A Sandwich from God. Bread/Epilogue: I surrender

This is the final portion of the sandwich God gave me when I asked him for a word. 

In my last account, this final song that God gave me was so unexpected that I had to pay close attention to the third song. 

The final song is last portion of the chiastic playlist God gave me. It began with Mighty to Save and it closes with Mighty to Save. 

This playlist of mine has 60 songs and I do not have duplicates except for Mighty to Save, one by Hillsong and one by a female vocalist. 

What are the odds that the only song duplicated, is both played? I don’t know how to calculate the probability to it, but I believe it is very slim. 

Mighty to Save - Laura Story

Everyone needs compassion 

A love that's never failing 

But let mercy fall on me 

Well, everyone needs forgiveness 

The kindness of a Savior 

The hope of nations 

My Savior He can move the mountains 

My God is Mighty to save 

He is Mighty to save 

Forever Author of salvation 

He rose and conquered the grave 

Jesus conquered the grave 

So take me as You find me 

All my fears and failures 

And fill my life again 

I give my life to follow 

Everything I believe in 

And now I surrender (I surrender) 

Shine your light and let the whole world see 

We're singing for the glory of the risen King 

Jesus, Shine your light and let the whole world see 

We're singing for the glory of the risen King 

Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Reuben Morgan Mighty to Save lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

All to you I surrender Lord. I surrender. 

pearlie

A Sandwich from God. Filling/Part 2: I firmly stand in the power of Christ

When I received the second song to the sandwich, I thought that was it. But l let my phone continue to play and this was the next song. 

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found 

He is my light, my strength, my song 

This cornerstone, this solid ground, 

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. 

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease! 

My comforter, my all in all 

Here in the love of Christ I stand. 

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh, 

Fullness of God in helpless babe! 

This gift of love and righteousness, 

Scorned by the ones He came to save. 

'Til on that cross as Jesus died, 

The wrath of God was satisfied 

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid 

Here in the death of Christ I live. 

There in the ground His body lay, 

Light of the world by darkness slain 

Then bursting forth in glorious day, 

Up from the grave He rose again! 

And as He stands in victory, 

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me 

For I am His and He is mine 

Bought with the precious blood of Christ. 

No guilt in life, no fear in death 

This is the pow'r of Christ in me 

From life's first cry to final breath, 

Jesus commands my destiny. 

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, 

Can ever pluck me from His hand 

'Til He returns or calls me home 

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand. 

Songwriters: Andrew Shawn Craig / Donald A. Koch In Christ Alone lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group 

I wasn’t really listening to it and when the song finished, I let it continue playing. But what was next played surprised me so much that I have to now pay attention now. I need to look into the words of In Christ Alone. 

I know you are curious about the next song but I will only talk about it tomorrow. I am still on the central message of what God wants to tell me. 

In my life, I do rely and depend on a lot of things for meaning and purpose of life but they are nothing in the presence of God. 

It is only in Christ that my hope is found. And no power of hell nor schemes of man can ever pluck me from his hand. 

It is in the power of Christ that I stand, every minute, every hour, every moment of my life. 

Amen. 

pearlie

A Sandwich from God. Filling/Part 1: You hem me in behind and before

I was talking about how God gave me a sandwich yesterday when I asked for a word from him. 

As the first song—the bread—was about to come to an end, I tapped on repeat. But I felt an urging to let it play on. And so I did. 

And this song was played. 

Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)

You hear me when I call 

You are my morning song 

Though darkness fills the night 

It cannot hide the light 

Whom shall I fear 

You crush the enemy 

Underneath my feet 

You are my sword and shield 

Though troubles linger still 

Whom shall I fear 

I know who goes before me 

I know who stands behind 

The God of angel armies 

Is always by my side 

The one who reigns forever 

He is a friend of mine 

The God of angel armies 

Is always by my side

My strength is in your name 

For you alone can save 

You will deliver me 

Yours is the victory 

Whom shall I fear 

Whom shall I fear 

And nothing formed against me shall stand 

You hold the whole world in your hands 

I'm holding on to your promises 

You are faithful 

You are faithful 

Songwriters: Chris Tomlin / Ed Cash / Scott Cash Whom Shall I Fear lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Music Services, Inc

Even though I have this in my playlist, I was not familiar with it. But as I listened to it, I was strengthened. 

I was taught and ministered by Sunday’s sermon on Psalm 139 and the words in this song reaffirms that he hems me in behind and before. 

O God, nothing formed against me will stand. You hold the whole world in your hands. I will hold on to your promises. You are faithful. 

My story will continue tomorrow. 

pearlie

A Sandwich from God. Bread/Prologue: All My Fears and Failures

I asked the Lord for a word from him today. I really needed it: his presence, his faithfulness, his strength, his assurance. 

