Another Jesus Question

In Jerusalem at age 12, Jesus drew crowds and caused a stir. But not in Nazareth.

Growing up in Galilee, he never made a ripple! Try to picture that...

From age 13 to 34, the Son of God had no honor or majesty in the Nazarenes eyes. (Isaiah 53:2) After all those years, when Jesus finally spoke up one day, the Nazarenes weren't even sure who he was! At least, they didn't bother to remember his name... (Luke 4:22) The Synagogue had bar-mitzvah'd him 22 years before, and the Jews in it still saw him only as "Joseph's son". Compare that to the Jews of Capernaum, who said, "Isn't this Jesus..." when they'd known him for only a year! (John 6:42,59)

So, in Nazareth, Jesus wasn't special or well known, and many or most didn't even know his name... but somehow, while growing up there, Jesus DID grow in favor with the people of that town. (Luke 2:52) In other words, they didn't know him, but they liked him. Now, try to picture THAT!

Have you ever briefly met a random person who was gracious and humble? Have you seen such a person some place, for several years, but never got their name? Have you ever felt good about someone, but never got (or needed, or bothered) to make a connection? Hmmm... I'm starting to think we may ALL do this ALL the time... Not that we'd remember! ;)

So help me out, y'all. I'm trying to picture what this would have been like, all those years in Nazareth. And what does it say about him, and his mission, at that time?

How do you picture Jesus, all that time, living among the people of his town?

Nuthin Up My Sleeves!

My Senior Writing Prof at LSU said writing a short story was like doing a Magic Trick. Then he told us what doing Magic was like! He'd interviewed a retired Magician he called, "Fred the Magnificent". My Prof said "Fred" complained he couldn't go to Magic acts anymore, and when my Prof asked why, Fred said, "Because I always clap at the wrong times."

The Prof went on to explain that stage magic isn't done at the moment we see the trick, but the magician's art is in holding our attention in one place, while the trick gets set up in another place while we're NOT paying attention! And so - my Prof told us - a well told story should hook you until the end and then reveal something in a powerful way (or in a whole new light)... even though that something was right there with you all along.

I think that's true for Fiction AND Non-fiction storytelling. And I've got two things I want to say about this...

First of all (for reasons not worth going into now) I want it on public record that I'll never make a good Lit or Writing teacher. Especially Literature! (I've taught Reading, Grammar, and Mathematics for 8 years.) But at the same time I must say I (nearly) always enjoyed being a Lit/Writing student.

I really enjoyed learning about HOW certain writers put together the things they had to say. I liked studying what made the difference between a great writer and - you know - the stuff I was trying to do in High School! And yes, I've always wanted to be a writer, in some form or another, since I was 15.

And now I'm writing something I hope will be taken seriously as non-fiction. But I'm finding it to be a very dramatic story! I don't think that's a contradiction... but I wonder what others will say, someday, when it's done.

Oh, of course I'll be okay personally if people don't "like it", but if I fail to communicate well what my thoughts are about it, that would be my fault. So I guess I just want these thoughts on the record. At least it's a start...

You can call this my writer's confession!

Even though I'm writing a non-fiction "reconstruction", the Elements of Literature are usually not far from my mind. I believe non-fiction doesn't have to be boring AND I believe you don't have to invent details to make it interesting. Hopefully, I'm just looking for the parts that ARE important & interesting and hilighting those.

Historical Fiction usually plays with facts to make the whole thing more exciting or more "juicy". I have no desire to do that. Forget exciting. Forget likeable. Those aren't my goals.

I deeply want this book to be TRUSTABLE. For ALL Christians.

Hopefully... and eventually... and if God is gracious... it will be.

(By the way, I've posted here previously about filling in the few, small gaps in our knowledge with plausible conclusions. That's what historians do. But that's another topic. And defending those conclusions is Career Number Two, after I finish writing the books!)

Now. Here are the two points I set out to make, about "Magic":

Point One: I'm finding out more all the time about where the "Magic" happened, from 14 to 37 AD. I mean the connecting events that make the big events possible. I've posted on a major example of this, and I'm still fact checking and revising some details of that post just a bit. Stay tuned...

Mainly, I wanted to post here and say this process is still amazing me in small and not-so-small ways. Sometimes it's something I already knew, but it's confirmed by another detail. Or the impression I had of God's working thru History becomes deepened.

