In the wilderness God provides in such a way that the people
are forced to live into the Sabbath rest.
The manna will keep overnight on this one day and there will be none to
gather on the Sabbath. Some disobey and go out that morning to collect their
daily bread and this brings rebuke. The
Lord has told them the drill and they either don’t trust Him or don’t believe
Him so they fail to prepare. The principle
of Sabbath is clear, He provides our daily bread and we can keep Sabbath
knowing that our needs will be taken care of if we trust Him. We need a day of rest and reflection on all
the Lord has done for us and to rest in His goodness.
Just as God told the people what to expect concerning the
manna, so does Jesus tell the disciples what will happen in the future when He
has gone to the Father. They will be
persecuted and put out of the synagogues and the reason is plain, because these
leaders have not believed Jesus’ message.
They are to be prepared for this day, it should not catch them
unaware. Jesus prepares them also for
life in the Spirit, promising that His going away is actually a good thing for
them. There is much more for Him to
teach and yet there is insufficient time for that teaching but the Holy Spirit
will lead and guide them in truth. It is
a wonderful thing that Jesus has told us that we will be rejected, we know what
to expect. It is even more wonderful
that we are given the Spirit to guide us and accompany us through our
lives. He has provided all we need for
the journey.
Peter’s assumption is that Christians will suffer. Suffering is the lot of humanity in this
world and he gives his readers the choice of suffering generally or suffering
for doing good. It is a very real
choice, sort of a “pick your poison” choice.
If suffering is part of life that is unavoidable, we should choose to
suffer for doing good, obeying the Lord no matter the cost. Even Jesus suffered in the flesh but without
sin, He did not give in to His passions and desires, sought no retributive
justice against those who persecuted Him, in fact prayed for them with His
dying breath. In doing so, He showed us
the way to true Sabbath rest. If we lay
aside all our wrongly ordered desires in order to passionately pursue God’s
kingdom we will find the rest we crave, the supreme paradox.
Thou hast promised to
receive us, poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us, grace to cleanse and power to free.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
Thou hast mercy to relieve us, grace to cleanse and power to free.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus! We will early turn to Thee.
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