The first lesson is a paean to the prophet Elijah. Why? The
season of Epiphany takes us on a whirlwind (pun on Elijah intentional) tour of
the life of Jesus, giving us a weekly glimpse at some further manifestation and
revelation of His unique personhood as the incarnate Son of God. The last Sunday of the season is always the
Transfiguration where Jesus is transfigured and Moses and Elijah are there as
well. This lesson reminds us that
Elijah, too, was a unique person in Judaism and in God's kingdom. Many miraculous things were done by and
through Elijah, all of which pointed to the power of God in Him, bringing glory
to God as the only true God as Israel wavered under Ahab and Jezebel in their
allegiance to Him. Elijah, however,
couldn't stand up under the strain and ran from the wicked queen into the
wilderness, away from people, away from her murderous intentions. There, God found the prophet, restored him
physically and spiritual and gave him a successor. The Lord, however, spared the prophet from
human death, unlike the Son. Elijah
couldn't finish the job.
When Jesus asks the disciples who others believe Him to be,
they answer that some think He is the return of Elijah or one of the prophets
of old. The ministry of the prophets was
to restore Israel to true faith in the living God, with whom they were in
covenant relationship. Elijah was taken
up into heaven without dying and Malachi wrote that before Messiah came Elijah
would return with the ministry of reconciliation, restoring the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers. They were and are looking for Elijah's
return, the reason there is always an empty chair at a Passover seder. Peter says
that he believes Jesus is more than Elijah, He is Messiah. Unlike Elijah whose mantle of prophetic leadership
was given to Elisha, and a double portion of his spirit, Jesus will die at the
hands of a murderous crowd of leaders. His
death, however, will not result in one man with the Spirit, it will result in
the outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh.
The other man appearing on the mountain with Jesus and
Elijah at the Transfiguration, was Moses.
He was a man unlike any other in that the Law came through Moses. God chose him to lead His people out of
Egypt, communicate with him face to face, give the people the very Words by
which they were to live, give them their commission as priests, a holy nation,
lead them through forty years in the wilderness, and then die on the edge of the
promised land. Moses, like Elijah,
wasn't perfect. He made himself equal to
God when he said, shall "we" bring water out of this rock in
disobedience to God's command to speak to the rock, not strike it. In doing so, Moses disqualified himself from
leading all the way. Jesus' perseverance
in righteousness all the way to the end on the cross separates Him from both
these extraordinary men. He has given us
unhindered access to the Father, we can come face to face with Him, just as
Moses had done, but the Spirit is within us, unlike Moses whose glory was
reflected not indwelling. Do you realize
that your relationship with God is more intimate than Moses'? All because of Jesus' obedience. Lift Him high today.
No comments:
Post a Comment