The Lord chose Aaron to serve as a priest forever. That alone tells us nearly everything we need
to know about grace doesn’t it? Aaron,
the priest who made the golden calves as his brother Moses was on the mountain with
God and built an altar before it. Aaron,
the man who came to Moses with his sister Miriam and said, “Has the Lord indeed
spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” Aaron, the man whose sons, also priests, in
the very next chapter after fire from the Lord had come and consumed the
initial sacrifices on the brazen altar, brought strange fire to add to the Lord’s
fire and the fire from Lord came and consumed them as it had consumed the burnt
offering. That the Lord chose Aaron and
didn’t reject him after all these things is a testimony to two things, the Lord’s
election being irrevocable and that His grace is the basis of the priesthood. Haughtiness and self-righteousness have no
place among the leaders of God’s people.
Jesus comes into town on a donkey, a symbol of peace, to the
acclaim of Messiah and says,
“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!” What are the things that make for peace? What they really wanted was someone to overthrow the Romans and bring peace. Their idea of peace was too small and their methods were still of war, still based in us v them. What Jesus is interested in is a greater peace, bridging all the gaps, man v man, Jew v Gentile, and, most importantly, image bearers v the God whose image they bear. The Gospel is a story of peace and yet we are too often at war still, war between one faction or another in Christianity and war between the church and the world (same as Jew v Gentile). Jesus prayed for unity and we continue to practice division over things like which version of Scripture, what kind of music, liturgy or not, old liturgy or new liturgy, denominational pride, there is actually no end of the ways we can divide. Jesus made peace with God on our behalf on the cross and then called us to take up our own and follow. We make a practice of putting others on the cross.
“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!” What are the things that make for peace? What they really wanted was someone to overthrow the Romans and bring peace. Their idea of peace was too small and their methods were still of war, still based in us v them. What Jesus is interested in is a greater peace, bridging all the gaps, man v man, Jew v Gentile, and, most importantly, image bearers v the God whose image they bear. The Gospel is a story of peace and yet we are too often at war still, war between one faction or another in Christianity and war between the church and the world (same as Jew v Gentile). Jesus prayed for unity and we continue to practice division over things like which version of Scripture, what kind of music, liturgy or not, old liturgy or new liturgy, denominational pride, there is actually no end of the ways we can divide. Jesus made peace with God on our behalf on the cross and then called us to take up our own and follow. We make a practice of putting others on the cross.
In making his own case, Paul isn’t actually denigrating
these “super apostles.” He is saying
that in no way is he inferior to them. He
is fighting for his own rights as an apostle.
The signs of a true apostle, the power of the Spirit, were displayed
among the Corinthians in Paul’s ministry there and the only way in which he
differs from these others is that he wasn’t a financial burden to them and for
this he saves his supreme sarcasm, “Forgive me this wrong!” Paul is determined that he is definitely not
in the wrong in this regard, he will do it the same way next time around, he
will not be a burden and speaks of himself as a parent to the Corinthians,
reminding them of his prior claim. In all
things, Paul is willing to pour himself out for the church. He is willing to lay himself down for even
these who have refused to repent of egregious sin. They are more important than his
glorification, the mark of a true leader in the church.
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