As I writer, I'm can't say, "God kept Tiberius' mother alive until she was 86 because of what was set to happen in Rome the moment she died." As a person, I can't say that either, because I don't know for sure that it's true. And - for the record - I am trying to MIX honest scholasticism WITH my faith, but stick to the facts and not speculate.

Still, as a believer, when I see something like that, even though I can't swear that's what happened, the timing is amazing! I mean, chill-bump amazing. Whatever God was doing and whether God the Father influenced events in Rome or simply took advantagae of them... it still puts me beside myself in awe. And He gets the credit for it, either way. And I'm often overwhelmed... and I feel again like this could truly be so much more than one man's hobby-slash-project. At those times, I feel inspired again.

As a writer, I shouldn't (and won't) insert speculations I can't support. But as a believer, I see this stuff and I think... God did the magic trick right... there!

So I'll stick to the facts and let the reader decide, but I'll hold onto my own feelings about where God's hand may be hiding, along the way. And I think that's what I should do. As best I can tell...

So all of that was "Point One". ;)

Here's "Point Two".

I'm doing my magic (research & pre-writing) right now. And it's exciting! I wish I could show it all now. I can't wait for y'all to see the trick (finished product), when it's finally done being written.

So for the five or more people who may be keeping tabs and praying for me in this project... I just wanted y'all to be encouraged. And for others who read this and think, "What the heck is this durn fool ranting about all the time?" Well, I'll gladly take all of your prayers as well. :)

And the beat goes on...

Time, Life & God

I'm not a science guy. I did well in school in English & Math, but struggled in Science, except for the "Mathy" parts of science. Like Speed=Distance/Time. That I get - like "miles per hour". But that means Time=Distance/Speed, which is like "miles per miles per hour"... which just sounds like nonsense... which brings me to my point.

I don't think time really exists. It's not a "thing". Time is just a word we use to describe change and to try and measure the speed of that change. A mother looks at her grown son and says, "Where did the time go?" She means where did my little boy go? But she says "Time". I understand that perfectly, but it also reminds me why I believe there is no such thing as "time".

Which is ironic, since I'm writing a book called, "Year-by-Year"! But let me go on...

Time is a concept. It's a system of measurement. Think about it. Time is infinite, and yet we're always running out of it. Time is an illusion. Time is just numbers we put on top of reality, to measure it, and measurement is all about Math. And Math is tricky.

Numbers are infinite, yet "Infinity" is not a number. Numbers go on forever, and yet any number you can think of has a completely finite value. "One thousand and six" does not go on forever! And yet, your Junior High Math teacher told you that "one divided by zero equals infinity". Again, it's a bit of nonsense. "Infinity" is just a concept.

Just like time. It's only a concept. Because time is just numbers we put onto Life. We all prefer Life. But bear with me a bit more, about numbers.

By the way, numbers might help us see how different our world is from God's Eternal Spiritual Realm! Well, maybe... Let's find out.

What are numbers? We put numbers on things as a way of counting them. Numbers help us compare things. "Two" is "one" plus "one". But numbers do much more than count. Weighing, measuring and e-valu-ating things is a means of survival and competition. Just think about what's in your wallet! Numbers are everywhere, and yet they're not real.

What is "two"? "1+1"? But what is "one"? One and Two are just concepts.

Counting is just an idea.

"Two" is a concept. You can't show me "two". You can show me two cars. You can show me two houses. You can show me two children playing, or two people holding hands. You can show me two of almost any thing that exists on the earth. But you can't show me "two". And that's because numbers aren't real.

What is an "inch"? Can you show me an inch? You can show me a ruler. You can show me the crook of your thumb. You can show me a tiny little worm that might happen to be just as long as an "inch". (But that worm also has width and height. And depth! (Its guts!) And that worm has a drive to exist, to consume, to produce, to fulfill its whole purpose for being on Earth!

Is a worm the same thing as an "inch"? Obviously not. Nothing is. So I say, there is no such thing as an "inch". And inch is just a measurement, chosen by man, randomly, because of the size of one Englishman's thumb (a long time ago). And a "centimeter" is one-onehundreth of a "meter", which is based on some other random decision of men (less so long ago). But what is a "meter"? It's all just made up!

Measurements aren't real. Therefore, time isn't real. It's just numbers.

But at least time measures change consistently. I think that's the key. We do talk about "Time" like it's a thing that can be touched and used. I suppose Time feels real because it's always the same. The Tide is very reliable. It comes in, it goes out. The sun comes up and goes down every day. The seasons never change... thought they always change... but the change is consistent!

By the way, there's something of a picture of God in that last paragraph.

