Sons and Daughters of the Wind

Part I

May 2006

Fish will not live where the water is too clear. But if there is duckweed or something, the fish will hide under its shadow and thrive. Thus, the people will live in tranquility if certain matters are a bit overlooked or left unheard. -Yamamoto, Hagakure

Jesus said to them, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons, and I heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will be through. But I must do my work today and tomorrow, and I will leave the next day. (Lk 13:32f.)

So if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by what do your sons cast them out? (Mt 12:27; cf. Lk 11:19)

In the first of these texts Jesus speaks of his "work" and his death in the same breath and expressly distinguishes them. His healing works (of mind, heart, and body) are "my work." In the second, Jesus argues that purging crazies [1] by Beelzebub would be a contradiction in terms. The fruit of healing proves the tree that it comes from good. That tree – that power – is identified in the next verse as the Wind of God.[2] The same argument that applies to Jesus applies to the Pharisees' sons, his disciples. So his work has become their work. He shares both the work and the power.
My working hypothesis is that the Wind is a "fungible" god, a "liquid" god, a homogeneous, infinitely divisible god, who flows and pours and spends, of whom there can be more and less. Therefore, receiving the Wind is not a one-time-only thing. It is something one may be blessed with again and again, in successive waves. Jesus shares his work and his power with his disciples not once but three times in the Gospels. In each of these sendings, followers received the Wind, and it became an effective power in them to preach and to heal.

The First Sending

And Jesus travelled in all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of sickness and disease. When Jesus saw the multitudes, he had compassion on them, because they were tired out and scattered, like sheep which have no shepherd. So he said to his disciples, The harvest is great, and the laborers are few; Therefore urge the owner of the harvest to bring more laborers to his harvest.

And he called his twelve disciples, and gave them power over the unclean winds, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and sickness. . . . These twelve Jesus sent out, and charged them and said, Keep away from pagan practices, and do not enter a Samaritan city; But above all, go to the sheep which are lost from the house of Israel [Jewish communities outside Judea]. And as you go, preach and say, that the kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give. Do not accumulate [i.e., accept as pay] gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; nor a [food] bag for the journey; nor two shirts and [extra] shoes, nor a staff; for a laborer is at least worthy of his food. . . . But when they deliver you up, do not worry as to how or what you will speak; for it will be given to you in that very hour what you are to speak. For it is not you who speak, but the Wind of your Papa, [3] which speaks through you. (Mt 9:35-10:20)

Mark adds: "And they went out and preached that they should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and they were healed" (6:12f.).
While the Twelve are away, [4] John is murdered in prison, and the movement escalates at home. Many women, including some rich men's wives, have joined. In this context, Herod calls Jesus John-come-to-life-again, which is as good as a death-threat. The Twelve return. The mob wants to crown Jesus and have an uprising, and Jesus keeps on the move. The nationalist churchmen [5] fear that the mob getting out of hand will cause the Romans to take away Judea's Home Rule privileges.

The Second Sending

And it happened, when the days to go up on his journey were fulfilled, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. . . . Jesus selected from his disciples [6] seventy others, and he sent them two by two before his face, to every place and city to which he was to go. And he said to them, The harvest is great, and the laborers are few; ask therefore the owner of the harvest, to bring out laborers to his harvest. . . . Do not carry purses, nor bags, nor shoes; and do not salute any man on the road [lest social ceremonies detain you for days, AL]. . . . And into whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat whatever they set before you; And heal those who are sick in it, and say to them, The kingdom of God is come near to you. . . . So the seventy whom he had sent returned with great joy, and they said to him, Our Lord, even the demons have submitted to us in your name. He said to them, I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven [i.e., Good job!]. Behold, I give you power, to tread on snakes and scorpions [churchmen?], [7] and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall harm you. . . . At that very hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Wind and said, I thank you, O my Papa, Lord of heaven and earth, because you did hide these things from the wise and men of understanding, and did reveal them to children. (Lk 9:51-10:21)

While the first sending was to Jewish communities in foreign countries, this one was only to the towns and villages on the road to Jerusalem. They return, I take it, after the first day, to go out again the next day. A bit further along the road he adds:

When they bring you to the synagogues before the leaders and authorities, do not worry how you will answer or what you will say; For the Holy Wind will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say. (Lk 12:11f.)

We may have an example of this – the man born blind in John 9. Under relentless interrogation of himself and his parents by the churchmen, he sticks to his story and stands up to them beautifully, finally being excommunicated.
As he nears Jerusalem, his disciples are expecting the kingdom of God immediately. That is, they think Jesus will miraculously defeat the oppressors of church and state and usher Israel into a Golden Age. His entry on a donkey – the common cab of quadrupeds – is not very encouraging. From the moment he enters Jerusalem, the encounters with common people, with healings and sometimes praises of faith, that have been the rule on the road, cease or at least are not reported. Instead, we have encounters with churchmen, who are not able to receive anything valuable from him, and the disciples, whom he more often rebukes than praises.

