Amos asks a series of questions in confirming his
prophecy. The questions all have a clear
answer. He is saying that they know how
clear those answers are, in the same way that Jesus tells the leaders of His
day that they know what to expect of the weather based on the skies, it is
obvious what is going to happen next and points to the words and deeds He has
done and asks why they can't sort out those signs as readily. Amos posits the same problem for the people
of his time, you know the answers to these questions, you can interpret all
these things, that his prophecy comes from the Lord is similarly clear if you
choose to look and listen. His word is
first to call the leaders of the great pagan nations like Egypt to come and see
how unrighteous the northern kingdom of Samaria/Israel is and even they will be
able to make that determination. She is
more unrighteous than they and she has the word and commandments of God. They will have the discernment necessary to
see her unrighteousness even in light of their own notions of righteousness. The Lord's judgment is righteous indeed in
bringing down their strongholds, anyone could see that.
Jesus' "wonderful" deeds were a judgment on the
leaders of the day. He comes into town
on the donkey to the acclaim of the pilgrims and clears the temple of those
profiteers who make it impossible to get to God in the temple courts and then
begins healing the blind and lame who come to Him. As the people continue to cry out
"Hosanna to the Son of David", literally, Lord save us, the leaders
become indignant. They are oblivious to
these wonderful things for they fear that the Romans will hear this uproar and will crack down on the
Jews. The Messianic king is here and
they want to shout Him down. The fig
tree is an acted out parable. Jesus
knows this is not the time for figs and yet the tree looks as though it will
bear fruit, it has all the signs of health yet bears nothing of use. The nation and its religion are similarly
barren yet maintain the outward trappings of religiosity. It is something we always need to keep in
mind.
Peter cites two pieces of evidence in confirming Jesus is
Messiah. First, he says we heard the
voice on the holy mountain saying that Jesus was the beloved of heaven. He is recalling the transfiguration when he
and James and John saw first Moses and Elijah and then heard that heavenly
voice proclaim Jesus as beloved and then the command to listen to Him. After this, the other two men were no longer
present, they were no longer necessary, their work was completed in Jesus to
whom they both pointed in word and deed.
He is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets represented by these
two giants of the faith. The prophetic
words of all the prophets come to fruition in Him alone. We need no longer search to and fro for righteousness,
we have Jesus both as our exemplar and our guide via the indwelling of His
Spirit. Bearing fruit is a matter of
pursuing His righteousness.
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