(46) The Book of John

A personal friend and Savior.

John, the "disciple whom Jesus loved", was a son of Zebedee and Salome.  He was a younger brother to another Apostle named James.  He was perhaps a cousin to Jesus Himself.  Jesus called him a son of thunder.  His Hebrew name of Yochanan means, God gives grace.  John is considered Jesus' closest companion, even though Peter stands out to be the one Jesus turns to when He starts the Church.  The book was written around 90 AD, probably from Ephesus.

Here are some interesting facts about the book:

• 90% of the book is unique
• This book shows more human emotions of Jesus than the rest
• There are more direct statements from Jesus on who He was
• Focuses on people's reactions to Jesus
• God is mentioned as the Father over 100 times
• Many of his themes are collected into groups of seven
• Each chapter shows Jesus in a different role as Savior
• There are less miracles, healings, and parables in this book than the rest
• 50% of the book is about Jesus' last days
• Has two chapters that tell what happens after the Resurrection
• Last verse was probably not written by John until after his own death, only verse in the Gospels that is first person view.

Who was John?  His father was Zebedee.  His mother was Salome.  His profession was a fisherman.  No only was that his job apparently they were prosperous at the job because scripture says he and his associates had hired help.  Maybe this prosperity gave him an attitude problem.  From some of the words we read about him, he and his brother, he was egotistical; thinking he and his brother should get to sit at the right hand of Jesus (Mark 10:35-41).  Even to ask such a question took chutzpah.  He was bold by thinking they could do the same things as Jesus like driving out demons.  He felt like he was given power and authority before it was actually given to him because he was going to "call down fire" upon people.  But after all of this within a few years of following Jesus, his heart was changed.  He would eventually become the most loved and the most faithful.  He stood by Jesus' side until the end.  He was there in the Garden.  He was there at the Cross.  And he was there at the Grave.  Jesus loved him so much that at His death He handed His own mother over to John to be cared for and watched over by him.  He must have done exactly what Jesus told him to do because after the first chapters of Acts  no one hears about him again until the Revelation. Tradition says that John died of old age.  If that is so he is the only one of the 12 who did.  For more on his life see:
http://ideasoftimbible.blogspot.com/search/label/John

What was his gospel about?  Jesus, the man.  It shows his feelings, emotions, and His his divinity at the same time.  It shows that His promise of eternal life is for everyone...who accepts it.

Why was it written?  So people who are looking for a personal relationship with God can find it.  This book is the simplest of them all to understand since it focuses on people's reaction to who Jesus was.  But unfortunately no one knows how to be in a relationship anymore since we are all viral and electronically motivated.  No one cares about relationships anymore.

(43) The Book of Matthew

The awaited Jewish Messiah has come.  Y'shua Ha Mashiach.

Matthew was one of the main 12 Apostles (emissary) of Jesus Christ.  He was the son of Alphaeus.  Some traditions say he was brother to James (the less).  His Jewish name is actually Mattityahu which means, "gift of Yahweh".  He also went by Levi.  God chose Matthew to write part of His Good News to give to the Jews.  Matthew wrote his inspired word around 65 AD which is about 30 years after the Resurrection of Christ.  He wrote this perhap sin the city of Anitoch.

Here are some interesting facts about the book:

• There are 1071 verses in the book.  Sixty (60) percent of these verses are spoken by Christ Himself.
• There are more than 130 quotes and references from the TaNaK (Old Testament), which is more than any other book.
• "Kingdom of Heaven" is mentioned 32 times.

Who was Matthew?  Matthew was a Jew that was hired by Rome to collect taxes.  His "office" was located on the main highway that ran from Damascus to Capernaum.  The taxes that he collected was for transportation, hence why he was on the highway.  His immediate boss was Herod Antipas.  So if he was a Jew who worked for Rome probably not many of his fellow citizens cared for him much.  Toll keepers had to pay up front for the rented space.  People would say they collected more than they were supposed to because it would help pay for the rent.  Matthew was probably not trusted by his fellow Jews.  So he was hated and wasn't trusted.  If you put these together you would find a man who would have low self-esteem.  In verse 10 of chapter 9, Matthew tells of the story of how Jesus came to eat with him and all of his fellow tax collectors and other "sinners".   Matthew puts into writing his own personality.  His self-esteem shines in his writing.  God uses this personality when he inspired him to write the Gospel.  God, through the life of Matthew, shows that all types of people can be used for His glory.  It doesn't matter where you come from or what others think about you, God knows your value and can uplift you to be a world mover.  Tradition says that Matthew died of martyrdom in Ethiopia.

