Romans, Part 12

Posted on August 15, 2012 by admin

For circumcision has its value (ὠφελεῖ, a form of ὠφελέω) if you practice (πράσσῃς, a form of πράσσω) the law (νόμον, a form of νόμος), but if you break (παραβάτης) the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), your circumcision has become uncircumcision.¹ I began here in the last essay and went on to John 7 to contrast Jesus to his adversaries, even his mother and brothers, to try to refine my understanding of the difference between those who hear (ἀκροατής) and those who do (ποιητής) the law. I want to do that some more in this essay after covering more of what Paul said in Romans 2:26-29 (NET).

Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements of the law, will not² his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And will not the physically uncircumcised man who keeps the law judge you who, despite the written code and circumcision, transgress (παραβάτην, a form of παραβάτης) the law? For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.

Those who do (ποιητής) the law are like the Jew who is one inwardly, his circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit, his praise is from God. The ὑποκριτής, the actor, needs a human audience. Jesus said, Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής) do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them.³ Whenever you pray,⁴ do not be⁵ like⁶ the hypocrites (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής), because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see⁷ them.⁸ When you fast, do not look sullen like⁹ the hypocrites (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής), for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting.¹⁰

And this circumcision that is of the heart by the Spirit is so much more than doing it again with feeling. Actors have deep feelings. The Pharisees were passionate about wanting to kill Jesus, but were they passionate because they cared so deeply for God’s honor or because Jesus upstaged them? It is a terrible thing to upstage an actor.

After his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus himself also went up, not openly but¹¹ in secret.¹² Midway through the feast He began teaching in the temple courts. Then¹³ the Jewish leaders were astonished and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”¹⁴ In other words, he wasn’t instructed by the Jewish leaders. Jesus replied, My teaching (διδαχή) is not from me, but from the one who sent me. If anyone wants (θέλῃ, a form of θέλω) to do (ποιεῖν, a form of ποιέω) God’s will (θέλημα), he will know (γνώσεται, a form of γινώσκω) about my teaching (διδαχῆς, another form of διδαχή), whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority.¹⁵

I’m going to say for the sake of argument that the above statement is true. I should believe it. I claim to believe Jesus. It says that since his hearers did not know about his teaching, whether it was from God or whether He spoke from his own authority, Jesus was convinced that they did not want to do God’s will. They were those who hear (ἀκροατής) the law by definition. Their heart wasn’t in it, not by the Spirit but by the written code. They were actors (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής), hypocrites.

But wanting to do God’s will is a fairly high prerequisite to knowing about his teaching. It touches me deeply how faith helps me overcome that deficit. I may not want to do God’s will—yet—but through the faith that Jesus’ teaching comes from God and is his will I can work backwards, as it were. More to the point, He can work me backwards to the desire for God’s will. As Paul wrote, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire (θέλειν, another form of θέλω) and the effort – for the sake of his good pleasure – is God [Table].¹⁶

For some good reasons I’ve thought of hypocrisy as boasting about the law but not actually doing it. I want to consider something else Paul wrote: Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh (e.g., get circumcised to make themselves righteous)! For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God,¹⁷ exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials…¹⁸ Then Paul described his past as Saul the hypocrite this way: If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless [Table].¹⁹

As I considered that Paul had the audacity to write such a thing, and that the Holy Spirit had the audacity to put that writing in Holy Scripture, I had to amend my thoughts and feelings about hearers (ἀκροαταὶ, a form of ἀκροατής) and hypocrites (ὑποκριταὶ, a form of ὑποκριτής) relative to doers or poets (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής). The ἀκροαταὶ and the ὑποκριταὶ may not commit adultery, but the ποιηταὶ love their wives. And I don’t mean that they have warm fuzzy feelings for their wives when their wives make them feel good. I mean love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a NET).

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends [Table].

The ἀκροαταὶ and the ὑποκριταὶ may not steal, but the ποιηταὶ love their neighbors as themselves. The ἀκροαταὶ and the ὑποκριταὶ may not kill, but the ποιηταὶ love their enemies so that [they] may be like [their] Father in heaven, since [He] causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.²⁰ I have begun, but I have only begun to scratch the surface of what it means to be a ποιητής (poet, doer) of the law.

