A stunning story of the Savior's attitude towards life is found in the 9th chapter of the Gospel of Luke:
51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
In the apostle's defense, they had recently seen Jesus transfigured in the presence of Elijah and Moses and had heard the Father's audible voice from heaven testifying to his divine sonship. Surely, one greater than Elijah had come among them, and the penalty for rejecting such a one must be great! But Jesus was on a mission of life, not of death.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Saturday, April 16, 2016
WISDOM 28 - Matthew 6:33
Our final cross reference from our initial passage about wisdom in 1 Kings 3 takes us to the Sermon on the Mount.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little bfaith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The passage is given to those who are about to be sent out two by two to take the good news to the scattered cities and villages of Israel, but its echoes and resonances reach into every corner of the Christian life. Who is your master? Who do you trust? Who do you seek for first? Where is your faith? The wisdom that seeks the Kingdom of God first stands in stark contrast here to a more worldly wisdom that puts physical needs before spiritual needs, that is wrapped up first in needs and then in luxuries.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little bfaith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
The passage is given to those who are about to be sent out two by two to take the good news to the scattered cities and villages of Israel, but its echoes and resonances reach into every corner of the Christian life. Who is your master? Who do you trust? Who do you seek for first? Where is your faith? The wisdom that seeks the Kingdom of God first stands in stark contrast here to a more worldly wisdom that puts physical needs before spiritual needs, that is wrapped up first in needs and then in luxuries.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
TG Mortality 12 - 1 Peter 1:24
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Peter's gloss on Isaiah 40:6, like that of James, focuses not only on the comparison between man's brief earthly glory and God's eternal glory, but also on the contrast between that part of man that identifies with earthly glory (the "corruptible seed" in us) and that part which actually has a share in God's eternal glory. The "incorruptible seed" of the word of God is sowed and grows in us not to wither and watch its flowers fall away, but to endure forever. The flowering of that seed is to "believe in God," to have "faith and hope...in God," to see our souls "purified...in obeying the truth through the spirit," to possess "unfeigned love" and "pure hearts."
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Peter's gloss on Isaiah 40:6, like that of James, focuses not only on the comparison between man's brief earthly glory and God's eternal glory, but also on the contrast between that part of man that identifies with earthly glory (the "corruptible seed" in us) and that part which actually has a share in God's eternal glory. The "incorruptible seed" of the word of God is sowed and grows in us not to wither and watch its flowers fall away, but to endure forever. The flowering of that seed is to "believe in God," to have "faith and hope...in God," to see our souls "purified...in obeying the truth through the spirit," to possess "unfeigned love" and "pure hearts."
Friday, April 1, 2016
WISDOM 27 - I Kings 10:23-25
23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
We now move to the first of two references on a footnote on 1 Kings 3:13, keyed on the word "riches." The implication of this passage is that a significant portion of Solomon's wealth came as gifts. People from distant lands who wanted "to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart" and they brought gifts with them.
Are there echoes here of the Savior's admonition to "consider the lilies of the field" and trust him to meet our needs? It ought to be said that in both the Savior's speech on the Sermon on the Mount and Solomon's situation there is a great deal of context behind the seemingly simple proposition.
24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
We now move to the first of two references on a footnote on 1 Kings 3:13, keyed on the word "riches." The implication of this passage is that a significant portion of Solomon's wealth came as gifts. People from distant lands who wanted "to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart" and they brought gifts with them.
Are there echoes here of the Savior's admonition to "consider the lilies of the field" and trust him to meet our needs? It ought to be said that in both the Savior's speech on the Sermon on the Mount and Solomon's situation there is a great deal of context behind the seemingly simple proposition.
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