Author Archives: mgillum

Team 6, Question 2

Posted on by under matthew

In the parable of the ten bridesmaids, Matthew talks about how five of the bridesmaids were wise and five were foolish. The bridesmaids all took lamps and the wise brought oil to refuel them and the foolish did not. The bridegroom, or Jesus, was delayed so the ten ladies slept but when Jesus came the five wise bridesmaids re lit their lamps while the foolish bridesmaids did not. They left to refuel their lamps, and while they were gone Jesus took the wise bridesmaids to the Kingdom of Heaven and when the foolish bridesmaids came knocking he would not let them in only calling out “Truly I do not know you. Keep awake therefore, for you neither know the day nor the hour” (MT, 11-13). This parable is explaining that we should always be prepared for the arrival of Jesus because we don not know when he is coming so we must always follow the preaching’s of Jesus and the Word so we can be prepared like the wise bridesmaids.

In the parable the Judgment of the Nations, Jesus separates the good and the accused into groups. He explains to the good that they were always their to help him, fed him when he was hungry, clothed him when he was naked and visited him when he was sick. To the accused he explains they did none of these things and shall be punished by the fires of Hell. This parable helps to signify how important it is to help others, to love thy neighbors as oneself, and that those who don’t will not be excepted into the Kingdom of Heaven.

I believe these stories would have functioned well in Mathean society. These parables would have taught the Mathean Christians it was okay to follow the orders of the society but not to get comfortable and become like the society. The parables helped teach them that they must be always prepared for the arrival of Jesus because we do not know when he will arrive.

Team Six, Question 3

Posted on by under words

Mathews addition of the parable of the weeds expands upon Marks parable of the seeds to better show the destruction of the followers of Jesus by just one bad seed, or the weeds. In Mathew 13:37-40 its stated, “The one who sows the good seed is The Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels”. So, as stated above, it only takes one “enemy” to sow a bad seed in the field and corrupt the the growth of the good seeds or the children of God. I believe the addition of Mathews parable of the weeds effects his description of Jesus because this shows in a way that Jesus is warning us against Gods judgment. Just as the harvester and the reaper, the angels, will separate the weeds from the wheat and throw the weeds in the fires of the furnace, God will do the same at the final judgment, he will separate the truly good and truly evil and the truly evil will burn in the fires of Hell.

I think the parable of the treasure and the pearls is Jesus trying to represent how important the kingdom of Heaven truly is because once we know of it we would give up everything in order to possess it. In the two parables the man gives up everything he has to get the kingdom. I think the catch is that the in both the parables the treasure and the pearl are hidden, so that is trying to represent how many people miss the word of Jesus and the chance to possess the ability to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Maybe on of the reasons these two small parables are “sandwiched” between the parable of the weeds and the net is because both these two parables talk of the evil being “weeded” out by the angels either in the term of weeds or fish and being “ thrown into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mathew 13:50). The treasure and pearl parable is almost the explanation of how to avoid the fires of the furnace, in terms of search for the treasure of the Kingdom of God and you shall receive it.

Team 6, Question Two- Apollonius as a Divine Man

Posted on by under divine man

Philostratus’s biography of Apollonius was written to show Apollonius as a “divine man” and to prove that to those critical of him. Apollonius lived a bit after Jesus Christ when magic was still seen as part of society and even religion, yet people were still suspicious of those who practiced in magic believing them to be using it for evil purposes. Philostratus’s biography was written to try and show Apollonius in a new light, the light of the “divine man”, and prove to the critics that he only practiced good magic.

Philostratus’s goal was to refute the the charges against Apollonius of him practicing evil magic by showing his divine aspirations in both his teachings and his miracles (White, 59). He began by making connections between Apollonius and Pythagoras, who is considered a divine man in Greek literature. Philostratus’s goal was to prove Apollonius was even more divine and wise than that of Pythagoras. He says Apollonius’s powers were not wizardly and “black magic” but were in fact a by product of his philosophic wisdom, much like that of Pythagoras, Plato, and Socrates. He was a mortal above all others.

Many stories of divine men discuss their birth as characteristics of divinity. Apollonius was no different, he is said to have had a birth effected by the God, Proteus. It was told that Proteus, an Egyptian demon, came to Apollonius’s mother and foretold that her son would be no ordinary man. Even his birth was exceptional as he was born in a meadow with singing swans and a lightning bolt that came to the earth at the exact moment he was born, proving he was to be no ordinary man.

The authors of these stories of “divine men” also included writings of precious childhoods and Apollonius was no different. He traveled to India, where he learned of and cultivated his mystical sights. Then took his teachings and miracles to Rome, before, according to Philostratus, he disappeared to escape the tyrannical Domitian. He as a youth was much different than those of his generation as he was more interested in learning and teachings.

Apollonius used words and deeds to help those around him in ways never to be properly described. Apollonius, through the stories of Philostratus, has been described as a divine man who had connections with the gods and practiced magic that was only good and proper. That is what makes him worthy of the title divine man

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