What Does the Bible Say About…/Part 15

By: Dr. Thomas O. Figart; ©2004

Why didn’t Jesus want people to tell about being healed? What did He mean when He said, “Let the dead bury their dead”? Is there a discrepancy between Matthew 10:10 and Mark 6:8-9? Dr. Figart answers these and other questions.

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Students from Manheim Christian Day School (PA) ask Questions About the Bible

Answered by Dr. Thomas Figart

In Matthew 12:20, what does that mean by ‘a bruised reed’?” Question: “Why does Jesus not want the people to tell anyone about His healings?

JW writes: “In Matthew 12:20, what does that mean by ‘a bruised reed’?” Question: “Why does Jesus not want the people to tell anyone about His healings?”

Answer: These two questions come from the same paragraph in Matthew 12:14-21. The Pharisees tried to destroy Jesus, because, according to them, He was breaking the Sabbath by healing all those people on that holy day. Furthermore, He was healing Gentiles from “Idumea, and from beyond the Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon” (Mark 3:8). Back in Matthew 10:5- 6 He told His disciples not to go to the Gentiles. But, now that He has been rejected by the Jews, He is fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1-4, quoted in Matthew 12:18-21, that Christ, God’s Servant, would preach to the Gentiles. So Christ did not present Himself as a conquering King at that time, but as an humble Servant of Jehovah, who would “not strive, nor cry, nor should any man hear his voice in the streets.” In other words, He was now rejected as King and Messiah, so His message was gentle, He would not break a “bruised reed,” which referred to His method of healing rather than judging as a monarch, or King. Therefore, He did not want them to “make him known,” because it would only cause further plots against His life, and He had more ministry to accomplish on a person-to-person basis before He was ready to be cruci­fied.

What did Jesus mean in Matthew 8:22 when He said, “Let the dead bury their own dead”?

KR asks, “What did Jesus mean in Matthew 8:22 when He said, “Let the dead bury their own dead”?

Answer: First, He may have meant, “Let the spiritually dead bury their own physically dead relatives. Your responsibility is to go and preach the Gospel.” Jewish funeral were performed on the very day of death, or the very next day at the latest. Second, He may have meant, “Let the spiritually dead care for their parents until they died; You go and preach the Gospel.” This could involve weeks, months, or even years before the death occurred. See my commentary for examples of how this happened historically [Thomas O. Figart, The King of The Kingdom of Heaven—A Verse by Verse Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Lancaster, PA: Eden Press, 1999)].

Either way, His emphasis was that the responsibility of a true disciple must be to consider the call to serve God greater that any other relationship.

HF asks a cultural question: “Did the boys have to be circumcised on the Sab­bath? If so, Why?

HF asks a cultural question: “Did the boys have to be circumcised on the Sab­bath? If so, Why?”

Answer: All the way back in Genesis 17:11-12 God instituted the practice of circumcision “as a sign of the covenant” between God and the family of Abraham and his seed. The command was that the male child must be circumcised on the eighth day of his life, even if that eighth day occurred on a Sabbath day. If the boy was eight days old on any other day of the week, the eighth day command was required, so the Sabbath would not be involved at all. If they did not obey the eighth day rule, it was breaking the covenant God made with Abraham.

What would a talent be equal to in American money?

AS asks: “What would a talent be equal to in American money?”

Answer: Because money values change from year to year, even from day to day, it is not possible to give any exact comparison. The New American Standard Bible, published back in 1971 states that the 10,000 talents in Matthew 18:24 was worth 10 million dollars, or $1,000 per talent. Today it would be much more than that. The talent is no longer used in Israel; the shekel, which is used, is worth about as much as the American 50 cent piece.

In Mark 7:34 it says ‘Ephphatha’ which means, ‘be opened.’ Why do they only select a few words to put in different language in the Scriptures?

BN asks: “In Mark 7:34 it says ‘Ephphatha’ which means, ‘be opened.’ Why do they only select a few words to put in different language in the Scriptures?”

Answer: Let me quote from Lenski’s commentary on Mark, page 311: “Jesus speaks the one word, ‘Ephphatha’ [an Aramaic word] Mark preserves the very word that Jesus uttered, just as he does in 5:41. He wants his Gentile Christian readers to have the very syllables and sounds that came from Jesus’ lips in working this miracle. But at once he (Mark) translates: dianoixtheni (Greek) ‘be opened.’”

So Jesus used the Aramaic word here to show His concern for those Gentiles who were listening to Him. There may be other reasons for using other uncommon words.

Is there a discrepancy between Matthew 10:10 and Mark 6:8-9? One says take a staff while the other says not to take a staff.

BM wanted to know, Is there a discrepancy between Matthew 10:10 and Mark 6:8-9? One says take a staff while the other says not to take a staff.

Answer: It sounds like a discrepancy at first, but this is an example of how God inspired each biblical writer to express the same truth with a different emphasis. If you read both pas­sages, the main thrust is that they should depend totally upon God to supply their needs, and take only the bare necessities. In fact, one of my Greek texts has an alternate reading in Mat­thew 10:10, and Luke 9:3; instead of rabdon (staff, singular) it has rabdous (staves, plural). Thus, the Lord may have said, “Do not acquire new things; if you have a staff, take it, but don’t buy an extra one.” The same thing goes for sandals; Jesus was not telling them to go bare­footed; but He was saying, do not buy new sandals. The whole idea was, “In all these things, trust God to supply your needs! He will provide.”

Read Part 16