BIBLE CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE LESSON July 4, 2004

Compiled by Lt Gen C. Norman Wood, USAF (Ret), Burke, VA, 703-898-8818, [email protected] for CSDirectory.com

SUBJECT: God

SECTION III: at the House of and Mary (: 38-42)

Martha [Mar’thuh] (Aram. “lady, mistress”)

TIME LINE: The Last Months (just prior to Passion Week)

Martha = ? Mary (of ) Lazarus

Martha and Mary appear in John’s (:1- 12:8) and live in Bethany near . However, Luke Jesus is not yet near the city.

Martha is the sister of Mary and , and probably the eldest. The three were tenderly attached to Jesus, but Mary and Martha expressed their love for him in different ways. Martha loved him and desired to make him comfortable and show him respect in her house.

While Martha busied herself making Jesus comfortable and cooking for him in her home, Mary listened intently to his teaching. Martha tried to have Jesus rebuke Mary for not assisting her to attend to his external wants, but Jesus explained that Mary’s deeper hunger for spiritual fellowship were more important than concern for his external honor. Jesus recognized that Martha was working for him, but he reminded her that she was permitting her outward activities to hinder her spiritually.

Both sisters were sincere believers, but it was Martha who made the confession of faith. The house where Jesus was received is called Martha’s, and the supper that was given to him at Bethany, at which Lazarus was present and Martha again served, where Mary anointed his feet was at the house of Simon the leper. Accordingly it has been suggested that Martha may have been the wife or widow of Simon.

Horn, David Littlefield, “Martha and Mary and me,” Christian Science Sentinel (11 November 1985), p. 1929.

--If Jesus were in your neighborhood today, would you welcome him into your home? • According to St. Luke, that’s what hospitable Martha did in the village where she and her sister Mary lived. ---Martha gladly “received him into her house.” --But Martha wasn’t alone in the house. • Her sister Mary was there too. ---According to custom, Jesus would have reclined on a couch while he ate and both women served him. • One Bible commentator observes that “whereas Martha occupied herself with offering dish after dish…Mary spent most of her time sitting behind Jesus, and listening to what he was saying.” (Dummelow) • Before long, Martha complained to the Master, “Dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?” ---And he replied with the familiar words “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

“Women of the Bible: From Christ Jesus’ time through the first century, The,” INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE, Christian Science Sentinel (17 November 1997), p. 24. (Word Search)

The women around Jesus Mary and Martha (Luke 10: 38-42; John 11: 1-45; 12: 3) --These sisters live in Bethany and open their home to Jesus. • Martha hurries around serving the guests. ---But her younger sister Mary is thoughtful and listens closely to Jesus, taking her place among the men and other devoted followers—a privilege Jesus says “shall not be taken away from her.” --Mary and Martha have a brother, Lazarus, who is a friend of Jesus, too. • Some time later, Lazarus gets very sick. ---Mary and Martha remember Jesus’ words and deeds, and they send for him to come help their brother. • By the time he arrives, however, Lazarus has been dead for four days. ---But Jesus says to Martha, “Whosoever…believeth in me shall never die.” • Imagine how happy Mary and Martha must have been!

Mary [ma’ry] (of Bethany)

TIME LINE: The Last Months (just prior to Passion Week)

Martha = Simon the leper? Mary (of Bethany) Lazarus

Mary and her sister Martha appear in Luke as receiving Jesus in their house. As with Martha, we know nothing of Mary’s family background. Martha was probably older than Mary since the house is referred to as Martha’s; but she could have inherited it from an unmentioned husband (maybe Simon, the leper). When Jesus visited their house in Bethany, Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to his teachings while Martha worked in the kitchen. Mary sat listening eagerly for every word that fell from the divine teacher. When Martha complained that Mary was no help, Jesus gently rebuked Martha. She had chosen the good part, the “one thing needful.”