He gave me more than a word. 

He gave me a sandwich. 

I have always loved the chiasm literary device. A chiastic structure is one where the central message is in the middle sandwiched by passages before and after. 

I have a playlist of gospel songs and in asking for a word from him, I hit Shuffle and my phone plays Hillsong’s Mighty to Save. 

I felt this is not a coincidence but really a song God is giving me because I have been ministered by it a couple of days ago. It’s like him reminding me, “didn’t I tell you already.”

Mighty to Save 

Well, everyone needs compassion 

A love that's never failing 

But let mercy fall on me 

Well, everyone needs forgiveness 

The kindness of a Savior 

The hope of nations 

My Savior He can move the mountains 

My God is Mighty to save 

He is Mighty to save 

Forever Author of salvation 

He rose and conquered the grave 

Jesus conquered the grave 

So take me as You find me 

All my fears and failures 

And fill my life again 

I give my life to follow 

Everything I believe in 

And now I surrender (I surrender) 

Shine your light and let the whole world see 

We're singing for the glory of the risen King 

Jesus, Shine your light and let the whole world see 

We're singing for the glory of the risen King 

Songwriters: Ben Fielding / Reuben Morgan Mighty to Save lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group

My prayer is that O Lord, in all my fears and failures, please fill my life with you, you are mighty to save and deliver me. You have and you will. 

This is the bread of the sandwich. Tune in as I write about the filling tomorrow. 

pearlie

A church: sharing what we have in common

I was all into chiasms when I was studying (part time) in a seminary. I would always try to see if there were chiastic structures in the bible passages I studied. A chiasm is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism. 

So when today's sermon by Matthew Bellville began with a look into the chiastic structure Acts 2:41-47, I was quite enthused. The passage is about the early believers forming a community, a church. And with the chiastic structure, the focus of the passage is in v.44.

Acts 2:41-47 NLT 

[41] Those who believed what Peter said 

were baptized and added to the church 

that day-about 3,000 in all.

      [42] All the believers devoted 

      themselves to the apostles' 

      teaching, and to fellowship, and 

      to sharing in meals (including the 

      Lord's Supper), and to prayer.

           [43] A deep sense of awe came over 

           them all, and the apostles 

           performed many miraculous signs 

           and wonders.

                  [44] And all the believers met 

                  together in one place and 

                  shared everything they had.

           [45] They sold their property and 

           possessions and shared the money 

           with those in need.

       [46] They worshiped together at the 

       Temple each day, met  in homes for 

       the Lord's Supper, and shared their 

       meals with great joy and generosity-

[47] all the while praising God and 

enjoying the goodwill of all the people. 

And each day the Lord added to their 

fellowship those who were being saved.

The speaker highlighted that there the original Greek in v.44 do not have the word "everything" in it and the more literal translation of "all in common" implies that they shared what they have in common, beyond the materialistic things. They shared what is common in their one faith, one Lord, one Ruler, one future, one hope, one law keeper.

Acts 2:44

πάντες δὲ οἱ         πιστεύσαντες     ἐπὶ

all        moreover   having believed (were) together 

τὸ  αὐτὸ  εἶχον   ἅπαντα κοινά.

the same having all          in common.

And what they had been doing and what we should be doing in church and out of church are the four devotions we have in common as listed in v.42:

1. Apostolic teaching

2. Fellowship

3. Sharing of meals

4. Prayer, in hope and in confession

And with this, it lessens the emphasis we usually pay to v.45, where according to the NIV Study Bible, it is "not communalism or communism since this giving is voluntary (5:4) and since people still retain personal possessions like homes (12:12; 17:5) and property (4:37). A better analogy is that the church views itself as a family, and healthy families take care of their own."

I like the what it says of the church, "a family, and healthy families take care of their own."

pearlie

A church without the Holy Spirit. Possible?

What would a church without the Holy Spirit look like? Is that even possible, a church without the Spirit? It is indeed possible. And to find out how, it would be good and useful to look into the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2-3.

I checked James M. Hamilton's preaching commentary on the book of Revelation and he suggested that the seven churches were presented by the author John in a chiasm. Ah...I have not heard or talked about that in a really, really, long, long time. It was and still is one of my favourite subject.

If you check Wikipedia, "chiasmus (Latin term from Greek χίασμα, "crossing", from the Greek χιάζω, chiázō, "to shape like the letter Χ") is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism. Chiasmus was particularly popular in the literature of the ancient world, including Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, where it was used to articulate the balance of order within the text."

As in the seven letters as a chiasm structure below by Hamilton, the center and crux of the passage, where there is usually just one, appears to be a threesome of C1, C2 and C3. (He uses the analogy of a picture frame to describe the structure of a chiasm.)

