Apparently the writer of Ecclesiasticus has been in
ministry. His advice regarding not
trusting anyone too quickly and not having many advisers is sound and a lesson I
have painfully learned in my life and in my ministry. There are indeed all sorts of friends in your
life but we should be careful about whom we trust and the kind of people we
have close to us. It is a difficult
lesson to learn that not all who want to be close to you can be relied upon and
betrayal is more painful within the church than anywhere else but it is also
all too real. There are always those who
complain about an inner circle of advisers but generally that reveals something
about the one doing the grumbling. I am
thankful for those who have stood with me in tough times and proven themselves
more valuable than gold.
Jesus sends out the seventy-two to go and heal and to also
proclaim the kingdom has come near to the people to whom they minister. He sends them out with only the power of God,
they are to be fully reliant on God for all they have as they go about the
work. They are to expect people of peace
wherever they go and are to bless those who receive them. If they are rejected, it is also to be
expected, but they are not to waste time quarrelling but simply dust off their
feet as a sign against them. The woes
Jesus pronounces are on the places where He has already been and proclaimed the
kingdom in word and deed and who have not turned towards God in response to the
proclamation. After this, we don't hear
of the seventy-two again. It would seem
that this was something like an athletic team where there was a preliminary
"cut" and then a final cut to the twelve whom Jesus kept very close
with three of those, James, John and Peter being closer still. Even then, one of the twelve was a betrayer.
The ones around the throne in the white robes are those who
have proven themselves faithful and true in the tribulation they have
suffered. Their faithfulness is without
question and they now serve to offer praise.
It is certainly an interesting cry, “Salvation belongs
to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” The part that is interesting is the final
piece, salvation belongs also to the Lamb.
Remember Jonah's final cry from the belly of the fish, it was "salvation
belongs to the Lord!" If we had any
doubt about the identity of Jesus, it is resolved in this statement, He is
Lord, salvation is a dual action and results in the giving of the Spirit. Moses was known as a friend of God, Jesus
spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper and called them friends, have we
proven our friendship to God?
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