The men question among themselves whether Abraham should be
told what the Lord is about to do with respect to Sodom. The decision is made that Abraham needs to
know about judgment, it is important that he know that what happens to Sodom is
truly an act of God and not some amazing coincidence. The other important thing is that God has
come down to see for Himself if what He has heard in the outcry against Sodom
is true, judgment isn't going to be based on hearsay. Abraham's response to the news is to bargain
with the Lord for Sodom. Apparently, he
knows that what the Lord has heard concerning the city is true, it is a wicked
place, but he does have a nephew there.
He begins his bidding with fifty righteous men but clearly has no
confidence that there are anywhere near fifty righteous men there and finally
gets it down to ten before the Lord stops the conversation. In order for a synagogue to be established
somewhere requires ten righteous men to form it because the Lord seems to have
drawn the line there on judgment. You
don't set up a synagogue in a place the Lord might destroy.
Jesus is beginning to shy away from crowds a bit. The people of Bethsaida bring a blind man to
Him to heal but Jesus takes the man away privately for this healing that
requires two attempts, the first only partially restoring sight. He then tells the man to go home and not
enter the village. At Caesarea Philippi,
a Roman city where many gods were worshipped, Jesus asks the disciples privately,
probably at a place where there were shrines to these many gods, who they
believe Him to be. Peter gets it right,
"You are Messiah." It is
important to gauge their faith at this juncture, they will need to believe in
Him if they are to persevere. Their
faith will soon be greatly tested.
Paul contrasts a life characterized by the desires of the
flesh with that characterized by obedience to the Holy Spirit. We are called to live in such a way that the
world can see an obvious difference between Christians and non-Christians. As I write this it is just before Christmas
and I am thinking about the movie It's a Wonderful Life in which an
"angel" takes the hero, George Bailey, to an alternative time, to
show what things would look like if George hadn't existed. The town in which he lives, Bedford Falls, a
quiet town where people lived in peace and unity no longer existed, instead
there was Potterville, where a greedy old man controlled things, there was
drinking, prostitution, gambling, a wide-open town of vice. The distinction is clear and so it should be
between us and the world. That is being
salt and light. Since Jesus, one righteous
person can make a difference wherever the Lord sends us because He is indeed
Messiah.
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