The Port at Crete

Port at Crete.

We boarded the Louis Majesty and began a three-day trip to several islands in the Aegean. One of them was the island of Crete, one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean. It is mentioned in Scripture as the place to which Paul sent Titus to appoint elders (Tit. 1:5). In Acts 27, the island is mentioned in the account of Paul’s shipwreck on the way to Rome (vv. 7, 12, 13, 21). Paul also said that this about the Cretans:

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith (Titus 1:10-13).

The modern port of Crete is designed very similarly to the one that Herod the Great built at Caesarea in the first century B.C. It has a retaining wall which blocks the waves so that the ships can dock in relatively calm water to unload and load their goods..

After landing in Crete, we visited the gigantic palace of King Knossos. More on that later.

The Births of John & Jesus in Luke’s Gospel

Previously, I noted that Luke lays out the birth narrative in the following order:

A    Declaration of Birth of John the Baptist (1:5-25)
A’    Declaration of the Birth of Jesus the Messiah (1:26-38)
B    Meeting between Mary & Elizabeth (1:39-56)
C    Birth of John the Baptist (1:57-80)
C’   Birth of Jesus the Messiah (2:1-40)

The narrative arrangement invites comparisons and contrasts, but placing the two accounts side by side and the structural arrangement calls attention to the single centerpiece item — the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth.

Note the textual comparisons between John and Jesus:

John

• Great before the Lord (1:15)
• Prophet of the Most High (1:76)
• Elizabeth’s son (1:44)
• Prophet who gives knowledge of remission of sins (1:77)
• Prepares the way (1:17)
• Conceived naturally, but miraculously (1:13)
• Divinely named: John (1:13)
• Fulfillment of prophecy about harbinger (1:17; Mal. 4:5)
• Neighbors rejoice at his birth (1:58)
• Circumcised the 8th day (1:59-66)
• Child grew statement (1:80)

Jesus

• The Lord (1:42)
• Son of the Most Hight/God (1:32, 35)
•  Elizabeth’s Lord (1:42)
•  Dayspring visitor (1:78)
•  The Way (John 14:6)
• Virgin birth (1:34-35)
•  Divinely named: Jesus (1:31)
• Fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant (1:55, 72-75); set on throne of David (1:69)
•  Angels rejoice at His birth (2:9-10)
• Circumcised the 8th day (2:21)
• Child grew statement (2:40)

The Birth Narrative in Luke

It is always important to watch for the signals that the text gives of what it is trying to emphasize and what is important. Luke does that for us in his arrangement of the birth narrative of Jesus.

The usual order for the writing of the gospels gives priority to Mark, although a few scholars who assert the priority of Matthew disagree. However, it is easier to explain Matthew and Luke’s expansion of Mark than to explain Mark’s redaction of Matthew. Both Matthew and Luke add significantly to the Markan account in two areas: the birth narrative and the resurrection appearances. The usual order of the appearance of the gospels is Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. So Luke is intends to write about Jesus from the beginning (1:2).

Luke’s arrangement of the birth narrative is as follows:

a    declaration of the birth of John the Baptist (1:5-25)
a’   declaration of the birth of Jesus the Messiah (1:26-38)
b    meeting of Mary and Elizabeth (1:39-56)
c    birth of John the Baptist (1:57-80)
c’   birth of Jesus the Messiah (2:1-40)

The structural parallels invite the reader to compare and contrast the two births. John’s birth was the miraculous conception of one born past the age of childbearing; Jesus’ birth was a virgin birth. John is a prophet before the Lord; Jesus is the Lord’s Messiah. John paves the way for Jesus; Jesus is the Way. One can expand this list through his own study.

However, the structure also highlights the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth – the central item in the birth narrative. Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was evidential confirmation of what the angel Gabriel had announced to her—that she, a virgin, would bear a son (see 1:36). When Mary arrives, she sees the aged Elizabeth obviously pregnant (in her sixth month). When Elizabeth sees Mary she is filled with the Holy Spirit and breaks out in praise that the “mother of my Lord” has visited her (1:43). She explains to Mary how the baby in her womb leaped upon Mary’s arrival (1:41, 44). The focus is on the child in the womb of Mary more than on the child in the womb of Elizabeth. In response to Elizabeth, Mary breaks out in song to praise God for what He is accomplishing through the child in her womb.

The Help: Mertis

Sandy and I went to see the movie The Help today. It is about how black domestic help was treated by white families in Mississippi. Unfortunately, what was depicted in the movie was too nearly like the environment in which I was reared for me to be comfortable. It is painful to think how racist my social environment was.

When the movie was over, I called Lewis to ask him about a black woman name Mertis. I vaguely remembered her helping my mom. Lewis and Joyce had gone to the movie the night before and he expressed how ashamed the movie made him feel of the environment in which we were raised. He could remember Mertis and her husband Crip. He remembered Mertis eating with the family while she worked. I remembered black workers being served on the back porch while the white workers ate in the kitchen.

Not being content with this information, I called my sister Sue to see what she remembered. Sue had not seen the movie, but did remember a bit about Mertis. She had worked for Mom for a short period. I asked her if she were a “wet” nurse or “dry” nurse. She did not remember her being a wet nurse, but she does remember a story Mom told her. One day, Sue was crying and Mom asked Mertis why she was crying. Mertis explained, “Sue wanted to kiss me, but I would not let her.” It was not socially acceptable for a white baby to kiss her black nurse maid. How sad!

