{"id":72721,"date":"2019-04-09T23:36:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T05:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=72721"},"modified":"2019-04-09T23:36:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T05:36:06","slug":"new-testament-notes-191-192","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/new-testament-notes-191-192.html","title":{"rendered":"New Testament Notes 191-192"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Brueghel's<\/a>
Jonah and the Whale, by\u00a0Jan Brueghel the Elder, 17th century
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luke 11:29-32<\/a><\/p>\n

Compare Matthew 12:38-42; Mark 8:11-12<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some have argued that, because Jesus cites the story of Jonah, that means that he believed the story of Jonah to be historically true. \u00a0And, because Jesus was the Son of God, his believing \u00a0the story of Jonah to be historically true proves that, in fact, it is<\/em> historically true.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I myself am disposed to believe that there is a historical core, at a minimum, to the little story of Jonah.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not at all sure that either of the propositions in the first paragraph above is sound.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly conceivable to me that someone might cite a story to make a point without taking any position at all on whether the story is literally true, or, even, while believing it to be wholly fictional. \u00a0(\u201cIt\u2019s just as\u00a0Hamlet said to Polonius.\u201d \u00a0\u201cShe looks like Cruella De Vil.\u201d \u00a0\u201cConsider Iago, if you want to see how false friends operate.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even if the mortal Jesus assumed it to be literally historical, that may or may not prove it to be so. \u00a0I\u2019m supposing that the veil that enshrouds all of us largely covered Jesus, too, during his mortality. \u00a0Otherwise, if he had an ever-clear memory of all of the details of the pre-mortal council, and so forth, his mortality would be so unlike ours that, in a sense, it would be irrelevant. \u00a0His trials would have been very different from ours. \u00a0He would never have experienced the doubts and uncertainties that are our daily fare. \u00a0And, if he was veiled at all, that would probably mean that his culture was genuinely the culture of his time, just as his diet and clothing were those of his time, and just as his body was definitively that of a first-century Palestinian Jew and his daily language was first-century Palestinian Aramaic. \u00a0And the reigning presumption among the ordinary people of his time and place, so far as we know, was that the story of Jonah was historically true. \u00a0Probably in all its details.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

With that said, though, as I\u2019ve indicated above, I\u2019m fine with the idea that there is at least a historical core to Jonah\u2019s literally wonderful story. \u00a0In fact, I\u2019m disposed to believe it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Ancient<\/a>
An ancient oil lamp (Wikimedia CC public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luke 11:33<\/p>\n

Compare Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a bushel, but on a stand, that those who enter may see the light.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a tension here. \u00a0The Lord repeatedly tells us not to do good works in order to be \u201cseen of men,\u201d but we\u2019re also told to \u201clet your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Are these two commandments contradictory?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In my judgment, plainly not.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the difference:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

We\u2019re to do good works, yes. \u00a0But not so that people might glorify and admire us<\/em>. \u00a0Not in order for our<\/em> sheer wonderfulness to be seen. \u00a0Rather, so that, in seeing whatever good works we manage to do, people might glorify God<\/em>. \u00a0They should see the life of Christian discipleship and say, \u201cI want that. \u00a0I need that for myself and for my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not about us. \u00a0It\u2019s never about us. \u00a0Whatever we may sometimes imagine.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Luke 11:29-32 Compare Matthew 12:38-42; Mark 8:11-12 \u00a0 Some have argued that, because Jesus cites the story of Jonah, that means that he believed the story of Jonah to be historically true. \u00a0And, because Jesus was the Son of God, his believing \u00a0the story of Jonah to be historically true proves that, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Testament Notes 191-192<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    Luke 11:29-32 Compare Matthew 12:38-42; Mark 8:11-12   Some have argued that, because Jesus cites the story of Jonah, that means that\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/new-testament-notes-191-192.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Testament Notes 191-192\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"    Luke 11:29-32 Compare Matthew 12:38-42; 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