Joshua's concern for the people is that they will not keep
covenant with the Lord who has done so much for them, who has been faithful to
do all He has promised. He is concerned
that they will be corrupted by the nations around them, that contact with them
will defile them. They are warned to
keep clear of these surrounding nations, not to intermarry with them. Why does it matter so much to Joshua that
they keep themselves from such contact with the nations? His concern is that they will begin following
after the gods of these nations and will forsake the covenant with Yahweh. We do need to be careful that we don't allow ourselves
to become syncretists. It is a problem
even today that we bring in philosophies that are incompatible with
Christianity and allow them to shape our understanding of God, ourselves, and
the world around us. Those philosophies
can be anything, we can be committed to social justice rather than Jesus,
capitalism rather than loving our neighbor, and so many other things. Gods come in all shapes and sizes.
Pilate knew that it was simply envy that has caused them to
deliver up Jesus, that He has committed no discernible crime against the
state. Pilate's wife knows that Jesus is
a "righteous man" who has done nothing wrong. Pilate believes that surely the people, given
an obvious choice between the popular Jewish teacher and an insurrectionist,
will choose the teacher to be set free. Pilate
allows his fears of a Jewish mob giving him a bad name as a leader will harm
his career, and fails to lead. They want
no part of truth, no part of real righteousness, and demand that this innocent
man be crucified and Barabbas to be set free.
They would rather have a criminal among them than the only truly good
and righteous man who ever lived. We make
that choice all the time in our own lives.
Paul makes a plea to the church at Rome to give towards the
relief of their brothers and sisters in Christ who are in Jerusalem. Other churches have done so and Paul
encourages all to give for the whole. We
are connected with one another, bound to one another in our confession of
Jesus. We are made one, whether we know one
another or not and when one part of the body suffers we are meant to all suffer
along with them. To the extent that we
are able we are called to ameliorate the suffering of our brothers and sisters
and Paul is clear that their willingness to assist the Christians in Jerusalem
is, in some ways, important to the validation of his own ministry to the
Gentiles, it will show that he is not preaching some other Gospel, it will show
they understand that the connection with the Jewish Christians is truly a heart
connection, it will cement the bond of common faith. It will also be a witness of love to those
who are not part of the body of Christ. We
are not called to be separatists as the Jewish nation was to be, we are to be
light within a dark society.
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