July - Reading 8

Good evening -

Our Scriptures for today were:

Luke 9:1-17

Colossians 4:1-9

Psalm 132

1 Chronicles 17-19

May God continue to bless you as you read from His Word.

 

Good evening –

As we compare 1Chronicles to the parallel passages in 1 & 2 Samuel, we begin to see the intent of the Chronicler’s renditions of the stories to the returning exiles. We find some fact omitted and some added to the accounts of David. For instance, the Chronicler makes it a much more black and white issue of David being the king of war and Solomon being the king of rest and peace. Thus, passages such as 2Samuel 7:1, 11 are not cited. On the other hand verses such as 17:21 & 22 are added to David’s prayer because of the relevance to the exodus from Egypt. Some interesting transformations occur to the Scriptures from this editing, however. The prophecy of Nathan to David is transformed in verse 17:11-14 to go from the foreknowledge of Solomon’s reign to a clear Messianic prophecy.

In Luke we see Christ’s ministry take on a new phase as He sends out his Apostles to carry out the miracles that they had until now only witnessed. This is Christ’s third tour of Galilee.
The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is the only miracle (aside from the resurrection) reported in all four Gospels. The gathering of the leftovers shows how frugal the band of Christ and the Disciples were.

The Letter to the Colossians is now drawing to a close and the text needs little commentary. The reference to salt is significant in that salt was a rarer commodity at that time but the seasoning adds flavor and is a preservative. Aside from this it would have been a highly valued item.

May God bless you

- Clint

 

The text notes in my NIV have been pointing to the fact that the David/Solomon relationship is equitable to the Moses/Aaron relationship. However, I believe that most times when the Scriptures point to the House of David or the Sons of David, it is Messianic in nature. The returning exiles to Israel may not have recognized it as such but that is part of the beauty of the Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures.

Solomon's throne certainly did not last forever as we saw in 2Kings. The Judean Nation was eventually taken into slavery by the Babylonian Empire but the prophecy is fully implemented as we see even to this day 2000 years after the birth of Christ. At the time of the writing of the Chronicles there is NO kingship, yet the Chronicler still added this to the text.

I'm very much looking forward to our reading of Ezra and Nehemiah in August. We will get more of a glimpse into the polity of the leadership then.

 

Sunday School lecture 11/30/03 part II

Colossians 3:18-4:18

4:2-4 Living for Christ in Private Devotions

From his directions for Christian households, Paul now moves towards guidance for each individual believer in the church. Paul instructs us to "continue steadfastly in prayer." The Greek word, proskartereo (pros-kar-ter-eh'-o) carries the connotation of being earnest toward, to persevere, and to be constantly diligent. He also instructs us to be watchful suggesting alertness.

God will not be coerced by our much speaking (Matthew 6:7), however, proper and frequent prayer shows our sincerity and can lead us to crystallize our desires and our persistence demonstrates our faith that God will answer (Luke 18:1-7). Prayer is diminished though if we fall into mere requests and petitions. Therefore Paul stresses that the primary attitude of prayer should be thanksgiving.

Paul then asks for prayer for his own condition and that of his colleagues. In typical Pauline fashion, he does not ask that the Colossians pray for his release, but rather that the current circumstances of his imprisonment might lead to the opportunity to declare the mystery of Christ and to do so in a proper and articulate way.

4:5-6 Living for Christ as Demonstrated to Outsiders

As a logical step from his request for prayer that he would conduct himself properly in his surroundings in Rome, Paul now moves to directions for his Christian audience concerning the world outside the home, church, workplace and private devotions. Of all people, Paul, a former Pharisee, knew the risk of rejecting and scorning outsiders. Wisdom is required as we deal with the outside world. We are not to antagonize, ridicule, nor alienate our non-believing neighbors. It is our duty to try to bring them into the fold.

At the same time, we are to conduct ourselves in such a way that we attract them to Christianity. We do this at every opportunity or as Paul expresses it, "making the most of the time," or "redeeming the time." Aside from wisdom in conduct, we must also seek wisdom in speech. The "grace" that our speech is to reflect is kindness, pleasantness, a charming disposition. We are to speak the Gospel not only of grace, but with grace.

In the ancient Greek language, salty speech often meant witty conversation. Seasoned may be interpreted as "interesting" speech. Effective witnessing does not rely on dull repetitions of Scriptures, or condemnation of the non-elect. The Gospel is proclaimed as much in our delivery as in our words. It is often our presentation as much as our message that converts.

