The words of Jesus in modern verse
paraphrased and annotated by Donivan Bessinger
Numbers in parentheses refer to line numbers.
[Information on sources and other notation.]
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31. The dynamics of good
a (1-2) Mt 7-12; Lk
6:31. The teaching at c below is commonly referred to as the ‘Great
Commandment’, q. Deut 6:5 and Lev. 19:18 of the Torah (The Law). Yet
this Golden Rule ‘IS’ (estin, < eimi/1510, ‘to
be’) The Law and the Prophets.
Both teachings distill to the same
essence. [The Law (Torah), The
Prophets (Nebim) and The Holy Writings (Ketubim – Psalms, etc.)
constitute the Hebrew Scriptures (the Tanakh).]
b (3-4) Di/GP 29
c (5-20) Mt 22:37-40;
Mk 12:29-32; Lk 10:26-28
(15) hinge <
kremannumi/2910: hang, suspend
d (19-21) Lk 11:28,
after a woman called, `Happy (< makarios/3107) are the womb that bore you
and the breasts which nursed you.'
e (22) Mk 11:22.
`Have faith (pistis/4102) in God.'
32. The dynamics of evil
a (1-15) Mt 12:34-36;
Lk 6:45
(4,7)
treasure < thEsarou/2344
b (16-29) Mt
12:43-45; Lk 11:24-26
(22) re
`house' see notes S-68n and S-109n.
33. Good Samaritan. Lk 10:29-37.
Follows S- 31:4-19
a (9) Levite: a
member of the priestly class in the Temple
b (12) Samaritan: one
of a despised ethnic minority, from the area between Galilee and Judea.
34. Observing the sabbath
a (1-22) Mt
12:3-8; Mk 2:25-28; Lk 6:3-5
b (16) )
q. Hosea 6:6. See also S-13a
c
(20) Image-of-God,
lit. `son-of-man'
d (21-31) Mt 12:9-12;
Mk 3:3-4; Lk 14:5
(28) cf Lk 6:9
e (32-43) Lk 13:12-16
(32) woman: a
title of respect, by which J. addressed his mother, S- 118:73
(34) disability:
joint contractures, keeping her bent over and unable to stand.
(39) Abraham’s
daughter, i.e., this Hebrew woman.
35. Handwashing
a (1-30) Mt 15:3-11;
Mk 7:9-15
(1) Beautiful!
< kalws/2573 (adv.) beautifully, nobly, well [said], reading Mk 7:9
ironically: “What a question!”. Exclamations added; there was no punctuation in
Gk mss.
b (5) q. Ex 20:12; Dt
5:16
c (7) q. Ex 21:17; Lv
20:9
d 18-23) q. Is. 29:13
e (28-41) Mt
15:15-20; Mk 7:17-23
f (43-48) Mt
15:12-14.
36. Bathing Jesus' feet. Lk 7:41-50; J. begins,
`Simon [the host, a Pharisee], I
have something to say to you.'
Traditionally, the woman is assumed to be Mary Magdalene.
a (2-3) dollars,
lit: denarii (500 and 50); one denarios was about a day's wage.
b (17) released from <
aphiEmi/0863; re sin: Here there is an interesting word association, at least
for a surgeon, between hamartoma, a bizarre embryonic tumor, and hamartEma
(< hamartanw/0264: `to miss the mark'), the word here for sin or evil deed.
Both the `sinful tumor' (`-oma' = tumor or swelling) and the sinful act are
distortions of the natural order, rather than a breaking of some arbitrary
rules. To be released from such a sin is to be brought back into alignment with
natural order, and Jesus says it is a process related to loving greatly.
(18) love <
agapaw/0025: to love devotedly and unconditionally.
(19) forgiven <
aphiEmi/0863.
c (21) KJV: thy faith
hath saved thee. BRY gives character as a metaphorical meaning of
pistis/4102: faith, a word related to pistikos/4101: faithful, pure, genuine.
In her "sincere faithfulness", the woman was being true to that
personal core which is pure and genuine, the essential quality, that which is
most real about the person. To be pure of character is to be true to one's
genuine self, not to ego. The woman's release derived from her responding to
Jesus (true self = divine Image) in the depths of her being with devoted and
unconditional love. That is the psychological basis for the `natural order' of
human wholeness. That, rather than theological belief, is what Jesus' teaching,
and true religion, are really about.