Matthew starts out his book by giving a record of ancestry of Christ (from Joseph's family line).  His word can be trusted because being a tax collector he had to keep good records and have access to history since taxes were collected by where you were born as the same was with a census.  However, the book was written by category instead of chronologically.  It can be separated into his ancestry, his sermons, his disciples, his parables, the church, and his death.

What is his Gospel about?  Some of the most famous ideas of Christianity are explained in his book.  The Sermon on the Mount is perhaps Christianity in the short version.  Subjects ranking from attitudes to divorce and from loving enemies to worldly possessions are all in there.  All are still relevant to even today's times.  The beatitudes are outlined for us to understand how we should respond to the world.

But why was it written?  If one took time to read it completely they would see it is filled with promises of God being fulfilled in the coming of Christ.  See above where is says interesting facts.  Prophecies are being fulfilled with each chapter such as being called a son of David, king of the Jews.  Others like how he would enter into Jerusalem (triumphant entry) and how he would come into the earth are recorded for one reason.  This was done to show that Christ was the long-awaited for Messiah that the Jews were looking for.  In chapter 10 he reinstates that Jews were still God's chosen people.  But they had lost over the years their own identity by perverting His laws.  Jesus came to not only fulfill prophecy but also to set the law straight.  His parables mentioned in Matthew are all about the listener and to the one who should know better.  The Jewish person knew what the Messiah was going to be and if he was listening to what was happening he would understand that the Kingdom of Heaven had come.  You could call this book, the News to the Jews.

Unfortunately, not all of them listened.  And just as bad many do not listen today.  The word of God is out there.  People know it but refuse to listen.

(12) Paul

Life:
His name was Paul. His name was Saul. Paul was his Roman name. It comes form a family name of Paulus meaning "humble". Saul was the name Jewish people would have known him by. But the real translation in Hebrew is Sha'ul.

He was born in the Greek region known as Tarsus. He was also of course Jewish (Acts 22:3). And not only was he Jewish, he was in the top of his class. He calls himself a Pharisee among Pharisees. (Acts 26:4-8). Yet, he was Roman citizen (Acts 22:27). How could someone so devoutly given to Judaism also be a Roman citizen. Only by one of three ways 1) You could buy your way into it. 2) Do a great deed for Rome or 3) you were born into it. Paul was born into it. (Acts 22:8). But how was he born into it? By speculation his family must have done a great deed for Rome such as help their military. By profession he was a tent maker (Acts 18:3). If he like so many of the culture followed in his family's ways then his father and perhaps grandfather were tent makers as well. Maybe they built tents for the Roman army. His family is never mentioned. No one knows if he had children or even a wife. But there is hints to him being married at one time. (1 Corinthians 9:5). But probably by the time he was converted somehow he either lost his wife in death, by divorce, or they were just never together. Scripture says he was celibate because he was unmarried (at the time of the writing in 1 Corinthians 7:1-9). He also mentions how important it is to take care of the widow, which could be a hint that he was widowed himself. Since he was Greek, Jewish and Roman he undoubtedly knew all three languages and knew them well, which makes his writings even more intriguing.

Beliefs:
At first he was a Jew who hated Christianity. Being raised as a Jew, he probably did what was customary of his time; he left his home of Tarsus and went to study in Jerusalem at a young age, perhaps even as young as 13. He may have been mentored under the teacher Gamaliel, a famous teacher in the line of Jewish teachers called Hillel. (Acts 22:3) This Gamaliel has had rumors of becoming Christian himself by some historians. It would fit his character since he actually stood up for the Apostles in Acts 5:34-39

• 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.
• 35 Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
• 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
• 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
• 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
• 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

Paul was part of the Sanhedrin that Gamaliel was in charge of and may have heard this speech. He was later hired by the same Jewish council to find Christians and bring them to trial so they could execute them. He was well on his way to find Christians when Jesus came to him and changed his life and purpose.

