptist. Herod himself was a victim
of this particular superstition (see 14;2)….The coming of
Elijah (Elias) was prophesied by Malachi (Mal 4:5) and the Jews often
linked the name of Jeremiah with the prophet foretold in Deuteronomy
18:15." (King James Bible Commentary)
Simon
Bar-jona
[Si'muhn
Bahr jo' nuh]
(Abbreviated)
The
original name of this disciple was Simon. According to the Gospels,
Cephas was a Syrian surname given by Jesus to Simon (John 1:42),
meaning “rock.” The Greeks translated it by Petros, and
the Latins by Petrus; Jesus called him Peter.
He
was a native of Bethsaida (modern Golan
Heights of Syria), and his family probably lived at
Capernaum [on Lake Galilee].
They were fishermen "of the poorer class, since apparently they
did not even own a boat." (Oxford Guide to People & Places)
Living in the district of Galilee [modern
northern Israel] surrounded by Gentiles, Peter may have
spoken colloquial Greek, but his native language would be Aramaic and
his Galilean accent was quite obvious in Jerusalem at the trial of
Jesus. Both Peter and his brother Andrew were followers of John the
Baptist before knowing Jesus. “Peter was
married, because the Gospels mention that Jesus healed his
mother-in-law (Matt 8:14-15)" who lived in his house. “The
apostle Paul later mentioned that Peter took his wife on his
missionary travels (I Cor 9:5).” (Who Was Who in the
Bible) Peter’s house at Capernaum became the headquarters of
Jesus’ lakeside ministry, and Peter’s boat was
always at his disposal.
"Peter
is prominent in the Gospel of John, but he does not hold the
unrivaled position among the disciples which he does in the Synoptic
gospels." (Interpreter's Dictionary) “Peter’s
ardor, earnestness, courage, vigor, and impetuosity of disposition
marked him from the first as the leader of the disciples of Jesus”
(Westminster Dictionary). Peter is the first named in every list of
the twelve Apostles, and was apparently the strongest individual in
the group. “He was the natural spokesman of the apostolic band”
(Ibid). “With James and John, Peter
formed an inner circle of three, who alone were allowed to
accompany Jesus into the house for the raising of Jairus’
daughter, to witness the transfiguration,
and to share the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Peter was often the spokesman of the twelve and was their natural
leader.... He expressed the conviction of the twelve when he made his
great confession at Caesarea Philippi: ‘You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God.’ At once Jesus replied, ‘You
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of
death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven'…” (Who’s Who in the New
Testament)
Andreae,
Leslie Burn, "'Thou art the
Christ,'" Sentinel, Vol.49 (9 August 1947), p.
1368.
--Christ
Jesus never gave power to anything which had a material basis, even
though it professed to be good.
•
Spiritual sense must be awakened before the things of Spirit can be
understood.
--Whereas
orthodox theology generally has accepted the human personality of
Jesus as the Christ, Jesus always rebuked this false concept.
•
In contrast, he gladly welcomed Peter's declaration when in answer to
his inquiry, "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter replied, "Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
---The
Master commended Peter's spiritual sense in the words (Matt
16:15-17): "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven."
--In
rejecting "the illusions of the senses," which include the
error of belief that good has a material basis, let us gratefully
identify the saving spiritual idea as incorporeal, as "the
divine image and likeness," that we may better understand
Peter's immortal words, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God."
Eiland,
Eulalie, “Simon’s Reward,”
Journal, Vol.53 (August 1935), p. 274.
--Many
Bible students have marveled that Simon Bar-jona’s confession
of Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah should have rewarded him
with a new name, delivered to him the keys to the kingdom of heaven,
and established his works of loosing and binding.
--Simon
was given a new name.
--Peter’s
spiritual growth made him a stabilizing element or strong stone in
the church at Jerusalem; and in the ratio of their spiritual gain
will all keep step with him in opening prison doors, causing the lame
to walk, and raising the dead.
•
Such progressive workers are lively stones in the church which is
built on the great rock of Christ, against which the gates of hell
cannot prevail.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The
Bibliography is provided only in the notes of the first Sunday of
each month.
*The
weekly Lesson-Sermons are made up of selections from the King James
Version of the Bible and the Christian Science textbook, Science
and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, the
Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.
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