(22) made whole < swzw/4982: make whole,
heal, save, rescue, deliver; see also S-60n, and S-87n.
37. Sign from heaven?
a (1-9) Mt 16:1-3;
Lk 12:54-56
b (10-36) Mt
12:38-42; Lk 11:29-32
(10-13)
Mt 16:1-4; cf. Mt 12:39; Mk 8:12-13
c (16) or:
Image-of-God will be; lit: son of man
d (23) lit: son
of man will be
38. Religious establishment. Mt 23. Parallels are dispersed throughout the other gospels.
Please review the commentary on the relations
between J and religious leaders. [D]
a (7) RSV: `lawyers',
Lk 11:46; Mt says `scribes and Pharisees'
b (14-20) cf Mk
12:38-38
(16) oversize
symbols - broad phylacteries,
Mt 23:5
(17) robes (Mk and Lk
20:46); long fringes (Mt)
(18) shopping
malls < agora/0058: marketplace; public square
c (20) Teacher
- Rabbi
(24) same
rank - RSV: you are all
brethren
d (31) Christos/5547
means anointed one
e (38) The sound of
oyai/3759 gives its meaning better than the definition: Woe! or Alas!
(40) widows’
pensions - RSV: devour widows' houses, Mk 12:40, Lk 20:47
f (45) Lk 11:52
g (64) blind fools
- mwroi (< mwros/3475: stupid, foolish ones, `morons') kai (and) typhloi
(< typhlos/5185: blind people; but the word also means mentally dull). Some
mss omit `mwroi kai', perhaps to avoid an apparent conflict with S-22:25, where
the same word is used.
(75) same Gk as
line 64.
h (91) cf Lk 11:42
(92) <
krisis/2920; Mt 23:23 has `mercy and faith'
i (99-109) cf
Lk 11:31-41. Lk introduces this as a response to a Pharisee's objection when
Jesus did not ritually wash before eating. Mt places it in the longer context
of this passage.
j (103) Lk 11:40;
fools < aphrwn/0878
k (115-117) Lk 11:44
l (118-127) cf Lk
11:47-48. The logic here hinges on the belief of Jesus' time that a father's
guilt is passed to the sons.
m (126) accounts <
metron/3358: measure; measuring instrument.
n (131) Lk 11:49
o (139-147) cf
Lk 11:49-51. This reading is tentative. `Accounts' and `ledger' are
interpretations of metron, above. There is a hint of karmic logic here: We and
our children are trapped in the webs of evil we weave ourselves.
p (148-164) Mt
23:37-39; Lk 13:34-35
q (156) biddy: baby
chicken (colloq).
39. Syrophoenician woman. Mt
15:24-28; Mk 7:27-30. Since the
woman was a Gentile from the coastal region, this is a scathing ethnic comment.
The woman, in her gentleness, must minister to J. before he can respond to her
need.
40. Stumbling blocks
a (1-3) Mt 18:5
b (4-20) Mt 18:6-9;
Mk 9:42-48; cf Lk 17:2
c (6) KJV: offend one
of these little ones which believe in me; < skandalizw/4624: to take offense
at or fall away from.
d (12) < skandalon/4625:
stumbling block, offense, obstacle, snare (THR)
e (14-15) cf. Lk 17:1
f (18) S-22.h, re:
removing offending hand or eye, is repeated here.
g (19) sacrifice <
thusia/2378
h (20) fire < pyr/4442;
Mk adds `where worm dies not'
i (21-27) Mk 9:49-50,
incorporating phrases not in all manuscripts; see GP p. 98. This is widely
acknowledged to be a difficult passage, and there are varying interpretations.
