Jesus of Nazareth was astounding to the Jewish world. He came, figuratively, out of nowhere proclaiming the kingdom of God was at hand and teaching doctrine that differed from traditional views of the time. of the main messages that Mark wishes to convey to his audience are the speed at which Jesus's message spread and how revolutionary His teachings were. Over and over, we see Mark use the words "immediately" and "astonished."
When the scholars commissioned by King James were in the process of translating the Bible, they translated by phrase rather than word for word. Stylistically, they translated the same Greek word into multiple contemporary words. For example, words in the King James version like "immediately" and "straightway" came from the same Greek word. The same is true for words like "astonished" and "astounded." So, the frequency of these words "astonished" and "immediately" are even more frequent than they appear.
Why did Mark want to emphasize so much that people were astounded by Jesus? He wanted people to understand that Jesus was no ordinary man. He did not merely bend the status quo or gradually change it; rather, he broke it and established a new one. Jesus did not teach variations of the doctrines currently accepted and taught by the scribes; instead, he taught as one having authority. People were astonished to hear such new doctrine proclaimed boldly from Jesus of Nazareth's lips.
In my own life, I am sometimes astonished by the works of God. For me, as with the people of ancient Judea, it usually stems from a lack of faith. I am astonished at things I did not think were probable or even possible. I need to be less astonished at the workings of an omnipotent God and more accepting of the things he reveals and allows to happen. If I have more faith, more currently astonishing things will be able to happen for my own betterment and for the betterment of those around me. I am limiting myself just as the people of Christ's time. I need to better recognize and have more faith in Christ.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Profiles of Prophets
As explained in my previous post, here are some characteristics and favourites of the prophets since the early-mid 1900s according to the personal experiences of Thomas S. Monson:
Heber J. Grant
"Do What is Right, Let the Consequence Follow"
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Persistence
George Albert Smith
"Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words"
"There's a tug-of-war going on between the Lord and the adversary..."
Compassion
David O. McKay
"Oh Say, What is Truth"
"True Christianity is love in action" -David O. McKay
Consideration
Joseph Fielding Smith
"Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire"
"Wickedness never was happiness" -Alma 41:10
Gospel Scholarship
Harold B. Lee
"Praise to the Man"
"Stand ye in holy places and be not moved" -Harold B. Lee
Whisperings of the Spirit
Spencer W. Kimball
"I Need Thee Every Hour"
"My life is like my shoes--to be worn out in the service of the Lord" -Spencer W. Kimball
Dedication
Ezra Taft Benson
"How Great Thou Art"
" What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily, I say unto you, even as I am." -3 Nephi 27:27
Love
Howard W. Hunter
"Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?"
"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own lips" -Proverbs 27:2
See the good in people
Gordon B. Hinckley
"God of Our Fathers, Known of Old" (Rudyard Kipling)
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father." -Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-23
Do your best
Heber J. Grant
"Do What is Right, Let the Consequence Follow"
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Persistence
George Albert Smith
"Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words"
"There's a tug-of-war going on between the Lord and the adversary..."
Compassion
David O. McKay
"Oh Say, What is Truth"
"True Christianity is love in action" -David O. McKay
Consideration
Joseph Fielding Smith
"Prayer is the Soul's Sincere Desire"
"Wickedness never was happiness" -Alma 41:10
Gospel Scholarship
Harold B. Lee
"Praise to the Man"
"Stand ye in holy places and be not moved" -Harold B. Lee
Whisperings of the Spirit
Spencer W. Kimball
"I Need Thee Every Hour"
"My life is like my shoes--to be worn out in the service of the Lord" -Spencer W. Kimball
Dedication
Ezra Taft Benson
"How Great Thou Art"
" What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily, I say unto you, even as I am." -3 Nephi 27:27
Love
Howard W. Hunter
"Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?"
"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own lips" -Proverbs 27:2
See the good in people
Gordon B. Hinckley
"God of Our Fathers, Known of Old" (Rudyard Kipling)
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father." -Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-23
Do your best
"...eyewitnesses of his majesty"
In the 60s AD, Peter--the chief apostle of the Saviour and current leader of the early church--was nearing the end of his ministry. The Roman emperor Nero instituted state persecution of Christians in 64 AD, and Peter can likely be placed in Rome itself at around this time. During these troubling years, he penned 2 epistles to the saints in Asia Minor. In his second epistle, the Biblical book of 2 Peter, Peter clearly anticipates his looming death as a martyr for Christ's sake: "Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;/ Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me./ Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance" (2 Peter 1:13-15). In verse 16, he follows this prediction of his death with a testimony of his faithfulness to the true Christ and his words: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty"(italics added).