Seasons show something of God, like a River shows something of God. A River is an image of time-less-ness, because it never changes. But it always changes. At least, it's always moving, always flowing, always dynamic! Like the seasons. And again, that's very much like the Lord.

"Life" is something I can see, touch and hear all around me. Plants grow, children grow, adults... well, we grow and decay. But that's all REAL. And that's Life. Even the fruit I put in my mouth is real, juicy life... "Life" I can taste.

"Time" may not be real, but I think "Life" is very real. And one thing I think about "Life" is that it takes "Time" (in a manner of speaking!) :) Even God's LIFE - when it works itself out through men on this planet - takes TIME.

And that brings me back to Year-by-Year... at least, it will in just a minute.

God created the earth in "six" days. That was real. "Six days" is as real as "six ladybugs". The sun rose and went down. Six "days".

Now, God told Moses that creation story, and God used numbers to tell it. God also told Moses to have his people rest on the "seventh" day. So God uses numbers... at least, when he's dealing with men.

The seventh day is a picture of something higher. So even the number "seven" became a picture of something else that was higher. "Six" is the number of man because Adam was made on the sixth day of creation. Also, man works for six days, but rests on the seventh. All of this is designed by God. Because God wanted to paint pictures!

One reason God created Earth was to paint pictures of things in His Realm.

There is no measuring God. God is limitless. God is not "infinity" inches tall, either. He is limitless! Before Creation, God filled up the space he existed in. In that "heaven", he was everywhere. He was all of it. He was unlimited.

And yet, in a way, he was limited.

God was invisible. He wanted to be seen.
God was spiritual. He wanted to be touched.
God was pure Life. He wanted to keep growing.
He wanted to reproduce!

When God said, "Let their be Light" he was painting a picture of Himself, because Jesus Christ is the True Light. And God himself got to see the Art he'd created. The Father saw a picture of his Son.

That picture was painted across a realm we call time and space.

Now, Time is limitless, until God decides to end Time. And Space may truly go on forever, as far as our telescopes have seen so far, unless God decides to destroy Space. But in many, many, many ways Time and Space are completely limited.

There's never enough "Time" in a "day". People run out of "space" all the time. There's never enough money to go around. And there's never enough food to go around... that is... unless you're by the Sea with the carpenter from Galilee.

Jesus Christ came as the ultimate picture of God. He was God in human form. He walked around in a limited body. He came from a realm far above "time and space", before Creation, where things had been different. But now, Jesus Christ was God's picture.

He was God made visible.
He was God made touchable.
He was God... Growing!

He was God, getting ready to reproduce!

And... as a man... walking around on man's planet... growing up in a human body... becoming mature as a God-man in a limited time/space world... although the laws of Physics were not necessarily un-breakable to him (especially around storms... or water... or bread... or broken bones... or broken eyeballs)...

Walking around in a limited form, on a limited Earth, God Almighty had something else he got to do. Something he had been doing for all Eternity Past, but now he was getting to do it in a new way, in this physical realm.

He was growing.

And it took time.

Somehow... this is part of God's Purpose for his Man on the Earth. Somehow, still today, it is something that fits into His Idea for what we ought to be.

"Time" is just a word. But we use that word to represent the passing and the changing and the growing (or decaying) of whatever we see all around us.

"Time" is ON-GOING.

God is ON-GOING.

That's why I say there is no "time". It's just that all this stuff just keeps on going. (**And when God predicts or prophesies the future, it doesn't have to mean there is some "frozen future" out there that's "already happened". It might just mean He's a really good predicter or else it's just a promise he's really, really confident he can fulfill! By the way, John wrote Revelation in early 67 AD and most of it's prophecies came true in less than four years. That's some pretty good predicting, and they were specific prophecies. But Daniel was told things 500 years away, and those things were either a bit more general or else God was planning to "nudge" things along as it happened. It's like a kid was playing basketball with his uncle and the man says, "watch, now I'm gonna dunk on ya" and then he does! It's like Babe Ruth calling his shot... but much, much moreso! This isn't blasphemy - God's just really good at doing what he says he will do! But this is all just by the by...**)

There isn't some frozen future. There isn't any "time". It's a concept we use to measure events AND... to record them.

We also use time as a way to record past events.

What is "the fullness of time"? That's ripeness. When things were finally ready. God had Gabriel tell Daniel how long it would be until things were ready for the Messiah to come. (**I guess that just means God knew exactly how long he wanted or needed to take to get them ready. Then he worked towards it and made it all happen! But I digress again...**) And now, I have one final point.