The Third Sending

The language of the third sending begins at their Passover supper in an upper room of Jerusalem's khan, or travelers hotel (known by its male water carrier, AL) –

And he said to them, When I sent you out without purses, and without [food] bags, and [extra] shoes, did you lack anything? They said to him, Not a thing. He said to them, From now on he who has purses, let him take them, and the bag likewise; and he who has no sword, let him sell his robe and buy for himself a sword [i.e., live like an outlaw]. [8] (Lk 22:35f.)

– and resumes only after the Resurrection:

And he said to them, Go to all the world, and preach my gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; and he who does not believe shall be condemned. And wonders will follow those who believe these things. In my name they will cast out demons; and they will speak with new tongues; And they will pick up snakes; and if they should drink any poison of death, it will not harm them; and they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be healed. (Mk 16:15-18) Repentance should be preached in [the Man of Fire's] [9] name for the forgiveness of sins among all nations. . . . And he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Papa, the One of whom you have heard from me. For John baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Wind not many days hence. . . . When the Holy Wind comes upon you, you shall receive power and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea also in the province of Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Lk 24:47, Ac 1:4-8)

Both John and Luke record a formal giving of this Wind (probably in that same upper room) – John, while Jesus is still on earth, Luke, after his departure:

Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you; just as my Papa has sent me, so I send you. And when he had said these things, he breathed on them [10] and said, Receive the Holy Wind. If you forgive a man his sins, they shall be forgiven to him; and if you hold a man's sins, they are held. (Jn 20:21-23) And after they had entered into the city, they went up into an upper room. . . . There were there a number of men, about a hundred and twenty. . . . And when the day of Pentecost was fulfilled, while they were assembled together, Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Wind, and they began to speak in various languages, according to whatever the Wind gave them to speak. (Ac1:13-2:4)

Luke goes on to record the result – that Jews from many nations who had come to the Passover were persuaded by this preaching in their own language or Aramaic dialect (AL) to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Wind.

The Three Sendings in Light of the Working Hypothesis

In the first sending, Jesus sends his men out to Jewish communities in neighboring nations to do exactly the same thing he has been doing – to preach the good news of the kingdom of heaven and to heal. He gives them "power" to heal. In his answer to the Pharisees about their sons, this power is identified as the Wind of God. He also says that they will be hauled before authorities of church and state and that then this same Wind will speak through them. It can be inferred that the Wind will speak in the appropriate languages – whether those of the host nations or the Aramaic dialects of the Jewish communities. Mark reports their mission was a success.
In the second sending, Jesus sends a larger number of people ahead of him to the towns and villages on the road to Jerusalem to preach the kingdom and to heal. The first day goes so well that he "rejoiced in the Holy Wind" and gives them further "power" to guard against poison of snakes and scorpions (teachings of churchmen?). Again he says the Wind will speak in their defense.
In the third sending, Jesus sends an indeterminate number to all nations to preach the good news about repentance and forgiveness in all languages and to baptize [11] and heal. Differently from before, they should now travel with money and a food bag and be ready to live like outlaws. He reiterates the protection against poison. He tells them to receive the Holy Wind [12] and says theirs is the power to forgive or not. He disappears in a cloud. Subsequently, 120 men and unnumbered women "are filled with the Holy Wind" and speak in various languages.

Other Evidence

There is other evidence supporting the hypothesis that the Wind was always available. In teaching his disciples the Lord's Prayer, he says, "For if you, who err, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Papa give the Holy Wind from heaven to those who ask him?" (Lk 11:13). The appeal is immediate, not to some deferred time.
He had told Nicodemus early on, "The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound; but you do not know whence it comes and whither it goes; such is every man who is born of the Wind" [13] (Jn 3:8). That is, sons of the Wind can move things invisibly, as the wind does.[14] This is just what the Pharisees' sons, Jesus' followers, do when they heal people. Therefore, they are sons of the Wind, born of the Wind. That does not mean they are so born only once: if receiving the Wind is not a one-time-only thing, then neither is being born of it. Jesus is "the first-born of God" (Jn 1:18).

If the Wind is a "liquid" god, it would be natural to represent it in a water image, as well. Sure enough, Jesus says, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink" and "rivers of living water shall flow from within him," and the people reply, "This man truly is a prophet [gusher];" [15] and the gospeler informs us, "He said this concerning the Wind" (Jn 7:37-40). As with the Lord's Prayer, the appeal is immediate: Come! Drink! Ask!

