Matthew pt3

12:30
He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn't gather with me, scatters.
Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

He said the opposite in Mark (whoever is not against me is for me). However, since Mark is the older book, I suppose the verse in Mark is more relevant. What is blasphemy against the Spirit? I think people have debated that for centuries. Since so many theologians and traditions believe that the Spirit is the female aspect of the Divine, is blasphemy against the Spirit really blasphemy against the Feminine Divine?

12:42
The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this generation, and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.

Interesting. Who is this "Queen of the South"? She "came from the ends of the earth" to see Solomon. This puts me in mind of the "Queen of Sheba" story, except that it seems a little weird for Jesus to be referencing some long dead queen of a foreign land from a extra canonical folk tale. Unless you want to run with the popular theory that the "Queen of Sheba" was really an avatar of a certain Middle Eastern goddess. Some long dead queen of another country wouldn't have the power to "rise up in judgement" of them.

13:54
54 Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56 Aren't all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?"

Jesus
James
Judas
Joseph
Simon

So, Mary has five children named in the Bible. This doesn't count any daughters-although there are no women named specifically as Jesus's sisters *in this book*, the verse that mentions "his sisters". Plural. I wonder if their names began with J too. But it seems like instead of remaining a perpetual virgin, Mary was a regular baby making machine, and only one of those children is ever labeled as being divinely conceived.

Why are things like this so important? Well, it changes our picture of Jesus. One the one hand, you can have a Capricorn, who is a thirty two year old virgin (you think it'd be embarrassing to be in your thirties and a virgin now, imagine how awkward it'd be back when people married at fourteen), an only child still living with his mother. His mother, of course, never actually had sex with her husband. On the other hand, you have a Pisces, possibly married, the oldest of five or at minimum, seven children. And his parents had a normal physical relationship.

14:1-12
At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,
2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him."


Interesting that I decided to write about this passage today (okay, technically yesterday), which is actually St. John's Day according to the medieval calendar. John "the Baptist" was born to Elizabeth and Zachariah, Mary's relatives. John was the cousin of Jesus, and they seem to have been quite close.

John lived in the desert and worked as a prophet and preacher. He was incredibly popular, many people even thought he was Elijah reborn. John's trademark was baptism, although he didn't invent the concept. John, you might remember, was the one who baptized Jesus, initiating his formal entrance into the field of ministry. John made a special point of railing against the corrupt practices of the Jewish king, Herod.

Herod claims to have actually liked John, but when his wife and stepdaughter demanded John's head on a platter, Herod had John killed. When his stepdaughter performed a dance that pleased the king, the king promised to give her anything she wanted, and her mother convinced her to ask for the prophet's head on a plate. Contrary to popular belief, the stepdaughter is not named in the Gospels, nor is the dance she performs, although fanon has come to call her "Salome" and the dance "The Dance of the Seven Veils".

"The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft" theorizes that the dance symbolized Ishtar's descent through the seven gates of the Underworld, and that since Ishtar removes an article of clothing at each gate, the dancer would end up naked. And that, of course, would make the scene much more scandalous and creepy not only in first century Israel but even today.

14:22-34

24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.
26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It's a ghost!" and they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying "Cheer up! It is I! Don't be afraid."
28 Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters."
29 He said, "Come!" Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.
30 But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Okay, this is funny. I'm sorry, but it is. Any time Peter embarrasses himself is funny. There is obviously a deeper meaning here, but I think that it's pretty obvious.

15:21-28

22 Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely demonized!"
23 But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away; for she cries after us."
24 But he answered, "I wasn't sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25 But she came and worshiped him, saying, "Lord, help me."
26 But he answered, "It is not appropriate to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
27 But she said, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

This is a twist. Jesus thinks he's here only to save the Jews. It shows him in a less than perfect light, making very human choices based on very human prejudices. Only a human would think that way, but it also shows him as capable of changing his views.