Attitudes:
He was a very educated man. As already stated he learned from the Hillel and his training cause him to be very fluent with scripture (Galatians 1:14). He knew the Torah and Prophets like the back of his hand (Philp 3:4-6). At one time the man whom we have learned to love was filled with hate and violence (1 Timothy1:13) , which is probably why the council chose him to go after Christians: they knew he would do it! Paul gave orders to kill hundreds perhaps thousands of Christians. He was even there to see the first martyr of Christianity, Stephen. In fact he was the one who gave the order to stone him (Acts 8:1). However, this attitude did give him the edge when he had his transformation. His upbringing and zeal for Judaism was turned into an immovable object when it came to Christianity as well. He was bold. He didn't back down. One time he was stoned and left for dead and after he was helped back to his feet he ran back to those who stoned him (Acts 14:19-20) probably to argue some more.

His Life Changing Experience:
Acts 9 says it all.

• 1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest
• 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
• 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
• 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
• 5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied.
• 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
• 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
• 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
• 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
• 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
• 11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
• 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
• 13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
• 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
• 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
• 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
• 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
• 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
• 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
• 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
• 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?"
• 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
• 23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him,
• 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him.
• 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
• 26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.
• 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
• 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord

From here on he was a changed man.

His importance:
Paul was the one chosen by God to be the one to carry the message to the Gentile. All of the others were mostly for those who had heard Judaism and tried to convert them. But Paul, even though he always wanted to try and convert his fellow Jews, was not picked for that calling. He was chosen to go to far away places deep into the enemy's territory; Rome, the pagan among pagans. It is there we will meet his maker. It is there he will be called home. But not until he had ran the race and wrote most of what we know as the New Testament. It is mostly accepted that Paul was beheaded by an anti-Christ figure, Nero. Josephus claims that when Paul was led to the chopping block, he did not go with resistance. He writes that when Paul saw the actual place where he was to be beheaded, he broke free from the Roman guards and ran to the block. He placed his head down and waited. It is thought that without a doubt he preached all the way while he was running. Paul is a symbol of what it means to persevere.

One thing we all need to understand and remember, Paul was not perfect. We all say I wish I had the faith of Paul but sometimes you may not want to be like him. He suffered with his own insecurities. His sin tormented him. His past caught up to him many times. God put a "thorn" in his side to remind him of his job and his cross he had to bear. But one thing we never study for some reason and so many never think about it is Paul struggled with the same things we do. He couldn't stand the fact that he had troubles like you and me. Romans 7:15

• 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do...I do not do, but what I hate...I do.

Paul sinned just like you and me.

(11) John

Life:

His name was John. The Hebrew translation is Yochanan which means "God gives grace".

He had a brother named James and together they are known as the sons of Thunder. There is some speculation that he may have been a cousin of Jesus but that can not be confirmed. His father's name was Zebedee and his mother's name was Salome. John, James, Zebedee, Andrew and Peter were all co-workers in the same fishing area (Luke 5:10, Mark 1:20). And since it says they had hired help apparently their work was prosperous. Later on his life though he may have stayed in the city of Jerusalem due to the fact that he was charged by Jesus to look after his mother (John 19:25-27). He replaced Jesus in the family. His brother James was the first of the Apostles to die of martyrdom around 42 AD. Peter was arrested around the same time. These two events meant John would have to watch Mary all by himself.

Beliefs:

Nothing is really said about his belief but being associated with Andrew who followed John the Baptist it's a small doubt he was hearing some stories from Andrew about the coming Messiah.

Attitudes:

John had a little bit of an ego problem. There are a couple of passages that shows he would ask to get special treatment simply because of who he was or what he was associated with. Mark 9:38 and Mark 10:35-41

• 9:38, "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us."
• 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask."
• 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
• 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."
• 38 "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"
• 39 "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
• 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared."
• 41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.

These bold statements show how much ego he had. To actually ask the Christ to be able to take such an important chair in heaven shows a lot of chutzpah to say the least. Not many other quotes from John or other major stories about him are recorded. He has a few appearances in Acts but all of them are with Peter. After the 8th chapter of Acts we do not hear about him ever again by any other writer except once by Paul in Galatians. This date was probably around 35 AD.

