Jesus often used typical rabbinic methods when teaching his talmidim. It was not uncommon for a first-century rabbi to shock his followers so that they would not soon forget his lessons.On one such shocking occasion, Jesus took his young disciples to the fresh water spring of Caesarea Philippi.

This fresh water spring has a different appearance today; it no longer flows from the mouth of the cave in which the water pours upwards from the bowels of the earth. It appears little more than a large puddle, as you can see from the picture above.         

What was so shocking about this spring? In Jesus’ day, it was considered to be the place where Pan, the goat-god, would travel to Hades each Fall and re-enter the world each Spring. To entice Pan, his pagan worshipers would have intercourse with goats on the platform outside of this cave, hoping to have him appear and give them all they had hoped for.

This spring, and others like it, was thought to be a gateway to the underworld, to which no man could travel and live to tell about it. All around the outside of the cave were niches cut into the cliff which were used to place ceramic idols of pan, and another large niche on the ground level was used to tie up the goats in preparation for worship.Here at the Gates of Hades, among many dead gods, Jesus asks his disciples to tell him who they believe he is. To which Peter responds, “You are the Son of the ‘Living’ God.”

The Gates of Hades represented one of those places where sin abounded, even beyond the imagination of the most profane. And yet Jesus assures his talmidim that, “…on this rock I will build my assembly and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Even those whom a Jew would never come within ten feet can enter the Kingdom!

The gateway to the underworld, with all of its appeal and lure of mystery and perversion cannot keep the Kingdom of Heaven from invading and surviving to tell about it.

In His dust,
Johnny

© 2010 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Giving to the ones we love is an important part of our culture in the United States, as well as the cultures of many other countries. Most people enjoy the practice of giving things to one another as a token of friendship, love or appreciation.

Some of us are better at giving than others, as there are those who give what they would want to receive and there are those who give only to be noticed for their exemplary gift-giving ability. And then there are those who give genuinely from his or her heart.

Samuel Lachs teaches that ancient Jews believed that the evidence of a true child of God included the three virtues of prayer, charity, and repentance. Giving to the poor was an act of righteousness which was expected to be observed by all people who claimed to have turned from their sin and live for God.

Just as there are different intentions of gift-giving today, even the Jews who considered themselves pious believers did not always practice obedience to God without personal agendas.

Matthew’s gospel records Jesus teaching that believers are to be careful not to practice acts of righteousness in order to be recognized by people. And when one gives to the poor, he or she is to do so privately (s. Matthew 6:1-4). Jesus elaborates on the subject of giving in secret by contrasting how some give by “sounding a trumpet.”

In the first century, there were thirteen collection boxes in the women’s court of the Temple, which were used to collect alms for the poor. The shape of the collection boxes, being wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, resembled a trumpet, and each time coins were dropped into the boxes they would make a distinctive sound. Some of the Pharisees were particularly interested in being noticed for their generous giving, and would drop large amounts of coins into the collection box at one time, which would make a loud noise that was dubbed “sounding the trumpet.”

Jesus used this well-known act of self-giving (self-righteousness) as an example of how not to give.

As Christmas 2009 is now behind us, perhaps we can all plan next years season of giving with the intention of giving from the heart.

In His dust,
Johnny

Ron Moseley Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church (Baltimore, Maryland: Lederer Books a division of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1996), p. 28.

Samuel Tobias Lachs A rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament (Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 1973), p. 112.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

Many of you will be surprised to learn that my great grandparents were slaves in America. Usually, we think of African Americans as those who represent the descendants of early American slavery, but there were also other peoples who were kidnapped, taken from the land of their ancestors and forced into slavery in America.

My father’s mother was the child of slaves who were taken from the Spanish Island of Menorca and used to develop the area in Jacksonville, Florida known as Mayport, where the Mayport Navy Base is located.

As a free American, I couldn’t imagine being owned by anyone. My dad and his brothers and sisters have shared stories with me of how my great-grandfather would not be allowed in the front door of a restaurant, but had to go around to the back to be served from a window or back door.

Some of us may have never thought about it, but if you owe anyone a debt, then you are their servant until the debt is paid.

Dave Ramsey shares some myths and truths about loaning money to relatives and friends:

“Myth: If I loan money to friends or relatives, I am helping them.

Truth: If I loan money to a friend or relative, the relationship will be strained or destroyed. The only relationship that would be enhanced is the kind resulting from one party’s being the master and the other party a servant.”

Paul’s letter to the Philippians follows the typical Greco-Roman form, but Paul makes some changes that cause his letters (not only his letter to the Philippians) to be uniquely Pauline. In studying Paul’s letter to the Philippians, one important aspect to note is that Paul does not introduce himself as an apostle, but as a fellow-slave of Jesus (Fee Letter, p. 62).