I performed one miracle and you are all amazed, Jesus said to the ἀκροαταὶ and the ὑποκριταὶ around Him. However, because Moses²¹ gave you the practice of circumcision (not that it came from Moses,²² but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child on the Sabbath. But if a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses²³ is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge (κρίνετε, a form of κρίνω) according to external appearance, but judge²⁴ (κρίνετε, a form of κρίνω) with proper (δικαίαν, a form of δίκαιος) judgment (κρίσιν, a form of κρίσις).²⁵

So Jesus, speaking to hearers and actors rather than doers or poets of the law, said, Do not judge me (or by extension, God) according to external appearance, but judge me with proper (that is righteous) judgment. Slowly, it seems, I learn that lesson.

Addendum: January 1, 2021
I was struck by the Greek word κατατομήν (a form of κατατομή), translated of those who mutilate the flesh (NET) and of the concision (KJV) as I worked through this again. There is a very interesting answer to the question “What is the meaning of ‘katatomē’ in Philippians 3:2?” on the Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange online. But concision has me rethinking my rather glib explanation: those who “get circumcised to make themselves righteous.”

Is it the act itself done for this reason that Paul cautioned against rather than the men who do this act or recommend that one do this act for this reason? Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! (Galatians 5:2 NET) It definitely has me thinking about how far reaching this warning could be, how many religious acts it may pertain to. Therefore we must progress beyond the elementary instructions about Christ and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God… (Hebrews 6:1 NET)

Tables comparing Romans 2:26; Matthew 6:5; 6:16; John 7:10; 7:15, 16; Philippians 3:3 and John 7:21-24 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 2:26 (NET)	Romans 2:26 (KJV)
Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?	Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐὰν οὖν ἡ ἀκροβυστία τὰ δικαιώματα τοῦ νόμου φυλάσσῃ, οὐχ ἡ ἀκροβυστία αὐτοῦ εἰς περιτομὴν λογισθήσεται	εαν ουν η ακροβυστια τα δικαιωματα του νομου φυλασση ουχι η ακροβυστια αυτου εις περιτομην λογισθησεται	εαν ουν η ακροβυστια τα δικαιωματα του νομου φυλασση ουχι η ακροβυστια αυτου εις περιτομην λογισθησεται

Matthew 6:5 (NET)	Matthew 6:5 (KJV)
“Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward!	And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ὅταν προσεύχησθε, οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταί, ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν	και οταν προσευχη ουκ εση ωσπερ οι υποκριται οτι φιλουσιν εν ταις συναγωγαις και εν ταις γωνιαις των πλατειων εστωτες προσευχεσθαι οπως αν φανωσιν τοις ανθρωποις αμην λεγω υμιν οτι απεχουσιν τον μισθον αυτων	και οταν προσευχη ουκ εση ωσπερ οι υποκριται οτι φιλουσιν εν ταις συναγωγαις και εν ταις γωνιαις των πλατειων εστωτες προσευχεσθαι οπως αν φανωσιν τοις ανθρωποις αμην λεγω υμιν οτι απεχουσιν τον μισθον αυτων

Matthew 6:16 (NET)	Matthew 6:16 (KJV)
“When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unattractive so that people will see them fasting. I tell you the truth, they have their reward!	Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὅταν δὲ νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποί, ἀφανίζουσιν γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὅπως φανῶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν	οταν δε νηστευητε μη γινεσθε ωσπερ οι υποκριται σκυθρωποι αφανιζουσιν γαρ τα προσωπα αυτων οπως φανωσιν τοις ανθρωποις νηστευοντες αμην λεγω υμιν οτι απεχουσιν τον μισθον αυτων	οταν δε νηστευητε μη γινεσθε ωσπερ οι υποκριται σκυθρωποι αφανιζουσιν γαρ τα προσωπα αυτων οπως φανωσιν τοις ανθρωποις νηστευοντες αμην λεγω υμιν οτι απεχουσιν τον μισθον αυτων

John 7:10 (NET)	John 7:10 (KJV)
But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus himself also went up, not openly but in secret.	But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὡς δὲ ἀνέβησαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἑορτήν, τότε καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνέβη οὐ φανερῶς ἀλλὰ [ὡς] ἐν κρυπτῷ	ως δε ανεβησαν οι αδελφοι αυτου τοτε και αυτος ανεβη εις την εορτην ου φανερως αλλ ως εν κρυπτω	ως δε ανεβησαν οι αδελφοι αυτου τοτε και αυτος ανεβη εις την εορτην ου φανερως αλλ ως εν κρυπτω

John 7:15, 16 (NET)	John 7:15, 16 (KJV)
Then the Jewish leaders were astonished and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”	And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐθαύμαζον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι λέγοντες· πῶς οὗτος γράμματα οἶδεν μὴ μεμαθηκώς	και εθαυμαζον οι ιουδαιοι λεγοντες πως ουτος γραμματα οιδεν μη μεμαθηκως	και εθαυμαζον οι ιουδαιοι λεγοντες πως ουτος γραμματα οιδεν μη μεμαθηκως

So Jesus replied, “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me.

Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη οὖν αὐτοῖς [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν· ἡ ἐμὴ διδαχὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐμὴ ἀλλὰ τοῦ πέμψαντος με	απεκριθη αυτοις ο ιησους και ειπεν η εμη διδαχη ουκ εστιν εμη αλλα του πεμψαντος με	απεκριθη ουν αυτοις ο ιησους και ειπεν η εμη διδαχη ουκ εστιν εμη αλλα του πεμψαντος με

Philippians 3:3 (NET)	Philippians 3:3 (KJV)
For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials	For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή, οἱ πνεύματι θεοῦ λατρεύοντες καὶ καυχώμενοι ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐν σαρκὶ πεποιθότες,	ημεις γαρ εσμεν η περιτομη οι πνευματι θεω λατρευοντες και καυχωμενοι εν χριστω ιησου και ουκ εν σαρκι πεποιθοτες	ημεις γαρ εσμεν η περιτομη οι πνευματι θεου λατρευοντες και καυχωμενοι εν χριστω ιησου και ουκ εν σαρκι πεποιθοτες

John 7:21-24 (NET)	John 7:21-23 (KJV)
Jesus replied, “I performed one miracle and you are all amazed.	Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ἓν ἔργον ἐποίησα καὶ πάντες θαυμάζετε	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν αυτοις εν εργον εποιησα και παντες θαυμαζετε	απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτοις εν εργον εποιησα και παντες θαυμαζετε

However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child on the Sabbath.

Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
διὰ τοῦτο Μωϋσῆς δέδωκεν ὑμῖν τὴν περιτομήν (οὐχ ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐστὶν ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῶν πατέρων), καὶ \|ἐν\| σαββάτῳ περιτέμνετε ἄνθρωπον	δια τουτο μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν την περιτομην ουχ οτι εκ του μωσεως εστιν αλλ εκ των πατερων και εν σαββατω περιτεμνετε ανθρωπον	δια τουτο μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν την περιτομην ουχ οτι εκ του μωσεως εστιν αλλ εκ των πατερων και εν σαββατω περιτεμνετε ανθρωπον

But if a male child is circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken, why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?

If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ περιτομὴν λαμβάνει ἄνθρωπος ἐν σαββάτῳ ἵνα μὴ λυθῇ ὁ νόμος Μωϋσέως, ἐμοὶ χολᾶτε ὅτι ὅλον ἄνθρωπον ὑγιῆ ἐποίησα ἐν σαββάτῳ	ει περιτομην λαμβανει ανθρωπος εν σαββατω ινα μη λυθη ο νομος μωσεως εμοι χολατε οτι ολον ανθρωπον υγιη εποιησα εν σαββατω	ει περιτομην λαμβανει ανθρωπος εν σαββατω ινα μη λυθη ο νομος μωσεως εμοι χολατε οτι ολον ανθρωπον υγιη εποιησα εν σαββατω

Do not judge according to external appearance, but judge with proper judgment.”

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
μὴ κρίνετε κατ᾿ ὄψιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν κρίνετε	μη κρινετε κατ οψιν αλλα την δικαιαν κρισιν κρινατε	μη κρινετε κατ οψιν αλλα την δικαιαν κρισιν κρινατε

Romans, Part 13

Back to Romans, Part 49

Back to Torture, Part 2

Back to Romans, Part 79

Back to To Make Holy, Part 4

Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 6

Back to Who Am I? Part 4

Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 7

Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 1

Back to Hypocrisy

Back to Romans, Part 42

Back to Romans, Part 86

Back to Who Am I? Part 11

Back to The Book of Life, Part 1

¹ Romans 2:25 (NET)

² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὐχ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had ουχι.

³ Matthew 6:2a (NET)

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had προσεύχησθε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had προσευχη (KJV: thou prayest).

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔσεσθε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had εση.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὡς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had ωσπερ (KJV: as).

⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had αν (KJV: they may) preceding see (KJV: be seen). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁸ Matthew 6:5a (NET)

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὡς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had ωσπερ (KJV: as).