His Life Changing Experience:

When Jesus took three people with Him to a high mountain, He chose Peter, James and John; a loud mouth and two sons of thunder. When they got to the top of the mountain Jesus' appearance changed right before their eyes. Jesus was met in the air with Elijah and Moses. They all three were terrified and fell down before Him. Jesus told them not to be afraid and NOT TO TELL ANYONE. Again He took with him a loud mouth and two sons of thunder (noise makers) and told them not to tell anyone. How hard it must have been for these three to keep their mouth shut. From here on out until the Resurrection John is mentioned more and he picks up a nickname: the Disciple whom Jesus loved.

His importance:

Now of course this next part of the story will be a little fabricated because no one knows exactly what John went through in his last few years but the implications were fabulous. Most scholars would say that John was last of the Apostles to die. Most would say that he died an old man around 90. Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. John went on to Ephesus to live and where tradition says he would die after his imprisonment. Scripture says he was on the island of Patmos, a prison, when he got his Revelation and his Gospel visions to write. But consider this: most people think that since John lived the longest and died of natural causes that God must have loved him more than the rest. Now it does say that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. But John lived until he was at least 90...in prison, with hard labor, alone. All the other Apostles that he knew had died long ago. Not only died but got to die for Jesus' name. He had no one left to help him. One can envisioned him crying out to God, "why can't I die for you?", "why am I left here alone?". Where was John's glory? He took care of Mary for Jesus. He was the closest to Jesus. All the others got to travel and spread the news, dying for the greatest cause of mankind. But John? He died alone. No glory in this life. No doubt Jesus loved John the most. No doubt he left John here not to receive glory upon the earth but maybe John did get that seat next to Christ like he asked for. John's glory was not here on earth. His was to be one of the greatest in heaven. All because he was the most faithful companion out of all them (John 19:25-27). John was a man revolutionized by God's love.

(10) Timothy

Life:

His name was Timothy which is Hebrew. The Greek translation is Timotheos and means "honoring God".

 

He was from a place called Lystra, which was in what we know as Turkey. This is where his mentor of faith, Paul, first meets him. This meeting may perhaps may have set his life in motion and caused him more suffering, yet more honor, than anything else in his life. Timothy's family is mentioned in the New Testament. It is said that he had a mother and grandmother of Jewish faith and his father was Greek. Nothing else is known about his father. Many think he was dead by the time he met Paul. This is probably why Paul took him under his wing so easily.

Beliefs:

Apparently Timothy in his younger days followed in his father's culture because it is said that he was uncircumcised and if he followed Jewish custom this would have happened in the 8th day of his life. But it seems as though he started to follow his Jewish roots as he was grew a little older. The women in his family influenced him from birth. Paul circumcised him personally. Which is another reason to believe that his father had died.

Attitudes:

Here is where Timothy's story comes in to play. He was young, compared to Paul (1 Timothy 4:12). When Paul calls him this it is around 64 AD and this had been 20 years after Paul had picked him up as a companion. He was respected in his community. He was compassionate (Philippians 2:20-22) and committed to his work (Hebrews 13:23-24). But he was timid at times and showed some fear for Paul had to remind him not to be like that (2 Timothy 1:6-7). The question is why was he in fear. This fear may have been a cause of his sickness that Paul mentions (1 Timothy 5:23). Somewhere along his life he had developed an attitude that needed strengthening. And in the end he made it. Timothy may have been the last face of a companion that Paul saw before his execution. Timothy may have stayed with him until the end.

 

His Life Changing Experience:

Back in Lystra, when Timothy was still with his grandmother and mother, he may have seen something that scared his young mind. In Acts 16 Paul meets up with Timothy and takes him under his wing. But it's probably not the first time Timothy saw Paul. In Acts 14 Paul goes to Lystra and preaches but some of the Jewish faith (Timothy's own people) found Paul and stoned him so much that they thought he was dead. This could be anywhere from 5-10 years earlier than when Paul takes Timothy as his student and son in the faith. Timothy may have seen this stoning with his own eyes. Paul was stoned for his faith and now wants Timothy to travel with him, and at such a young age, 20 years earlier than when Paul actually calls him young. Maybe his sickness and his timidity started here when he witnessed what his future may have to be if he followed this man. This may have haunted him his whole life.

