September - Reading 16

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptures for today are:

Luke 23:26-31

Hebrews 9:11-28

Proverbs 26:1-16

Isaiah 42-43

May God bless you as you read from His Word.

[ September 16, 2003, 03:39 PM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Good morning -

I can't say that anything in particular jumped out at me in today's reading of Isaiah. The words are so much gentler than what we saw in the first 39 chapters. The reader canprobably pick out the New Testament quotes and paraphrases easily. The prophecies are so easy to recognize in hindsight. The Lord is shown as a protector and comforter in today's readings. In 43:6 we see the promise of the return from exile, an event over a century away from the writing of these passages. However, in verses 14-28, Isaiah calls the conquering nation of Judah by name and attributes this event to the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem.

In our reading of Luke we see the march to Calvary and the assistance rendered by Simon of Cyrene. Cyrene was a city in Lybia west of Egypt. Simon's sons, Rufus and Alexander mentioned in Mark 15:21 may have been fairly well known to the Roman church. It is probable that Simon was in Jerusalem for the same reason as Herod, to celebrate the Passover. This unexpected brush with greatness has kept his name alive for two centuries.

Hebrews describes the perfection of Christ's sacrifice and that the one time act of such is more sufficient than all the animal sacrifices before Him. The initial arrival of Christ was to die for man's sins, the Second Coming will be for salvation. Come Lord Jesus!

May God bless you

- Clint

 

My thanks to Gwyneth for catching the fact that I had posted the wrong Scriptures for today.

 

Proverbs 26:4-5

Here is another troublesome area in our reading of this week. No matter what version you are reading, these two verses say exactly the opposite from each other. The Jewish rabbinic interpreters of the Masoretic Text worried considerably over these two verses and finally concluded that the advice depends upon the circumstance. Verse 4, they conclude, deals with secular matters while verse 5 deals with religious matters.

Matthew Henry made this comment about these verses:

Jesus followed the instructions of verse 4 in dealing with Herod in Luke 23:8-9 and the advice of verse 5 with the Pharisees in Matthew 16:1-4.

 

Sunday School lesson 2/20/05 - continued

Luke 23:26-31 The Weeping Women

While Matthew and Mark both mention Simon of Cyrene, only Luke gives us the other details involved in Jesus’ journey to the Skull. This account underscores the important relationship between the rejection of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem.

We are told by the three Synoptics that Simon was a native of Cyrene, the capitol city of the North African district of Cyrenacia. This city had a large Jewish population but we are not told if Simon was in Jerusalem for the Passover or was there on other business. Mark 15:21 identify him as the father of Alexander and Rufus who must have been well known members of the early Christian community. At this point, however there is nothing to indicate that Simon was a Christian and therefore his presence is quite significant. He was compelled to do what none of the disciples could – carry the cross as he follows behind Jesus.

The presence of the women are representative of a common Lukan motif that show the importance of women in Christ’s ministry. The wailing and mourning over a condemned man would have been regarded as highly unusual. If they had truly understood the meaning and the consequences of the events that evoked their lamenting, however, they would have been crying to God for mercy for themselves and their children. Jesus rejects their mourning for Himself and calls for tears to be shed for the lost city of Jerusalem. This is in effect a prophetic call to repentance.

The siege that Jerusalem would face a mere 40 or so years later would be a time of terrible suffering. In that time, sterility would be considered a blessing and motherhood a curse – a complete reversal of the normal attitude. Barren women would be grateful that they had not nurtured children only to endure the torment of the death of the city. The inhabitants will seek in vain a shelter from the destruction finally calling in desperation for the protection of the mountains and hills (Hosea 10:8).

“They” in verse 31 must refer to the Roman conquerors occupying Jerusalem at the time. If they were willing to crucify an innocent man of peace like Jesus in the spring, when the wood is green, when the seeds are planted, what will they be capable of in the fall, when the wood is dry, when the bitter fruit of Jerusalem’s sin is harvested? This day there would only be three crosses erected outside the city. In 70AD there would be an untold number.

 

Our Scriptures for 9/17 are:

Luke 23:32-37

Hebrews 10:1-18

Proverbs 26:17-28

Isaiah 44-45

 

Our Scriptures for 9/17 are:

Luke 23:32-37

Hebrews 10:1-18

Proverbs 26:17-28

Isaiah 44-45

 

Our Scriptures for 9/17 are:

Luke 23:32-37

Hebrews 10:1-18

Proverbs 26:17-28

Isaiah 44-45

 

Our Scriptures for 9/17 are:

Luke 23:32-37

Hebrews 10:1-18

Proverbs 26:17-28

Isaiah 44-45

 

Our Scriptures for 9/17 are:

Luke 23:32-37

Hebrews 10:1-18

Proverbs 26:17-28

Isaiah 44-45