So Jephthah has conquered the Ammonites but hasn't asked the
Ephraimites to help and now they are angry enough about the slight to go to war
with him? Jephthah has a different
version of events, namely that the Ephraimites refused to come and help. This dispute cost 42,000 Ephraimites their
lives. These men were relatives of one
another, why should there have been such civil war, it seems utterly ludicrous that
this should have such a terrible result.
We don't know the times and we don’t know the nature of the dispute, it
seems there was much more going on than this one event that would precipitate
this war. Emotions are too high to
believe that this was the only thing provoking them.
Right from the outset Jesus knocks Nicodemus off balance in
this conversation. Nicodemus begins with
a flattering pleasantry that would seem to indicate that there had been some
talk among the Pharisees about Jesus at this early juncture, he uses the
pronoun "we" rather than "I." Jesus' response has to do with being born
from above, and Nicodemus must have thought either he or Jesus was hard of
hearing since this seemingly has nothing to do with the opening gambit. Jesus is speaking of new birth, spiritual re-birth,
but Nicodemus doesn't follow this and asks about a physical re-birth. When
Jesus responds by saying "you do not receive our testimony" and then
through verse 12, He is using the plural form of the pronoun, not questioning
Nicodemus but all the teachers he may represent. The polite conversation Nicodemus may have
had in mind became a confrontation about the credentials of Nicodemus and his
friends rather than about Jesus' credentials for doing what He has been doing.
The apostles continue to minister just as Jesus Himself had
done, healing the sick and doing other signs and wonders. They had done such things before when Jesus
sent them out, this isn't their first time being involved in this
ministry. The leaders become jealous and
have them thrown into jail but the Spirit sets the captives free and tells them
to go straight to the temple and teach, right into the lion's den as it
were. Having been set free once they
have no fear of those who imprisoned them.
It certainly presents a dilemma for the leaders. We, too, have been set free, do we share
their boldness?
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