Here's an interesting way to think about the time we're given on earth...by putting your life on the clock, literally. Here's the link to a Life Clock calculator...
Wild Notes: What's your Life Clock say? Check the time on the Life Clock Calculator
Close Encounters of the Fish Kind: What Ate Jonah?
For the next few posts, BibleDig's getting fishy.
For a lot of people, the story about Jonah is hard to swallow. Hopping on a boat, being tossed overboard, and downed by a man-eating creature? C'mon.
So, I decided to do a little sleuthing and get to the bottom of this deep sea mystery and see what kind of evidence I could find about what scarfed the wayward prophet and whether it's feasible that a something like that could happen in real life.
To determine if a human being could be swallowed alive by a large sea creature, we have to ask what kind of creature did the swallowing in the first place. Details about the mysterious creature that ingested Jonah as he sank beneath the waters of the Mediterranean are tantalizingly scarce.
Start off by reading Jonah. It's short, and it's really funny. If you'd like to see a visual summary of the story, check out the BibleDig chart.
For a lot of people, the story about Jonah is hard to swallow. Hopping on a boat, being tossed overboard, and downed by a man-eating creature? C'mon.
So, I decided to do a little sleuthing and get to the bottom of this deep sea mystery and see what kind of evidence I could find about what scarfed the wayward prophet and whether it's feasible that a something like that could happen in real life.
To determine if a human being could be swallowed alive by a large sea creature, we have to ask what kind of creature did the swallowing in the first place. Details about the mysterious creature that ingested Jonah as he sank beneath the waters of the Mediterranean are tantalizingly scarce.Start off by reading Jonah. It's short, and it's really funny. If you'd like to see a visual summary of the story, check out the BibleDig chart.
The Whale in the Bible
Only four short references to the reluctant prophet’s unlikely rescuer appear in the book of Jonah. All we are told is that God, “appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah” (1:17), that “Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (1:17), that “Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish” (2:1), and that after those three days and nights God, “commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land” (2:10).
Only four short references to the reluctant prophet’s unlikely rescuer appear in the book of Jonah. All we are told is that God, “appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah” (1:17), that “Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights” (1:17), that “Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish” (2:1), and that after those three days and nights God, “commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land” (2:10).
Jesus makes an additional reference to this creature as he draws of an analogy between Jonah’s experience and his own impending death. Matthew records Christ saying that, “just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:40).
Is the Whale the Tale?
When you think about Jonah, you think about the whale. But, making that automatic connection my distract us from the point of the story. Judging from these few mentions, Jonah has been clearly upstaged by the attention paid to this aquatic member of his supporting cast.
The scant references to this creature in the Jonah narrative and in Scripture as a whole indicate the relative insignificance of this creature to both the plot and the point of this story. In the story, the creature is merely one among many tools at God’s disposal for accomplishing his will. It is little more than a gigantic sea-born dog that the Lord dispatches to fetch his wayward prophet like a far-flung stick from a corner of his backyard.
When you think about Jonah, you think about the whale. But, making that automatic connection my distract us from the point of the story. Judging from these few mentions, Jonah has been clearly upstaged by the attention paid to this aquatic member of his supporting cast.
The scant references to this creature in the Jonah narrative and in Scripture as a whole indicate the relative insignificance of this creature to both the plot and the point of this story. In the story, the creature is merely one among many tools at God’s disposal for accomplishing his will. It is little more than a gigantic sea-born dog that the Lord dispatches to fetch his wayward prophet like a far-flung stick from a corner of his backyard.
The Lord appoints this underwater beast to swallow Jonah, then later orders it spit Jonah out on dry land. While the nations surrounding God’s people feared the sea and in some cases revered its inhabitants as gods, the God of Jonah commands both with unquestioned authority. The part of this man-eating creature is to underscore the power of “the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” (1:9).
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Next time... clues from the Bible about what Jonah's underwater taxi might have been...
What's up with the guy that went down in the whale? A handy chart.
There's a reason this biblical story is a Sunday School favorite. It's got all the elements of a good story: Memorable characters, fantastic events, danger and humor. Jonah is a fishy yarn that's meant to make you smile -- and make you think.
If you're like most, it's easy for the lessons of the story to get lost in the weeds...the seaweeds. What looks like a simple fish tale about a guy who learns his lesson when he tries to outrun God, packs a punch when you look under the surface. (Hint: It's not all about the whale.)
One great way to get at what the story is all about, is to look at how the story is put together. Structure can tip us off to some key ideas and themes of this little book with the big fish. Here's a chart that uses come color and lines to help you map out Jonah as you read. It takes a little extra effort to put on your thinking cap when you read this story...but be patient, and you can reel in some big time truth...
Coming up next time...Is Jonah's whale for real? We'll dig into a close encounter of the fish kind...
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BibleDig 360: Pharisees & Essenes
This BibleDig 360 shows you the panorama of resources available on BibleDig to help you explore two important Jewish sects that were active during the time of Christ -- the Pharisees and the Essenes.
Who are these groups? What did they believe? How did they impact the content of Jesus' teaching on taxes -- and the content of the New Testament? Does how Christians respond to culture today reflect Jesus' view or the view of one of these sects?
