Questions from Luke (and others)

Let's discuss the book of Luke.

I was reading last night, and something crossed my mind. Actually, a lot of somethings. There were originally four pretty straightforward questions, but the problem with my mind is that things are straightforward only because I already have context. Once I bring in context, we get what's known as A RIDICULOUSLY LONG BLOG POST. Like this one.

Also, random connections happen in my mind WHILE I'm writing. I'll be talking about one concept, and there'll be a note, "heyyyy...what about this other thing that happened HERE?" So, some of this is related to stuff in Mark, a little bit is from John, and I think there's one thing from Matthew. This all STARTED in Luke, okay? That's the best foundation I can give you.

Luke is the most comprehensive of the four gospels - he's the only one of the four who WASN'T wandering around the region with Christ, so instead he went around investigating and interviewing people who were with him at various points in his life (1:3-4) - presumably his mother, his aunt and uncle, various disciples, the women who first came to the empty tomb, etc. (I name these characters because I'll read something and realize that only the people who were there could have known it)

Through this investigation, Luke records 18 parables that appear nowhere else in the Bible. But it makes me wonder - the other authors left some stories out (well, you'd have to - to record every event of a man's life would take a book quite a bit longer than the Bible itself). And while I bet Luke gave it his strongest effort, there are a lot of times when Christ would say something important in casual conversation. Luke was a doctor - how did he know when something Christ said was important enough to be recorded? And I'm fascinated by the notion of there being parables Christ told that weren't recorded. Really hoping that when we go Home, there's going to be a way to see this time and see every moment of Christ's life.

At the beginning of chapter 9, Christ has called his Twelve disciples together, and he gives them the power to cure diseases and drive out demons, and he sends them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal. He gives them instructions that basically amount to, "Take nothing with you," and how to conduct themselves in the towns they visit, and they set out and travel around the villages for awhile, doing as he asked.
This also has me interested. What was he doing while they were doing this? It takes a fair amount of time to walk from one village to another, and he seemed to suggest that they should stay at least a few days in each town (9:4). What was he doing while they were carrying this out? And more, the communications system of Rome was untrustworthy post at best. Did they have a preplanned circuit of the towns? Were they all traveling together? How did they know when to come back?

I'm by no means saying that because I don't understand something, then it can't be true. I'm just saying, I don't understand something. :)

22:36, he sends them out with different instructions - that this time they are to take their purses, bags, and swords. He then goes on to quote a verse from Isaiah, and apparently loses them here, because they respond, "Lord, here are two swords."
His answer; "That is enough."
Has me lost again. Enough for what? Did the disciples just not understand what he was saying and figure, "Well, he mentioned swords, let's see if we have anything to please the master." He makes a point of mentioning that they should sell what they already have in order to buy swords, but then, when they come up with two already (among the twelve of them), he says that that's enough.
Here's the point where I just plainly admit that I have absolutely no idea what he's talking about here. This happens. Being a Christian doesn't mean you get all the answers.

John the Baptist has me confused as well. Freakin' cool character - he's grown up as Jesus' cousin. His purpose in this world was ordained before he was conceived - he's the one of whom Isaiah prophesied, "A voice of one calling in the desert," that he would prepare the way for the Lord. He speaks of the the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which also intrigues me because the Holy Spirit is, to the best of my knowledge, never mentioned in the Old Testament, and doesn't appear until five weeks after...um. Easter? Christ's ascension? Oops. I screwed up my dates again.
Anyway. That particular detail, not the point. Point is, he knows Christ is coming. He knows what Christ is going to do - roughly. And when Jesus comes by, he immediately recognizes him, declaring that
First thought - how weird would that be? They're cousins, they live close enough that their moms (they're sisters) can visit each other, so it may be likely that they've grown up together. Has he grown up always knowing that his cousin Jesus (a name about as common as Brandon is today) was the Messiah, or did he just realize when he appeared (I tend to picture him as coming over a hill down to the river Jordan) that this guy he hung out with as a kid is in fact the one that they've been waiting for? Or maybe he already knew, and he's just waiting for his childhood friend to get his act together - he's been paving the way for a few years, when's this program going to start?
Second thought, he's been preaching to the crowds about the Lord's coming for years, and he recognizes him on sight. He sees the Holy Spirit come down as a dove and apparently land on him, and he hears God's voice declaring Jesus to be his son and that he's pleased with him. He was there for all that. And then, after Christ begins his ministry (John's in prison now - he's irked Herod's wife), he sends a message asking him, "Are you the one, or should we expect someone else?"
What? God audibly declares that this is his son, you declare that he's the one that they've all been waiting for, and then later you ask him, "Hey, are you the one we're waiting for?"

Baffling.

Mary also has me puzzled. I've heard it taught that most of Jesus' family didn't really understand who he was - hence, the confusion over him teaching in the temple (at the age of 12), and the part where his family came to bring him home because he was acting like a crazy person. But his first miracle is at the wedding in Cana - and his mother instigates it - kind of. She comes up to him at the wedding and informs him that they've run out of wine. His response is great, "What do you want me to do about it?" Not exactly, but he's not yet performed any miracles, his "time has not yet come." So I'm wondering, too - what does she expect him to do about it?

At this point, I've wandered off from Luke a bit - I think the wedding in Cana is only mentioned in John. But I had a bunch of questions piling up last night.

THIS one has me questioning. In Mark 6(yeah, sorry, I really am jumping all over the place), Jesus goes home for awhile. All the people here know him, they know his family, and they're not impressed with him. He comments on it, and it's mentioned that he only does a few miracles there.
Why. Does his power come from whether or not people believe in him? Do people earn miracles, and since they didn't believe him, they didn't earn them? I rather doubt that this just happened to be a region where people didn't need help. This has me puzzled, and almost a little mad. I KNOW Christ wouldn't say people had to earn healing; that's not what he's about! But the notion that God's power comes from people is ridiculously paradoxical - if God's power came from people, how did he make people?
Something just crossed my mind. I don't recall Christ ever saying, "I have healed you." I recall him saying, "Your sins are forgiven." He'd say, "You are free from [insert condition]." And he'd definitely say, "Your faith has healed you."
So, maybe Christ has the power, but you have to accept that he can heal you before he can? Your body has to be surrendered, saying that he has the power and you don't, before you'll be healed? Except, I know there's a couple of cases listed where there were people, in the temple or whatever, who were just standing in the shadows, didn't apparently know Jesus, and he'd call them forth and heal them.

I had one teacher who used to say that the Bible doesn't tell us everything - it tells us what we need to know. The circumstances surrounding Christ's miracles aren't directly relevant to how I live my life with him. God had healed people before Christ walked the earth, and wrought other fantastic works without any call from people. He's doing both today, sometimes with prayer, sometimes just because it pleases him to work his plan this way. The exact circumstances of Christ's miracles are probably not going to be recreated in my lifetime, and don't have to affect my relationship with him.

But, man, I wanna know! *rueful smile*

If anyone DOES have answers, I'd love to hear them.

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Totally unrelated, but, I've just been introduced to the concept of the Euthyphro Dilemma (which my spell-check thinks should be spelled Hypothyroid), and I'm fascinated. Must learn more!