Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.07UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.11UNLIKELY
Fear
0.06UNLIKELY
Joy
0.68LIKELY
Sadness
0.19UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.57LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.58LIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.93LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.35UNLIKELY
Extraversion
0.7LIKELY
Agreeableness
0.65LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.55LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
HEBREW ideas of Beauty
Not Greek, that was outward or physical.
in OT/Jewish World beauty as an outward thing attached to a human is infrequent.
"Beautiful" in the visual or aesthetic sense was not a Hebrew value, but one that was Greek.
Now the Pharisees, because they have Levitical justification, turned what was designed to protect, (crippled people not serving in the temple so that they did not fall or bring shame on themselves for being impaired) became something that was perverted into a class definition instead.
God and his creation are said to be beautiful, his attributes and regality, his reign, and Israel as a nation,
is Ways and Plans are said to be beautiful or glorious, but MEN...men are like grass, says Peter and our beauty is fading like a field flower ,
Physical beauty is rarely mentioned in the OT, and when it is, it is as a characterization, not a characteristic...
; from Zion, God, perfect in beauty shines forth
: beauty fleeting, but a woman who fears God is to be praised,
.
Beauty of the King, God is the King
Israel is beautiful
Gods plan is beautiful
Gods People (plural) are beautiful
Fallen Jerusalem is lamented for her loss of beauty, it was "all pleasing to the eye" that were destroyed in this text.
Gods beauty leads to our salvation, it's is not our beauty that saves us and this is not why God saves us, we are saved by his beauty , because of his beauty.
Womanly Beauty in Biblical Texts
Women and Beauty in Scripture
When women are described as physically beautiful in scripture, it has consequences, (Sarah: Abe Lied about her beauty, Jezebel "painted her face", women of questionable moral character are portrayed in the Proverbs as "captivating" but in a dangerous way, not a holy way, Bathsheba "beauty" was what David was drawn to...as the classic example.
"the pretty girl" in Proverbs is to be shunned, and is potentially evil or one who leads astray by her beauty.
Hebrews saw beauty as ultimately something that GOD defined, not the EYE of man.
Beauty was NOT in the eye of the beholder, but was in the EYES of God
The Temple Complex was Designed to reinforce cultic norms
(204) Now the magnitudes of the other gates were equal one to another; but that over the Corinthian gate, which opened on the east over against the gate of the holy house itself, was much larger; (205) for its height was fifty cubits; and its doors were forty cubits; and it was adorned after a most costly manner, as having much richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them than the other.
These nine gates had that silver and gold poured upon them by Alexander, the father of Tiberius.
SHOW DIAGRAM: Lets look at the temple for a brief moment
Here you have a gate, called beautiful; why was it beautiful...it was on the side of the city facing the court of gentiles, and was the ACCESS POINT FOR THE LOST.
Its beauty was defined by what it opened up, not the way it appeared.
THINK:
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
().
#1 The Rhetoric of Ridicule ACTS 3:1-10
Ancient perceptions of disability:
The way the world beats us down, takes away our dignity and self worth.
Calls us broken, not beautiful
If I am disfigured, I am no longer beautiful
If I cant do something, then I have no value
If I don’t have any money, then I am of no value
(Archeological evidence of) Crippled dancers feature prominently on Corinthian pots, as, for instance, on an alabastron which depicts a padded dancer with clubbed feet who is about to have his leg pulled away by another dancer—to the side-splitting laughter no doubt of the drinkers witnessing this prank.
Whether scenes like these were acted out by genuine cripples or by actors taking their parts makes no difference.
Evidently the joke was deemed sufficiently amusing to bear frequent repetition in the artistic repertoire, which presumably reflects its popularity at symposia.
The world we live in wants to define us byu how we look, by what we can do, by whether we are pretty, or smart, or useful, or make some kind of contribution...what if all that was wrong, an God saw us a completely new way.
