1/31/2008

Peter and the angel

Acts 12:6-10 - The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.

Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

I can understand (sort of) how Peter and the angel could have been invisible to the guards as they walked by. I wonder though if those who were watching the gate -- and surely there would have been guards at the gate -- could see the gate open apparently of its own accord.

I wonder too if someone had to quietly pull it shut later (before anyone important noticed), or if it closed by itself too.

1/30/2008

Cornelius the centurion

Acts 10:1-2 - At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

I wonder whether Cornelius became a God-fearing man before or after he became a centurion. Or for that matter, before or after he became a Roman soldier. Either way, it may very well have been very difficult at times to be both God-fearing and a centurion. The point is though that it was possible.

1/28/2008

The grapevine?

Acts 9:11-14 - The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

"Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

I wonder how Ananias knew what Saul had done in preparation for his journey to Damascus. Was there a Christian grapevine running between Jerusalem and Damascus? Someone either in the chief priests' company or in Saul's own camp must have leaked the information to Jesus' disciples, and they must have quickly passed it on to those Christians in Damascus.

I wonder if Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea had anything to do with this.

1/27/2008

Philip appears

Acts 8:40 - Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

I wonder if anyone saw Philip arrive or materialize, as the case may be.

I wonder what the trip was like. Could Philip remember it? Did he ever try to describe it to anyone? Was it describable?

1/25/2008

Philip leaves

Acts 8:39 - When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

I wonder if the eunuch actually saw Philip being taken away. Did he float off into the distance until he was too small to see? Did he dissolve or vanish on the spot? Or did the eunuch turn around and Philip simply wasn't there anymore? Did anyone else in the caravan see him go?

I wonder if Philip's removal was a surprise to anyone in the party. Perhaps it was more surprising to some than to others. It certainly would have been an interesting addition to the story that would be told when they all got home.

I wonder how many travelers were in the troupe -- and how many times they got to tell the story.

1/24/2008

Philip sits

Acts 8:30-31 - Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

I wonder how big this chariot was. There was room for at least two men to sit. The chariot had probably stopped moving. Were they sitting on the back edge of a Ben Hur racing style chariot? Was there still a driver aboard? Was this a fancier chariot? This was, after all, the vehicle used for long journeys by an important queen's treasurer. Was it perhaps even enclosed, looking more like a stagecoach? Was it cushioned? Did it have (real) gold trim with jewels?

Philip listens

Acts 8:30 - Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

I wonder why the eunuch was reading aloud. Most people read silently to themselves unless they're reading to someone. Was the eunuch reading to someone else in his company? Was it just his custom to read aloud all the time? Was he trying to teach someone or to learn from them in turn through his own reading?

1/16/2008

Peter heals

Acts 3:1-10 - One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

I wonder who brought the crippled man to his begging place every day. Friends? Relatives? Owners?

I wonder if Peter and John were just a little surprised that they could do miracles. Peter seemed very confident, as well he should have been and needed to be. Yet, being human only -- and not the God-man that Jesus is -- I still wonder if later they thought, "Wow! Jesus was right again; we can do miracles!"

1/12/2008

Jewish burial customs

John 19:40 - Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.

I wonder how you learned how to prepare a body for burial according to Jewish customs. Did everyone have to learn this? Did your parents actively teach this to you? Were both boys (or men) and girls (or women) taught this skill? Or did you learn it just by passively observing other funerals? Were there teachers, sort of like morticians, who specialized in training you?

1/11/2008

The other disciple

John 18:15-17 - Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter.
He replied, "I am not."

It's commonly assumed that the "other disciple" was the writer, John, himself. Whether it was or not, if he was still close enough to hear Peter's exchange with the girl, I wonder what kind of looks he and Peter exchanged afterwards.

1/10/2008

To the olive grove

John 18:1-3 - When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

I wonder how Judas knew that the olive grove (the garden of Gethsemane) was where Jesus and the rest of the disciples had gone. Sure, he was familiar with the place, but how did he know Jesus would go there tonight?

Had it been mentioned at supper? I'm pretty sure the Bible doesn't record every single word that was spoken there.

Did Judas have spies tracking Jesus? Was that how he'd spent some of the cash he'd stolen from the money bag?

Did he look for Jesus in other places first? It doesn't seem like it took him very long to get his gang together and to find Jesus though. Then again, it's hard to calculate how much time all of this really took.

Did he stop by the house with the upper room first and ask the owner if he knew where the group had gone? The owner might at least have known the general direction if not the final destination.

Did Judas make an educated guess and get it right the first time? How many other places might Jesus logically have taken his disciples?

1/07/2008

Judas the thief

John 12:1-6 - Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

I wonder how many disciples knew Judas was a thief. (Jesus obviously knew.) How long had they known? Did they try to catch him at it or stop him from it? Why did they let him continue to be the "keeper of the money bag"?

What did Judas use the stolen money for? Food? Things he wanted but couldn't otherwise afford? Gambling? Paying debts? Other things that were sinful in and of themselves?

On the other hand, it's possible (though it barely seems likely) that he used the money to help others. Though it does say he didn't care about the poor.

1/02/2008

Bethesda

John 5:1-7 - Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

I wonder who first figured out (or was told) that healing would come from the waters of the pool of Bethesda. And when was this learned? I wonder why only the first person to get into the stirred-up waters was healed.

1/01/2008

The wedding

John 2:1-2 - On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

I wonder why Mary, Jesus, and his disciples were invited to the wedding. Were they all, as would be the case today, friends or relatives of the bride and/or the groom? Or was Jesus invited because of his reputation? He hadn't done any miracles to this point though, so if he had a reputation, it would have been for something else.