Lewis told me another story about my folks in this social context. My Dad was a log hauler. When the rain came in the winter, logging was almost impossible. Dad would mortgage his trucks so that he could pay his (mostly) black employees so that they could feed their families. In the meantime, Dad charged our groceries until he could get back to work. I remember one time when things were so hard that Dad was very discouraged. As we drove to town on Saturday for groceries, I was leaning over the front seat as Mom and Dad were talking. I remember Dad complaining about going into debt for groceries and exclaiming, “I ought to just rob a bank so I can pay my bills!” Of course, he was not serious, but he was disheartened. Things were not easy for any of us during those years.

Peter’s House

On my first trip to Israel, I was shown the remains of Peter’s House in Capernaum. At the time, I thought that this is probably just a tourist attraction that is not very reliable. During the years since then, I have been surprised at comments that archaeologists make about the house. Jerome Murphy-O’Connor wrote:

Certitude as to the original ownership of this room is, of course, impossible, but the evidence of consistent veneration in the pre-Constantinian period demands an explanation. The most reasonable assumption is the one attested by the Byzantine pilgrims, namely, that it was the house of Peter in which Jesus may have lodged (Matt. 5:20). Certainly, nothing in the excavations contradicts this information (Oxford Archaeological Guides: The Holy Land, 220).

In his 2006 book, Jesus and Archaeology, world renown scholar James H. Charlesworth, quoted and expressed his full agreement with Jerome Murphy-O’Connor’s statement (50).

Mark records the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law in Capernaum saying, “Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them” (Mark 1:29-31). Peter’s house is not more that 50-75 yards from the Capernaum synagogue.

In recent years, a memorial church has been built above Peter’s house (attached photo). At this link, you can see in better detail the archaeological remains of Peter’s house: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=capernaum+peter%27s+house&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1076&bih=887&tbm=isch&tbnid=p9FPwveFZvd4YM:&imgrefurl=http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2007/08/Three-Woes!.aspx&docid=9hwAKdu2W7h3OM&w=960&h=704&ei=vwVmTv-GC8ragQeunbzGCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=773&vpy=93&dur=2669&hovh=192&hovw=262&tx=130&ty=118&page=1&tbnh=135&tbnw=199&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0

I Think I Can Get Away With This

To understand the scenario that I am going to describe, you have to understand my inability to repair anything around the house.(This reminds me of the story that the late Bobbie Adams told about Connie. Julian Snell called and asked, “Is Connie handy?” She replied, “Handy! All he can do is preach and play a little on the guitar. He can’t do anything else.”) Through the years, Sandy has found several handymen to help with odd jobs. Her latest one told her, “Don’t let Mike touch it! It takes twice as much work after he tries to fix it!” Of course, that was music to my ears, so I have a reason for not doing what I don’t want to do! A win-win situation! Now the story.

We have a fountain in our flower garden that has worked about three weeks out of 20 years. Every year it is the same thing—“Get someone to fix my fountain!” This year I did. I hired Matt to fix it! It worked ONE day and quit! There must have been some kind of divine retribution working in this, but I am not sure. The next day Sandy said, “Don’t pay him until it is fixed!” So I called him back, but we were away when he came and fixed it.

Sandy is away overnight; gone to see her brother. So I called Matt and asked him to come fix it. He related that he already had and, sure enough, when I pressed the button it worked.

I think I will tell Sandy, “Honey, I fixed the fountain.” She will probably ask, “How did you do it?” I will reply, “I got out this machine and push once, but nothing worked. I pushed twice, but nothing changed. I push three . . . four . . . five . . . six . . . seven times. On the seventh time, it went, ‘RING! RING!’ and Matt said, ‘Hello.’ You can figure out the rest of the story.”

Laodicea

This photo shows the city cardo of Laodicea. Those who evangelized the city and members of the church in that city must have frequented this road.

The city of Laodicea was known for several things. (1) The Lycus valley was the source of a glossy black (raven-colored) wool used in making black cloaks and carpets, for which the city was famous. (2) Laodicea was also the home of a medical school, and the manufacture of collyrium, a famous eyesalve. There is no evidence for William Ramsay’s statement that the eyesalve was made from powdered Phrygian stone, recommended by Galen, though it is possible that this might be true (Anchor Bible Dictionary IV: 230). (3) The city was also near “to the emetic (‘a medicine or other substance that causes vomiting,’ mw) qualities of the soda-ladan warm water from nearby Hierapolis, whose thermal springs ran into the Maeander” (Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary 476). The waters at Hierapolis were thought to be therapeutic because they were hot and the waters from Colossae were refreshing because they were cold. But the waters at Laodicea were “lukewarm.” Notice how each of these things is alluded to in the letter to Laodicea:

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see (Rev. 3:15-18).

The church at Laodicea was probably started by one of Paul’s colleagues (most likely Epaphras) during his three-year stay at Ephesus. In addition to being mentioned in Revelation, Laodicea is mentioned in Colossians 2:1. Paul wrote a letter to the church which letter does not exist (Col. 4:16). Epaphras had some connection with the church at Laodicea for Paul writes, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis” (Col. 4:12-13).