Conclusions

4:7-9 Paul's Messengers

We see Tychicus in three other New Testament verses: Acts 13:5; 20:4; 2Timothy 4:12; and Titus 3:12. From these four verses we conclude that he is a personal assistant to Paul and a delegate. He was an Asian (read as Roman Province of Asia) that had accompanied Paul in Macedonia. As Colossae sat on a major trade route it would not be surprising to find Asians in that area and as he was a companion of Paul who accompanied an entourage of evangelists he may have been quite familiar with the residents. Onesimus is, of course, the runaway slave who had possibly robbed his master and it may be the account of his conversion that Paul would leave to Tychicus to explain. We once again see Paul commend Onesimus as a brother and as being faithful.

 

Sunday School lesson 10/31/04

Luke 9:1-50

As chapter 8's primary focus centered upon some of the miraculous acts performed by Christ, chapter 9 will focus mainly upon some of the revelations made to the Twelve. Most of the contents of this chapter have parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark.

Luke 9:1-6 The Mission of the Twelve

In this Passage we see Christ sending out the first Twelve Apostles (one sent out), commissioning them to extend His work. Just as Peter, James and John were incapable of catching fish in chapter 5 without the aid of Christ, so now the text tells us that they had no inherent power to perform the duties set before them without His aid. Thus it is most notable that Jesus gives them power and authority.

We also see that the Disciples are instructed to take nothing with them, even the most basic of needs. This suggests the urgency of the mission and that it was to be started in haste. For lodging the Disciples are instructed to take the hospitality of whoever receives them and not to move from house to house. The urgency of the mission prevents them from changing lodging within a town.

Further, they are told to not waste any time on those who may reject them. The goal of the mission is to spread the news of the Kingdom of God and if their audience would not hear them they were to shake the dust from their feet. This ancient act was performed first by pious Jews who would shake the dust of pagan lands from their feet before entering Palestine after a journey. Being performed by the Disciples would signify that even a Jewish community could be considered heathen territory.

Luke 9:7-9 The Perplexity of Herod

Herod the tetrarch (ruler of one quarter of a particular land) in this particular case is Herod Antipas. He was a son of Herod the Great who ruled Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. In essence this Passage serves to set the stage for the later confession of the Disciples in verses 18-22. The speculations about Jesus by Herod and the people all point to signs of the messianic age but illustrate Christ as a herald of it rather than the central figure. Herod's question in verse 9 is the same asked by all modern men who hear about Jesus, "Who is this…?"

Luke 9:10-17 The Feeding of the Five Thousand

All four Gospels record this event showing the significance of it. It is the only miracle besides the Resurrection that is noted in all four accounts. When the Disciples returned from their itinerant mission, Jesus retreated with them to Bethsaida. A multitude of people followed them, however, and Jesus welcomed them. As the day began to wane, the Disciples realized that they did not have the necessary provisions to feed this multitude and bade Christ to send them away so that they could lodge and eat and get the privacy and rest for which this retreat was probably meant. Instead, Jesus instructs the Disciples to feed the people.

The story is, of course, familiar to all of us. The Disciples provided Jesus with five loaves of bread and two fish. After blessing the food Jesus breaks it and distributes it among the Disciples who in turn distribute it among the people. When the meal is completed, the Disciples each gather a whole basket of leftovers. Many Bible students have recognized a great similarity in the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Last Supper.

Noteworthy of Luke's account is that the story does not conclude with the awe and praise of the people. The reader is left with the impression that only the Disciples knew what had actually happened. This is another stage setting for the Disciples' confession in the coming Passage.

 

Our readings for 7/9 are:

Luke 9:18-27

Colossians 4:10-18

Psalm 133-134

1 Chronicles 20-22

 

Our readings for 7/9 are:

Luke 9:18-27

Colossians 4:10-18

Psalm 133-134

1 Chronicles 20-22

 

Our readings for 7/9 are:

Luke 9:18-27

Colossians 4:10-18

Psalm 133-134

1 Chronicles 20-22

 

Our readings for 7/9 are:

Luke 9:18-27

Colossians 4:10-18

Psalm 133-134

1 Chronicles 20-22

 

Our readings for 7/9 are:

Luke 9:18-27

Colossians 4:10-18

Psalm 133-134

1 Chronicles 20-22