Jesus
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1. Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen, A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, vol. 7, The Cathetical Lectures, ed. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1978), 15.
2. For a thorough discussion on the historicity of John and his baptism, see Robert L. Webb, “Jesus’s Baptism by John: Its Historicity and Significance,” in Bock and Webb, eds., Key Events in the Life of the Historical Jesus, chap. 3, pp. 95–150 (see intro., n. 3). See also Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, chap. 11.
3. Num. 4:3, 34–35, 47.
4. Some scholars believe John received part of his spiritual formation in the Qumran community.
5. Matt. 11:11.
6. Isa. 40:3.
7. Mal. 3:1; see also Mal. 4:5; Luke 1:17; Mark 9:13.
8. We agree with those scholars who suggest that baptism means immersion.
9. 2 Kings 2:6–14.
10. At a very transitional time in Israel’s past, a dramatic sign was given that speaks prophetically of a sign that will be given in the near future. It is both the Bride Theft and the baptism of the 144,000 sons of Israel. The setting was a showdown on Mount Carmel between Elijah’s God and Baal. The 950 prophets of Baal and Asherah and the one prophet of the God of Israel faced off in prayer. The God who was to win was the God who would answer by fire. The stakes were high—winner take all—all the hearts of Israel. See 1 Kings 18:30–39.
11. Scot McKnight says that Zechariah was likely a Sadducee, or at least sympathetic to their concerns, which was the maintenance of the temple system (McKnight, The Story of the Christ, 16).
12. Luke 1:36–37.
13. Some scholars (like Joseph Ratzinger and David Flusser) believe it’s reasonable to assume that John was part of the Qumran community (near the northeast corner of the Dead Sea) known as the Essenes. The Essenes lived in the foot of a cliff very close to where John was baptizing. They were known for their ritual baths, isolation, study of the Torah, and prayer. They were “the Pharisee’s Pharisees.” They believed that the Pharisees didn’t go far enough in being pure and separate, so they left Jerusalem and civilization to study Scripture and observe the laws of cleanliness in the desert.
Other scholars believe John probably wasn’t an Essene. Ben Witherington says John may have spent some time at Qumran and used the same prophetic texts that the Essenes did, but he interpreted those texts differently than they interpreted them. The Essenes were more introverted and exclusive while John (and Jesus) were more extroverted and inclusive (What Have They Done With Jesus?, 300). N. T. Wright doesn’t think John was an Essene, but it’s highly likely that he drew support from the original Essenes (from N. T. Wright’s interview with John Ankerberg, “Who Were the Essenes and Were Jesus and John the Baptist Essenes?” posted on YouTube, November 3, 2009). It is from the Essenes that we have the Dead Sea scrolls; the Essenes were prolific copyists.
14. Isa. 40:3–5; Mal. 3:1; 4:5 with Matt. 3:3; 11:10–14; 17:10–12; Mark 1:2–4; 9:11–13; Luke 1:76; 3:4–6; 7:27; John 1:23.
15. See Leonard Sweet, Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2010), 171–203.
16. Recall Jesus’ words about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see?” (Matt. 11:7).
17. Some scholars believe that John deliberately selected the location of Aenon near Salim, just south of the Sea of Galilee (John 3:23), because it was near Tishbe, the home of Elijah (“The Royal Line of Jesus?” www .benwitherington.blogspot.com).
18. Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (New York: Doubleday, 2007), chap. 1.
19. Matt. 3:7.
20. Bruce, Jesus, Lord & Savior, 21.
21. John 3:28–29.
22. Josh. 3.
23. Josh. 4:1–11.
24. Mark 1:9.
25. James D. G. Dunn says that it’s quite possible that Jesus apprenticed to John (Jesus Remembered, 350) (see intro., n. 3). He states that “this point is widely recognized.”
26. Mark 10:38; Luke 12:50.
27. Jonah 1:12.
28. Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1, chap. 1.
29. Luke 3:21.
30. Luke 3:22.
31. Isa. 42:1 NIV.
32. John 1:23.
33. Gen. 1:2.
34. The Spirit anointed Jesus, but John baptized Him in water. The two are connected.
35. Ps. 110:4; Heb. 2–7. The high priestly ministry of Jesus was prefigured by both Melchizedek (in Genesis) and Aaron (in Exodus).
36. 2 Sam. 5:4.