A. Revelation 2:1–7, to the church in Ephesus, which has lost its first love. Think of the letter to Ephesus as the wooden border of the frame on one side.

B. Revelation 2:8–11, to the church in Smyrna, which is commended for its faithfulness, not reproved, and not called to repentance. Think of the letter to Smyrna as the mat on one side of the frame.

C1. Revelation 2:12–17, to the church in Pergamum, which has people who hold to false teaching, eat food sacrificed to idols, and practice sexual immorality. Think of the letter to Pergamum as one side of the picture that is matted and framed.

C2. Revelation 2:18–29, to the church in Thyatira, which seems worse off than the church in Pergamum because it tolerates a false prophetess who seduces people to practice sexual immorality, eat food sacrificed to idols, and is unrepentant! Think of the letter to Thyatira as the middle of the picture that is matted and framed.

C3. Revelation 3:1–6, to the church in Sardis, which is worse than both Pergamum and Thyatira because it is dead. Think of the letter to Sardis as the other side of the framed and matted picture.

B`. Revelation 3:7–13, to the church in Philadelphia, which like the church in Smyrna is commended for its faithfulness, not reproved, and not called to repentance. Think of the letter to Philadelphia as the other side of the mat.

A`. Revelation 3:14–22, to the church in Laodicea, which like Ephesus has lost its first love and is now lukewarm. Think of the letter to Laodicea as the other wooden border on the far side of the frame.

It is interesting to see that the church in A and A` has complacency as their problem and Jesus wants Ephesus to return to their first love and Laodicea to be zealous and repent. The church in B and B` are the only 2 churches not reproved. And the three churches in section C goes from bad to worse. Pergamum has false teachings. Thyatira not only has false teachings but they are teachings that have already borne bad fruits.  And the worst of the lot is Sardis: it is dead. And that is where false teachings lead to--death. 

Hamilton says, "For the glory of God, Jesus calls these churches to reject this false teaching, hold fast to the gospel, and live in a way that corresponds with the gospel rather than in ways that correspond with false teaching."

Let us all be warned. Hamilton asks these very pertinent questions, "Is your first love still flaming, or are you lukewarm? Are you ready to be faithful unto death like those in Smyrna, holding fast and not denying the name of Jesus, like those in Philadelphia? Or are you more like the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, not so concerned about sound doctrine, with the result that idolatry and immorality have come? If you’re not at all concerned with these things, it might be that you’re most like Sardis: dead. Where are you?"

pearlie

Source: 

'Revelation' by James M. Hamilton Jr. ; R. Kent Hughes, gen. ed.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiasmus

Even when we suffer ... it is not about us

Daniel 6:16-23 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions' den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you." A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him. Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions' den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?" Then Daniel spoke to the king, "O king, live forever! "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime." Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. Next to the Joseph narrative, this was one of my favourite passages in the Old Testament. As I was reading it today, I wondered how Daniel would have felt as he was thrown into the lion's den. The interesting thing was that in the entire narrative, nothing was mentioned about Daniel's experience or emotions in the den. The focus of the entire passage was on the king, how regretful he was in making that decree and how worried he was over Daniel, who was albeit commended for this trust in God. What then was the intent of the passage? I found in John Goldingay's commentary on Daniel (WBC, 2002) this structure of Daniel 6 that may shed some light: 1–3 introduction: Daniel’s success    4–10 Darius signs an injunction but Daniel takes his stand.       11–15 Daniel’s colleagues plan his death.          16–18 Darius hopes for his deliverance.          19–23 Darius witnesses his deliverance.       24 Daniel’s colleagues meet with their death.    25–27 Darius signs a decree and takes his stand. 28 conclusion: Daniel’s success (I have not been talking about chiasm for a long time now, and it is time I do!) From the structure, we see the crux in Darius hoping for deliverance and Darius witnessing the deliverance. As he said to Daniel, "Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you," he soon witnessed the amazing work of the power and grace of God. In a sense, we can see that regardless of how Daniel would have felt and experienced in the ordeal, the more important thing is that God's glory was revealed. It is not that Daniel was not important. He was and God delivered him because of his trust in Him but what is more crucial is the witness that Daniel carried for God. In the same way, in our own lives, we must be mindful of that when we suffer. It is not that we are not important, we are very precious in God's sight. But there is a bigger picture than our suffering. What is more crucial is the witness and testimony that we show forth to the people around us - that even when we are suffering, God is gracious and merciful to see us through. We must see to it that through us, His love and glory will be evident to all. We must realise that even when we are surrounded by hungry lions, it is not about us, it is about God. pearlie

My Journey with Leviticus

My journey with Leviticus in a way began when I was in my teens. I remembered that one time when I vowed to read the whole bible in a year stopped instead in Leviticus during the Chinese New Year. The reading became too mundane for an immatured soul. Soon I read a pastor's account of despair when he had to preach from the book according to the year's lectionary.