She also appears in the story of the raising of her brother Lazarus. Her grief was deeper, but less active than Martha’s. Her first thought when she saw Jesus in whose power and love she had trusted was one of complaint. But the great joy and love which her brother’s return to life called up in her more than compensated for her previous grief.

Following Lazarus’ resurrection, Mary showed her gratitude by Jesus’ feet with “a pound of very costly oil of spikenard” and wiping his feet with her hair. Judas called this anointing extravagant, but Jesus answered, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of my burial.” Jesus called Mary’s unselfish act “a to her.”

“Biblical models of womanhood.” BIBLE FORUM, Christian Science Journal (March 2003), p. 38. --Deborah. Ruth. Abigail. Mary. Martha—these are some of the women of the Bible bound together by their desire for a life of service and a yearning to be faithful to the one God. --For many Bible readers, Mary and Martha represent two distinct lifestyles—Mary, the quiet, deep-thinking one, and Martha, the woman of action. • Martha’s approach has been criticized by some, and the Bible says that on one occasion she “was cumbered about much serving”—felt weighed down with household duties. ---But when her brother Lazarus died, Martha was the first member of the household to greet Jesus when he came to them and resurrected her brother.

Thompson, Ellen Moore, “A time to be Mary,” POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (3 August 1992), p. 26.

Is it unproductive to sit and listen at the Master’s feet?

What a topsy-turvy world— demanding motion to feel accomplished!

Can I slow down enough to go forward spiritually? Gear-change for a high rise in my thought?

I choose to kneel in humility. I have no choice but to go down, that I may spring up higher!

SECTION IV: Ten Lepers Cleansed (: 12-19)

“ ten men that were lepers ”

TIME LINE: The 3rd tour of , during the 3rd year of Jesus’ ministry: The Year of Opposition

This story is peculiar to Luke. However, leprosy is referred to in Matthew’s gospel at the beginning of chapter 8.

“Leprosy has always been, and is still, one of the most intractable diseases. Under the Mosaic law lepers were regarded as unclean and excluded entirely from human society…. The healing of a Samaritan, and the stress laid upon his greater gratitude, is in keeping with the character of this Gentile Gospel…. The caravans of Galilee took either the Samaritan route or the Peræan. Jesus follows neither, but travels along the boundary between and Galilee. He directed his steps from W. to E. towards the Jordan, which he must cross to enter Peræa.” (Dummelow)

Hollenbeck, Althea Brooks, “The Tenth Leper,” POEM, Christian Science Sentinel (26 November 1966), p. 2073.

Were they not still lepers at heart—those nine who turned not back to seek the Lord with sign of gratitude? The Bible has not said, But Scriptures teach that all will leap ahead, in Truth, that turn to God who heals them, kneeling— as the tenth leper—praising Him for healing! Selover, John J. (CSB and Associate Editor), “Only One Returned to Give Thanks,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Journal (July 1959), p. 374.

--When Christ Jesus healed the ten lepers who had cried out to him for help, one of them turned back, we are told (Luke 17: 15), “and with a loud voice glorified God.” • Whereupon the Master exclaimed: “Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.” --Yes, the nine went their way, enjoying the benefits of their new-found freedom. • But they were apparently not sufficiently unselfed to utter even one word of gratitude to God for the wondrous cleansing truth that had freed them. ---Nor were they even gracious enough to voice appreciation to the man who had so lovingly brought about their release. --Under the marginal heading “Prayerful ingratitude,” Mary Baker Eddy declares in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”) p. 3): “Are we really grateful for the good already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more.” --The one leper who gave thanks out of a heart filled with joy was surely “fitted to receive more,” and he probably did.

SECTION V: Paul’s Speech to the Men of Athens at Mars’ Hill (Acts 17: 15, 16, 18, 22-28)

Paul (“small, little”)

TIME LINE: 30-68 CE

Benjamin ⇓ Father (a Pharisee)=Mother (unknown) Saul (Paul) (Sister) (Nephew)

Paul, whose original name was Saul, was born a Roman citizen, although a Jew, in Tarsus. He was a tentmaker. All the influences about him from the beginning—Jewish, Greek, Roman—contributed, apart from any consciousness or intention on his part to fit him for the work of his life.