37. Acts 2:29–30.
38. Acts 10:38 NIV.
39. Acts 2:22 NIV.
40. Luke 24:49 NIV. See also Acts 2.
41. Acts 2–12.
42. Acts 13–20.
43. Luke 4:18–19 NIV.
44. Isa. 11:1–2; 45:7; 61:1.
45. Ex. 30:23ff.; 29:21ff.; Luke 4:18ff.
46. Matt. 21:23ff.; Mark 11:27ff.
47. Ps. 72:1–8; Isa. 9, 11, 42.
48. Matt. 3:17.
49. Eph. 1:6 KJV.
50. Acts 13:33; Rom. 1:4.
51. John 1:29.
52. Willimon, Why Jesus?, ix (see intro., n. 6).
53. 1 Cor. 5:7.
54. John 19:36.
55. 1 Peter 1:19.
56. Rev. 5:6; 17:14; 21:14.
57. Isa. 53:7ff.
58. Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:2.
59. Ps. 115:16.
60. 2 Cor. 4:4 KJV.
61. Eph. 2:2.
62. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11.
63. Nee, A Table in the Wilderness, April 19 (see ch. 2, n. 183).
64. John 14:30.
65. It should be noted that satan quoted the Psalms out of context. In like manner, he twisted God’s words when he tempted Eve.
66. Matt. 8:29 NIV; see also Luke 8:28 NIV.
67. Luke 4:34 NIV.
68. Gen. 1:26; Luke 10:19.
69. Gen. 1:26ff.
70. Gen. 2:15.
71. Luke 8:28 esv.
72. 1 John 4:1–3.
73. John 12:24.
74. Matt. 4:3; authors’ paraphrase. Satan was questioning what God had just said to Jesus: “You are My beloved Son.” See Matthew 3:16–17.
75. Matt. 4:4; authors’ paraphrase.
76. Phil. 2:7.
77. Ps. 8:4–5.
78. Matt. 4:8; John 6:15.
79. Matt. 4:4.
80. Matt. 4:5–6; authors’ paraphrase.
81. Matt. 4:7.
82. Matt. 4:9.
83. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11.
84. Matt. 4:10.
85. John 5:26–27.
86. Luke 4:8.
87. James 4:7.
88. Mark 1:13.
89. Jesus rebuked satan by name on two occasions in the Gospels (see Matt. 4:10; Luke 4:8 and Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33).
90. Heb. 4:15.
91. Heb. 2:17–18.
92. Eugene Peterson, from the foreword to Mark Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006), 11.
93. See Mark 3:11–12, 22–27; 5:1–20; Luke 10:18; 13:16; 22:31; John 13:2, 27.
94. 1 John 2:16.
95. Gen. 3:6.
96. Matt. 4:4; John 4:32.
97. Luke 4:8.
98. Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10 KJV.
99. John 12:24.
100. Dodd, According to the Scriptures, 133 (see intro., n. 20).
101. Deut. 8:3, paraphrased.
102. Deut. 6:16.
103. Deut. 6:13, paraphrased.
104. Deut. 8:2–3 NIV.
105. Matt. 4:1–4 NIV.
106. N. T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (2011), 41 (see intro., n. 19).
107. Gen. 32:28.
108. C. H. Dodd further makes the case that Jesus is the New Israel in The Founder of Christianity, chap. 6 (see intro., n. 6).
109. Gen. 28:12.
110. Joseph Ratzinger, Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 1, xviii (see chap. 7, n. 18).
111. Rom. 5:19 NIV.
112. Luke 11:4 NRSV.
113. Malcolm Guite, What Do Christians Believe? Belonging and Belief in Modern Christianity (New York: Walker, 2002), 70.
114. Matt. 4:13; Isa. 9:1–2.
115. J. L. Reed, Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: A Re-examination of the Evidence (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2002), 149–52.
116. Ibid., 152.
117. Matt. 4:17.
118. Matt. 9:1.
119. Mark 1:21; Luke 4:31.
120. Jesus would later denounce Capernaum along with Chorazin and Bethsaida, two towns near Capernaum (Matt. 11:21; Luke 10:13).
121. Dunn, Jesus Remembered, 319. Scholars are not agreed on whether the house mentioned in the gospel of Mark (2:1; 3:20; 7:17) belonged to Jesus or Peter.
122. Reed, Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus,166. Dunn observes that Mark made a point of recording Jesus’ crisscrossing of the lake (Mark 4:35–5:43; 6:30–56; 8:1–26) (Dunn, Jesus Remembered, 319, footnote 316).
123. Mark 1:39; Matt. 4:23; Mark 6:6; Matt. 9:35; Luke 8:1.
124. Mark 6:1–6.
125. R. A. Horsley, Galilee: History, Politics, People (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1995), 190–193.