¹⁰ Matthew 6:16a (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzanitine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

¹² John 7:10 (NET)

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὖν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzanitine Majority Text had και (KJV: And).

¹⁴ John 7:15 (NET)

¹⁵ John 7:16, 17 (NET)

¹⁶ Philippians 2:12b, 13 (NET)

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had θεοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had θεω.

¹⁸ Philippians 3:2, 3 (NET)

¹⁹ Philippians 3:4-6 (NET)

²⁰ Matthew 5:45 (NET) Table

²¹ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσῆς, and μωσης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²² In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσέως, and μωσεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²³ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσέως, and μωσεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had κρίνετε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κρινατε.

²⁵ John 7:21-24 (NET)

Romans, Part 11

Posted on August 11, 2012 by admin

Paul continued to describe the difference between those who hear (ἀκροαταὶ, a form of ἀκροατής) and those who do (ποιηταὶ, a form of ποιητής) the law. For circumcision has its value (ὠφελεῖ, a form of ὠφελέω) if you practice (πράσσῃς, a form of πράσσω) the law (νόμον, a form of νόμος), but if you break (παραβάτης) the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), your circumcision has become uncircumcision.¹ I wasn’t going to delve into circumcision here, but I can’t resist the first occurrence in John 7. Perhaps an appreciation of Jesus’ frustration will do more to distinguish the ἀκροατής from the ποιητής of the law.

Jesus was staying in Galilee, avoiding Judea because the Jewish leaders wanted to kill him.² This stemmed from an incident when He healed a man who had been disabled³ for thirty-eight⁴ years.⁵ So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and⁶ you are not permitted to carry your⁷ mat.” But⁸ he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” They asked⁹ him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat¹⁰ and walk’?”¹¹ The healed man didn’t know who made him well.

Later Jesus found the man in the temple and said, Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, lest anything worse happen to you.¹² Sad to say I understand this man perfectly. For thirty-eight years, fifty-two times each year, he kept the Sabbath by not standing up, picking up his mat or walking. One Sabbath Jesus came up to him and said, Stand up!¹³ Pick up your mat and walk.¹⁴ For some reason, inexplicable except for the grace of God, the man believed this stranger and tried to stand up, pick up his mat and walk. Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking.¹⁵ When Jesus told him, Don’t sin any more, the healed man was conscience stricken that he had stood up, picked up his mat and walked on the Sabbath. So he trotted back and informed the Jewish leaders that Jesus was the one who had made him well.¹⁶

Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him.¹⁷

Before I get too carried away with the blindness of ancient Jewish leaders I’ll relate a fairly contemporary tale. I was standing just inside the doorway with the Pastor of a small Bible church one Sunday before the evening service. A car pulled up in the parking lot. A visiting couple got out and made their way toward the door. The Pastor opened the door and extended his hand to help the woman up the stair. She refused his hand and stopped in the doorway.

“Before I come in here, I just want to know one thing,” she said belligerently. “Did Jesus turn water into wine?”

I’d never experienced anything like this, but reasoned quickly that this was a Bible church, the woman wanted to make sure that we believed the fundamentals of the faith, including Jesus’ miracles.

“No,” the Pastor said.

I was stunned. But that was nothing compared to my confusion when the woman smiled, took the Pastor’s hand and entered the church. Later, when I got him alone, I asked, “How did you know that no was the right answer?”

Then it was his turn to be stunned that I would impugn his sincerity. “Because it is the right answer,” he said defensively. I argued fairly ineffectively for the distinction between Jesus and John the Baptist,¹⁸ but he was having none of it. “Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler,”¹⁹ he quoted the Proverb. Though he never pressed me on it, I got the message that because of this Proverb Jesus would not make, serve or encourage anyone to drink alcohol—no matter what the Bible seemed to be saying to me.

Obviously I have been blinder than this many times. It’s not fair to judge the Pastor or the woman by this one idiosyncrasy, though I do think she was looking for a Pastor who would dance to her flute. She obviously didn’t return. I wonder at times why I stayed so long. But the people there were nice to me. Some said the church would close if I left. The church closed sometime after I finally left. I don’t really think there is any cause and effect there.

Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy [Table]. For six days you may labor and do all your work [Table], but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates [Table]. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy [Table].²⁰

As far as the Jewish leaders were concerned no man of God would heal a disabled man on the Sabbath and tell him to Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk. Jesus told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.”²¹ But that didn’t help at all. For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.²²

Frankly, the way I’ve presented the story so far puts the Jewish leaders on a lot firmer ground scripturally than my Pastor. But if I bring in a similar story from Luke’s Gospel, the picture gets a bit more nuanced. Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath. A woman²³ was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen²⁴ years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.²⁵ Jesus healed her (Luke 13:14-17 NET).

