Punctuation added
All the punctuation was added to the Gospels long after the stories and sayings of Jesus were originally written down. So, every comma, exclamation point, question mark, and semi-colon is an interpretative choice. I like to try to read the stories without the punctuation choices other people have made.
I close my eyes and get still, then I picture how and who I experience Jesus to be. I stay quiet until I can feel Him with me. Then I open my eyes and read the text. Did he yell or whisper or simply say the line calmly? Did he laugh when he said it? Did he sigh when he said it or smile widely? Did he leave a few beats between words or speak quickly? All those questions and more help me dig into the text and find the deeper meaning buried in the stories, they help me find myself and God-with-me buried in the stories.
Lately, I am not compelled by the exclamation points that imply that Jesus was angry and loud. I find it more compelling that he was calm and clear.
I don’t think he shouted, “I came to bring division!” or even said it in a heated, exclamatory way. When you’re ready for that teaching I think you hear it best when it is said slowly in a calm, cool voice. The division he’s referring to is a next level move on the spiritual journey. We divide ourselves or detach from everybody and everything that is not God, full surrender. Then we’re turned back to everything and everybody from which we were divided to love them from a deeper place with God. You don’t shout that at somebody, you say it softly and with love. When you’re ready for that teaching it doesn’t have to be yelled at you.
I don’t think he shouted, “You hypocrites!” My bet is he quietly and in a decidedly pastoral tone said, “You don’t have to put on an act around me. You can take off your mask.” The Greek word translated in most Bibles, hypocrite, means actor or stage player. Actor is the better translation in my book because most people I know are putting on some kind of show, including me.
It’s great fun to play around with the punctuation and you’re safe to do so because it’s all added on anyway. You don’t have to agree with my punctuation choices. Come up with your own. How does the text open up to you when you imagine how Jesus delivered your favorite story or teaching after you add your own punctuation?