Is "The Book of Wisdom" in the Christian Bible?

The Book of Wisdom (of Solomon) is not in Protestant Bibles but is in the Catholic Bible. Why? The Book of Wisdom was included in the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures (called the Septuagint) that was used by Greek-speaking Jews at the time of Jesus. Because the gospels and the letters of Paul in the New Testament refer to the Septuagint for quotations from scripture, the first Christian Bibles included the Book of Wisdom (and the other writings in the Septuagint, except for 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh). When the Hebrew Bible was officially "closed" as a canon (after the time of Paul), the Book of Wisdom and several other books were not included. The Protestant reformers used the official Hebrew Bible, and not the Septuagint, as the basis for their translations of the Old Testament, so Protestant Bibles do not include the books of the Septuagint that were omitted from the Hebrew Bible.

What is "Epiphany"?

Epiphany is a special festival in the church year that is celebrated on January 6. The word "epiphany" is from the Greek language, and it means "manifestation" or "showing." In the first two centuries after the time of Jesus, most Christians spoke Greek. Epiphany was established as a church festival about two hundred years after the death of Jesus by these Greek-speaking Christians, so a Greek word was used to name the festival. The Greek speaking Christians who established Epiphany were living in the area where today on the map we find the countries of Turkey, Syria and Iraq. In this area two hundred years after the time of Jesus, the shortest day of the year (the winter solstice) occurred on January 6 in the Alexandrian calendar that was used by Greek-speaking people. Therefore, Epiphany was celebrated on that day, which marks the end of darker days and the beginning of brighter days.

Why are there "twelve days of Christmas"?

Greek-speaking Christians began to celebrate Epiphany on January 6, which in the Alexandrian calendar marked the winter solstice. A hundred years later Christians in Rome began to celebrate Christmas on December 25, because in the Julian calendar of the Romans that was the day of the winter solstice. When the church under Roman rule began to celebrate both Christmas and Epiphany, it kept Christmas on December 25 and Epiphany on January 6. And so, January 6 became for the churches of the Roman Empire the 12th night of the Christmas season.

Where in the New Testament is the story of the wise men?

The story of the three wise men is related only in the gospel of Matthew. (Mt. 2:1-12) It was traditionally read on Epiphany, which is celebrated on January 6th, the date for the winter solstice in the Alexandrian calendar. These men came from the East following a bright star to bring gifts to the child born to be king of the Jews. The story tells us that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold is a gift fit for a king, and it signifies that Jesus is a king. Frankincense is a kind of incense that was burned in the temple in Jerusalem by the priests. It signifies that Jesus helps us relate to God, which is what the priests were charged with doing in the temple. And myrrh is a spice used in those days in preparing for burial the bodies of those who had died. The gift of myrrh signifies that Jesus will bring us closer to God through his death.

Who was John the Baptist?

The gospel of Mark, which seems to be the earliest gospel, begins with the story of John the Baptist, who is understood to be fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3. The story of John the Baptist is included in each of the four gospels in the New Testament and thus must have been deeply rooted in the earliest memories of the church. John the Baptist proclaims from the wilderness of Judea near Jerusalem that the judgment of God is near, and he baptizes those who embrace repentance for their sins and trust in God's forgiveness. The gospel of Luke tells a story about John's birth, as the child of Elizabeth and Zechariah, who was a priest of the temple. This gives John an originating miracle story, similar to that for Jesus. Moreover, the gospel of Luke claims that Elizabeth and Mary, the mother of Jesus, are related, making John and Jesus kin as well. But none of the other gospels contain this claim.

Jesus is baptized by John in the gospels of Mark and Matthew. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is baptized after John has been imprisoned, and in the gospel of John there is no explicit reference to the baptism of Jesus. In all four gospels, however, the baptism of John marks the launching point for the ministry of Jesus.

In the gospels of the New Testament John the Baptist proclaims that the kingdom of God is offered to all those who repent in faith. But the New Testament affirms that Jesus is not, like John, a prophet but is the Messiah (Hebrew), the Christ (Greek), the Son of God (Mk: 1:1), the Lord (Mk. 1:3). This claim is presented in the beginning of the gospel of Mark, but it is the end of the gospel that makes the claim necessary. Jesus goes to his death for the sake of his people. Jesus would be merely an innocent victim, and God would be merely a vengeful deity, if Jesus were not one with God. As the Christ, however, God suffers the injustice and death of humanity, and transforms the crucifixion into an act of love.

Who called Jesus "the lamb of God"?

All the New Testament gospels relate the story of John the Baptist, but only the gospel of John contains the statement by John the Baptist that Jesus is "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Exodus 12 relates that God told Moses and Aaron to have the Israelites sacrifice a lamb without blemish and mark their door posts with its blood, so that they would be protected from the plague that he was to visit upon the land of Egypt. The Jewish feast of Passover celebrates this act of God's love for his people, and the gospel of John affirms that Jesus is the Passover lamb to be sacrificed for the salvation of the world.

In the gospel of John, Jesus does not eat the Passover supper with his disciples, because he is arrested the night before Passover begins. For the church of the author of the gospel of John, Jesus replaces the Passover. His flesh and his blood are given for the whole world, and the Eucharist becomes the celebration of God's love for the people.

Did Jesus say he brought good news to the poor?