The bottom line in this study, or any other study for that matter, is application. In the final post, we look at how He responds to the question of paying taxes to Caesar in Matthew 22:15-22. What can we learn from the worldviews of these two Jewish religious groups and Jesus' response to them?
Each post is a stand alone strand of information on the topic. But, each post also integrates with the others and are designed to be read from first to last. Have fun...and happy digging!
Intro
How to Handle a Hostile Culture
Resources for Digging Deeper
These are the resources referenced in the posts:
Barnett, P., Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times. 1999, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity. (This one is an especially good introduction to NT history that is very readable)
Conzelmann, H. and A. Lindemann, Interpreting the New Testament : An Introduction to the Principles and Methods of N.T. Exegesis. 1988, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers.
Coogan, M.D., The New Oxford annotated apocrypha. Augmented 3rd ed. 2007, Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
Guthrie, D., New Testament Introduction. 3rd ed. 1970, Downers Grove, Ill.: Inter-Varsity Press.
Schäfer, P., The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman world. Rev. ed with corr. ed. 2003, London ; New York: Routledge.
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Making Cents of Jesus: The Things That Are God's
Bible Dig continues an ongoing, in depth series on the Pharisees & Essenes - two influential Jewish sects at the time of Christ. After spending several installments on the background and beliefs of these two groups, we wrap up our study and come full circle to apply what we've learned from the background of the text to the question about paying taxes. To see the panorama of BibleDig info on this topic, check out the BibleDig 360: Pharisees & Essenes.
A Taxing Problem
With a deeper understanding of the nature of these Jewish parties, their resistance to Hellinization, and their conflicts with the rich ruling class, we can now approach the passage where Jesus is confronted with two puzzling riddles regarding the paying of taxes and hope to gain further insight. Let us first examine the question on taxes.
Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words. They sent to him their disciples along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You do not court anyone’s favor because you show no partiality. Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Matthew 22:15-17 NET)
The first thing to note what two parties are working together to entrap Jesus. The Pharisees along with the Herodians (members of the rich class that supported Roman rule). The fact that these two parties, who in all other cases would be in complete opposition to each other, are now working cooperative to catch Jesus in own words reveals a couple of things.
First, it shows us just how disruptive and disturbing Jesus’ message was perceived to be by both sides. Jesus was neither a Pharisee nor a member of the social, Hellenized elite. His teaching may have had common points with both groups, but both groups perceived him to be so dangerous to their respective causes that they were willing to cooperate against this common ideological foe.
Second, it reveals that they anticipated Jesus being unable to respond to their querry without offending either one of the other of these groups so they ensured representatives of both parties were present so the one offended by Jesus’ answer could duly report Jesus’ remark to their collogues. An understanding of the Jewish cultural background at work in the subtext of this confrontation helps us appreciate Jesus' tricky position.
Another thing to consider is the underling subtext of this conversation in light of the tension surrounding the matter of Roman rule. In our time, many at first glance consider this to be a question strictly about the legality of paying taxes to the government. To the first century mind, taxes were a form of tribute. The question posed to Jesus is a loaded one. If Jesus says yes to the notion of paying taxes, then he alienates the masses – who were largely followers of the Pharisic tradition – and he is no longer a popular hero. If Jesus says no to the notion of paying taxes to Caesar, then the Herodians can report him to the civil authorities for inciting the masses to revolt against the government. This is a taxing delma, indeed!
The Things That Are Gods
Jesus’ answer is brilliant. With it he manages to expose this yes or no question as a false dichotomy. He also reveals to all those present a significant way his message differs from that of both the Pharisees and Herodians.
But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:18-22 NET)
Rather than having a public relations field day with a blundering answer from Jesus, both parties are “stunned.” Jesus sees the trap. In the minds of the Jew, the question of obedience to civil government and obedience to God was an either or question. That is the false dichotomy Jesus exposes.
The Pharisees taught that the only way to remain righteous and obedient to God and his law was to separate themselves from the world. Jesus tells them that we can in fact live within a culture that opposes our beliefs and still fulfill God’s requirements of us because what God requires is not an outward show of piety but an inward attitude of the heart that offers itself in worship him. Likewise to the aristocrats who placed all their value on maintaining the status quo with the Romans Jesus remarks that wealth is not all there is. The money in your pocket really belongs to Ceasar and he can recall it to himself at will. Likewise, God is the giver of life, and as people who bear his image must return our lives to him.
This incident is not recorded in Scripture merely to satisfy our curiosity. It addresses a larger issue. Like the Jews, we in our time face the question of how to interact with our society. The question of the tax - and Jesus' handling of it - challenges us not resort the the abuse of power and materialism of the Herodians. It also warns us to avoid the temptation to segregate ourselves from our world like the Pharisees.
We can live and work among our world (give to Ceasar) and we can fulfill the obligations of our faith (give to God) at the same time. Earthly governments relate to earthly things and want our earthly resources. In contrast, "the things that are God's" are the parts of us that belong to him - our hearts, souls, minds and strength. God doesn't want your money. He requires something much deeper and more valuable. He wants every part of who you are.
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