Psalm 118; 1 Samuel 10:1-16; Rom. 4:13-25; Matt. 21:23-32
Saul is confirmed as king, complete with three signs given to him to confirm it in his own heart. The final sign was that he would come upon a band of prophets and the spirit of God would rush on him and he would also prophesy and “be turned into a new man.” As he began to move in the direction Samuel indicated, we are told that God gave Saul a new heart. These two expressions are common to us in Christianity but were certainly uncommon in Judaism at this particular period. We don’t see comparable things being said of anyone prior to this episode with Saul. Saul is looking for the signs along the way and all three are received yet when his uncle asks what Samuel had said to him, he only speaks of the donkeys, not of kingship. As he would be the first king of Israel, it was indeed proper for him to wait until the man who ruled over Israel came and passed the torch as it were, the announcement was Samuel’s to make.
Who had given Jesus the authority to teach in the temple, to have driven out the moneychangers from the temple courts, and to do miracles? They knew they had not given Him this authority and He needed to give them an accounting for His actions. Jesus knew that a direct answer, I act on the authority of God Himself, would not have gone down well with either the leaders or the people. His answer was to put the leaders on the defensive as the people had accepted John’s word and His baptism for the repentance of sins. The parable speaks the same word as the question, these people had accepted John’s word, had repented and now were about the business of the Father while these leaders supposedly said yes to God’s will but were not doing what they agreed to do. In the first lesson, Saul turned from Samuel to go where He was told, He began to go in a different direction than home, walking in a new life, and in that action began to walk with God as Father and was given a new heart. These leaders were not willing to repent and do the work of God.
What is the ultimate sign on which our faith rests? The resurrection confirms all about Jesus that needs to be confirmed. The disciples hoped that Jesus was Messiah, but they believed it fully after the resurrection from the dead. Their faith rested in the resurrection, everything flows from that point forward. The writer here says that this is the basis of our faith. Abraham believed God’s promise, no matter how unlikely it seemed that he and Sarah would have children of their own, no matter how long the fulfillment of the promise took. The writer is encouraging these believers to persevere in faith as the coming of Christ is delayed. They and we are not to give up hope as we wait. We are to turn from everything else and believe because of the resurrection of Jesus, that it means that we will live with Him in glory forever. We have been given a new heart to joyfully await His coming.
Sing praise to God Who reigns above, the God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love, the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.
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