Perhaps one of its meanings is, react to life's obstacles without causing
obstacles to others, but accept them as `seasoning' or `conditioning' for your
own spiritual quest. Season < halizw/0233: to salt, season,
condition, preserve.
j (22) salt <
halas/0217. A related word is halieuw/0232: to fish. These evoke an image of
salty sea, an archetypal symbol for the unconscious psyche. Also, recall that salt
is essential for life, and much of the salt in Palestine came from the `Dead'
Sea. Thus this saying might hint of a life from death motif, i.e., turning
“dead” or unsatisfactory life into savory life.
k (26) The meat
sacrificed in the Temple was intended to be eaten, after being divided between
the priests and the family who donated it. At least part of the meaning here
seems to relate to living life as a holy offering.
l (28-33) Mt
18:10-11.
m (30-33) souls,
poetic interpretation of aggelos/0032: angel; see through everything
< dia pantos; dia/1223, pantos < pas/3956. RSV: in heaven their angels
always behold.
41. Forgiveness. Mt 18:15-20
a (1-4) cf. Lk 17:3
b (11) assembly <
ekklesia/1577
c (13) outsider,
RSV: as Gentile and tax collector
d (19-20) cf S-79:19-24. Note the idea of the unity of the spiritual
(unconscious psyche) and spacetime realms.
42. Mary and Martha Lk
10:38-42. In the Gk there is a play on words: merimnas/3308 (Martha's anxiety)
connotes dividing or distracting the mind among various meridas (<
meris/3310: part, division, share, portion).
a (4) upset <
turbazi/5182: agitated.
43. At the marriage feast
a (1-27) Lk 14:8-14
b (27) lit: in the
resurrection of the righteous
c (28-62 Mt 22:1-9;
Lk 14:15-24. Mt: wedding feast for the kings son; Lk: a banquet
d (47) In Mt: some
attacked the servants, abused them, and killed them.
e (63-68) Mt 22:10.
44. Friend at midnight. Lk
11:5-13
a (19) kept after
him < anaideia/0335: impudence, shamelessness, importunity (RSV).
b (20-27) cf. S-25.e, f.
c (28-40) cf. Mt
7:9-11.
45. An atrocity. Lk 13:1-5. Apparently, some Galileans had been murdered during religious ceremonies (RSV: `those whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.')
46. Barren fig tree. Lk 13:6-9.
47. Prodigal son. Lk 15:11-32
a (16) saw himself as he
really was, lit. having come to himself.
48. The Steward. Lk 16:1-13. This is a difficult parable,
for the narrative is very sketchy on important details of the transactions.
This is usually labeled the parable of the dishonest or unjust steward.
However, the wasting (a, diaskorpizon/1287) implies carelessness
or scattering rather than dishonesty, and that colors the reading of the
steward's later actions. When he called in the debtors to have them change the
amounts on the bills (b, line 17), what was he doing?
If he were defrauding his employer, the employer was being sarcastic in
praising him for his `shrewdness' (RSV), unless we are to believe that the
story commends a dishonest act. However, if the steward were negotiating
payment of otherwise uncollectable debts, he was (for a change) being `prudent'
< phronimos/5429, whose root connotes judgment and thinking. In that
reading, the story is more coherent, and gives more support to the points Jesus
is making.
A
problem with this reading is verse 8 (c, line 31), where the steward is
called adikos/0094, conventionally translated `unrighteous'. However, in verse
10 (f, line 41) adikos clearly is opposed to pistos/4103 (trustworthy;
see BRY) instead of, as is more common, dikaios/1342 (righteous). Regarding the
general difficulties with this parable, see PHL appendix note 4.
a (3) wasting <
diaskorpizwn/1287 (see paragraph
above)
b (17) see
above
c (31) untrustworthy
< adikias/0094
d (32) prudent
< phronimos/5429
e (40) when
you fail < ekleipw/1587: fail,
cease, die. This is the root word
for the English eclipse (as when the light of the sun fails). The accepted translation is to die, but
ekleipw means to die only in an indirect or poetic sense (as in “fade
away”). Perhaps the meaning is that friendships made in the business world can
stand you in good stead when your own business fails, and your circumstances
become like the hapless debtors of the parable. That interpretation acknowledges that true friendship
belongs to the eternal realm, and it removes the implied conflict with the
lines at g below.
f (41) < pistos/4103: faithful,
trustworthy
g (57-64) see
also S-24.g
h (65) Response to
some Pharisees, ‘who are philargyroi (lovers of silver)’, who
objected (Lk 16:14).
49. Rich man and Lazarus. Lk 16:19-31.
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Introduction
Commentary, Sources