11 August 2011

Psalm 105:1-22; 2 Samuel 15:1-18; Acts 21:27-36; Mark 10:32-45

Absalom acts completely in accord with what we know of his character. He is willing to bide his time for a while but will ultimately fail to wait for God. He believes that he is entitled to something and will not wait for his father to die to inherit the kingdom and so begins to win the hearts of the people by acting on their behalf in settling their disputes personally. For four years he acts thusly, surely David was aware of his activity but does nothing to shut it down. David is tolerating behavior that should be dealt with swiftly. This type of thing happens in churches from time to time when the senior pastor is busy with other things and someone begins to gather people to themselves by some means and soon there is a church split. Absalom gathers the people to himself through accessibility and through David’s forbearance and David is forced to leave his own capital for fear of his own son.

The rulers of the Jews will not allow Jesus to divide the people against them. They see the people going out to Jesus and determine this has gone on long enough. James and John believe that Jesus is preparing to come into His kingdom, an earthly one they presume, in spite of His words concerning what awaits them in Jerusalem. They believe that they are able and fit to be his top advisers and should therefore sit at the right and left hands of the king. It is an amazing thing to see these two men step forward from among the other disciples and assert their pre-eminence. Surely they cringed for the remainder of their lives when they remembered this episode and Jesus’ response. We in the kingdom of God are not to seek to rule but to serve. Absalom served but his aim was to rule. We are to serve simply for the sake of serving the one who gave His life for us and in doing so we fulfill both the great commandments to love God and one another.

Paul is accused of four things: teaching against the law, teaching against the people, and teaching against the temple, and bringing Greeks into the temple (Gentiles were not allowed into the temple proper). There was a little something for everyone in those charges. When the officials come to deal with the situation the crowd is divided in its accusations and the officials can’t sort it out so they do what is most prudent, remove the one who seems to be causing the disturbance lest the Romans get upset. Was Paul guilty of any of these charges. He teaches about the law, the people and the temple but does he teach against any of them? He believes he has fuller revelation concerning all these things and they have been superceded in Jesus. In Galatians he says that these things have all served a purpose, they were pedagogues or companion-teachers but they are no longer necessary in Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The law allowed them to know something of God’s will for their lives and the corrosive nature of sin in our lives. The people were to be a light to the nations, a light which attracted the whole world. The temple was the place of reconciliation with God. All these find their fulfillment in Jesus. Paul was not “against” these things, he simply believed they were no longer necessary. The people, however, are easily swayed by arguments based on vanity, as always.

Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!

Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,
Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
Extend His power, exalt His throne.

Tune