3 October 2010
Psalm 118; Hosea 13.4-14; I Cor. 2.6-16; Matt 14.1-12

The Lord is a jealous God, He told them that from the beginning, He will not share His glory with another. His people have strayed and they have followed after other gods. They have ascribed their prosperity and their well-being to either men or gods and the time has come to take all that away from them. God’s wrath and anger are real but they are also balanced against His love for His people. Those on whom He sets His love are also those who have taken on the yoke of obedience and who have accepted the conditions for His love and blessing. While the penalty is death, the Lord has consistently attempted to woo back His wayward people. There will, however, come a time when it is no longer possible.

Jesus has come to the attention of Herod and that is not altogether a good thing. Matthew tells us of the fate of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod so that we will know something of his character. Herod apparently was getting something out of John’s message but because he had married his brother’s wife after divorcing his first wife. She was also his niece. John apparently spoke against this marriage and Herodias wanted to put an end to the opposition. Salome’s dance so pleased Herod that he was willing to give her half his kingdom, the same offer the king made to Esther upon the banquet she had prepared for he and Haman. The time had come and the trap was sprung against John. Herod was insecure enough to be afraid of losing face before his court and too weak to step back from his promise, the ministry of John was ended, which had to be a painful thing for Jesus to hear of his own cousin.

What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? Paul says that we can only know the spirit of a man if we possess that same Spirit and we can only know a man’s mind if we have his spirit. When Christ takes up residence in us through the Holy Spirit we are able to discern spiritual and heavenly things in a way that is not available to those who do not have the Spirit. We can live frustrated lives of argument with the world but Paul says we possess a wisdom that is not available to the world. What, then, should be our attitude towards those who are not in Christ Jesus? How do we share our faith when they lack the interpretive key to understand the truth? We must not take pride in our knowledge as though it were some “gnosis” that could be obtained by effort, but recognize and be thankful for the gift that it is. We will never be able to argue anyone into the kingdom, we can, however, pray that those with whom we share will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit to receive our testimony.

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever!
The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
I thank thee that thou hast answered me and hast become my salvation.
Thou art my God, and I will give thanks to thee; thou art my God, I will extol thee. O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever!