Episode 1. The Message of the Miracles. DVD content and menu. In the first century what did the miracles of Jesus mean?

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1 Episode 1 The Message of the Miracles DVD content and menu In the first century what did the miracles of Jesus mean? Chapter 1 ( ) Introduction Setting the scene; the land where Jesus lived Chapter 2 ( ) Introduction Setting the scene; Jesus and his miracles Chapter 3 ( ) The raising of the widow s son at Nain Chapter 4 ( ) The Qumran community and the Dead Sea Scrolls Chapter 5 ( ) The feeding of the 5,000 Chapter 6 ( ) Moses feeding the Israelites in the desert Chapter 7 ( ) Jesus walking on the water Chapter 8 ( ) Joshua taking the Israelites across the Jordan Chapter 9 ( ) Capernaum Chapter 10 ( ) Changing the water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana 7

2 Episode 1: The Message of the Miracles Background information for teachers The Messiah NB It is assumed that teachers have read the introduction to this resource and have watched Episode 1 before reading these notes and taking the lessons. Programme 1 sets out to investigate what the witnesses to Jesus miracles in first-century Galilee would have made of them could they mean that he was the Messiah? The word Messiah means the anointed one. At their coronation, Old Testament kings were anointed with oil, symbolising their status as leaders chosen by God. According to the Old Testament, the greatest leader of the Jewish nation was King David, who started out as a shepherd and a warrior before he became king. The people hoped that one day there would be a new David, a descendant of the legendary monarch, who would defeat Israel s enemies and rule in justice and peace. There are various, biblical images given of the Messiah s role and character. He would lead his people like a shepherd (Micah 5.3,4; Ezekiel 37.23); he would be a ruler (Daniel 9.25) establishing a kingdom of peace and justice, destroying the wicked and judging with righteousness (Isaiah ); he would act as both priest and king. Programme 1 goes on to explore possible parallels between Jesus and major figures in ancient Jewish history Elijah, Moses and Joshua: Elijah The biblical prophet Elijah, whose name means The Lord is my God, challenged the worship of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab and his queen, Jezebel. Jews in Jesus day would have regarded Elijah as the epitome of a prophet and many may have believed that Jesus was Elijah come back to earth (1 Kings 19.8; Matthew 4.2; 16.14). Others thought that John the Baptist might be Elijah, though he denied this (John ). Jesus, however, did refer to John the Baptist as the Elijah who was to come (Matthew ). Moses The Old Testament, especially the Book of Exodus, records that Moses led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, across the Red Sea ( Sea of Reeds in Hebrew) and the desert towards Canaan, the Promised Land. It was also Moses who gave them the law of God. As Moses had rescued their ancestors from slavery, the Jews living in Galilee at the time of Jesus similarly longed to be set free from Roman occupation and were waiting for another Moses figure. Before the people of Israel settled in the Promised Land, Moses had said to them [God] will send you a prophet like me from among your own people and you are to obey him (Deuteronomy 18.15). Was Jesus the new Moses? Joshua Joshua took over from Moses and became the military leader of the Israelites. The Book of Joshua shows him leading the people across the river Jordan into the land of Canaan and conquering Jericho. On the brink of taking possession of the land, however, the people doubted God and were condemned to forty years of wandering in the desert. Joshua governed the twelve tribes successfully and earnt the reputation of being God s chosen servant (Joshua 24.29) who eventually established Israel in the promised land. 8

3 Changing of water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana (Chapter 10, ) This miracle is only recorded in John s Gospel (2.1 11) and is referred to as the first of his miraculous signs (2.11, NIV). The over-abundance of water turned wine is a sign; the symbolism drawn out by the programme is that of the kingdom of God depicted as a wedding banquet an echo of Old Testament imagery (Song of Songs 2.4; Isaiah ; ; Jeremiah 31.12; Amos ). Moreover, in John , John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the bridegroom. Was God symbolising a showering of his people with blessing? Through this miracle, was Jesus making a claim that he was God? In the frame Teaching and learning activities using Episode 1 KEY QUESTIONS Before you watch the programme: How would you answer the key question of this series Who was Jesus? What do you think Jesus was like as a person? Who/what has led you to build up that picture? Challenge for today Many of the community, religious and political leaders of Jesus day found him a threat to their own power. If Jesus lived among us today, who or what do you think he would be likely to challenge or question locally, nationally or internationally? Do you know of any Christians who have challenged the social, religious and political norms of their time? Carry out some research into what they were challenging and how they did this (e.g. Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Desmond Tutu, Dietrich Bonhoeffer). As you watch: How do the ordinary people, including the disciples, watching the miracle(s) react to what takes place? What is the reaction of Jesus enemies (the Pharisees and potentially the Romans)? How does Jesus himself appear to react to the miracle? After you have watched: What have you learnt about Jesus from watching this miracle? How, if at all, is the picture you first had of Jesus challenged by the episode you have just watched? What questions would you like to ask the producer about the miracle(s) you have just watched? 9

