September - Reading 13

Good afternoon -

Our Scriptures for today are:

Luke 22:63-71

Hebrews 8:1-6

Proverbs 24:23-34

Isaiah 34-36

May God bless the reading of His Word.

 

Good evening -

We took an interesting turn in Isaiah today. After 35 chapters of a prose style of prophetic writing, the Book rapidly shifts gears as begins an historic passage paralleled in 2Kings and 2Chronicles. The information given is nearly identical to the passage in 2Kings 18:13 - 20:19 leaving scholars to speculate on whether the two Books were taken from a third source or whether one writing relied on the other. Chapter 36 shows the accuracy of the Assyrian collapse as Isaiah had prophesied. This variance in style will continue until we reach chapter 40.

In Luke we read of the mocking of Jesus by the Roman soldiers, an account spoken of in all four Gospels. Luke's dealing with this part of the Gospel story is very brief.
Luke does, however, expand on the answer given to his accusers concerning His divinity. The signifigance of this answer is that it was blasphemy to claim Messiahship. Of course for Christ, it was not blasphemy. The false accusation against Him was all that His opponents had.

Hebrews, again, points to things being "better" under the New Covenant of Christ. The proof, for this converted Jewish audience, has all along been found in reference to the Old Covenant Scriptures. Tomorrow, we examine the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34.

May God bless you

- Clint

[ September 14, 2002, 06:03 AM: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Proverbs 24

In verse 23, we encounter another break in the flow of the Passage. This section is an appendix to 22:17-24:22 and the instructions are somewhat varied. Verse 29 may have inspired the Golden Rule of Luke 6:31 as it is a negative form of the same command.

 

Sunday School lesson 2/13/05 - continued

Luke 22:63-65 The Mocking of Jesus

Luke records two similar incidents that tell of His captors mocking Christ. The second is the mocking by the Roman soldiers but here we see His Jewish captors also making sport of Him in cruelty. From the text we can surmise that Jesus had gained some widespread acclaim as a prophet. That they blindfolded Him and demanded to know who had hit him reflects a rabbinical interpretation of Isaiah 11:3 stating that the Messiah would be able to judge by smell without the aid of sight.

The sad fact of the matter is that these Jews had missed the true meaning of prophecy. It is not about clairvoyance or magic but rather insight into the purposes and activity of God. He had held out his hand to mankind with love and they had responded with fists of hate.

Luke 22:66-71 Jesus Before the Council

After daybreak, the Sanhedrin convened in formal session. Their purpose was to find some evidence that would lead to Jesus’ conviction. The council begins with the question “are you the messiah?”

From all textual evidence we must conclude that Jesus did not publicly claim the title of Christ for Himself during His ministry. The acts that He performed and the message He gave were in accordance with the messianic ministry outlined in Isaiah 61:1-2, but the decision to believe was left to the people. Without that direct evidence, the Sanhedrin needed Jesus to publicly proclaim his title. If He did this, they could view the title in political terms and accuse Him of being a revolutionary. Then the Romans would do their dirty work for them. In Mark 14:62 during the overnight hearing Jesus answers the question affirmatively. In this Passage, He refuses to answer as it is pointless for Him to defend Himself. No matter what He claims they will not believe Him and if He asks His own defense questions to them they will not answer. The charges against Him were so prejudiced that no honest decision can be reached.

His opponents can work their will but after His death, He will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. Mark’s Gospel simply says “power” but Luke adds “of God” probably for his Gentile audience. Since God is the source of all power, the word can be used in an absolute sense as a name for God. To be seated at the right hand of God is to occupy the seat of the highest honor in Heaven.

The Sanhedrin take this as a confession of messiahship and press to get more evidence. They ask, “are you then the Son of God?” To the modern ear, Jesus’ response of “you say that I am” is taken as “these are your words, not mine.” However, that the council takes this as an affirmation surely implies that He has incriminated Himself. In cases of confession, no witnesses are necessary. The crime to which the council views Jesus as committing is blasphemy. For the Jews this sufficient but this will not hold up under a Roman court and their assent would be necessary for an execution.

 

Our Scriptures for 9/14 are:

Luke 23:1-12

Hebrews 8:7-13

Proverbs 25:1-14

Isaiah 37-39

 

Our Scriptures for 9/14 are:

Luke 23:1-12

Hebrews 8:7-13

Proverbs 25:1-14

Isaiah 37-39

 

Our Scriptures for 9/14 are:

Luke 23:1-12

Hebrews 8:7-13

Proverbs 25:1-14

Isaiah 37-39

 

Our Scriptures for 9/14 are:

Luke 23:1-12

Hebrews 8:7-13

Proverbs 25:1-14

Isaiah 37-39

 

Our Scriptures for 9/14 are:

Luke 23:1-12

Hebrews 8:7-13

Proverbs 25:1-14

Isaiah 37-39