His Conversion. As a young man, he sought out and persecuted Christians. The conversion of Saul is regarded as a miraculous event.

Near Damascus Saw a Great Light Saul Was Blinded Christ’s Rebuke Saul’s Reply Was Led to Damascus Fasted and Prayed On one of his journeys on the way to Damascus, he saw a great light, was blinded by it, heard the rebuke of the Christ, and was led to Damascus where he fasted and prayed. Ananias Sent to Him Was Baptized A Christian named Ananias was sent to Saul and baptized him, and from that point on he received his sight, his name was changed to Paul, and he preached Christ in the synagogues. After Conversion.

During his missionary, Paul made three specific journeys all around the area we know today as the Middle East. Subsequently, he spent time in Jerusalem, and lived the remainder of his years in Rome, mostly in prison.

Second Missionary Journey (50-52 CE)). At the beginning of the next journey came the memorable difference of opinion between Paul and . Barnabas and Mark went to . So, on Paul’s second missionary journey, from Antioch [Syria] through what we know today as southeastern Turkey, he journeyed to the Roman colony of Philippi [today’s Greek coast on the Aegean Sea] accompanied by Luke and . At Philippi, Lydia and jailor converted It was here that Lydia was baptized, and invited Paul to come into her house. Paul continued to preach in Philippi and was jailed with Silas by the magistrates for teaching customs which were not lawful. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, and all the doors were opened and the prisoners’ bands loosed. After converting the jailer, they continued their journey to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens [all cities in Greece]. Athens. Sermon on Mars Hill Some of the brethren went with him as far as Athens. Here the apostle delivered that wonderful discourse reported in Acts 17. It is discreet and to the point. However, he gained but few converts in Athens. Corinth Vision,--Church founded He soon took his departure and went to Corinth [SW of Athens], where he became acquainted with Aquila and Priscilla, and where Timothy joined him. He next went to Ephesus [Izmir, Turkey] before returning to Antioch [inland, Turkey]. Much of his history is found in his letters to those communities. Ephesus,--a Brief Visit The ship in which he sailed from Corinth touched at Ephesus, and he had time to enter the synagogue and talk with the Jews, but though he promised to return, he could not stay.

Third Missionary Journey (53-58 CE) On the third missionary journey, several brethren were associated with him in this expedition, the bearers, no doubt, of the collections made in all the churches for the poor at Jerusalem. These were sent on by sea, and probably the money with them, to Troas [W coast, Turkey], where they were to await Paul. He went round by way of Philippi, where Luke joined him, to Troas where the incident of occurred, and thence to Assos [slightly SW of Troas; today Troy]. He completed his third journey by going to Miletus [SW coast of Turkey]; through Rhodes [island, S of Turkey] and Patars [S coast of Turkey], to Tyre [N coast of Israel]; and finally through Cæsarea [coastal city of Israel] to Jerusalem.

In Jerusalem (@60 BCE) Seized by the Romans After appearing before the at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea, he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the emperor. To the imprisonment belongs the group of letters to Philemon, to the Colossians [Turkey], to the Ephesians [Turkey], and to the Philippians [Greece].

Voyage to Rome (@62 BCE) After appearing before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, and before Felix and Festus at Cæsarea, he was compelled to protest against injustice and delay (he had been a prisoner fully two years) by exercising his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to the Emperor. The voyage to Rome is told by an eye-witness. The Storm The Vision The Shipwreck On the island of Melita

Paul was a controversial figure in his lifetime, even within the Christian movement. In accordance with early , he accepted slavery without criticism, and he assumes the property right of a slave-owner; but he recognizes the slave as a brother in Christ, to whom is due not merely forgiveness but Christian fellowship. He had many opponents who disagreed with his interpretation of the message of Jesus. In the closing years of his life, when imprisonment prevented him from moving about freely, Paul’s opponents were able to make headway with their rival interpretations. However, Paul became a venerated figure. His letters, together with the , became the foundation of the Christian movement.