It had been about 30 years since the death and resurrection of Christ, and many of the eyewitnesses of his ministry were getting old and dying themselves. I'm sure Peter understood the danger of this, as evidenced by his warning of following "cunningly devised fables" of who Christ really was and what He taught. With this in mind, while in Rome, he probably directed Mark in writing what we now know as "the Gospel of Mark." A major theme of Mark is the eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did. Many of the stories recorded were probably told to Mark by people who were there, either Peter, bystanders, or recipients of the miracles themselves. This is significant because we get in Mark a preservation of truthful, first-hand accounts. Through Peter's insight and Mark's pen, we are better able to discern between true accounts of Christ and cunningly devised fables.
I had the opportunity on Tuesday to be an eyewitness to a prophet and hear eyewitness accounts of past prophets. President Thomas S. Monson, the living prophet on the earth, spoke to the students and faculty of Brigham Young University on Tuesday. I arrived an hour early to find the Marriott Centre--which has a capacity of around 23,000--more than half full. When President Monson entered the room, I felt the Holy Spirit confirm to me that I was indeed in the presence of a prophet. President Monson chose to speak about the legacy left to him by past prophets. He spoke of his personal experiences with prophets from the early 1900s. In essence, he was giving us a glimpse of what it may have been like for Mark to write his gospel from Peter's memoirs, though of course to a lesser degree since Mark was writing about the Son of God. In another post, I will list what President Monson told us of each prophet.
Eyewitnesses give us reliable accounts of people and events. I'm grateful for the efforts of the early saints to record the events of Christ's life, and also that I was able to experience in some measure what it was like to traverse the generations through the eyewitness accounts of another.
It had been about 30 years since the death and resurrection of Christ, and many of the eyewitnesses of his ministry were getting old and dying themselves. I'm sure Peter understood the danger of this, as evidenced by his warning of following "cunningly devised fables" of who Christ really was and what He taught. With this in mind, while in Rome, he probably directed Mark in writing what we now know as "the Gospel of Mark." A major theme of Mark is the eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did. Many of the stories recorded were probably told to Mark by people who were there, either Peter, bystanders, or recipients of the miracles themselves. This is significant because we get in Mark a preservation of truthful, first-hand accounts. Through Peter's insight and Mark's pen, we are better able to discern between true accounts of Christ and cunningly devised fables.
I had the opportunity on Tuesday to be an eyewitness to a prophet and hear eyewitness accounts of past prophets. President Thomas S. Monson, the living prophet on the earth, spoke to the students and faculty of Brigham Young University on Tuesday. I arrived an hour early to find the Marriott Centre--which has a capacity of around 23,000--more than half full. When President Monson entered the room, I felt the Holy Spirit confirm to me that I was indeed in the presence of a prophet. President Monson chose to speak about the legacy left to him by past prophets. He spoke of his personal experiences with prophets from the early 1900s. In essence, he was giving us a glimpse of what it may have been like for Mark to write his gospel from Peter's memoirs, though of course to a lesser degree since Mark was writing about the Son of God. In another post, I will list what President Monson told us of each prophet.
Eyewitnesses give us reliable accounts of people and events. I'm grateful for the efforts of the early saints to record the events of Christ's life, and also that I was able to experience in some measure what it was like to traverse the generations through the eyewitness accounts of another.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Light Will Rise
The book of Isaiah in the Old Testament is one of the most fascinating ancient records available to us today. Its prophecies and imagery of the coming Saviour are unparalleled in frequency, description, and specificity. I have spent many hours pondering his words and visualizing what he saw in the Saviour's day as well as ours.
One of my favorite phrases in Isaiah, however, comes from chapter 58, which mainly talks about fasting and Sabbath Day observance. In verses 8 and 10, however, Isaiah uses the imagery of light. In verse 8, we are told what happens to us if we help the needy and observe God's law of the fast: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily..." Verse 10 promises us further that "...[our] light shall rise in obscurity, and [our] darkness be as the noonday."