Calvin and I are currently going extremely slow in our daily bible reading and we are at the moment labouring through Leviticus. It is not easy. It is so repetitive that this evening, as I was reading the second half of Lev 14, Calvin began to echo me because it all reads so similarly.

In my first TEE module with Reb on The Introduction of the Old Testament however, I observed an interesting chiastic structure in the Pentateuch that centers in Leviticus. I know I am a chiasm-freak and I might be wrong but just humour me.

Genesis - leaving for the promised land
   Exodus - the census and going out
      Leviticus - worship of the one and only Yahweh
   Numbers - the census and coming in
Deuteronomy - entering the promised land

After that, I was convinced that it is extremely important for us to study and know Leviticus, however mundane and repetitive it is, and again I say, it is very important that we do. When I was going through the Passion event with the youth yesterday, on the atonement, the only other passages I referred to was in Leviticus - where the foundation of the ultimate offering on the cross rests.

According to LaSor in his Old Testament Survey, "Leviticus is a picture window into ancient Israel's worship. From it we learn about the holiness of God. It unfolds the relationship between holiness and ethics, and even more it provides background for grasping the significance of Christ's sacrificial death" (p.91, 1996).

Given the fact that human continually sin, fellowship with the holy God required a means of access to God. Leviticus gives us a very good look into the sacrificial system that God had set in place, by which access to God was made possible. For one, it talks about the sinner's laying of a hand on the sacrificial animal's head as the animal is being sacrificed as an atonement for his sin, making it personal as the animal die in his place.

There is much to know and learn from Leviticus. The journey for me has barely begun.

pearlie

Do you have a cure for me?

I am now halfway through my exegesis on Psalm 19.

The reason why I picked Psalm 19 over Psalm 30 was because when I checked Terrien’s The Psalms, Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, Psalm 30 has a chiastic structure to it while Psalm 19 does not. So thinking that I should lay low on chiasms and be “normal” for awhile working on a good ol’ ordinary unchiastically structured psalm, I proceeded on with Psalm 19.

If you are good with plots, you will know where my story is heading by now, because right in front of me this very moment is Psalm 19 staring at me as a perfectly structured chiasm.

What happened?

I was mulling through the psalm for the past several weeks, dissecting it, breaking it into possible stanzas and maybe several envois, highlighting parallels, linking up themes. Last night, I suddenly went, “Wait a minute ... I don’t believe it!” and there you are – no running away from chiasms for Pearlie. They stick to me like glue.

A Nature’s declaration (v.1)
   B Nature’s public display (v.2-4a)
      C Nature compared and was equated (v.4b-6)
         D The written Torah (v.7-9)
      C’ The Torah compared and it surpasses (v.10-11)
   B’ The psalmist private prayer (v.12-13)
A’ The psalmist’s declaration (v.14)

Do you have for me a cure?

pearlie
Photo © 2007 i o f o t o

19 or 30?Terrien's Chiasm or Mine?

Enough is enough, I feel I have spent too much time moaning and groaning over my Logos paper. I have done what I can and I must let it rest. Just a few more footnotes to complete and I shall let it be. So there!

I am running short of time for my other 2 (and 1 more if I decide to do it) papers, one of which would require an exegesis of a psalm. The choices are between 19, 30 and 42. I have done one with Psalm 42 before, under a different module. Now, I cannot submit the same assignment even if the lecturer were different; what more in this case the lecturer is the one and only Reb.

Therefore, it will be a choice then between the other two. Psalm 19 is interesting, with it being a Wisdom or Torah Psalm. But Psalm 30 is a chiastic one; though the chiasm that I just worked out a moment ago does not coincide with Terrien's.

That itself count as a challenge.

Terrien's chiasm of Psalm 30 goes like this, with his own translation:

Strophe I
I exalt thee, O Lord, for thou didst lift me up,
And thou hast nor allowed my foes to rejoice over me!

   O Lord, thou art my God!
   I cried unto thee, and thou didst heal me!

      O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave
      Thou hast kept me, alive, from descending to the Pit!

         Sing to the Lord, ye his beloved ones;
         Celebrate him in praise, remembering his holiness!

            For his wrath last a moment, his favour a lifetime;
            The evening has tears, the morning cries for joy!

         As for me, I said in my days of ease,
         Never shall I vacillate and stumble.

      O Lord in thy grace thou hast caused me
       to stand on solid heights;
      But when thou didst hide thy face, I was in trouble.

   I cried to thee, O Lord! And my Sovereign
   I implored for grace

What gain for thee in my blood spilling,
 or my going down to the Pit?
Would dust praise thee or declare thy truth?