In the gospel of Luke (Lk. 4:18-19) Jesus reads from the prophet Isaiah: "The Lord sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the broken-hearted and to proclaim freedom to those in captivity." (Is. 61:1-3) When Jesus announces in the synagogue at Nazareth that he is the fulfillment of this passage from scripture, the people are outraged and threaten to kill him. This incident and teaching is not mentioned in any of the other gospel accounts. In the gospel of Mark the first teaching of Jesus is: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and have faith in the gospel." (Mk. 1:14-15). The gospel of Matthew shortens this to: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt. 4:17) The gospel of Luke substitutes for this proclamation the announcement about the prophecy from Isaiah.

Either the author of the gospel of Luke has knowledge of a tradition about the teaching of Jesus that is unknown or disregarded by the authors of the gospels of Mark and Matthew, or the author of the gospel of Luke has created this scene in the synagogue in Nazareth and attributed these words to Jesus. Whether or not Jesus understood himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3, it seems clear that the Greek-speaking Christian community for which the gospel of Luke was written affirmed this relationship.

Who said forgiveness for sin comes to those who call on the name of Jesus?

Acts of the Apostles reports that Peter said: "God sent his word, and announced the good news of peace through Jesus Christ; he is the Lord of all." (Acts 10:34-43) The author of the Acts of the Apostles also wrote the gospel of Luke. In this reading from Acts, Peter affirms the gospel proclamation of the church for which the gospel of Luke and Acts were written. The goods news is for Gentiles as well as Jews, because God shows no partiality.

The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible reports that Peter concludes his speech with the words, "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." (Acts 10:43) The Revised English Bible translates this verse from the Greek as: "It is to him that all the prophets testify, declaring that everyone who trusts in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." The Greek verb translated as "believes in" or "trusts in" is the verb for faith.

The promise of the gospel is that those with faith in Jesus will be saved - those who trust in him, which is not the same as asserting certain beliefs about him. The good news is not that salvation comes to those who hold fast to the right beliefs. Belief that Jesus Christ is Lord is not what saves. We are saved by the faith inspired in us by God's love in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Christ, because he is the word of God. The peace proclaimed by the church is good news because it transcends the conflicts within every church about beliefs. To enter that peace we do not have to assent to certain beliefs about Jesus, but only need trust in the God revealed through him.

Is the book of "Sirach" in the Bible?

Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, was originally written in Hebrew in the early part of the second century BCE. About 132 BCE, the prologue tells us, it was translated into Greek. The Greek text was included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, and thus was among the writings that Paul and the early Greek-speaking churches read as "scripture" and was included in the earliest Greek Bibles of the church. Sirach was not, however, included in the Hebrew Bible after the end of the first century CE when the rabbis closed the Hebrew canon. Therefore, the Protestant reformers did not include it in the Old Testament they translated into their own languages, because they used the canonized Hebrew Bible as the basis for their translations. So Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) does not appear in Protestant Bibles, but continues to be part of the Roman Catholic Bible.

Who asked to sit at the right and left hand of the risen Christ?

In the gospel of Mark the sons of Zebedee, James and John, ask to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus, when he comes in glory. (Mk. 10:42-45) This leads Jesus to give his teaching about being a servant. The gospel of Luke does not mention the request by James and John, but merely prefaces the teaching with a comment that a dispute had arisen among the disciples as to who was the greatest. (Luke 22:24-27) The gospel of Matthew reports that the mother of James and John asked Jesus to favor her two sons. (Mt. 20:20-21) Consistently, the gospel of Matthew presents the disciples of Jesus in a more favorable light, because it concludes with the great commission that the risen Christi gives to the disciples to found the church. The gospel of Mark does not record any resurrection appearance, which suggests that the author thought Paul rather than the former disciples of Jesus (later apostles headquartered in Jerusalem) was the one chosen by God to found the church.

Paul is, from the perspective of the author of the gospel of Mark, the true servant of the church. Paul travels, risks his life, collects funds for the church in Jerusalem, and organizes churches in "the world" (the Roman Empire). The gospel of Mark supports his ministry and reminds the members of the Greek-speaking churches Paul founded that they are to serve rather than compete for privilege. What better way to do that than to tell a story about the ministry of Jesus in order to make the point. Did Jesus actually say what the three gospels report? He, or any reforming rabbi, might well have. The call to service rather than privilege is surely what the God of the Bible wants.

Why are tax collectors in the New Testament called "sinners"?

In the time of Jesus, Jews who collected taxes for the Romans were considered sinners, because they were doing the "dirty" work of the Gentile oppressors. Righteous Jews did not associate with tax collectors and other sinners, because they wanted to avoid being "polluted" by them. Moreover, Jews who wanted to remain pure did not eat with Gentiles or other sinners, such as tax collectors, because they believed this would defile them. The kinds of foods Jews ate and the way these foods had to be prepared kept Jews separate from non-Jews, and this was the way that most Jewish leaders wanted it.

The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke all relate that Jesus called a tax collector to be one of his disciples and that Jesus ate with tax collectors and other sinners. In the gospels of Mark and Luke, the tax collector who becomes a disciple of Jesus is named Levi, but later in these gospels he is called Matthew. In the gospel of Matthew, the tax collector called to discipleship is already named Matthew. The point of these stories is clear. The ministry of Jesus concerns repentance. Therefore, Jesus reaches out to those who know they are not righteous. Jesus has come to call sinners to repent and to seek the forgiveness of God.