4 The Miracles Episode 1: of The Jesus Message Part 3; of the Jesus, Miracles the Lord? Teachers notes The raising of the widow s son at Nain (Chapters 3 and 4, ) Luke Luke s Gospel records that the crowd were amazed at the raising to life of a man they were convinced was dead. Notice the conclusion the people drew: They were all filled with fear and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us! they said; God has come to save his people. (Luke 7.16) This miracle could have reminded the people of a similar one, recorded a thousand years earlier the raising of the widow of Zarephath s only son by Elijah (1 Kings Programme 1, Ch.3, ). The widow had first met the prophet at the town gate. Later her only son died and Elijah raised him to life. First-century Jews believed themselves to be in the midst of a holy war between the forces of good (themselves with God on their side) and evil (the Romans). They thought a great prophet would be sent by God to purify the hearts and minds of the Jewish people, just as Elijah had done. The Jews were waiting for this new Elijah and the raising of the widow s son could have been a sign to them that Elijah had already appeared. The feeding of the 5,000 (Chapters 5 and 6, ) Matthew ; Mark ; Luke ; John There are similarities between this miracle and accounts of Moses feeding the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16; Numbers ). Both Jesus and Moses crossed a sea to reach a desert place. As the disciples asked Jesus how the crowds could be fed, so the Israelites asked Moses how to respond to a food crisis. When Jesus told the disciples to feed the multitude, they complained that they couldn t. When God told Moses to feed the Israelites, he gave the same reply. Moses as a military leader often had the people sit in groups (e.g. Exodus 18.21). In a similar way, Jesus organised the people into groups on this occasion; was he too acting as a military leader? The Gospels record that Jesus handed out the loaves and the fish and that, miraculously, there was enough for everyone. Similarly, Moses presided over the supernatural feeding of the multitudes with heavenly manna and quail. 10

5 Jesus walking on the water (Chapters 7 and 8, ) Matthew ; Mark ; John The Gospels tell us that, after the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd and went into the hills to pray. When he saw the disciples struggling with the storm on the lake he went to help them, walking towards them on the water. In seeing this, the disciples may have quickly associated him with God s authority over the sea. Scripture passages suggesting that only God could control the sea s destructive power would have been very familiar to them: You rule over the powerful sea; you calm the angry waves. (Psalm 89.9) It was you also who dried up the sea and made a path through the water, so that everyone you were saving could cross... I am the Lord your God: I stir up the sea and make its waves roar. (Isaiah 51.10, 15) Moses never reached the Promised Land. Instead, it was Joshua who led the Israelites into Canaan. We are told that the river Jordan miraculously parted, allowing them to cross, along with the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua chapters 3 and 4). The ark was a box that contained the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. Most importantly, it symbolised the presence of God. It was so sacred that in the story of the crossing the people are told to keep their distance from it because to touch it was an action punishable by death (1 Chronicle ). 11

