Psalm 97, 99, 100; 1 Samuel 6:1-16; Acts 5:27-42; Luke 21:37-22:13
Wouldn’t you love to have heard what the people said when they broke open the box and found five golden tumors and five golden mice? Did they know what had happened to the Philistines? If they knew then this was certainly good for a laugh and if they did not know then it must have been puzzling to say the least. In addition to the guilt offering they were instructed by the diviners to “give glory to the God of Israel.” We have no idea what that looked like or why they didn’t become worshippers of Yahweh as He had so clearly proven Himself to them while the ark was among them. The people of Israel, however, were thrilled to see the ark and have it among them again.
The chief priests and scribes were not quite as happy to have the Lord among them as the people and the Levites were in our first reading or as happy as the people are to have Jesus teaching each day in the temple in this reading. Judas intrigues with the leaders to betray Jesus away from the crowds as we have been told numerous times that they feared the crowds who were enthralled by Jesus, His teaching and His works of healing. What an honor it must have been to the man who owned the house that this master, the one some believed to be Messiah, was going to celebrate the Passover in his upper room. The family must have been thrilled to receive Him and the disciples and yet this was to be a short-lived thrill as the night progressed and day dawned on the reality of what was to come.
The council is enraged that Peter, even after he was told to stop preaching in the Name of Jesus, has continued to do so and now boldly proclaims Him to the council. Is this truly the same Peter who denied Jesus to a slave girl? Peter has the assurance of the resurrection, he knows the power of God, and he also has the Holy Spirit to embolden and empower him. He has seen miracles worked by the Holy Spirit through him and the other apostles and he knows the difference between this life and eternal life. Gamaliel gives wise counsel, they have seen pretenders and the best thing is to do nothing and see what happens. I believe that two thousand years later we can say that this one lasted and therefore is likely to be of God but the leaders of Israel still don’t believe.
To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish—but naught changeth Thee.
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