Moses and Miriam the prophetess leading worship together is a familiar case in point (Ex 15:1-12). But less known is the male-female worship leader duet of Barak and Deborah the prophetess (Judges 4-5). Two examples provide us with a double-duet. But even lesser known is the fact that both these stories are intentionally arranged to mirror one another. Though separated in time, they are twin stories. Let me explain what I mean.
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Dickens’ story of how ghosts changed Scrooge’s attitude reminded me of Luke’s story of ghosts. Dickens thought ghosts could change people’s hearts. But Luke’s a ghost-buster. He sets the record straight about what ghosts cannot do.
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Sometimes Christians maintain this attitude toward learning new truths in Scripture. “Everything that can be known from Scripture is already discovered. There is nothing new for me to learn. After all, I’ve been to Christian college or been in church all my life.”
In fact, occasionally, pride induces resentful questions: “How could that be true? I’ve never heard these things before!”
It is estimated that 75% of Americans never think; that 15% think they are thinking and that a mere 10% actually think. That small 10% of the population will be the significant women and men in the culture and in Jesus’ church.
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Have you ever noticed that occasionally your Bible will contain a note saying something like this: “The earliest manuscripts do not have this verse”? You may never have seen these notes before, but most Bibles contain dozens of these annotations hidden in their margins and footnotes. A scary one shows up at the end of Mark’s Gospel. Near the close of the book, right after verse 8 of chapter 16, the NIV contains this note:
“The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9–20.”
I want to explain what this note means and tell you why it is not as scary as it might seem to be.
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