In chapter 60 of Isaiah, the Lord through Isaiah opens by addressing latter-day Israel: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee./ For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee./ And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (1-3).
Light has always fascinated me in many ways. One can spend a lifetime researching its startling and amazing scientific properties. Without light, life could not exist. It brings energy and warmth to our world. I could spend hours writing about the different scientific theories and ideas of light from the ancient Greek ideas to modern day relativity and quantum mechanics. However, what has amazed me more about light is how it is a perfect metaphor of spiritual concepts such as truth and error, good and evil, virtue and vice. Light always symbolizes the good.
Indeed, Isaiah uses the metaphor of truth and goodness as light in verses 19 and 20 of chapter 58: "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory./ Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall the moon withdraw itself; for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."
Light Will Rise because God works and moves in the world today.
Light Will Rise because he reveals truth to the world through modern-day prophets like Isaiah.
Light Will Rise because Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, will come again.
In the next few months, I will be exploring in depth the first 4 books of the New Testament, "the gospels" of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John (in that order). By reading about the life of the Light of the World himself, I hope to gain insights into His life and ministry. I hope to see patterns and themes I can identify and apply to my life today. By studying about His first ministry on the earth, I will be better prepared for the second.
My wish is that I may be a better reflection of the Light of Christ. I wish to more fully live what He taught for the benefit of myself and others. My wish is explained very well in a modern-day book of scripture called "The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" written by modern-day prophets. In the 88th chapter, God is addressing the members of a church organized only 2 years prior. God reveals much about the different kingdoms of heaven and what His people should strive for. In verse 67, He tells us what will happen to us if we can purify ourselves enough to have our beings completely focused on what He wants: "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." I want to cast away the darkness inside me. I want to be filled with light so that I can understand all things and be closer to my God. I wish to be part of the light that is rising in the world as God moves His hand in it. The light is rising because God wills it.
Light will rise.
One of my favorite phrases in Isaiah, however, comes from chapter 58, which mainly talks about fasting and Sabbath Day observance. In verses 8 and 10, however, Isaiah uses the imagery of light. In verse 8, we are told what happens to us if we help the needy and observe God's law of the fast: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily..." Verse 10 promises us further that "...[our] light shall rise in obscurity, and [our] darkness be as the noonday."
In chapter 60 of Isaiah, the Lord through Isaiah opens by addressing latter-day Israel: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee./ For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee./ And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising" (1-3).
Light has always fascinated me in many ways. One can spend a lifetime researching its startling and amazing scientific properties. Without light, life could not exist. It brings energy and warmth to our world. I could spend hours writing about the different scientific theories and ideas of light from the ancient Greek ideas to modern day relativity and quantum mechanics. However, what has amazed me more about light is how it is a perfect metaphor of spiritual concepts such as truth and error, good and evil, virtue and vice. Light always symbolizes the good.
Indeed, Isaiah uses the metaphor of truth and goodness as light in verses 19 and 20 of chapter 58: "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory./ Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall the moon withdraw itself; for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."
Light Will Rise because God works and moves in the world today.
Light Will Rise because he reveals truth to the world through modern-day prophets like Isaiah.
Light Will Rise because Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, will come again.
In the next few months, I will be exploring in depth the first 4 books of the New Testament, "the gospels" of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John (in that order). By reading about the life of the Light of the World himself, I hope to gain insights into His life and ministry. I hope to see patterns and themes I can identify and apply to my life today. By studying about His first ministry on the earth, I will be better prepared for the second.
My wish is that I may be a better reflection of the Light of Christ. I wish to more fully live what He taught for the benefit of myself and others. My wish is explained very well in a modern-day book of scripture called "The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" written by modern-day prophets. In the 88th chapter, God is addressing the members of a church organized only 2 years prior. God reveals much about the different kingdoms of heaven and what His people should strive for. In verse 67, He tells us what will happen to us if we can purify ourselves enough to have our beings completely focused on what He wants: "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." I want to cast away the darkness inside me. I want to be filled with light so that I can understand all things and be closer to my God. I wish to be part of the light that is rising in the world as God moves His hand in it. The light is rising because God wills it.
Light will rise.
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