But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six²⁶ days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days,²⁷ and not on the Sabbath day.” Then²⁸ the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites²⁹ (ὑποκριταί, a form of ὑποκριτής)! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?” Then shouldn’t this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?” When he said this all his adversaries were humiliated, but the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

Humiliated Jewish leaders were not Jesus’ only adversaries. While He was staying out of Judea because they wanted to kill him, as the beginning of the feast of Tabernacles approached, his brothers advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” (For not even his own brothers believed in him.)³⁰

Mark’s Gospel account gives me the impression that it was Jesus’ persistence in healing on the Sabbath even after the Pharisees began plotting³¹ with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him³² over it that alarmed his mother and his brothers. On one homecoming (probably to Peter’s house) they went out to restrain him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”³³ While the experts in the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the ruler of demons he casts out demons.”³⁴

This is the context for Jesus’ saying, “Who are my mother and³⁵ my brothers?” And looking at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”³⁶ It is also probably a better context to consider—Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me³⁷—than Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter. Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind!³⁸ The Lord told Jeremiah.

Addendum: November 19, 2020
Tables comparing Proverbs 20:1 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Proverbs 20:1 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing John 5:5; 5:10-12; 5:8; 5:16, 17; Luke 13:11; 13:14, 15; Mark 3:6 and 3:33 in the NET and KJV follow.

Proverbs 20:1 (Tanakh)	Proverbs 20:1 (KJV)	Proverbs 20:1 (NET)
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.	Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.	Wine is a mocker and strong drink is a brawler; whoever goes astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Proverbs 20:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀκόλαστον οἶνος καὶ ὑβριστικὸν μέθη πᾶς δὲ ὁ συμμειγνύμενος αὐτῇ οὐκ ἔσται σοφός	ΑΚΟΛΑΣΤΟΝ οἶνος καὶ ὑβριστικὸν μέθη, πᾶς δὲ ἄφρων τοιούτοις συμπλέκεται
Proverbs 20:1 (NETS)	Proverbs 20:1 (English Elpenor)
Wine is an intemperate thing, and strong drink is something insolent, and everyone who mixes with it will not be wise.	Wine is an intemperate thing, and strong drink full of violence: but every fool is entangled with them.

John 5:5 (NET)	John 5:5 (KJV)
Now a man was there who had been disabled for 38 years.	And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἦν δέ τις ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖ τριάκοντα [καὶ] ὀκτὼ ἔτη ἔχων ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ αὐτοῦ	ην δε τις ανθρωπος εκει τριακονταοκτω ετη εχων εν τη ασθενεια	ην δε τις ανθρωπος εκει τριακοντα και οκτω ετη εχων εν τη ασθενεια

John 5:10-12 (NET)	John 5:10-12 (KJV)
So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.”	The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τῷ τεθεραπευμένῳ· σάββατον ἐστιν, καὶ οὐκ ἔξεστιν σοι ἆραι τὸν κράβαττον \|σου\|	ελεγον ουν οι ιουδαιοι τω τεθεραπευμενω σαββατον εστιν ουκ εξεστιν σοι αραι τον κραββατον	ελεγον ουν οι ιουδαιοι τω τεθεραπευμενω σαββατον εστιν ουκ εξεστιν σοι αραι τον κραββατον

But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
\|ὁ\| δὲ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς· ὁ ποιήσας με ὑγιῆ ἐκεῖνος μοι εἶπεν· ἆρον τὸν κράβαττον σου καὶ περιπάτει	απεκριθη αυτοις ο ποιησας με υγιη εκεινος μοι ειπεν αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει	απεκριθη αυτοις ο ποιησας με υγιη εκεινος μοι ειπεν αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει

They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?”

Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἠρώτησαν αὐτόν· τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ εἰπών σοι· ἆρον καὶ περιπάτει	ηρωτησαν ουν αυτον τις εστιν ο ανθρωπος ο ειπων σοι αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει	ηρωτησαν ουν αυτον τις εστιν ο ανθρωπος ο ειπων σοι αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει

John 5:8 (NET)	John 5:8 (KJV)
Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.”	Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἔγειρε ἆρον τὸν κράβαττον σου καὶ περιπάτει	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους εγειραι αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους εγειραι αρον τον κραββατον σου και περιπατει

John 5:16, 17 (NET)	John 5:16, 17 (KJV)
Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him.	And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐδίωκον οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὅτι ταῦτα ἐποίει ἐν σαββάτῳ	και δια τουτο εδιωκον τον ιησουν οι ιουδαιοι και εζητουν αυτον αποκτειναι οτι ταυτα εποιει εν σαββατω	και δια τουτο εδιωκον τον ιησουν οι ιουδαιοι και εζητουν αυτον αποκτειναι οτι ταυτα εποιει εν σαββατω

So he told them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.”

But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· ὁ πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται καγὼ ἐργάζομαι	ο δε ιησους απεκρινατο αυτοις ο πατηρ μου εως αρτι εργαζεται καγω εργαζομαι	ο δε ιησους απεκρινατο αυτοις ο πατηρ μου εως αρτι εργαζεται καγω εργαζομαι

Luke 13:11 (NET)	Luke 13:11 (KJV)
and a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.	And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ πνεῦμα ἔχουσα ἀσθενείας ἔτη δεκαοκτὼ καὶ ἦν συγκύπτουσα καὶ μὴ δυναμένη ἀνακύψαι εἰς τὸ παντελές	και ιδου γυνη ην πνευμα εχουσα ασθενειας ετη δεκα και οκτω και ην συγκυπτουσα και μη δυναμενη ανακυψαι εις το παντελες	και ιδου γυνη ην πνευμα εχουσα ασθενειας ετη δεκα και οκτω και ην συγκυπτουσα και μη δυναμενη ανακυψαι εις το παντελες

Luke 13:14, 15 (NET)	Luke 13:14, 15 (KJV)
But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.”	And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀρχισυνάγωγος, ἀγανακτῶν ὅτι τῷ σαββάτῳ ἐθεράπευσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ἔλεγεν τῷ ὄχλῳ ὅτι ἓξ ἡμέραι εἰσὶν ἐν αἷς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι· ἐν αὐταῖς οὖν ἐρχόμενοι θεραπεύεσθε καὶ μὴ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου	αποκριθεις δε ο αρχισυναγωγος αγανακτων οτι τω σαββατω εθεραπευσεν ο ιησους ελεγεν τω οχλω εξ ημεραι εισιν εν αις δει εργαζεσθαι εν ταυταις ουν ερχομενοι θεραπευεσθε και μη τη ημερα του σαββατου	αποκριθεις δε ο αρχισυναγωγος αγανακτων οτι τω σαββατω εθεραπευσεν ο ιησους ελεγεν τω οχλω εξ ημεραι εισιν εν αις δει εργαζεσθαι εν ταυταις ουν ερχομενοι θεραπευεσθε και μη τη ημερα του σαββατου

Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall and lead it to water?

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀπεκρίθη δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος καὶ εἶπεν· ὑποκριταί, ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τῷ σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ ἢ τὸν ὄνον ἀπὸ τῆς φάτνης καὶ \|ἀπαγαγὼν\| ποτίζει	απεκριθη ουν αυτω ο κυριος και ειπεν υποκριτα εκαστος υμων τω σαββατω ου λυει τον βουν αυτου η τον ονον απο της φατνης και απαγαγων ποτιζει	απεκριθη ουν αυτω ο κυριος και ειπεν υποκριται εκαστος υμων τω σαββατω ου λυει τον βουν αυτου η τον ονον απο της φατνης και απαγαγων ποτιζει

Mark 3:6 (NET)	Mark 3:6 (KJV)
So the Pharisees went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians, as to how they could assassinate him.	And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι εὐθὺς μετὰ τῶν Ἡρῳδιανῶν συμβούλιον ἐδίδουν κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀπολέσωσιν	και εξελθοντες οι φαρισαιοι ευθεως μετα των ηρωδιανων συμβουλιον εποιουν κατ αυτου οπως αυτον απολεσωσιν	και εξελθοντες οι φαρισαιοι ευθεως μετα των ηρωδιανων συμβουλιον εποιουν κατ αυτου οπως αυτον απολεσωσιν

Mark 3:33 (NET)	Mark 3:33 (KJV)
He answered them and said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”	And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτοῖς λέγει τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί [μου]	και απεκριθη αυτοις λεγων τις εστιν η μητηρ μου η οι αδελφοι μου	και απεκριθη αυτοις λεγων τις εστιν η μητηρ μου η οι αδελφοι μου