Richard Rowland

Yesterday, my wife and I were driving home from visiting friends, when I turned on the radio. The radio is usually tuned to a specific station, however, my wife had changed the setting on the radio-clock and must have accidentally moved the dial. Perhaps an omen.

What I was hearing is a story preluding Christ's Crusafiction. I don't recall the priest's name, nor his position in the Catholic hierarchy that's telling the story. There were elements of the story that I had not heard. Some of the things mentioned were of the miracles that Jesus is supposed to have performed, his time standing before Piolet, and other stuff.

Most are aware of some of the miracles; I won't list 'em here. However, the priest mentioned Jesus replacing an ear lopped off a soldier, by one of the disciples, I forget which. I had forgotten that miracle.

As I listened, I thought of the movie the Green Mile, starring, as I recall, Tom Hanks. The plot involves a large black man who resides on death row. However, he has the ability to miraculously heal the sick, in fact, he's smuggled out of prison to heal the warden's wife.

Still, when his execution date rolls around, hanks, the warden, and anyone else who happens to be concerned looks on in anguish as the deed is done.

I hesitate to state my beliefs or questions, for I would h**e for my thoughts and questions, in any way, be responsible for creating doubt.

Still, if it was shown that Jesus or anyone else had the ability to miraculously replace an ear that had been severed and other miracles, and surely there had to be witnesses, would society allow them to be harmed?

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Absolutely...

What we cannot explain...

What threatens the status quo....

What is different...

Must be destroyed...

Kevyn

If the story is true it is obvious that the society, or at least those present allowed him to be harmed. The better question to me is of the Roman soldier. Think about it, in an age before modern medicine your ear is chopped off and a man who professes to be the son of God sticks it back on good as new. It is pretty unfathomable that he and the soldiers around him wouldn’t change allegiance from Rome to Christ.

plainlogic

Wolf counselor Loc: Heart of Texas

The entire Roman empire eventually changed allegiance to Christ.............. Goober.

Why do you think they are called "Roman Catholic ' ?

Have you not been educated about Emperor Constantine ?

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Would it make sense to you if the religious authority actually knew that Jesus was the expected Messiah? He had, afterall, fulfilled all that the Prophets said he would do with the exception of His pending death prophecies: the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the dead to rise, etc. What Jesus wasn't, was the sort of militant Messiah they wanted, one who would allow Israel to be the supreme power. Furthermore, who was this upstart Messiah the hardest on? He called the religious authorities "vipers." He actually called the religious/political authorities of the Jews vipers; not because they weren't honorable men but because they had made the worship of God so complicated the common man could not follow it. When they observed that Jesus was a mere man, not understanding his dual nature, they sought to destroy Him before He could discredit them any further. It does not matter that He healed an ear or raise the dead to life, He threatened their standing, their position, their p***e. It takes little imagination to comprehend this is the traditional way, even into our own age, that those whose power and influence is threatened seek to destroy their opponent? And of course Jesus associated with sinners and colluded with the Samaritans too. Yes, there is little doubt they knew who Jesus was.

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

The number one job of the Sanhedrin was to keep the peace because every uprising ended in thousands of Jewish deaths. I don’t believe (;though there were two who might have) thought Jesus was the Messiah . They thought he was no more than a false prophet taking power from them and shouting blasphemy.

Richard Rowland

I can see both sides of this issue. I'm probably, just, knowledgable enough on these issues to be dangerous. However, a while back, I ordered David Limbaugh's book, "the EMMAUS CODE. " I honestly couldn't get into it all that much!

Still, I did read enough to question the value of a prophecy. I don't recall the name of the king or what his t***sgressions were, but the prophets were admonishing with threats of this or that as if the guy's days of ruling were numbered, yet he ruled for another forty years-or-so. So much for prophecies!