Strophe II
Hear O Lord, and have mercy on me!
O Lord be thou my helper!

   Thou didst turn for me mourning into a dance,
   Untied my sackcloth and girded me with joy;

So that my heart might sing for thee and not be mute;
O Lord, my God! I shall praise thee forever!

And mine went like this:

I will extol You, O LORD,
for You have lifted me up,

   And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

      O LORD my God, I cried to You for help,
       and You healed me.

         O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;

            You have kept me alive,
            that I would not go down to the pit.

               Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
               And give thanks to His holy name.

                  For His anger is but for a moment,
                  His favor is for a lifetime;

                     Weeping may last for the night,
                     But a shout of joy comes in the morning.
                     Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
                     "I will never be moved."

                  O LORD, by Your favor You have
                   made my mountain to stand strong;
                  You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

               To You, O LORD, I called,
               And to the Lord I made supplication:

            "What profit is there in my blood,
            if I go down to the pit?

         Will the dust praise You?
         Will it declare Your faithfulness?

      "Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
       O LORD, be my helper."
      You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

   You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Well, at least Terrien's one kept to a standard length in each section whereas mine is quite uneven.

pearlie
Photo © 2007 Julia Freeman-Woolpert

Samuel Terrien, The Psalms, Strophic Structure and Theological Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003): 280.

A lot, a lot

I was busy today
Working on the John assignments
A lot to figure out
A lot to think about

I sought my friend's thoughts
He is good in getting me on the right track
A lot to hash out
A lot to talk about

I looked closely at John
The Gospel is simply astounding and awe-inspiring
A lot to work out
A lot to mull about

I saw again a chiasm
Something I keep seeing in the Scriptures
A lot to puzzle out
A lot to thresh about

I sought a teacher's opinion
But he isn't much of a fan of this literary form
So how now?
O brown cow?

All rights reserved © 2008 Pearlie Ng
Photo © 2007 Wendy Domeni

Study on the Gospel of John: Day 1

I attended the evening class today on the Study on the Gospel of John led by Allen McClymont. As mentioned before, I have a penchant for chiasms and was delighted to see it here again in John - what more the entire structure of John:

I. ...Prologue (1:1-18)
II. .......Book of Jesus’ Signs (1:19-10:42)
III. ...........Transition from signs to hours (11:1-12:50)
IV. ......Book of Jesus’ Hour (13:1-20:31)
V. ..Epilogue (21:1-25)

Among the features of the Gospel of John are:
1. The 7 signs or miracles are only found in the first half
2. John introduces several themes and then comes back to them ever now and then, e.g. light and darkness
3. The miracles of Jesus are presented in a crescendo, culminating in the resuscitation of Lazarus. The final miracle recorded in John is very pivotal because it form the basis of the Jewish decision to kill Jesus.
4. A transition can be seen in the mention of "the time has not yet come" to "the hour has come"
5. There are a number of extended discourses by Jesus, which is very different from the synoptic
6. There are the “I am” sayings
7. The use of Jewish festivals carrying theological significance as John sees in them fulfillment in Jesus – Feast of the Tabernacles, the Passover, Hanukkah

pearlie

Interpreting the NT: Day 3

We continued with Mark in the afternoon after our own respective church services. In our sermon today, we were reminded very strongly about the way we think, say and do. We were reminded that everything we do comes from our heart. It strikes me because I think I may have been focussing a lot on the mind lately and not so much on the heart. I wonder if God's commandment to love him with all our heart, our soul and our mind has progressive hierarchical steps to it, i.e. to first love him with our heart, then only our soul and finally with our mind. I am not sure, but what I am sure is I am to love him with my whole life, denoted by "my heart, and my soul, and my mind" - the preposition "and" is used for each of the subsequent two nouns. But have I been putting less stress on heart and more on mind? What about my soul? How do I love with my soul? I need to mull about it ... soon.

Back to Mark. We did our study until 1:18 yesterday and we continued until Mark 2 and a bit of 3 today. After which, we have only 2 hours this coming Friday, 8 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday to complete the study. Are we able? I do have my doubts. And even if we did, we would have just skimmed it through.

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday, being one who is unendingly fascinated by chiasms, when Kar Yong showed us this possible geographical chiastic structure, I was obviously attracted to it:

The Geographical Movement of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark

Judea
............Galilee, East Side of Sea of Galilee
..........................Caesarea, Philippi (FOCUS?) 8:27-38
............Galilee to Judea
Jerusalem

As it is with most chiasms, the focus of it is usually at the center. How does 8:27-38 read?

