Impaled?

You know, we read the Bible and believe that what it says is truth. At least we should, right? I would like to add an asterisk to that statement, and it reads like this:

The Bible is 100% true *

* in the original text

Example: The Thief on The Cross passage found in Mark 15:27. If you go on BibleHub.com and explore the 43 different Bible translations for this verse, many different words describing who was crucified next to Jesus appear - robbers (25), thieves (5),  bandits (4), criminals (4), rebels (2),  revolutionaries (2), and outlaws (1).

So which one is right? They're all similar. "Robbers" seems to be the most popular. If you look up the verse in a Greek Interlinear Bible you will find the Greek word 'lēstai' which translates as "robbers." That coincides with the most popular translation. But why did other translators choose the words they did if "robbers" was the best choice? Unknown.

Here's another example from the same verse, just two words before "robbers." The word 'crucified.'

"With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left." - Mark 15:27

Look at this screen shot from the interlinear Bible. It says 'impalling' in the blue colored text. What? Jesus was impaled? Okay, what is the definition of impaled then? Because I thought impaling was like what happened to Haman in the Book of Ester. He was impaled on a pole.

Merriam Webster - "to pierce with or as if with something pointed. To torture or kill by fixing on a sharp stake."

That's what happened to Haman alright.

I enjoy digging into the Bible's words to see what their true meanings are. And each time I do, I always come away with a new, deeper understanding.

In this case, Jesus was crucified. Exactly how it was done is up to human interpretation. He died. Does it truly matter how? Nailed to a cross or to a tree (which the Bible says elsewhere), or impaled on a pole, He died next to two men. Truth.

He died as a sacrufice for OUR sins, rose again from the dead, spent 40 days walking and talking with the disciples, then He ascended into heaven. The Gospel, the good news, is pretty simple. We should keep it that way.

Hate One Another?

If God commands us to love one another, then why did He hate?

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” - Malachi 1:2-3

And why did Jesus tell us that we cannot become one of His disciples unless we hate our relatives?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

A conflict in the Bible? No. But there is definitely something being lost in the translation.

Let's open up an interlinear Bible and find out exactly what the word "hate" really meant back then.

Hate - OT Hebrew = shnathi - "hated, rejected."

Hate - NT Greek = misei - "to love someone less."

Interesting. And just to be clear, God DOES hate things.

"There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." - Proverbs 6:16-19

So, it's actually the New Testament translation of the Greek that's a little misleading. Luke 14 should actually read something like this:

“If anyone comes to me and does not like father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters less - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26

Jesus really wants us to love HIM more than we love others, or even ourselves. THEN we can become His disciples.

Now that THAT is straightened out, the question becomes "Do we?" Do we really love Jesus more than we love our friends and family? More than we love ourselves?

Ouch.

Do we skip worship because we're "on vacation," or we "have to work?" Do we honor God by living our lives for Him?

We don't want to be rejected by God or even loved less by Him. We need to "examine ourselves. Are we really and truly Christians?

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" - 2 Corinthians 13:5