I believe! Help my unbelief.

What a powerful paradox!

This is a quote from a man in Mark 9 who has an epileptic son. He beseeches Jesus for help saying "if you can."

Jesus responds by saying "'If you can?' everything is possible for him who believes."

The man then exclaims "I do believe; help my unbelief!"

The idea that we both believe and at the same time don't believe does not fit in my brain. It does fit in my heart, though. While I cannot explain this paradox, I can experience it.


I had to write a paper for class last night and so I have decided to combine both classes into one blog (this will probably be the protocol from now on).

The one thing I really learned in class this weekend was sympathy for the pharisees. As I have mentioned before we have this hate for the pharisees (I have used the term rabbi and pharisee interchangeably here, which is not really the truth. A rabbi was a teacher, often a leader of the local synagogue. Pharisees were members of a specific sect, or movement. Therefore a rabbi could be a pharisee or could not be. And not all pharisees were rabbis.). that most likely stems from anti-semetic sources. While Jesus is critical of the pharisees, they were men who were seeking God as best they knew. They were considered orthodox at the time, just maybe a little strict. The pharisees had set up a list of rules that were to help keep israel from breaking God's commands. Breaking these rules themselves was not a sin, but it could lead to sin. Therefore, the pharisees demanded that israel follow their rules. Jesus refers to this when he mentions the heavy load they have put upon the people, and even when he refers to his own yoke (rabbinical set of personal doctrine) as light (not heavy). The pharisees believed that a righteous Israel would speed the kingdom of God (and messiah) coming to earth.

Now people question the pharisees hearts when they see them constantly question Christ. Questioning was the main form of teaching in this day. Rabbis would test their students through questions and the students would respond with a question that showed they knew the answer. Rabbis would also test the new teachings of other rabbis by asking questions. So when the bible refers to pharisees testing Jesus, maybe it was a socially accepted method at the time.

Also in Deuteronomy Israel is told to kill anyone who does magic and leads the people astray. The people who are led astray are also to be killed. We see this in action when the levites kill all of the worshipers of the golden calf. Well when Jesus comes, and does miracles, are they miracles (the hand of god) or are they magic? Jesus doesn't claim where his power comes from to the crowds. He also tells most of the witnesses to keep quiet about it. Finally Jesus doesn't pray over the people he heals (most other healing accounts from jewish literaturewere centered around prayer).

It seems as if Jesus might be a magician. The pharisees were therefore very wary of him. They would not have wanted to have to kill him and all of his followers. Killing them might have caused an uproar among the peoples, and the pharisees after all are not accomplished killers, but rather men who might have taken the burden of punishment for breaking the law into their hands.

These men are seeking God, incorrectly be it, but with a heart that yearned to be right with Him. My impression is that Christ criticizes these men the most. He seems to have forgiveness for the common man, and sharp words for the rabbis. Was this because the rabbis were given a position of authority and thus were held to higher standards. Or was it because Christ knew if he changed the rabbis (and tradition holds that around 1/3 of the pharisees became christians) that he could reach more people (his discipleship model in action again). Or was it mearly the burden they placed on the backs of the people as Jesus said.

Any way you look at it, I get the feeling these pharisees were not the worst fellas on the planet.