Anyone Care to Explain Jesus' Mistake?

[74x12]

*sigh* Okay, take John 14:6 where we read

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.
​

According to your approach to scriptures this certainly doesn't apply to everyone, because it doesn't say so, but only applies to his immediate followers.

If you won't let me assume "the whole world" why should I let you assume "everyone"?

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But the historical context of Jesus' simile about the mustard seed was ancient Judea. He was speaking of the smallest domesticated seed used at the time. Try to keep an open mind about it.

You're welcome to show us the reason why you believe John 14:6 does not mean everyone. At least prove your point.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

I think you're cutting the Carpenter a low blow....

I never see him "carpenting" either.

some people do so very well....some not

And most of his parables are asinine when you really stop to think about them. We are supposed to accept the biblical explanations, but Jesus complained the apostles didn't understand, so how can we trust their accounts?

people not so inclined....are likely to critique

And Jesus can't handle criticism?

Jesus: I am the Light!
Jesus: OMG I GOT ONLY ONE STAR REVIEW! I SHOULD GO COMMIT SUICIDE BY COP!

Looks like it could provide a location for shade and rest -- not only for birds, but also for a farmer to sit under.

"The Giving Tree" is a better story than Jesus' failed attempts at gardening memes.

 

[sealchan]

In another post there was mention of Matthew 13:31-32 where Jesus speaks to the multitudes saying,

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."
​

which reminded me of this little fact.

SEEDS​

comparative sizes​

(FYI, Wolffia is a genus of 9 to 11 species which include the smallest flowering plants on Earth.
Commonly called watermeal or duckweed, these aquatic plants resemble specks of cornmeal
floating on the water.)​

CONCLUSION: The mustard seed is not "the smallest of all seeds."

As for an explanation, I'm talking about a rational explanation here, not some rubbish that Jesus was only talking about seeds from plants in the area, or that because he was speaking in a proverbial/parable style he wasn't making a statement of fact.

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I think that the farmer's edition of the gospel of Matthew was proven to have been redacted to promote the mustard industry at the time which was heavily in competition and trying to catch up in sales to the ketchup industry...

 

[Thief]

I never see him "carpenting" either.


And most of his parables are asinine when you really stop to think about them. We are supposed to accept the biblical explanations, but Jesus complained the apostles didn't understand, so how can we trust their accounts?


And Jesus can't handle criticism?

Jesus: I am the Light!
Jesus: OMG I GOT ONLY ONE STAR REVIEW! I SHOULD GO COMMIT SUICIDE BY COP!


"The Giving Tree" is a better story than Jesus' failed attempts at gardening memes.

knee jerk much?......

it's not whether or not Jesus can tell a short story
it's whether or not you get the point

and I think you do

and you don't like it

besides....there's plenty of leeway.
no two people hear anything the same way
If we all did....there would never be a discussion
just memos handed out
and no recourse following

but that's not what we see.....is it?
this forum is just one small sample of the controversy banging back and forth

 

[Estro Felino]

1) Mustard (in Greek σινάπι) is a herbaceous plant , Sinapis alba, belonging to the family of Cruciferae, present in all the Mediterranean area, ...it can become like a very small bush, but never like a tree...so the phrase ῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶ καὶ γίνεται δένδρον, is already contradictory in itself because a vegetable cannot become a tree.
So whoever thinks that Sinapis alba can become a tree (or a sort of) is not normal.

2) What some genius here calls "mustard tree" is Nicotiana glauca, which is from the Americas...so has nothing to do with the Mediterranean area.
It's not even the Salvadora persica...because the Greek term is σινάπι, which is only and exclusively Sinapis alba.


3) The OP expects some rational argument here. Well...for a person who has always seen entire fields covered with Sinapis alba, I think only a madman would compare them to trees..

4) The alleged divine omniscience is pure speculation....some people claim that Jesus knew English back then, even if at that time it didn't even exist yet.

5) So, if there is someone who claims Jesus did know mustard seeds were not the smallest ones...well let us draw a merciful veil...

I think it amounts to more than an opinion.
The mustard seeds in question come from the plants, sometimes bushes, of the Brassicaceae family, whereas the mustard tree is a different plant belonging to a different family: Salvadoraceae

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No...the Greek term sinapi,sinapeos has nothing to do with the Salvadora persica

 

[user4578]

the Greek term sinapi,sinapeos has nothing to do with the Salvadora persica

There seem to be too many Greek words having the same root that relate to the general sense of 'mustard' for that to be true( I found seven), or at least it would seem impossible to irrefutably exclude it('Salvidora persica'). The other thing is that 'persica' means Persian.

 

[Tumah]

CONCLUSION: The mustard seed is not "the smallest of all seeds."

As for an explanation, I'm talking about a rational explanation here, not some rubbish that Jesus was only talking about seeds from plants in the area, or that because he was speaking in a proverbial/parable style he wasn't making a statement of fact.

It's not the smallest of seeds, but in older Jewish literature, the mustard seed is used to represent something very tiny as in this Talmudic statement:

The daughters of Israel were stringent on themselves, that even if they saw [menstrual] blood the size of a mustard seed, they sat [and counted] 7 clean days.​

And this excerpt from Nachmanides:

... In the beginning, G-d who is the Creator, the Owner of all forces, created the heavens and the earth. Meaning to say, from absolute absence and complete nothingness He created something - a point smaller than a mustard seed and that is the heavens and the earth and everything in them...
​

It was a common plant in Israel and it has pretty tiny seeds, so I'd guess that's why it was chosen as an analogy for something tiny. I'd also venture that the authors of the NT took the phrase a little too literal.

 

[bubbleguppy]

Maybe Jesus was very selective about what he considered a seed. Anything smaller than a mustard seed would not do. It's just a godless impersonation of a seed made by the devil to trick people into defying God. I guess??

 

[Thief]

at this point I would like to affirm the notion....
the parable was offered for cause other than a display of botanical prowess.

I like what is posted here.....very informative.....very intertaining
thank you

but lets not slight the effort made by the Carpenter .......
the parable had a much different facet to it