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

In Jesus’s time, the Pharisees were the rising religious leaders of their day, with a radical approach to re-interpreting and codifying the minutiae of the Jewish law, but the more conservative and traditional Saducees still held the high priesthood. The Sanhedrin, as I recall, were more like a court. No mere prophet could ever have done what Jesus accomplished and He was well known in the regions. Until the Forerunner, Israel had not heard a prophetic word from God for over 400 years. They lamented greatly over this fact and questioned if He had abandoned them. They were primed and ready for John the Baptist and his message concerning the coming of the Messiah was clear. But who John was created questions too but he answered them quite clearly.

plainlogic

You have to think outside the box. Today can't be compared to 2000 years ago, I mean, c'mon! Todays time yeah, people make a stink when they THINK or some one tells them something with little or known facts, hell, they go ape when false statements are made.

So, I guess back then people heard stories, they followed the stories. King of the jews? Hey, you wouldn't want to be around anyone saying king or ruler that was not Augustus, that's signing your death warrant. People probably spread the word amongst themselves and tried to keep things quiet around the Governing. After all, any uprising, you were dead, period.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

In BC Rome a contractor was sued for building apartments using substandard material and garbage collectors went on strike. Technology has changed. Human nature not so much I fear. When Jesus fed the multitude there were gathered 5000 men. This did not include women and children. I expect that is not a way to act if one wishes to remain anonymous and quiet.

Rose42

Yet Judas was with him for 3 years, saw countless miracles and betrayed him all the same.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

If you consider it a betrayal...

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Judas' sin was not that he betrayed Jesus, which he did. There is not a person alive who, at one time or another, has not betrayed Jesus. Judas' sin is the ultimate example of the sin of p***e. He thought his sin so great that even Jesus could not forgive him. To that end, there are people today who feel the exact same way as Judas did and this remains not only a betrayal of Christ, it is also a denial.

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

You really should avoid making comments about something of which you nothing.

Today's Bible lesson.

Those who arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane were Sanhedrin temple guards, not Roman soldiers. The man in question was Malchus, a servant of the high priest Caiaphas. He carried no weapons.

Malchus was gifted with a near perfect memory, he had the ability to retain much of what was said. He was the high priest's "EAR". In fact, that is what Caiaphas called him, "Malchus, you are my EAR." When Jesus entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Caiaphas told him to, "go watch and listen to what this Nazarene upstart is up to." So, Malchus did. He stayed as close to Jesus as possible and listened to every word He spoke, on the street and in the temple when Jesus preached, Malchus listened.

When the temple guards, about a dozen, along with Judas Iscar**t, were dispatched to arrest Jesus, Caiaphas sent Malchus with them. The priest wanted a full report of the actions there. Judas knew where Jesus had gone and he led the guards to the Garden of Gethsemane. During the scuffle to capture Jesus, the disciple Peter drew his sword to resist. (Why would a disciple be armed?)

It was night in torch light, Peter didn't choose his target, he could just as easily have attacked one of the guards, but when he struck, he cut off the high priest's EAR. Oops!

Jesus did not stick the man's severed ear "back on good as new". He CREATED a brand new ear. None of the guards witnessed this event. But. this had a profound effect on Malchus. He remained in the garden, completely senseless. He did not follow the guards and their captive back to the temple. When he recovered enough to move, the desire to please his master had gone. He made his way to the temple courtyard to watch from a distance as the trial of Jesus began. Bewildered and ashamed, he went back to his home where he wept and pondered what had happened to him, he did not report to Caiaphas.

After Jesus was condemned, after the f**gellation, as Jesus bore the cross on the brutal climb to Golgotha, Malchus followed the crowd. When he arrived at the scene of the crucifixion and saw Jesus h*****g on the cross, His body and face mutilated and bleeding, Malchus knelt down and prayed.

Consider Simon (or Simeon) Peter, the disciple who cut off Malchus' ear. Simon Peter’s first name comes from the Hebrew, shamah, meaning “hearing.” In scripture, the name is applied to the gift of spiritual hearing.

In the region of Caesarea Phillipi, when Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" The replies were "John the Baptist", "Elijah", "Jeremiah", but when Peter responded, he said, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." Peter was the first among them to see Jesus for who He really is.

I'll leave it up to you to connect the dots.

You do not simply read the Bible, you study it.

In Jesus' Holy name, Amen.