severe punishment
—When the neighbor’s son put a dent in Tracy’s new car, she was in no mood for forgiveness. Instead, she called for his head on a platter.

In Old Testament times, the prophets spoke God’s words to the people, regardless of whether the messages were popular or not. This often angered those in authority who felt threatened by the judgments from God. This was true for John the Baptist and Jesus, as well. They were opposed by religious leaders, such as the Pharisees, and by political leaders, such as Herod, the Roman-approved ruler of Galilee, where Jesus grew up.

Herod had married his brother’s ex-wife, Herodias, and John the Baptist announced that this was against God’s laws. This made Herodias angry, and Herod had John arrested. Herod was afraid of John and protected him, because he knew John was righteous and holy, but Herodias hated him and wanted to kill him. On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’ daughter danced at a celebration for the king. Herod was pleased, and he said,

“Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” He swore to her, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother said, “The head of John the baptizer.” Immediately she hurried back to the king and made her request: “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” Although it grieved the king deeply, he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests. So the king sent an executioner at once to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded John in prison. He brought his head on a platter [head in a charger] and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. (Mark 6:22-28)

to give up or fail while others continue; to be forgotten or neglected
—All of his plans for making money fell by the wayside when he found out that he had cancer.

It was common for Jesus to teach using parables, such as this one:

Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path [fell by the way side], and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. The one who has ears had better listen! (Matthew 13:3-9)

Here wayside means “the side of the road or path.” Jesus explained that this hard soil along the pathway represents those with hard hearts who do not understand his message. The rocky soil is those who receive the message but stop believing when troubles come. The thorny soil is those whose belief is choked out by the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth. And finally, the good soil is those who hear, understand, and believe.

foolishly emotional and tearful, overly sentimental
—When some people drink too much, they can’t stop laughing. Bill, on the other hand, is a maudlin drunk. He cries over every little thing. 

The Gospel-writer Luke tells the story of a woman who shows her devotion to Jesus by “anointing” his feet:

Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil. (Luke 7:37, 38)

Though the woman is not named, some believe this woman to be Mary Magdalene. This Mary is mentioned by Luke in the next chapter as one of the women who traveled with Jesus, along with his 12 closest disciples:

Some time afterward he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and disabilities: Mary (called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Cuza (Herod’s household manager), Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their own resources. (Luke 8:1-3)

Mary was called Magdalene because she came from the town of Magdala. The Middle English form of Magdeline is Maudelen, which gives us maudlin.

Because the woman washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, maudlin now refers to someone who is weepy. And even though Mary Magdalene represents sincere sorrow and repentance, today’s maudlin is used to refer to someone who is overly tearful or to something, such as a story, that is sentimental in a foolish way.

a group without unity
—When it comes to sports, our family is a house divided: half like baseball and half like basketball.

Jesus often came across people who were possessed by demons (evil spirits). When he cast out the demons, the Pharisees accused him of doing it using the power of the devil. But Jesus told them that it wouldn’t make sense for Satan (or “Beelzebub”) to act against demons under his control:

Now when Jesus realized what they were thinking, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and no town or house divided against itself will stand [every city or house divided against itself shall not stand]. So if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you. How else can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. (Matthew 12:25-30)

a person who unselfishly helps another in a time of need
—When I was traveling, my phone ran out of power, but a good Samaritan let me use her phone to make a call.

One day, an expert in Jewish law tested Jesus by asking what a person must do to gain eternal life. Jesus asked him what the Old Testament said, and the man answered that a person should love God (which comes from a verse in Deuteronomy) and should love his neighbor (which is from Leviticus):

You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself [love thy neighbor as thyself]. I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)

At another time, Jesus told a Jewish teacher the same thing, saying,

The most important is: “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is: “Love your neighbor as yourself [love thy neighbor as thyself].” There is no other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)

After Jesus told the expert in the law that his answer was correct, the man asked who his neighbor was. Jesus then told this parable:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’ Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:30-37)

Jesus was telling the man that all people were his neighbors, and, therefore, he should love everyone. In his story, the man from Samaria showed this by helping a Jew, even though the Samaritans and Jews normally treated each other as enemies. 

Today, love thy neighbor, or love your neighbor, is often used to mean simply “be kind to others.” While a person who shows kindness to other people is called a good Samaritan, or a Samaritan, a person who ignores someone in need is sometimes said to “pass by on the other side” (“walk by on the other side“).

a time when a punishment is given or when an important decision or outcome is revealed
—February 18 is judgment day at the school, the day when the students find out the scores for their college-placement exams.

Jesus spoke about a time after his death when he would return and judge all people. When that time comes, he said, the cities that had rejected his miracles would be condemned:

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you! (Matthew 11:23, 24)

Jesus’ return is often called the “Second Coming.” Therefore, someone who is revered—especially in an exaggerated way—can be said to be “the Second Coming,” as if he were Christ returned. When someone regains fame or influence that he has lost, it can be called his “second coming.” And when someone seems to have the skills or abilities of another person in the past, it can be called the “second coming of” that person.

to leave a place in anger; to get away from a bad situation
—Tom was angry that no one in his home town would hire him, so he shook the dust off his feet and moved on.

Jesus sent his 12 disciples to the towns in groups of two. He gave them several instructions, including,

Whenever you enter a town or village, find out who is worthy there and stay with them until you leave. As you enter the house, give it greetings. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not welcome you or listen to your message, shake the dust off your feet [shake off the dust of your feet] as you leave that house or that town. (Matthew 10:11-14)

Later, when he sent out a larger group of 70 followers, he told them that if they were unwelcome in a city, they should

go into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you [the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you]. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.” (Luke 10:10,11)

new wine in old wineskins
new wine in old bottles

to present a new idea as if it were old or traditional

old wine in new wineskins
old wine in new bottles

to present an old idea as if it were new and original
—When the editors decided to switch the newspaper from print to online, they promised an improvement in content, but I think it’s just old wine in new wineskins.

When some followers of John the Baptist asked Jesus why his disciples did not follow the Jewish practice of frequent fasting, Jesus replied that his new message could not be limited by old traditions. He said this using some images familiar to his audience:

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, because the patch will pull away from the garment and the tear will be worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins [new wine into old bottles]; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:16,17)

While the King James translation has the wine stored in “bottles,” more modern translations replace bottles with wineskins. The meaning is that a leather bag, when it becomes old and stiff, can no longer be used to hold new wine, because the fermenting wine will burst the container. While putting “old wine in new wineskins” wouldn’t be a problem, that variation has become a phrase in modern English as well.

many
—The reasons for not smoking are legion.

Near the Sea of Galilee, there was a man living among the tombs who was possessed by unclean (evil) spirits. He was so violent that the people tried to chain him up, but he broke the chains. Jesus came to where he was, and when he saw Jesus, he ran to him, bowed down, and yelled,

“Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God—do not torment me!” (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”) Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region. There on the hillside, a great herd of pigs was feeding. And the demonic spirits begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake. (Mark 5:7-13)

A legion in the Roman army contained about 6,000 soldiers. Here, legion means “a large number,” as it does today.

you don’t have enough trust
—Why are you afraid to let me drive your car? O ye of little faith, don’t you think I’ll be careful?

Once when Jesus and his 12 closest disciples started to cross the Sea of Galilee, Jesus fell asleep in the boat. A fierce storm rose up, and the disciples yelled to Jesus, afraid they would drown. Jesus woke up and said,

“Why are you cowardly, you people of little faith [O ye of little faith]?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was dead calm. (Matthew 8:26)