126. Jesus promised Nathanael an open heaven also (John 1:51). The best discussion of the meaning of an open heaven that we know of is T. Austin-Sparks’s remarkable little book The School of Christ (Lindale, TX: David Wilkerson Ministries, 2000), 199ff.
Chapter 8: Jesus Chooses His Disciples
1. Stephen M. Miller, The Jesus of the Bible (Ulrichsville, OH: Barbour, 2009), 127.
2. For more on this, see Leonard Sweet, I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012).
3. Mark 6:34.
4. Mark 2:15–16; 3:7–9; Matt. 8:19, 21; John 2:2; 19:38; Luke 24:13ff; Acts 1:21–23.
5. Luke 8:1–3; John 11:1ff.
6. Luke 6:12–13.
7. Mark 3:13–15 NIV.
8. 1 Kings 12:31; 13:33.
9. Pirkei Avot 1:16.
10. John 15:16.
11. Richard Lamb, The Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003), 17.
12. Luke 6:12–13 NLT.
13. John 5:19–20; 8:28.
14. Luke 8:1; 9:12; 22:47; Acts 6:2.
15. See Meyer, The Aims of Jesus (see intro., n. 6).
16. Matt. 19:28.
17. John 1:51.
18. John 1:47; emphasis added.
19. Hos. 11:1.
20. Matt. 2:15.
21. Isa. 49:6.
22. John 8:12.
23. Matt. 5:14.
24. Compare Isaiah 49:8 with 2 Corinthians 6:2, for example. The servant songs were first identified by Bernhard Dhum in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four psalms written about the servant of YHWH: servant song 1: Psalm 42:1–4; servant song 2: Psalm 49:1–6; servant song 3: Psalm 50:4–9; servant song 4: Psalm 52:13–53:12. Some scholars regard Isaiah 61:1–3 to be a fifth servant song.
25. Gal. 3:16.
26. 2 Cor. 1:20.
27. Christopher J. H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, 44 (see intro., n. 55).
28. N. T. Wright, The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is (2011), 184 (see intro., n. 19).
29. From “The Temple and the Church’s Mission,” part 1 of an interview with Keith Giles, www.subversive1.com. Beale’s book The Temple and the Church’s Mission takes more than 450 pages to demonstrate that Jesus is the reality of the temple, the garden of Eden, and creation itself. See also R. T. France’s discussion on Jesus as the new Israel in Jesus and the Old Testament, 50–52 (see intro., n. 22).
30. Ex. 19:6.
31. Sparks, Words of Wisdom and Revelation, 38 (see chap. 1, n. 105).
32. Matt. 10:2–4; Mark 3:14–19; Luke 6:13–16.
33. Mark 3:17; Luke 9:49, 54.
34. Some scholars believe James and his brother John were from a family of some wealth and influence possibly derived from their fishing trade. After all, their father owned his own boat, maybe even a small fleet (Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, eds. Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1992], 179). Fishing was a major industry in Galilee. Darrell Bock points out that fishermen were the closest thing to our middle class in the West. They even had hired servants (Mark 1:20) (Darrell Bock, Jesus According to the Scripture, 98 [see intro., n. 6]). Peter’s mother-in-law had enough wealth to own a home. Matthew was a tax collector, which was a lucrative Roman government job. The point of all this? There was economic diversity as well as other kinds of diversity among the disciples.
35. John 1:35–37.
36. Acts 1:26.
37. Acts 1:22.
38. Luke 5:10.
39. John 1:43–44.
40. Acts 4:13.
41. F. F. Bruce, Jesus Lord & Savior (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1986), 51.
42. Craig Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 182ff.
43. Matt. 9:14–17 NIV.
44. Rev. 21:14.
45. Some scholars, like J. D. Crossan, believe that the life expectancy of Jewish males in the Jewish state in the first century was twenty-nine. Others put it higher, as this figure may include infancy death rates. (Of all the humans born in the first-century Roman empire, half died before age five. And 25 percent of babies did not survive their first year.) Other scholars put the life expectancy of males in the Roman empire at forty-five.
46. Keener, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, 246ff.
47. See Jesus’ prayer in John 17.
48. See Matthew 11:19.
49. Teri Hyrkas, posted on the Facebook page of Leonard Sweet. Used with permission.
50. 1 Cor. 15:45.
51. We talk a good bit about living by the life of Christ in our book Jesus Manifesto.
52. Acts 1:21.
53. 1 John 1:1–3.