The fullness of time involves ripening.

When I study the decades of the New Testament Era, as I'm working on Year-by-Year, I see ripening. I see things coming together. Those things took time.

Eventually, the conditions were just right.

It amazes me every time I look at these connections. The way things in Rome and around Israel's borders all influenced what happened to John the Baptist or Jesus or Paul... or the Gentile churches.

I don't know if all of it was meant to happen, or if some of it was just human tragedy. There sure are stories in Paul's letters about a lot of human tragedy going on in the churches. Then there was Nero's fire. I'd like to believe that was not supposed to happen to the church in Rome, but then I think about the legends of the Waldensian christians and I think, maybe so. Maybe the church in Rome was like a seed that fell into the earth and had to die... in order to reproduce.

Mostly, there are so many stories. So many wonderful things that need to be told...

So many ways to see the New Testament as Events that took place over Time.

There's a lot of Math in Chronology. And mainly, what I'm doing is chronology. Blame the day job if this post started out like a Math class! It's just what was on my mind this morning.

These days, a lot of what I'm doing may seem a bit "mathy". But there's a higher purpose in mind... as I hope you can see.

It just takes "time" to get it all done. ;)

A Jesus Question

Jesus lived in Nazareth until his early 30's. While there, he earned God's full pleasure. (Matt.3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22) From a human point of view, the Lord did nothing outstanding. But still, he grew in favor with God. (Luke 2:52)

How would YOU explain that?

How do you picture Jesus living in Nazareth?

Statistics...

It's hard to face facts, but this stuff always takes longer than I wish it would. Then again, a wise woman once told me you can grow a squash in 30 days, but it takes a hundred years to grow an Oak. I still wish this went faster, but I know I want an Oak and not a squash.

Volume One took me seven months of general prep-work before I posted 9 BC... and then it was another fifteen months of work after that until I finished 14 AD (part one). Twenty-three Year Books took 22 months, including two summers... and less than ten of those Years were extra busy or complicated, content wise.

So now I'm into month three of prep-work on Volume Two. Of the twenty-four Year Books ahead, at least eleven promise to be heavy labor... the ones at the end. And I'm feeling more and more like the first 13 YB's won't be half as interesting until I've nailed down all the ways they help us to *anticipate* what's ahead.

Rome, Judea, Galilee and believe it or not Arabia plays another big part. (Aretas the Nabatean is a key figure in 27/28 and 34 thru 37.) Whenever I finally get around to posting 14 AD (part two) the Books on 15 thru 19 are likely to go quick. But these days, I keep jumping back and forth from 23 to 37 in all kinds of ways... and I want to make sure that the "teens" AD make subtle points that foreshadow events from the 20's & 30's.

Anyway, it feels like it's taking forever. My goal is to get to Jesus' baptism (28 AD) before August, but I know it might take longer than that...

That is, unless we strike oil in the backyard! ;)

Writers' Purpose

Books are always affected by the purpose of their writers.

Ancient Historians and writers had their own biases and agendas. Tacitus, Dio Cassius, Suetonius, Velleius, Strabo, Plutarch, Josephus & Philo... every man had his own goals and bias. Lots of things got written down. Certain things didn't fit the agenda. That's just how it goes.

Now... Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were focused on Jesus Christ! Paul the letter writer was focused on helping young gentile churches stay focused on Christ and get through some problems. Meanwhile, Peter, James, Jude & John had their own people they were trying to care for. It's still the same - every man's writing reflects a specific purpose.

All of these writers showed a different piece of the picture. But what if there was one book that told the WHOLE STORY, all at once? What would that kind of a book even look like? What would be in it? What would we call it?

You might call it an "Exhaustive Chronology". I'll call it "Seventy-nine Year Books".

Whatever you call it, I know what it ought to be. It ought to be one complete telling of all the events, year-by-year, from Gabriel and Zechariah to the destruction of Jerusalem.

And what is the purpose?

To see the WHOLE PICTURE - all the events! To know what was going on before and after each passage of scripture got written and sent. To know what was going on before and after each letter got read by its original audience.

To know the full historical context of all the New Testament scriptures.

To know the CONTENT of those scriptures as EVENTS.

To know the New Testament as a Story.

To know what the Lord was saying AND DOING, for those 79 years.

To know BOTH the scriptures AND the power of God.

To know HIM better, through seeing the wholeness of His Word.

And to seek His direction for what to do next...