Longfellow
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the typo in the title. Here’s a story that I made up from the gospels:
The Teacher from Galilee
He came from Nazareth, a village of no renown. He was called Yeshua, son of Yosef. But he spoke often of another Father.
He called himself “the son of man,” echoing Ezekiel’s prophetic voice and Daniel’s vision of one “like a son of man” coming with clouds and glory. Yet he walked barefoot, dusty, unarmed.
He spoke of the kingdom of God as seed, yeast, treasure, pearl, net. He said it was near, within reach, hidden in plain sight. He told these parables again and again, in different villages, with different endings.
He told stories about a man who sowed seed on rocky ground, thorny ground, and good soil, about a blind man who saw, a deaf man who heard, and a lame man who walked, about a shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep to find one, about a woman who touched his cloak and was healed, about a master who returned at midnight, about a storm calmed with a word, and about a vineyard owner who sent his son.
He quoted Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He quoted Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He quoted the Psalms: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” He approved when Simon said, “You are the Anointed, the Son of the Living God,” the king that God had promised to raise up from the line of David.
He wept over Jerusalem, quoting the prophets. He spoke of Jonah and the belly of the fish. He spoke of Moses lifting the serpent. He spoke of Elijah and Elisha. He spoke of the Son of Man being handed over. He entered Jerusalem on a colt, echoing Zechariah. He overturned tables, quoting Jeremiah. He broke bread, quoting Exodus. He prayed in the garden, quoting the Psalms. When he was hung up to die, he quoted the first line of Psalm 22, which ends with these words:
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
The Teacher from Galilee
He came from Nazareth, a village of no renown. He was called Yeshua, son of Yosef. But he spoke often of another Father.
He called himself “the son of man,” echoing Ezekiel’s prophetic voice and Daniel’s vision of one “like a son of man” coming with clouds and glory. Yet he walked barefoot, dusty, unarmed.
He spoke of the kingdom of God as seed, yeast, treasure, pearl, net. He said it was near, within reach, hidden in plain sight. He told these parables again and again, in different villages, with different endings.
He told stories about a man who sowed seed on rocky ground, thorny ground, and good soil, about a blind man who saw, a deaf man who heard, and a lame man who walked, about a shepherd who left ninety-nine sheep to find one, about a woman who touched his cloak and was healed, about a master who returned at midnight, about a storm calmed with a word, and about a vineyard owner who sent his son.
He quoted Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” He quoted Hosea: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” He quoted the Psalms: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
He asked, “Who do you say that I am?” He approved when Simon said, “You are the Anointed, the Son of the Living God,” the king that God had promised to raise up from the line of David.
He wept over Jerusalem, quoting the prophets. He spoke of Jonah and the belly of the fish. He spoke of Moses lifting the serpent. He spoke of Elijah and Elisha. He spoke of the Son of Man being handed over. He entered Jerusalem on a colt, echoing Zechariah. He overturned tables, quoting Jeremiah. He broke bread, quoting Exodus. He prayed in the garden, quoting the Psalms. When he was hung up to die, he quoted the first line of Psalm 22, which ends with these words:
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
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