 

His Importance:

Timothy at the first stage of his life was a man with a shadow. He had a history darkened by one event. Later in life he becomes an emissary, an apostle if you will (1 Thessalonians 2:6). He becomes a church leader, the lead pastor, but not the preacher (1 Timothy 1:3-4). And because of his calling, Paul tells the NT Church what to look for in leaders. Some historians have him living from 17-80 AD. If that is the case, then he met Paul when he was around 25 but may have witnessed the stoning at the age of 15. History and the Roman Catholic Church will name him the 1st Bishop of Ephesus. Tradition says he was trying to break up a pagan ritual where they stopped him, dragged him through the street and, yes, stoned him to death, making him a martyr and instead of a man with a shadow he became a man with a reason!

(9) Peter

Life:
His Hebrew name was Shim'om Bar Yochanan, which means Simon son of John in English, or if we want to get modern, Simon Johnson. Jesus changed Shim'on's name to Kefa. This is translated into Greek as Cephus and in Latin as Petros. This is where we get Peter. All of those names mean "rock".

He was born in the town of Bethsaida, lived in a town called Capernaum, but worked in an area called Galilee. Which is odd because he may have known Jesus for 25-30 years living so close to him. He had a brother named Andrew. He was married (Mark 1:29-31). But she is never mentioned, so we do not know if she was still alive or not. His occupation was a fisherman. And that of which he may have been quite successful since he had his own employees (Luke 5:2-10). He was not highly educated. (Acts 4:13) This will cause many to believe that he did not write the 1st book of Peter due to the sophistication of the writing. Technically they are probably correct. It was hand written by Silas (1 Peter 5:12) but it was dictated by Peter, which should be sufficient enough.

Beliefs:
He was not a follower of Christ at first. He was one of the few that had been listening to John the Baptist occasionally (John 1:35-42) but he wasn't easily convinced. It took a lot of events to seriously change his mind. Since he had heard John the Baptist, he knew of what the Messiah was going to be but he probably never knew it would happen in his life time.

Attitudes:
The first thing we see from Peter is that he was outspoken. This comes across every time we read about him (Mark 8:29-33). At times he sounded like a smart mouth who needed to be put in his place. He acted on impulse. This caused him to be very inconsistent with his thoughts and actions. Just when you think he understood the meaning of his life he does something stupid and it leaves you wondering why he did what he did. (Mark 8:27-33, 14:27-31).


His Life Changing Experience:

Peter's brother was Andrew and was apparently a follower of John the Baptist. Andrew had been listening to John who had this important message: the Messiah is coming. Andrew knew of the Messiah's coming and was waiting. Peter had other things to do like run his business. Even when Christ was told about to Peter by Andrew we can see he still didn't believe until this life changing experience. Christ once told Peter after a bad night of fishing to go back out and try again. Peter, even though knew this was Jesus who Andrew had told him about, didn't want to do it. Most people think he was just obeying the Christ. But listen to what you read in Luke 5:3-9

• 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
• 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
• 5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
• 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
• 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
• 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"
• 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,

If Peter was just following the Master's command and believed, then why would he fall at the knees of Jesus after the catch? It is not until he sees this miracle that he starts to believe. Verse 5 shows the smart mouth side of him. He's not saying, "because I believe I will do it". He is saying in a sarcastic response, "Because you o' mighty one (yeah right) tell me to then by all means let's do it". He was astonished at what he saw. And then he fell to his knees and realized who was in his presence. But even then he will revert to his old self time and time again.

His Importance:

Peter will become the leader of the group. He at first becomes part of Jesus' small group (the 12). He will become part of Jesus' inner circle (the three: James, John and Peter). And he will become the Rock that Jesus restores and calls on to be the leader of his church. Historically the Roman Catholic Church will bestow upon him the title of the first Pope. He was a man who no one expected to be the man he ended up being. Simon, the smart mouth fisherman from Galilee becomes the Rock, messenger of the Almighty God.