This imagery echoes that in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well earlier.

If you knew who is the man who said to you, Give me a drink; you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. . . . Whoever drinks of the water which I give him, shall never thirst; but the same water which I give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to life everlasting. The woman said to him, My lord, give me of this water, so that I may not thirst again. (Jn 10, 14f)

He minds her of her sin, which she confesses. She says, "I see that you are a prophet [gusher]," to which he replies, "God is Wind." She knows who he is and asks for the water. Can anyone imagine that he refuses it? Therefore, she and the others there who "believed" are born of the Wind.
With all this on one side of the ledger, on the other side stands a single sentence of John:
"The Wind was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39).

John the Baptist

The language of these sendings (especially the third) also recalls that of John the Baptist:

He was preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, Saying, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is near. . . . And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, as they confessed their sins. . . . But when he saw a great many of the Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming to be baptized, he said to them, O offspring of scorpions, who has warned you to escape from the anger which is to come? Bring forth therefore fruits which are worthy of repentance. . . . I am just baptizing you with water for repentance; but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Wind and with fire. Whose shovel is in his hand, and he purifies his threshings; the wheat he gathers into barns, and the straw he burns up in the unquenchable fire. (Mt 3:1-12)

Luke and Mark both add "forgiveness of sins": "preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (Lk 3:3, Mk1:4).
The content of what is preached – the good news of the kingdom of heaven, repentance for the forgiveness of sins – does not seem to change at all from John to the third sending. The "scorpions" with their "poison" think to placate God with animal sacrifice; but John and Jesus say He wants good fruits of repentance instead.
One thing that does change is that while John only preached, Jesus and the disciples also (by the power of the Wind) heal hearts, minds, and bodies; and this healing takes center stage, Jesus describing it as "my work."
To "baptize with the Holy Wind" is again a water-image, reminiscent of the "rivers of living water" and the "well of water springing up to life everlasting" that we have already noticed. Receiving the Wind, being born of it, and being baptized with it all seem to me to mean the same thing and to be repeatable.
John's prophesy of Jesus as the great Winnower who will perform a mighty cleansing with Wind and fire – blow off the chaff and straw and burn it up and save the wholesome grain – sets the stage for the harvest metaphors of the first and second sendings.

Notes

In this essay, I have made use of the Aramaic Light commentaries by Rocco Errico and George Lamsa, which I indicate by the letters AL. Quotes are from Lamsa's Modern New Testament from the Aramaic, with changes as noted.
1. The Aramaic dewa, "devil, demon," also means a crazy person; and the verb translated "cast out" can also mean "purge," with the crazy person as its object; so "cast out demons" could also be rendered "purge crazies" (AL).
2. The Aramaic rokha, usually translated "spirit," means, more concretely, "wind," and is one of Jesus' great metaphors. "Wind" in English preserves the metaphor, "Spirit" does not. God is a Wind, each person has his own "wind," and diseases, both physical and psychic, are bad "winds" (AL).
3. I have chosen to render "Father" this way.
4. I follow Matthew's sequence of events, as against Mark and Luke's.
5. I use "churchmen" as shorthand for "religious authorities" and also use the term "church" as in "church and state."
6. So there were lots of "disciples."
7. At Mt 3:7 in the Aramaic text, the churchmen are called "offspring of scorpions"; the Greek text has "vipers," so here is another association of snakes and scorpions. Their teachings would be their "poison." AL notes that scorpions kill their parents, so the murderers of the prophets can no longer lay claim to being children of Abraham.
8. Both AL and the Nelson Commentary agree that "trade robe for sword" is an idiom meaning "live like outlaws," that the disciples wrongly take it literally, and that "It is enough" means "Never mind."
9. Oil being a fiery substance, The Anointed is a fire-image, and I thus boldly translate it in order to bring out the metaphor – especially powerful when found in conjunction with other fire imagery.
10. Lamsa says this is an Aramaic idiom and translates, "gave them courage," but I prefer the more concrete image.
11. According to John, Jesus' disciples had been doing this for him from early on (4:1).
12. In accord with the previous promise of the "Paraclete." AL regards Paraclete as an Aramaic, not a Greek, word, meaning, "comfort to sinners."
13. While the Wind is spoken of as "he" at Jn 14:26, 16:7f., doesn't "born of" suggest a mother? Is Wind a metaphor for God as Mother?
14. This interpretation is confirmed in verse 12, when Jesus says, "If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe me . . ."
15. The Aramaic nabia, "prophet," also means "gusher" (AL).