Psalm 121, 122, 123; 1 Samuel 11:1-15; Acts 8:1-13; Luke 22:63-71
Saul’s kingship begins well. Some of his fellow countrymen are in peril, being threatened by the Ammonites. They hesitate to make a treaty to save themselves from this threat and instead ask for seven days respite to seek others who will come to their aid. They seek human aid from Saul, the newly minted king, and the Spirit of God is given to him to lead the nation to battle on behalf of their brothers. The result is that God triumphs over the enemies of Israel by drawing overwhelming response from the nation. The people go to Gilgal to celebrate the victory and “renew the kingdom” which is best translated as reaffirm the kingship of Saul. His magnanimity towards those who had previously opposed him reveals a man who is understands what it means to be a king after God’s heart. It is to his credit that he pardons those who have opposed him.
Jesus’ kingship doesn’t begin so well. Saul’s celebration was over the triumph of God, that salvation had come to the nation that day. The savior of not only the nation but of all the world is here on trial and rejected by all the nation for failing to be the savior and messiah they want Him to be. His work is far greater than Saul’s yet there is no celebration of Jesus this day. The Lord had said that in seeking a king like all the other nations the people were rejecting Him as their king and here we see Him, in person, being rejected as king. The Lord Himself, in the form of Jesus, is in their midst and their reaction is to mock Him, spit upon Him, beat Him and demand that He be put to death. Rejection of Jesus is serious business and yet His judgment is not exercised against them this day. Ultimately, if we continue to reject Him, we will indeed be judged but when we bow the knee as we are told shall be done by all, we will have judged ourselves.
The stoning of Stephen touched off two things, persecution of the church and the beginnings of the missionary movement in Christianity. Saul/Paul began to vigorously persecute the church under the auspices of the temple wherever he could find followers of Jesus and at the same time this persecution drove all but the apostles, those who were given the Great Commission, to leave Jerusalem. The first mission endeavor was undertaken in Samaria (recall John 4) by the deacon Stephen, and it was a tremendous success! Even the magician Simon came to believe but he wasn’t fully in the kingdom and didn’t fully understand all that he was seeing. Jesus may have been rejected by the leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem, but He was being accepted by more and more wherever the Gospel was proclaimed. The kingdom is being renewed!
The Lord is never far away, but through all grief distressing,
An ever present help and stay, our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand, God gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.
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