Mark 8:2-38 (ESV)
27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"
28 And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."
29 And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ."
30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
34 And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
37 For what can a man give in return for his life?
38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Is this the central theme of Mark? I am not sure. I have been using the chiastic structure too often in my papers: Introduction to OT, OT Hermeneutics and Homiletics and even Romans. So I better not push it this time!

This afternoon we spent time on the 5 conflict stories found in 2:1 to 3:6. I will concentrate here on the first conflict story 2:1-12.

Mark 2:1-12 (ESV)
1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.
3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.
5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
7 "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic--
11 "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home."
12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Kar Yong divided us into 4 groups of people. I was in the hardworking "friends" group, 1 person was the paralytic man, several became the crowd and the remainder, the oh-so-holy scribes. We were asked very interesting questions.

KY: Friends, what were you thinking after lowering your friend from the roof?
F: Jesus, heal!
KY: Paralytic, what were you expecting Jesus to do?
P: I have nothing to lose. If I get healed, wow!
KY: Crowd, what went through your minds when all these were happening?
C: Oh! my house! ... Such a disturbance! All these racketing! Don't you see we are trying to listen here? ... Hmm... what would Jesus do now? ... He must heal this guy.
KY: O honourable Scribes, what are you thinking?
S: Hmm ... let's see.

Most of the people were expecting Jesus to heal, as he has been doing so far, some have seen and others have heard. But what Jesus did next was just too stunning for words.

“My son, your sins are forgiven.”

F: Huh?
P: What?
C: Huh?
S: Ho ho! We are gonna have a field day!

Why did Jesus say that? To me, it boils down to this - 2:9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk'?

Everytime I read this verse, I always come away incredulous. Which is easier to say? What does he mean?

But after some discussion in class, I think I am beginning to understand it. Kar Yong brought out the fact that the purpose Jesus said, "My son, your sins are forgiven" is to declare to the people that he is indeed the Son of God, who has the authority to forgive sins.

Therefore, Jesus is chiding the scribes:

"How shall I say it so that it is easier for you to believe that I am the Son of God? It is easier if I were to say 'your sins will be forgiven' or will it be easier for you to believe if I were to say 'rise, pick up your bed and go home'? Fine, if it is easier this way, then I shall say it."

Then Jesus turned to the paralytic, and said exactly that, "rise, pick up your bed and go home!" So, which is easier?

We then spent the rest of the time discussing a few questions arising from 3:1-6, of which one was this: How can we keep the Sabbath special for God without making the same mistakes as the Pharisees? This is a very personal question to me because strictly speaking, I had no Sabbath rest. I spent almost every day of the week working: Monday to Friday at work, Saturday and Sunday for church. And that has been going on for far too long, too many years to count, which caused my recent burnout. I pray that at this time of my so-called sabbatical, I do take time to rest and enjoy the presence of God in my life. To God be the glory.

pearlie

Psalm 27 My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

I
1The Lord is my light and my salvation,
… Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life,
… Of whom shall I be afraid?

II
2When scoundrels come upon me
… To devour my flesh,
They will stumble and fall,
… Those adversaries and foes.

III
3Though a host should encamp against me,
… My heart shall not quiver;
Even if a war should rise against me,
… I still shall be full of confidence.

IV
4One thing only shall I desire from the Lord,
… That I would seek after:
May I dwell in the house of the Lord
… All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
… And to inquire in his temple.

V
5For he will hide me in his booth
… On the day of trouble;
He will conceal me inside his tent;
… He will lift me up, high on a rock.
6And then my heart will rise
… Above the foes who surround me.
I will offer in his tent
… Sacrifices of joyful shouts.

IV’
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
… 7Listen, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
Be gracious unto me, and answer me!
… 8Thou hast said, Seek ye my face!
My heart says to thee,
… Thy face, O Lord, do I seek.
… 9Hide not thy face from me!

III’
Thou hast been my help; do not cast me off!
… And forsake me not, God of my salvation.
10My father and mother might forsake me,
… But then the Lord would take me in.
11Teach me thy way, O Lord!
… And lead me to a smooth path,
… Because of mine enemies.

II’
12Do not abandon me to the will of my foes!
… Because false witnesses have risen against me,
… And they breathe out violence.

I’
13I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
… In the land of the living.
14Wait for the Lord! Be strong! And let thy heart take courage!
… Wait for the Lord!

I don’t know why, I just love chiasms. And apparently there is one here in Psalms 27 as proposed by Terrien:

I. The Light of My Life (v. 1)
… II. The Enemies (v. 2)
…… III. My Confidence (v. 3)
……… IV. The Temple (v. 4)
………… V. The Presence (vv. 5-6d)
……… IV’. The Face of God (vv. 6e-9a)
…… III’. My Confidence (vv. 9b-11)
… II’. The Enemies (v. 12)
I’. The Goodness of Yahweh (vv. 13-14)

Strophe I: The Light of My Life
Verse 1 is a very comforting affirmation of faith. The light of Yahweh, which the great prophets and other psalmists associate with the salvation of Israel, is celebrated as the forerunning sign of “seeing the face of the Lord” in vv. 7-8.

Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Mic 7:8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

Terrien asks if the expression “face of Yahweh” a metaphor, drawn from the human sense of sight, or is it a real symbol of his Presence?

Psa 4:6 There are many who say, "Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!"
Psa 89:15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face.

I have time and again uttered this line of Psalm 27 – the Lord is my Light and Salvation, of whom shall I be afraid, and it always reassures me of the sovereignty and the faithfulness of God, no matter what.

Strophe II: The Enemies
The imagery of one’s flesh being devoured is very strong. The very existence of the person is in danger and requires prompt and efficient help.

Psa 7:2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart, rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.
Psa 17:12 He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush.

I have not been in such situation of mortal peril, pray that I will not, but it is bad enough to have experience the soul being torn apart (Ps 7:2). Yet he is my Light and my Salvation, of whom or what shall I be afraid.

Strophe III: My Confidence
No matter what happens, my heart shall not quiver, I still shall be full of confidence. Many a times I have to say that aloud to myself and affirm the presence of God in my life.

Strophe IV: The Temple
What is beautiful about this line is the psalmist saying that there is only one thing he desires: that is to dwell in the house of the Lord. I need to always remind myself of that one before I clamour to get more and more things and stuff in my life. O how wonderful it will to always be in the Lord’s house, all our days to worship him – to behold the beauty of the Lord – and to learn of him – to inquire in his temple. What bliss!

Strophe V: The Presence
This is one of the reasons why I like chiasms: it leads me to the apex of the writing. Here it points to the very presence of God – the ultimate and the most desired. Verse 5 speaks of the refuge in God’s presence and verse 6 the joyful celebration of praise in his presence.

Strophe IV’: The Face of God
From the depth of his yearning, the psalmist begs, boldly but humbly, for the vision of the divine face of God. At times, I do feel that God is so far away. But here the psalmist seeks him – in songs and in melody, in cries and in yearning: God is here, Immanuel is his name.

Strophe III’: My Confidence
God is my help. God is my salvation. God is my father. God is my mother. God is my refuge. God is my teacher. God is my guide.

Strophe II’: The Enemies
The psalmist again speaks of the enemies, his troubles, his problems: for they will never go away as long as live sustains here on earth. We all seek for perfection everywhere, in everyone and in everything and more often than not, we will be disappointed. There is only one who is perfect: our Lord Jesus Christ.

Strophe I’: The Goodness of Yahweh
There will always be uncertainties in life. But the Lord’s goodness is surely here for he has revealed himself to us. Meanwhile, we call to each other to wait, to wait, and to wait on him. Help will surely arrive.

Maeghan
Picture by Rayko Swensson

Samuel Terrien, The Psalm, (Grand Rapids: Eerdsman, 2003): 263-9

Chiasm - a Literary Device

The Book of Acts Day 1

A few friends and I signed for a 3-credit hour course on The Books of Acts, which will bring us through 2 weekends of lectures - a whole day today, half day tomorrow, Monday and again the same schedule 2 weeks from now.

The lecture today was fully packed. It would be actually quite impossible to cover so much in just 2 weekends, but I suppose it is better than nothing. I am not very familiar with Acts to start with. The brief introduction with a broad look into the first 2 chapters today was quite good for me.

It is too much to replicate here and therefore I'll just post these 3 discussion questions, which the lecturer got us into some interesting discoveries in smaller groups, but with more questions raised.

1. Was Paul really an apostle and can there be apostles today?

The criteria for being an apostle are four:
a. they are chosen, not by human decision but divinely by Jesus (all the 12, Paul and Matthias through casting of lots)
b. they are eye-witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus
c. they are commissioned by Jesus
d. they are promised the Holy Spirit

So in my initial opinion ,I have taken the mention of apostles to mean the Apostles. But as we discussed it, I realised I could be wrong, because there are quite some instances in the New Testament that the apostles may also refer to other people other than the 12, who meets the criteria.

For example:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
~ Eph 4:11-12

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
~ 2 Cor 11:13

These surely do not refer to the 12, though Ep 4:11-12 is debatable.

With these criteria, Paul should not be an apostle in their strict terms. But he did witness the risen Christ in a vision. However, would this not open doors to other purported visions making more apostles out of eager men?

The lecturer however did mention that in general we are apostles but not so much as having an apostolic authority but having responsibility of mission and spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth.

2. Has the kingdom of Israel been restored?

Our group concluded that this is really not an issue to us as it was to the first century believers. "So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6) Jesus replied that the kingdom that they should be looking for is a spiritual kingdom.

