Samson's birth is foretold in something of the same fashion as
Jesus'. Samson was to be the deliverer
of his people from the Philistines, whom they had served for forty years during
their apostasy. Samson's mother and
father are quick to believe that she, who had been barren, would have a child
and that he was to be under a Nazirite vow even from the time he was
conceived. The mother was to essentially
live under such a vow as the child developed within her. Manoah, the father, simply wanted
confirmation of all his wife told him.
When he speaks with the angel, it is presupposed that what the angel has
said will come to pass, "Now when your words come true,
what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission?” The angel confirms the vow but does not share
the mission with Manoah as he had done with his wife. Nonetheless, they are obedient to the
heavenly vision.
John makes no pretense of being the
Christ. He has already publicly denied
such to the leaders in the first chapter of John's Gospel, saying plainly,
"I am not the Christ." Here,
contrast the language John uses with Nicodemus' failure to understand these
same concepts in the previous verses.
John recognizes that his teaching and speaking are earthly while Jesus'
are from above whereas Nicodemus had no idea what such things meant. John believes Jesus is from God and knows
that the one who believes in Him has eternal life. Belief is a major issue in John's Gospel, we
see it right from the start but what is it that John the Baptist believed,
could he have imagined that he would personally decrease by being
beheaded? Could he have imagined Jesus'
crucifixion? John, who lived as a
Nazirite like Samson, was likewise obedient to the proclamation of the heavenly
vision and the mission he was likewise given before his birth.
What they have witnessed, the crucifixion,
resurrection, and ascension, they have no choice but to proclaim, no matter who
forbids it. The council makes a profound
statement, that the disciples "intend to bring this man's blood upon
us.” That is their very hope for the
mission of proclamation, but not the way this statement is intended. In Judaism this would mean that they would be
guilty of a most heinous crime, murder, which they wanted to avoid even while
ensuring that the death penalty was carried out. As Christians we know that Jesus' death was
not murder, it was a sacrificial offering.
He was, as John said, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world. His blood atones for sin, but
only if we accept that we are guilty already.
Gamaliel counsels caution with respect to this sect, his expectation is
that they will soon die out as others have done. The only action the council takes is to
forbid them to teach in the name of Jesus.
These men now only fear the one with power of life and death, they are
obedient to the vision. Boldness now is
their way of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment