The "I am" saying of John 8:58

Jesus is described as using the formula 'I am' much more often in the Fourth Gospel than in the Synoptics, but it is not clear that these revelations make his claims for himself that much more explicit. Jesus' apparently ungrammatical proclamation 'before Abraham was born, I am' may refer back to the divine name revealed in Exodus 3:14, 'I am what I am', but it is not obvious that in rigidly monotheistic context of Judaism this would be the only conclusion drawn. The fact that the Jews immediately tried to stone him does not mean they understood his statement as a direct equation of himself with God. Claiming that Abraham had seen his day itself bordered on blasphemy, and the Jews had already tried to kill him for much less 'crimes', such as healing on the Sabbath and speaking of God's love for the Gentiles! Stephen Motyer plausibly concludes that John 8:58 'would not be heard as a claim to be God. It would be heard as a claim to be a divine agent, anointed with the name and powers of God, and (in this case) active in the genesis of Abraham.'- Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gosepls: Second edition (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007), pp 209-210.

Mark 10:16

(Mark 10:16) . . .And he took the children into his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands upon them. . .

Have you ever wondered what it meant to be 'given a blessing' or what it meant when Jesus gave a blessing to someone else? Perhaps some in their own minds picture something like the above image.

Note what one sources says about this verse and about the cultural context of a 'blessing' in the first century when Jesus, our Lord, was walking this earth.

kateulogeō (only here in the N.T.; cf. eulogeō 6.41) ‘bless’: in accordance with the customs of the time, we are to understand that Jesus invoked God’s blessings upon them (‘May God bless you’) rather than pronounced a blessing himself (‘I bless you’). Some commentators and translators understand the preposition kata in this compound verb to have the meaning ‘tenderly,’ ‘warmly,’ ‘lovingly.’ The imperfect of the verb describes Jesus blessing the children one by one, not all at the same time. ( A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. New York : United Bible Societies, 1993)

Indeed, a blessing in the context of Jesus' day meant an invoking or petitioning to Jehovah God for another's well being. This one invoking a blessing for another didn't claim that he himself could take credit for the blessing of the person, but that it was God alone who could bless an individual. Concerning the laying of hands one commentary notes:

What exactly did people hope to receive from the touch and blessing of Jesus? The ritual of blessings was well known in Israel. Noah blessed Shem and Japheth (Gen 9:26–27), Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau (Gen 27; 28:1–4), and Jacob blessed his sons and grandsons (Genesis 48–49). Such blessings tended to be officious in nature, related particularly to the passing on of one’s name or property. “A father’s blessing establishes the houses of his children,” declares Sir 3:9. The laying on of hands was also a priestly rite of investiture in Israel, whereby wisdom (Deut 34:9) and the spirit of office (Num 27:18–20) were conferred on the ordinand. This rite was also continued in early Christianity (Acts 6:1–6; 13:1–3). (The Pillar New Testament Commentary)

We note that the laying hands on people during a blessing was a characteristic of Israelite priests, and Jesus as high priest-designate surely had all sorts of rights to do so. Moreover, I should note that the Greek word for 'bless' is in the imperfect tense, suggesting that Jesus was continually blessing the children. The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures does a great job of producing the verb as "began blessing" them. This rendering accurately reflects not only the meaning of the verb, but also the aspect of the verb. Many Bibles lose Greek-gems like this in their English Translations, so I thought I'd point that out.

Did Stephen Pray to Jesus?

Many have alleged that Stephen prayed to Jesus in the book of Acts. Did he? Let’s look at some of the available evidence and use logic to discern what most likely occurred.

“They were stoning Stephen as he called out: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” (Acts 7:59, Holman Christian Standard Version.)

The Greek word translated as “called out” in the HCSV and as “appealed” or even as “prayed” in other Bible’s is “ἐπικαλούμενονι” meaning: “(1) active, in speaking of a person call, name, give a surname (MT 10.25); passive be called, be named (AC 1.23); (2) passive with ὄνομα (name), idiomatically, denoting that one person belongs to another whose name is attached to him ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομά τινος ἐπί τινα literally have someone’s name called on someone, i.e. belong to, be the person of (AC 15.17); (3) middle, as a legal technical term for appealing to a higher court appeal, call or summon as witness (2C 1.23); (4) middle, as invoking God’s name in prayer call on (AC 2.21)” Friberg, Timothy ; Friberg, Barbara ; Miller, Neva F.: Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich. : Baker Books, 2000 (Baker's Greek New Testament Library 4), S. 164

Based on the lexical meaning of ‘epikalioumenoni’, we can see that the translations “call”, “appeal”, and even “pray” are all grammatical possible. Therefore the issue cannot truly be resolved on this ground alone. Though some translations, more than others, ought to be preferred. How do we know which is to be preferred and which not? A look at how this word has been used in other passages of the Bible, even more specifically, in other instances in the same book of the Bible should alleviate some of the issues at hand.

In Acts, Paul states,

If then I am in the wrong and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, but if not one of their charges against me is true, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"- Biblical Studies Press: The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2006; 2006, S. Ac 25:11

The same Greek term used in Acts 7:59 is used of Caesar (that is, the Roman emperor) by Paul! Surely no one would argue that Paul was saying he’d pray to Caesar, right?

But even with that being said, the issue is certainly more complex than that. The issue is to be found in verses 55 through 56 and even through 60. What occurred here is that Stephen had a vision in verse 55 where it is said he “gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand.” (NWT)

If it is the case that Stephen beheld this vision and maintained it right up to his death, this “appealing” in verse 59 is due to the fact that he sees Jesus in his vision, not that he’s praying to him! Indeed, it could be the case that Stephen is merely appealing to Jesus since he can see him directly (in his vision, of course).

However, some have suggested that Stephen’s vision ended in verse 57 and that therefore ‘epikalioumenoni” should be taken as a prayer in verse 59.

What it boils down to, then, is if the vision lasted all the way up to verse 60, that is, up to Stephen’s death then it was probably not a prayer. However, if the vision ended prior to his death (verse 57) then the chances are that it was a prayer.

It is sometimes amazing how something so subjective can make (or break) a doctrine.

Personally, though, I don’t find a good enough reason to believe that the vision ended in verse 57. The text in and of itself doesn’t say, suggest, or even imply that the vision ended, so why assume it did?

To reach a conclusion, then, I find it most appropriate to conclude that Stephen made an appeal to Jesus in a vision, not in prayer, in verse 59.

Luke 20:27-40

Luke 20:27-40) . . .However, some of the Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned him, 28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote us, ‘If a man’s brother dies having a wife, but this one remained childless, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring from her for his brother.’ 29 Accordingly there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless. 30 So the second, 31 and the third took her. Likewise even the seven: they did not leave children behind, but died off. 32 Lastly, the woman also died. 33 Consequently, in the resurrection, of which one of them does she become [the] wife? For the seven got her as wife.” 34 Jesus said to them: “The children of this system of things marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 In fact, neither can they die anymore, for they are like the angels, and they are God’s children by being children of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised up even Moses disclosed, in the account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah ‘the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.’ 38 He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him.” 39 In response some of the scribes said: “Teacher, you spoke well.” 40 For no longer did they have the courage to ask him a single question.

The Sadducees proposed a question to Jesus: If a woman whom had married 7 times during her lifetime was resurrected, who would be her husband in the resurrection?

It’s apparent the Sadducees were intent in trying to trick Jesus by proposing him this question, but it's very interesting the responce Jesus gives. Jesus says that “those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”

Evidently, then, those whom inherit the earth as their eternal dwelling place will not be “given in marriage” nor will they “die anymore, for they [will be as] the angels.”

One final thing to note is that these who are to inherit “that system of things” weren't already considered God’s children, that is, they weren't spiritually adopted (i.e. born again). Indeed, for there are those whom are God's children (actually, "sons") because they've been baptized by God's holy spirit (Romans 8:14-16), but these ones here in Luke's account are only considered “God’s children by being children of the resurrection.”