A Man at the gate beautiful, that excluded him instead, the gate that should have been a place of hope, a door of hope, was a barrier...until now
Ugly Feet Makes you weak: Another Popular Idea from culture
Adamantius, likewise, comments on the importance of ankles:
Perfect, solid ankles belong to a noble man, those which are soft and smooth to a more unmanly man and those which are very thin to a cowardly and intemperate man.
All those who have thick ankles, thick heels, fleshy feet, stubby toes and thick calves are for the most part stupid or mad.
(Adam.
7)
The comments about feet (here the more familiar πόδες) are similar:
Those who have well-made, large feet, well-jointed and sinewy, are strong in character; witness the male sex.
Those who have small, narrow, poorly-jointed feet, are rather attractive to look at than strong, being weak in character; witness the female sex.
Those whose toes of the feet are curved are shameless, just like creatures which have curved talons; witness birds with curved talons.
(810a15–22)
Word group signals weakness, a physical deformity was a spiritual liability, Luke as a medical practitioner knew of this prejudice...he knew how untrue it was
Kindness of the King 2 Samuel 9
.
Mephibosheth always ate at the table of the King
Davids relationships with Jonathan made this possible, and his mercy to Saul.
2. Grandson of Saul, son of Jonathan, nephew of Mephibosheth (1.) and father of Mica (h), who had numerous progeny (; ).
He was five years old when Saul and Jonathan were slain.
The news of these deaths caused his nurse to flee with him from Gibeah; as she hurried, Mephibosheth fell and became permanently lame in both legs ().
He was carried to Lodebar and put in the charge of Machir, a man of great wealth (; cf. ; Josephus ), and there Mephibosheth married.
When the affairs of the kingdom had settled down David felt compelled to fulfil his oath to Jonathan () by showing favor to a member of his friend’s house.
Ziba, who was probably managing Saul’s estate for David, told him about the crippled prince, and David sent for him.
Mephibosheth approached in great fear, for eastern peoples customarily exterminated all the kindred of a previous dynasty.
David handed over Saul’s estate to Mephibosheth and commanded Ziba to manage it.
The king also invited Mephibosheth to eat daily at his table and thus to live according to his royal position ().
Balchin, J. A. (1979–1988).
Mephibosheth.
In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.),
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol.
3, p. 320).
Wm.
B. Eerdmans.
Mephibosheth calls himself "dead dog" as if that were a common title used of those with disabilities.
Crippled by sin, but God lets us in...
Walking like a man!
DAVID GAVE MEPHIBOSHETH BACK HIS DIGNITY
David shows us what it means to be kind, to love those from whom we cannot get anything.
Those who need us.
Compassion Drove Action
The law permitted him to do otherwise, BUT his conscience and his heart kept him from living by the rule of the land, He had a heart over-ride.
Culture did not dictate; his compassion dictated his action
** When I was in High School, Mary Cariola Childrens Center; Summer job, arrange for me by my dad, who worked there as a Doctor, pro bono.
The first time you enter the classroom, the faces, the disfigurement, the needs, the inability to speak, toilet...it was overwhelming; but over time you begin to connect, and realize that those kids DO communicate, Do respond to love, Do need compassion, ARE HUMAN...some of the most rewarding work I ever did in my life.
I still remember the faces of those kids; Timmy Trevette, Danny Sulimowitz and Meg, the other teacher and her seemingly unending ability to see potential and progress where I could only see limitation and failure.
How did she do that?
Compassion drove her to action.
Later when I became a christian, i would learn that those kids, though unable to hear and understand the gospel were beautiful to God, and will be with him forever in a place that knows no limitations of body or spirit.
The Name of Jesus Heals when nothing else will do
Money cannot fix our problems
Money cannot make us well, or whole
Money gives the illusion of security, but only Jesus can heal
An Eye for Beauty; Acts 3:12-16
Big Idea: God sees beauty where we see defects.
God heals the ugly and brings us into his presence.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9