6 Episode 1: The Message of the Miracles START HERE Watch the episode (Chapters 3 and 4, ) and read the Gospel account, Luke You will also need to read the account of Elijah raising the widow of Zarephath s son, 1 Kings THINKING POINTS What do you think about the way this raising of a dead person is shown in the programme? For example, was there any significant symbolism or use of colour? Why do you think Jesus is shown walking away leaning on the disciples? What similarities did you notice between this miracle and the one performed by Elijah? Classroom activities The raising of the widow s son at Nain GCSE activities 1. Work in small groups. Prepare a chat show looking at the question Who is Jesus? a) Imagine the raising of the widow of Nain s son has just happened. Which witnesses are you going to interview? b) What questions will you ask them? c) How might they answer the question you will ask at the end of the programme, Who is Jesus? Role-play your chat show in front of the class. 2. Work in pairs. Texting widows! Imagine you are the two widows (of Zarephath and of Nain) whose sons have been raised and you are able to send each other text messages to share your experiences. How will you describe what happened? What feelings will you share? What will you say about the idea that Jesus may be a second Elijah? Share your messages with the class. Differentiation We are shown petals falling onto the dead man when he is about to be raised to life. What do you think the petals represent? If you were the programme producer, what symbols would you have used to show hope and life coming out of despair and death? In pairs, make a poster to show these ideas. Share them with the rest of the class and explain why you have chosen these symbols. A level activities 1. After reading the Bible accounts of the two miracles, compare them by drawing a Venn diagram. Write the distinctive features about each miracle in the circles, with any points of similarity in the overlapping section. When you have finished, decide whether you think the miracle of the raising of the widow s son at Nain was intended to be a sign that the second Elijah had come. Report back your ideas to the class, giving evidence for your views. Jesus raises the widow s son. 2. Write a paragraph starting with the words The most important thing about the account of this miracle in Luke s Gospel is the... (cause dunamis, or the effect teras, or purpose semeion). Explain why. Now write a second paragraph with the same sentence starter but based on how the programme shows the miracle. Again explain why. Write a third paragraph saying what you think personally is the most important aspect of the miracle. 12

7 Classroom activities The feeding of the 5,000 GCSE activities 1. Work in groups of four or six. Your group is to make two posters on A3 paper advertising films of a) the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000; b) Moses feeding the Israelites in the desert. (Split the group in half so each half does one poster.) What scene(s) from the programme will you choose for your main picture? What titles will you choose for your films to convey the excitement and emotions of these events? Which actors will you cast in the main parts? Why? What words will you write on the advertisement to make people want to see the films? Compare your posters and explain your choices with the other half of the group. 2. In groups make a spider-gram of each miracle. In the centre of each write the name of the miracle. Wordstorm what each miracle teaches us about God. In another colour write what that miracle taught the people at the time about God. Compare your two spider-grams. As a group, write a paragraph under the title What we can learn about God from two miracles of feeding. You can if you like present this as a poem or a rap: God is Differentiation Make a storyboard of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. Your storyboard should not consist of more than six frames. As a class/large group decide what these should be. Then in pairs work on one frame each on a sheet of A4. The different frames can then be fixed together to make one large storyboard and displayed. A level START HERE Watch the episode (Chapters 5 and 6, ) and read a Gospel account: Matthew , Mark , Luke or John THINKING POINTS Why do you think Jesus made the people sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties? (Mark 6.40) According to the programme, Jesus is acting like a military commander. What do you think of this idea? We are told that Jesus was taken aback by the miracle (Ch ). From your study of the Gospel accounts, do you think this was the case? What might the claim be based on? Do you think that Jesus was left surprised by his own achievements? Give reasons for your answers. 1. Divide a piece of paper into four columns (this could be done using IT). Head each column with the name of one of the Gospel writers and the reference where you could find the miracle in that Gospel. In each column make a bullet point list of the details of the miracle in that Gospel. Use colour coding to show where there are similarities between the different accounts (e.g use a red highlighter for any details which occur in Mark and Matthew). Write up an analysis of the similarities and differences giving reasons for them. 2. Read one of the Gospel accounts. Then read an account of Moses in the wilderness from Exodus 16. What picture do you get of a) Jesus and b) Moses from these two accounts? Imagine you are writing an obituary of each of them. Include in this a section Jesus the leader and Moses the leader. Draw on your reflections from these two miracles to write these sections. Feeding the 5000: five loaves and two fish fed a great crowd. 13