54. See Viola, Finding Organic Church, chap. 3 (see chap. 1, n. 18); A. B. Bruce’s The Training of The Twelve, or Passages Out of the Gospels (New York: Armstrong, 1889); and Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Evangelism, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2010).
55. 1 Sam. 22.
56. 1 Chron. 12:8.
57. Rev. 21:2; Gal. 4:26.
58. See Matthew 19:28. For a thorough discussion on the historicity of the Twelve and their missional significance, see Scot McKnight, “Jesus and the Twelve,” in Bock and Webb, eds., Key Events in the Life of the Historical Jesus, 181–214 (see intro., n. 3).
59. For a detailed discussion showing how Jesus’ leadership paradigm was radically different from both the Jewish and Gentile paradigms, see Frank Viola’s Reimagining Church, chaps. 8–13 (see chap. 1, n. 18), and Leonard Sweet’s I Am a Follower.
60. Acts 2:17–18 NIV.
61. Matt. 23:10–12 NASB .
62. Matt. 18:1.
63. Matt. 20:20–21.
64. Besides lifting up a child as the model of leadership, Jesus told His disciples that they would never equal Him (John 13:16; Matt. 10:25). He was fully conscious that He was the Messiah and the Son of God.
65. This section is taken from Frank’s spoken message, “God’s View of a Woman,” http://www.ptmin.org/view.htm.
66. For an excellent treatment on this subject, see Jewish Women in Greco-Roman Palestine: An Inquiry into Image and Status by Tal Ilan (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996).
67. One hundred women are worth only two men, says Berakoth 45b. See The Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Berakot, trans. A. Cohen (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1921), 293.
68. Tosefta Berakhot, Vilna Shas 6:23, states that these three blessings should be recited each day, as quoted in Hayim Halevy Donin, To Pray as a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service (New York: Basic Books,
1980), 194.
69. Luke 7:36ff.
70. Luke 10:38–42.
71. Luke 10:41–42; authors’ paraphrase.
72. John 11:27.
73. Luke 8:1–3; authors’ paraphrase.
74. Luke 23:55; emphasis added.
75. Acts 1:14; emphasis added.
76. The wording of Luke 8:1–2 indicates that these women were followers of Jesus just as much as the Twelve were. The phrase “with Him” (syn auto) is terminology used for discipleship in Luke (Luke 8:38; 9:18 niv; 22:56). See the discussion in Green, McKnight, and Marshall, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 178 (see chap. 4, n. 1).
77. Willimon, Why Jesus?, 69 (see intro., n. 6).
78. Luke 8:1–3.
79. Some manuscripts say seventy-two.
80. Gen. 10; Deut. 32:8; Ex. 1:5.
81. Matt. 15:24.
82. Num. 11:16.
83. Luke 14:26; Matt. 10:35–37; Luke 9:60; Matt. 8:22; Mark 3:33–35.
84. Mark 3:33–35.
85. Luke 14:26; Mark 10:29.
86. Mark 2:14; Mark 1:16–17.
87. Mark 10:30.
88. Matt. 23:8.
89. See Sweet and Viola, Jesus Manifesto, chap. 9.
90. Mark 5:37; 9:2; Matt. 26:37.
91. Mark 3:16; Luke 6:14; Matt. 10:2; Acts 1:13; 1 Cor. 15:5–8 NIV.
92. Matt. 26:69ff.
93. John 21:15ff.
94. Acts 2:14ff.
95. For a discussion on Peter’s ten failures and the Lord’s unexpected response to each of them, see Frank Viola’s “Remember Peter: Rethinking the Love of Christ” (audio): http://ptmin.podbean.com/?s=remember+peter.
96. Matt. 12:48–49.
97. John 1:18; Rom. 8:29.
98. Heb. 2:11.
99. Matt. 28:10.
100. John 19:26–27.
101. Viola, Finding Organic Church. Some scholars call the Twelve “the eschatological people of God.”
102. See Frank Viola, Reimagining Church, chap. 5.
103. For a detailed unfolding of the eternal purpose of God, see Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here (see chap. 1, n. 59); and DeVern F. Fromke, Ultimate Intention, rev. ed. (Indianapolis, IN: Sure Foundation, 1998).
Chapter 9: Jesus’ Mission Statement
1. 1 John 3:8.
2. Matt. 25:31–46.
3. See John 14:23.
4. Mark 15:17; John 19:2.
5. John 19:19.
6. Matt. 23:27.
7. Matt. 25:31–46.
8. Bill Hull, Straight Talk on Spiritual Power (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 86.