24 August 2010
Psalm 5, 6; Job 6:1-4,8-15,21; Acts 9:32-43; John 6:60-71

Job’s desire to see his life ended has not abated. He has nothing to live for, he has no resources left and no hope for the future. The only thing that would please him would be to die, if he knew that were where things were headed he could exult in the pain. His one hope is that God will crush him and end it all. He can proclaim that he has not denied the word of the Lord in all this suffering in spite of his friends’ words. Job has some words for his friends, however. They are not friends at all. They have not helped in any way, they have increased his pain.

The “disciples” in the first verse of this passage are contrasted with the twelve of verse 67, they are not the same group. These other disciples complain about Jesus’ claims here and their complaint relates to the effect it is having on them and others, that it is something they cannot receive and believe. Jesus is unconcerned with their complaints, trusting in the sovereignty of the Father, that only those granted by the Father will come and believe. His only real concern is with the twelve, will they leave on account of this claim? Peter, bless him, has the ready answer, having been with you, heard your teaching and seen your works, where else would we go?

Peter was doing the works that Jesus had done, healing in the name of Jesus and raising Tabitha from the dead. In both these particular stories we see close parallels to the works Jesus had done. In Aeneas the parallel is to the man at the pool at Bethesda in John 5 and the story of the raising of Tabitha closely resembles the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Jesus said the disciples would indeed do the same things He had done and Peter somehow knew that the power of the Spirit flowing through him was capable of doing what his Lord had done. Do we recognize that this power has been given to us believers today as well? The early church grew and people came to believe through both the words and deeds of the apostles. Why is the church not growing in the west today?

Give ear to my words, O Lord;
give heed to my sighing.
Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.