Silas [Sî’las: contracted form of Silvanus, “person of the woods”]

Silas was an prominent member of the early Christian church, described as Silas in the Acts, but often referred to as Silvanus in Paul’s . He first appears as one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem holding the office of an inspired teacher. He was probably a Hellenistic Jew, and a Roman citizen.

He was appointed as a delegate to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their return to Antioch to report the decision of the Council of Jerusalem to accept Gentile Christians into the church. He remained in Antioch after the others had returned to Jerusalem, and was selected by Paul as his companion on his second missionary journey. During their travels, Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi.

At Berea he was left behind with Timothy while Paul proceeded to Athens, and we hear nothing more of his movements until he rejoined the apostle at Corinth. The time, place, and manner of his death are unknown.

Timotheus /Timothy [Tim’uh the] (“honored by God”)

Lois (grandmother) (Jewess mother) = Greek father Timothy

Timothy was a young associate who was Paul's friend, disciple, and companion in many of his journeys. He is mentioned as joint sender in six of Paul’s epistles.

He was born in Asia Minor. His Jewish mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, , are mentioned as eminent for their piety. We know nothing of his father but that he was a Greek gentile.

He is first brought into notice at the time of Paul's second missionary journey on his second visit to Lystra, where Timothy probably resided, and where it seems he was converted during Paul's first visit to that place. The apostle having formed a high opinion of his "own son in the faith," arranged that he should become his companion, and took and circumcised him, so that he might conciliate the Jews. He was designated to the office of an evangelist, and went with Paul in his journey through Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia; also to Troas and Philippi and Berea. Thence he followed Paul to Athens, and was sent by him with Silas on a mission to Thessalonica.

We next find him at Corinth with Paul. He passes now out of sight for a few years, and is again noticed as with the apostle at Ephesus, whence he is sent on a mission into Macedonia. He accompanied Paul afterwards into Asia, where he was with him for some time. When the apostle was a prisoner at Rome, Timothy joined him, where it appears he also suffered imprisonment. From Rome, Paul sent Timothy to Philippi to bring back word of the congregation that had supported the apostle so faithfully over the years.

During the apostle's second imprisonment he wrote to Timothy, asking him to rejoin him as soon as possible, and to bring with him certain things which he had left at Troas, his cloak and parchments. According to tradition, after the apostle's death he settled in Ephesus as his sphere of labor, and there found a martyr's grave.

Epicureans [Ep’i kû re’ãnz]

“Epicurus (341-270 BCE) formed a community of friends in Athens, who held that philosophy had the practical aim of securing happiness. Believing that pleasure is the sum total of happiness, they conceived of pleasure not as sensual indulgence, as their opponents charged, but as a tranquility like that of the gods. Contrary to the popular view, they claimed that the gods exercised no providential oversight in human affairs. People therefore need not fear the gods, nor need they fear death, for it simply marks the end of human existence and should have no bearing on one’s manner of life.” (Metzger)

“Epicureans were associated with Gadara, Gaza, and Caesarea, and it is not surprising that traces of Epicureanism have been detected in biblical and other Jewess writings dating form the third century BCE onward.” (Metzger)

The only explicit reference to Epicureans in the Bible is Acts 17.18, where Paul is described as encountering Epicureans and Stoics in Athen.” (Metzner)

Stoics [Sto’iks]

“A philosophical school founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium (335-263 BCE) which became the most influential philosophic sect in the Greco-Roman world. Stoics conceived of philosophy as the knowledge of things divine and human, and its goal as a life of harmony with nature. They thought that the universe was permeated by the or Reason, also referred to as God or Providence. Human beings, they held, are particles of God, for divine Reason is manifested in a special way in human reason.” (Metzger)

“Stoics are mentioned explicitly in the Bible only in Acts 17.18, where according to Luke, in company with their opponents the Epicureans they encounter Paul.” (Metzger)

Douglass, Mrs. Colleen Feldman (CSB, Los Angeles, CA), “Learning about more than music from Bobby McFerrin,” Christian Science Journal (February 2003), p. 15.

