Manoah again affirms his belief that the words the man has
spoken will come true even though it certainly seems that he did not believe
the man was actually an angel. He offers
to prepare a meal for the man, a la Abraham when the three men visited him in
the desert to tell of Sarah's impending pregnancy, but the man refuses to eat
the meal. Perhaps because angels do not eat as we do? Contrast that refusal again to the men who
ate with Abraham that day. Manoah now
wants to know the name of the man but again, he refuses, saying the name is
wonderful, it is too much for Manoah to know such things now, compare this with
the wrestling match between Jacob and the man at the ford of the Jabbok in
Genesis 32 when Jacob wants to know the man's name. Wonderful is also one of Jesus' names (Isaiah
9) and they offer sacrifice to the Lord who works wonders. The man departs and goes into the heavens and
the happy couple are left to ponder these things in their hearts.
The Samaritans' expectations for Messiah are for the prophet
like Moses from Deuteronomy 18. They do
not have the prophets, only the books of Moses and they believe they are the
true Israel, before things became adulterated.
They do not worship in Jerusalem, their worship is based on the original
mountain of God. This woman, although an
outcast from her people who can make no claims to righteousness due to her
promiscuity, retains national pride vis a vis the Jews, reminding Jesus that
"our father Jacob" gave us
this well. Jesus gets to the heart of
the problem, proving Himself to be a prophet indeed. Could He be Messiah? He speaks truth into all matters, not just
her sin, this water, even though of ancient provenance, won't satisfy thirst
forever and he now offers something greater.
Also, "You worship what you do not know; we worship
what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." He is unafraid to tell her the truth, her
beliefs are wrong and this would certainly have been a bitter and difficult
pill to swallow because they believed that they were right and the Jews were
wrong. It is important that truth be
established because God wants us to worship in both spirit and truth.
Does this idea of deacons go back to
Jethro's advice to Moses in Exodus 18?
The disciples are certain that the distribution of food isn't their call
to ministry. They are to devote
themselves to the preaching of the Word and to prayer, so they raise up the
ministry of the diaconate, those who will serve the community in order to
minister in the "church." The
qualifications for the job are "men of good
repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom."
Apparently this became a pattern for the churches to have such people in
this role as we see it in Paul's letters particularly to Timothy and
Titus. Stephen was one of those deacons
but it seems that he didn't just serve tables, he "was doing great wonders
and signs among the people." He was
also called on to dispute with the Jews, a man who could handle the word of
God. Who would have thought the office
of deacon would provide the first martyr?
We are all called to know and defend the Word.
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