8 The Miracles Episode 1: of The Jesus Message Part 3; of the Jesus, Miracles the Lord? START HERE Watch the episode (Chapters 7 and 8, ) and read one of the Gospel accounts: Matthew , Mark or John THINKING POINTS What impression does this miracle and the way it is shown in the programme give of Jesus? What kind of person does he appear to be? Why do you think Jesus got into the boat with the disciples? Why didn t he just calm the storm and go on walking to the other side of the lake? What does this show about Jesus? Why do you think it was so important to the Jews of Jesus time and before that God had power over the sea? Classroom activities Jesus walking on water GCSE activities 1. Read the account of the Israelites crossing the river Jordan under Joshua (Joshua 3 and 4). In small groups, prepare a PowerPoint presentation to show the class giving the outline of the story. At the end of your PowerPoint, include a comparison of this miracle with one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus walking on the water. Your final slides should be your group s answer to the question Was Jesus acting like Joshua? with reasons for your ideas. 2. When Jesus got into the boat, we are told the wind died down and the disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus. Truly you are the Son of God they exclaimed (Matthew 14.32). In pairs, role-play a conversation between one of the disciples and a friend they are trying to convince about Jesus being the Son of God. Base the discussion on this miracle. You could use some references from the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) such as Psalm 89.9 and Isaiah Differentiation Everyday storms! Not all storms are weather-related. In twos or threes discuss what other storms occur in people s lives today, e.g. arguments, illness, drug and alcohol abuse, crime etc. Use photographs and news headlines to illustrate these in a collage (the internet will help with this). With a board marker, write over your collage what feelings the disciples might have had when Jesus came into their boat and the storm stopped. Show your collages to the class. Discuss the question Is there any point in people today asking God to help them when they face storms in their lives? A level activities 1. In Mark s Gospel we read that, when Jesus got into the boat and the storm died down, The disciples were completely amazed, because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand; their minds could not grasp it (Mark 5.51 and 52). Read the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand from Mark What do you think is the real meaning of this story? How should this have helped the disciples to understand what Jesus had just done with the storm? Write down your ideas. Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee. 2. Watch the episodes of the miracle of Jesus walking on the water (Ch. 7, ) and of the crossing of the Jordan river by Joshua and the Israelites (Ch. 8, ). How convincing is the programme s argument that the miracle of Jesus walking on the water would have persuaded the disciples that Jesus was a Joshua come to re-claim their land from the Romans? Jot down a few ideas. Then read a Gospel account of Jesus walking on the water, and the account in Joshua 3 and 4 of the crossing of the Jordan. Write a careful evaluation of the claim, showing both its strengths and weaknesses. 14

9 Going deeper Trigger points: quotations from the programme When I first came here I realised how easy it is to see Jesus through Western eyes and detach him from his true environment and where he came from the Middle East. Christianity is often presented as a faith of the West. But like Judaism and Islam its roots lie in this region. What has made people come to see Christianity as a religion of the West? What are some of the political implications of seeing Christianity in this way? Do people of every culture see Jesus through Western eyes? Is there any evidence that this might not be the case? [Jesus ] chief weapon was not the sword His weapons were miracles. And they proved to be far more revolutionary. Why might Jesus miracles have been more revolutionary than the sword? In what sense could they be called revolutionary? Which of Jesus miracles could be called revolutionary? And who/ what were they challenging? Which do you think was more revolutionary; his miracles or his teachings? Can you give examples of his teachings which could be called revolutionary? You could start with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 7). Then again, if you believe that God exists, why shouldn t such a thing take place? Do you have to believe in God to accept miracles? What else might people say causes miracles? Why might belief in God make it easier to accept that miracles can happen? NB If you are an A level student you should refer to Hume in your discussions. 15

10 The Miracles of Jesus Part 3; Jesus, the Lord? Exam-type questions 1 GCSE a) Write an eyewitness account of the Feeding of the 5,000, based on the one in the Gospel you have studied. (AO1 8 marks) The wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine b) Explain the significance of the raising of the widow s son at Nain for Christians today. (AO2 7 marks) c) Trying to understand the miracles of Jesus is a waste of time. Everyone knows they did not happen. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. (AO3 5 marks) a) Give a definition of the word miracle as a Christian would understand it and describe the miracle of the turning of water into wine at Cana in Galilee. (AO1 8 marks) b) Explain what the miracle of Jesus walking on the water could have meant to the disciples, who witnessed it, and what significance it might have for Christians today. (AO2 7 marks) c) Jesus performed his miracles partly to convince people that he was the Messiah. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer and show that you have thought about different points of view. (AO3 5 marks) A level The feeding of the multitude would put first-century Jews in mind of a towering figure in Jewish history. When those eyewitnesses saw Jesus handing out food, they could not help but think of the father of the Jewish faith himself Moses. a) Explain the meaning that the feeding of the 5,000 could have had for first century Jews. (AS 15 marks; A2 20 marks) b) Assess the credibility of the claim that, for first century Jews, the significance of some of Jesus miracles was that they indicated he could be the Messiah. (AS 25 marks; A2 30 marks) Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. (Acts 2.22) a) Examine the extent to which the symbolism of the turning of water into wine was an echo of Old Testament imagery the kingdom of God as a wedding banquet. (AS 15 marks; A2 20 marks) b) Explain why this miracle could have shown that Jesus was God acting in the world and assess the evidence. (AS 25 marks; A2 30 marks) 16