--Bobby McFerrin and other splendid musicians…offer a glimpse into the distinctness and infinitude of identity. --Paul delved beneath a material view of existence. • He discovered that when it comes to identity, only one perspective counts—God’s. ---Only one question is really important—how does God, the Mind that created me, see me? --To find out, everyone can do two things in prayer: (1) reject the “old man,” whom God, who is perfect and infinitely good, couldn’t possibly created; and (2) acknowledge what God did create—the new man/new woman. • Recognize the beautiful and complete immortal ideas that fully express God’s nature. Eriksen, Clifford Kapps, “The view from Mars’ Hill,” Christian Science Journal (December 1998), p. 34.

--The view from Mars’ Hill, where St. Paul addressed the Athenians about two thousand years ago, is an impressive one. • Above, crowning the summit of that outcropping of rock known as the Acropolis, stands the Parthenon, a temple—magnificent even in ruins—dedicated to the goddess Athena. • Below, leading to the summit, is a tree-lined road. ---In Paul’s day it was also lined with altars honoring gods of the ancient world. • From start to finish this was a pathway glorifying idolatry. --In their superstition, fearful that a deity unfamiliar to them might be offended by being excluded, the men of Athens also erected an altar bearing the inscription “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” (Acts 17: 23)

John, Godfrey (CSB and Lecturer), “The Language of Healing,” Christian Science Journal (March 1976), p. 126.

--As human consciousness is purified, its acts as a transparency through which the light of these ideas flows naturally and lucidly. --The thought of Paul was such a transparency on Mars Hill. • There, as we read in Acts, his listeners were suddenly exposed to the impact of symbols, or the language of metaphor. ---Discounting the dedication of one of their altars TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, he cried, “in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” --What was he saying? • Biblical scholarship has attributed the origin of his poetic allusion to the third-century B.C. poet Aratus. ---But as Paul utters them, these words have new life and meaning. • What we infer from the apostle’s text is that man exists in the consciousness of God; that God is the very source of all man’s true activity and purpose; and that man’s being soars in Mind, God, who is his real Father and creator.

Key, Lt Col Robert Ellis, RA (Ret) (CSB and Editor), “’Ye men of Athens’,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Journal (November 1950), p. 555.

--When Paul stood on Mars’ Hill he opened his sermon with a bold and arresting statement. • “Ye men of Athens,” he said, “I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious (Acts 17: 22). ---He then proceeded to tell them that as he passed by and watched their devotions he found an altar dedicated to an unknown god. --Having arrested the attention and aroused the interest of the men of Athens, the apostle commenced to enlighten them. • Inspired by God, Paul’s words were those of an orator. • He informed them that God is the creator of heaven and earth. ---Perhaps at this point he swept his hands towards the lovely buildings of the Acropolis, for he said, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” • In these few short sentences Paul referred to the source of all art and the origin of all beauty as God. WAGERS, RALPH E. (CSB, Lecturer, Associate Editor, President, and Normal Class Teacher), “Deathless Identity Not In Matter,” EDITORIAL, Christian Science Journal (May 1965), p. 262.

--as we grow in spiritual perception and discernment we shall cease honoring death as an actuality and realize that the mortal belief in death cannot separate identities from each other any more than it can separate them from God. --Materially speaking, men and women appear to be physical organisms, completely dependent upon matter for their identity. • Such a concept raises the question of how mindless elements of matter can be considered either the source or the medium of intelligence and life. --Spiritual sense enables one to see above and beyond the limits of material sense, and its inevitable inaccuracies, into the realm of scientific metaphysics—the spiritual realm—and to gain a satisfying sense of Paul’s statement to the people on Mars’ Hill (Acts 17: 28), “In him we live, and move, and have our being.”

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