3. Is it important that the ascension really took place?

This question is really interesting to me because I have never asked it before, or rather, never thought to ask it in the first place. To me the ascension was a given, Jesus died, he was raised up and therefore he will be taken up. But when the question was being asked, it raised some other very interesting questions. Why didn't Jesus just vanish? Why does he have to go up? Jesus can go any other way he chose, but why must he ascend up, since heaven is not really up in the skies as such?

To me, I would respond it this way:

a. True enough, heaven is not up in the skies but in the Graeco world and language, the word used for heaven and sky is the same (I may be wrong though). So in their context, heaven is up, as is the same in our context.
b. The disciples must see him go up. There are instances in the gospels that Jesus can vanish. Therefore, he cannot just vanish or the disciples would be set into confusion as to what next and they might as well get back into their fishing business. In seeing that the Lord was ascended after He gave them words through the Holy Spirit, they went back to wait for the Holy Spirit, sparking the next chapter of the mission and the spreading of the Gospel.
c. The lecturer reminded us time and again that Acts should be read as a Part 2 of the whole work of Luke including the Gospel of Luke. There is a chiasm between these 2 books culminating into the ascension as the crux of the matter. The ascension is a division between Jesus' work on earth and Jesus' work from heaven. So He has to be seen to go up to heaven, reassuring the disciples that He has been taken up and will work in them through the Holy Spirit.

Certainly good stuff!

Anyway, during the introduction, the lecturer, whose love for books is evident, was introducing some books and I could feel my wallet getting lighter and lighter as he went along! These are a few of the books I would love to get, but most probably never will:

Barrett, CK. The Acts of the Apostles. 2 Vols, International Critical Commentary (Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1994, 1998)

Witherington III B. The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI Eerdmans/Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1998)

Winter & Clark (eds.) Vol 1, The Book of Acts in its Ancient Literary Setting (1993)

Turner M. Power from High: The Spirit in Israel's Restoration and Witness in Luke-Acts (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996) - the lecturer said that this is THE book to get if you want to have a book on the Holy Spirit

Maeghan
Painting: John Singleton Copley, The Ascension, 1775, oil on canvas, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photograph © 1996 The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

I think I got it

I was again trying to work out Romans 6, knowing that I really need a break in order to recover that feeling of excitement and motivation in doing a theological/biblical assignment and I think I just might have found it. In reference to the diagram I was working on several days ago, I noticed the repetition of the word know, albeit in three different Greek root words: αγνοειτε (a negative particle, not know), γινοσκω (to know, to perceive) and οιδα (to know). I took a close look and felt that the entire Romans 6:1-14 could be an argument in chiastic form.

- A’ in respond to A
- B’ in respond to B
- C’ in respond to C
- D carries the epitome of argument in the entire passage.

A. What then, should we remain in sin so grace may increase? God forbid.

.....B. We who have died to sin, how can we live in it?

..........C. Do you know
...............we are baptised into Christ
...............we are buried with him
...............we are united with him in death and resurrection

.................D. Knowing this
......................the old man was crucified and brought to nothing
......................he who has died has been justified
......................if we died with Christ, we shall also live with him

..........C’. We know
...............Christ is raised from the dead
...............Christ will never die again
...............Christ died to sin once and for all, he live to God

.....B’. So you must consider yourself dead to sin but alive to God

A’. For sin have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Paul’s argument can be seen in the following:

- The affirmation (A A’): God forbid!
- The requirement (B B’): We have died to sin, so …
- The reasoning (C C’): do you not know … we know
...notice the we, we, we and the Christ, Christ, Christ?
- The crux (D): knowing this

I don't know. I certainly hope I will finally settle down to complete the paper. Thankfully, I do have one more week to do it.

Working into the chiastic sections, I am doing the C C' right now and I am totally blown away with this discovery. Utterly amazing, the way Paul writes, and more so the inspiration of God. It really looks too good to be true, I am beginning to wonder if I am seeing things. A chiasm within a chiasm?

The reasoning (C C’): do you not know … we know
This section presents the heart of the argument, where Paul reasons: “do you not know” because “we know”.

A chiasm is clearly and amazingly seen in these 2 sections: the 3 “we are” statements in contrast with the 3 statements on Christ. Placed in juxtaposition:

1. The believers who have been baptised into Christ Jesus have been baptised into his death (v.3) and this Christ has been raised from the dead (v.9)

2. We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father in the same way we too in newness of life might walk (v.4) and he will never die again for death no longer has dominion over him (v.9)

3. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death in the same way also we shall be united in the likeness of his resurrection (v.5) for that he died he died to sin, once for all, but that he lives he lives to God (v10)

Maeghan
Picture by Witek Burkiewicz