Often the word “servant” is used to translate the Greek word of this passage, but the Greeks, among the believers in Philippi, would have understood it to mean nothing less than a slave. In Greco-Roman societies, slavery was not like the racial slavery that devastated America, but it was still slavery. First century slaves in the Roman world were not free to do as they chose; they were under obligation as humble servants who belonged to someone. They were in debt to someone, who owned them until the debt was paid.

As David Arthur DeSilva explains, “…slavery in the ancient world was based on practicalities of conquest, criminal proceedings, birth into a slave family or defaulting on debts.”

And though being a slave would seem to represent the deepest loss of dignity for any person, the Savior of the universe would come to the world in the form of a slave.

Paul and Timothy mimicked the attitude of Jesus by living as slaves. In Philippians 2:7, Paul writes that Jesus “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a slave.”

The Septuagint’s use of the word δοῦλος (du-los) that is translated “servant” often refers to those who are called by God to be used for special and honorable service, such as Moses or David, but this letter from Paul, which has humility as its theme, would more than likely use the word to mean the less honorable role of someone owned by another (O’Brien The Epistle, p. 45). Paul and Timothy are not referring to themselves as honored representatives of God’s Kingdom, but as slaves of their Master, Jesus.

Paul, an apostle called by Jesus himself, and leader of God’s people, considers himself, along with Timothy, to be nothing more than a slave, owned by Jesus Christ.

As believers in Jesus, it is not our goal to be served, but to serve in honor of the one who owns us. We are in His service, serving in his household, and serving those whom Jesus calls his children.

In His dust,
Johnny

Works Cited:

Gordon D. Fee The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995) p. 62.

Peter T. O’Brien The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michiagan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. and U.K.: The Paternoster Press, Ltd., 1991) p. 45.

Dave Ramsey The Total Money Makeover (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2003, 2007) p. 24.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved

I have been criticized, from time to time, because I allow my wife to assert authority, when I should be the “leader.” It should be said that those who are dishing out the criticism are always those who are from a much different generation, and, ironically, they are usually women.

Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s was a confusing time for the male species of the human animal. The women’s lib movement was in full swing, and men were forced to establish themselves in a new role: holding doors and offering to carry books had become taboos. The boys who grew up in that era were losing the sense of awe for women and their mysteriously magical aura that our grandparents worked hard to instill. Women were now to be equal with men, according to that which Americans believed was dominant behavior, such as working outside the home, leading in business and government, and even wearing suits. Women believed that those sociological behaviors represented “being on top.”

We may be naïve or simply ignorant enough to believe that the gender war is a unique trend, but it is actually a cultural battle that is as old as the Garden of Eden.

The myth of Lilith is an ancient Jewish story of Adam’s first wife. In the story, Adam would not allow Lilith to dominate (be on top) during sex, so she left him in anger and became a demon of the night who seduces men into having sex so that she can give birth to demon children.

Even more similar to our current male v. female battle for dominance, is that of the real-life, first century, anti-traditional “New Woman” of Rome. As women were beginning to gain their own wealth and education, they were also losing the respect and adoration of the public who thought that women were most beautiful and respectable when they carried themselves more modestly. Like the high classed prostitutes of first century Rome, these new women wore expensive clothing that revealed more than was expected along with costly jewelry and bodily décor.

The difficulty for Paul in his first letter to Timothy rests in the cultural and sociological crux of this gender war. In Ephesus, the new woman posed a difficulty for the Christian church, as Christian women were to resist attracting others to themselves rather than to Christ.

“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1Timothy 2:9-10 NIV).

The confusion for modern readers concerning the above passage from Paul’s first letter to Timothy lies within our misunderstanding of Paul’s battle with the first century women’s lib movement in Rome, which is not completely unlike our own gender crisis in America today. Right or wrong, people will always find it difficult to know our role as human beings, because of our desire to dominate.

“To the woman he said…’Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you’” (Gen 3:16b NIV).

The desire to be on top is a problem that neither Lilith, Eve, the new woman of Rome nor modern women have been able to resist. And modesty is something that both, men and women, would do better to display more often.

In His dust,

Johnny

Works Cited:

Philip H. Towner New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Letters to Timothy and Titus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006), p. 197.

Bruce W. Winter After Paul Left Corinth: The Influence of Secular Ethics and Social Change (Cambridge, UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.), p. 123.

© 2009 Jonathan P. Gainey and Flock’s Diner.
All Rights Reserved