Saturday, April 17, 2010

Not a fan of the NAB's footnotes...

In a month's time, we will hear about the miraculous event which took place on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles (and probably the Mother of our Lord and 100+ other disciples) received the Holy Spirit in the manifestation of tongues of fire.  Then, emboldened by the Holy Spirit, they went out to preach about Jesus Christ, and Jews from more than a dozen locales understood them in their native tongues.

Or not.
Footnote 1, verses 1-41:  Luke's pentecostal narrative consists of an introduction (Acts 2:1-13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic significance (Acts 2:14-36), and a favorable response from the audience (Acts 2:37-41). It is likely that the narrative telescopes events that took place over a period of time and on a less dramatic scale. The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus' death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favor.

1 comment:

Damian Black said...

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