Hezekiah, like his advisers, is in distress over the demands
of the Assyrians. He make his way to the
temple and searches out a prophet, Isaiah, to inquire of the Lord on his behalf
in the matter. Isaiah assures the king
that this Rabshakeh will hear a rumor and return to his own land and die there,
there is nothing to fear in his empty threats.
The Assyrian king is fighting for his own land at the moment and there
is a threat that yet another king, from Cush, is coming against him as
well. His response is to send messengers
back to Jerusalem with the same message as before, it is useless to oppose
me. If they agree, it is one less front
on which to fight but also, the army of Israel will now be conscripted to serve
him as well. This time Hezekiah doesn’t
consult the prophet, he goes before the Lord himself and pleads with Him for
salvation of the land. Isaiah, however,
comes and reassures the king that his prayers have been heard.
The public ministry of Jesus begins with a sermon, the Sermon
on the Mount and then continues with the fulfillment of the prophetic
word. As he comes down the mountain, a
leper comes to Him, begs for healing, and Jesus does that thing that always
gets my attention, He reaches out His hand and touches this untouchable man and
cleanses him from his leprosy. He sends
the man to the priest as a proof to them, a proof of the power of Jesus. Next, a centurion approaches, a Gentile, who
asks for Jesus to heal his servant who is paralyzed. Jesus offers to break yet another convention,
to go to the home of this Gentile, but the man deters Jesus by saying he is
unworthy to have Jesus under his roof, that all He need do is speak the word
and healing will happen. Jesus’ response
is to marvel at the man’s faith, that he has seen nothing like it among the
children of Abraham, and to proclaim the healing. The people of Capernaum prove their faith in
bringing to Jesus many who were sick that He might heal them there, and
Matthew, of course points back to the prophecy of old to Jesus as fulfillment.
Paul says that his reward is the reward of faith. He preaches the Gospel because he must, it is
a compulsion, a stewardship given to him.
He preaches it without receiving compensation as a choice, a choice of
faith to forego his rights and freedoms.
That, then is his reward, that the Lord provides for him so that he may
preach. He, like Jesus, choose to lay
aside rights and freedoms in order to be a servant to all, whatever cost that
may be to him. It isn’t about him, freedom
and rights, it is about the Gospel and sharing it with all and sundry. Like Jesus, Paul takes all the risks and
breaks all the rules for one simple reason, love of God and neighbor, whoever
that may be. Self-control is the way
Paul chooses to live and that includes his own body, he says that he exercises
self-control over his body as an equally important part of life as the
preaching the Gospel. Paul has a
holistic concept of what it means to be a disciple.
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