TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Why did Judas betray Jesus?

At practice on Sunday, the Monroe team discussed Judas's betrayal of Jesus.  We talked about the various theories for why he did it - that he'd lost faith, that he was trying to force Jesus's hand, that he was greedy - and ultimately all scripture tells us clearly is "Satan entered him".  This logically raises the question "If Satan entered Judas and drove what he did, was Judas set up?"  This is an especially important question in light of Matthew's clear demonstration that Jesus was in control all the time.

I recommend this short article on the topic, if you've ben wondering about this.  It's especially appropriate today - "Maundy Thursday"- as we remember the Last Supper and the subsequent betrayal.

Jesus chose Judas to be a part of the twelve, but yet knew he would betray him (Mark 14:18, 21; John 6:70). Luke tells us in Luke 22:3 that, “Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot.”
So, was Judas a mindless zombie, set on an uncontrollable mission by the hand of God to betray Jesus?
No.
God did not force Judas’ hand. Judas made conscious choices every step of the way and eventually he chose to betray Jesus.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Holy Week & the Gospel of Matthew

Tomorrow begins "Holy Week"- the 8 (modern) days encapsulating Jesus's ministry in Jerusalem, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter.  Each gospel presents this period a little differently, so let's take a quick look at how Matthew deals with this amazing week.

• Sunday - Palm Sunday & the Triumphal Entry:  Matthew 21:1-11
• Monday - Cleaning of the Temple:  Matthew 21:12-17
• Tuesday - A Day of Parables:  Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 25:1-28
• Wednesday - Jesus Anointed:  Matthew 26:6-13, Judas Makes his Deal:  Matthew 26:14-16   
• "Maundy" Thursday - The Last Supper:  Matthew 26:17-30, Jesus's Arrest:  Matthew 26:36-55
• "Good" Friday - Sanhedrin Trial: Matthew 26:57-68, Roman Trial:  Matthew 27:11-31, Crucifixion & Burial: Matthew 27:32-61
• "Silent" Saturday:  The Bible says nothing
• "Resurrection/Easter" Sunday:  Matthew 28:1-10

Consider reading thru and studying each of these passes on the appropriate day during this upcoming week.  It may deepen your understanding and appreciating for the material.

Here's a printable PDF of this list to keep in your Bible.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Chapters & Verses

The last couple of chapters, you may have noticed that the break between chapters doesn't quite follow the action.  In both chapter 21 and chapter 22, the first section would probably fit better in the chapter before.  (Although, for quizzers, you're probably just as happy not to have another dozen verses to add to your study total!)

So where did the chapters and verses come from?  Did the Biblical writers actually insert them into their original writings?  Wouldn't it have been weird to read a letter from your buddy Paul and see him break it up into "verses"?

There's an old joke among Bible scholars that the chapters and verses of scripture were chosen by "a drunk monk on horseback".  But the process was a little bit more scholarly than that.

The chapter divisions commonly used today were developed by Stephen Langton, an Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton put the modern chapter divisions into place in around A.D. 1227. The Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 was the first Bible to use this chapter pattern. Since the Wycliffe Bible, nearly all Bible translations have followed Langton's chapter divisions.
The Hebrew Old Testament was divided into verses by a Jewish rabbi by the name of Nathan in A.D. 1448. Robert Estienne, who was also known as Stephanus, was the first to divide the New Testament into standard numbered verses, in 1555. Stephanus essentially used Nathan's verse divisions for the Old Testament. Since that time, beginning with the Geneva Bible, the chapter and verse divisions employed by Stephanus have been accepted into nearly all the Bible versions.

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: Biblical Hours

Okay, this one isn't a question that came up in practice, but one that I think might come up in the next practice.  In this week's chapter, we read...

About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around...
Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

...but that kind of timekeeping doesn't sound anything like what we have today.  So how did Jesus (and Jews of his era) keep time?

The Jewish day was divided by sunset and sunrise (notice sunset comes first).  There were 12 hours in the day and 12 hours in the night.  For the daytime, they were roughly:

1st hour - 7:00 AM
2nd hour - 8:00 AM
3rd hour - 9:00 AM
4th hour - 10:00 AM
5th hour - 11:00 AM
6th hour - 12:00 PM
7th hour - 1:00 PM
8th hour - 2:00 PM
9th hour - 3:00 PM
10th hour - 4:00 PM
11th hour - 5:00 PM
12th hour - 6:00 PM

So, the verses could be translated...

About 9 AM he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing....He went out again about noon and 3 PM and did the same thing. About 5 PM he went out and found still others standing around...Matthew 20:3-6 (NIV 1984)

Source:  Here

TOPICS FROM PRACTICE: The Herods

A few questions came up at the Monroe practices that we didn't have time to completely cover.  I thought the Trumbull team might also find this one interesting.

ALL THE HERODS:

A few weeks back, we discussed the difference between Herod the Great in Matthew 2, and Herod the Tetrarch in Matthew 14.  The question then came up about Archeleus in Matthew 2:22, who was said to be "ruling in place of his father Herod."  I promised to do some research into the line of Herod for us all.  Here we go:

1. Herod the Great ruled from about 37 B.C. to about 1 B.C.*  Before he died, he split up his kingdom with his 4 sons (tetrarch means "ruler of one fourth").  When he died, his sons took over the last pieces he had ruled.
2. Archeleus ruled Judea (one fourth of Herod the Great's kingdom) from about 4 B.C. to about 6 A.D.  He's only mentioned once in scripture.
3. Herod the Tetrarch (a.k.a. Herod Antipas) ruled Galilee (including Nazareth) and Perea from about 4 B.C. to about 40 A.D.  He is both the man who killed John the Baptist and the one who Jesus comes before during his trial (Luke 23:6-12).
4. Philip ruled 4 B.C. to about 34 A.D. over Ituraea.  He's only mentioned in scripture as the husband of Herodias (Luke 14:3)
5. Herod Agrippa I took over Herod the Tetrarch's kingdom and ruled from 41 A.D. to 44 A.D.  He is the one who arrested James and Peter in Acts 12:1-3.
6. Herod Agrippa II (known as "King Agrippa") was the son of Herod Agrippa I and ruled from 50 A.D. to 93 A.D.  He was the one that Paul was brought before in Acts 25 & Acts 26.

*This, of course, raises the obvious question:  "How could Herod the Great die in 1 B.C., if B.C. means 'Before Christ'?"  It's because the exact B.C./A.D. split was set down a long time ago, when the exact dating of Christ's birth was uncertain.  We now believe Jesus was born around 5 B.C., although even now it is impossible to be certain, because the gospel writers did not write down an exact date.