28 January 2011

28 January 2011

Psalm 40, 54; Isa. 50:1-11; Gal. 3:15-22; Mark 6:47-56

Do we walk by fires we have kindled or by the light of our own torches or do we walk in the light of the Lord? The servant here is not Isaiah speaking for himself but rather the servant of the Lord, the one we know to be Jesus. The images are here of the lash on the back and spitting in the face, the suffering of Jesus before His accusers is literal not figurative. We also know that His entire trust was in the Father to vindicate Him. He had no one to stand beside Him and plead His case, no one to speak on His behalf and He refused to make His own defense. We are to follow His example of trusting in, fearing in the Lord. The fear of Him should keep us walking in faith, lest we displease Him and suffer judgment for our transgressions. This is not to suggest we can “lose” our salvation. If we are elect then we will persevere, but judgment for sins is the lot of all, it is not final judgment to damnation but we do suffer His rebuke in order that we might be treated as children, that we might grow in His likeness. Fear of the Lord continues to have a proper place in our lives even after we know His love.

What was the reaction of the disciples to seeing Jesus walking on the water? Fear. They knew enough not to be simply astonished by this and it was a demonstration of His power, His difference, and in this demonstration they knew to be afraid. The revelation of God as creator should properly inspire in us awe, wonder, amazement, love, and a great many other positive feelings but it should also inspire us to consider the incredible power of the one who spoke and all things came into being just as He intended. In that revelation we see something fearsome as well as awe-inspiring. Fear is a very human reaction to such power and yet Jesus says to them “Don’t be afraid.” Only the one who inspired the fear can calm the fear just as the one who created the wind has power to calm it. Healing wasn’t completely an act of Jesus’ will but, as those who touched the fringe of his garment experienced, a power that inhered in His very being.

Does the law cause sin or simply define it? Paul says the law was given because sin had multiplied. Not having been given the Spirit of God they needed to know the will of God but it was an external thing. They relied for interpretation on the wisdom of the rabbis and sometimes the rabbis gave contradictory answers. We see in the first generations of Abraham’s family that they were motivated not by the glory of God but by their own selfish desires. The law was given that the people of God might know what kind of God they served. The law however did not make anyone righteous, it only gave information on what was not righteous. The covenant with the people was the result of the promise made to Abraham, as Paul notes, 430 years before the law was given, so it did not establish the covenant. Jesus was the basis for the law and the covenant. Faith in God’s promise to forgive sins through sacrifice was always the hope and the perfect sacrifice, the fulfillment of the system, was Jesus. We need not fear because in the face of Jesus we know God’s love.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.