Judas and the others saw that misfortunes had increased and
the enemy had encamped in their territory.
They also knew what the king’s final solution was to rid his kingdom of
these people. In other words, they knew
what obstacles were before them. They were
under no illusions about the situation. In
spite of this, their decision was not to surrender but to fight. They did so only after having consulted the
Word of God which gave them superior wisdom to those against whom they were
fighting who consulted the images of their gods, dumb idols. As they prepare to
fight they do something strange, “Those who were building houses, or were about
to be married, or were planting a vineyard, or were faint-hearted, he told to
go home again, in accordance with the law.”
The first three categories of people, those who were building houses,
about to be married or planting a vineyard are those who have invested their
hopes in something that matters, something that needs to be seen through to
completion while the final category represents those who will not be fully
invested in the battle. Only those whose
full attention is to the fight will be part of the force.
Jesus predicts His death and resurrection but the disciples
appear to have only heard the part about death.
Their reaction is distress, so they clearly didn’t get the resurrection
part at all. Afterwards, Peter is
confronted by someone collecting the temple tax and asked if his rabbi and the
disciples believe themselves to be exempt from paying it. All Jews were required to pay this tax for
the upkeep of the temple in Jerusalem each year prior to Passover. Peter, either honestly or to avoid conflict,
assures the tax collectors that Jesus indeed pays this tax. As he comes to Jesus, he is confronted once
again about the issue of this tax, by Jesus, who knows what Peter has
done. If, as Peter has confessed, Jesus is
the Son of God, then should He, as the Son, pay the tax? This is as powerful a statement of Jesus’
claim to Sonship you will find. Peter is instructed then to take a hook and
line and go fishing, which would have been quite demoralizing for a man who
formerly fished with a boat and a net. The tax was paid by Jesus but in a quite
novel way and not “out of pocket.” Peter, for his part, dutifully obeyed and
his faith and obedience were remarkably rewarded.
John is shown the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God and its splendor is unimaginable.
On the gates of the city are the names of the twelve tribes and on the foundation
stones the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. I wonder who the twelfth
name is? The scale of the city is enormous, 1380 miles per side, 190,000 square
miles, with a wall over 200 feet high. John
gives an interesting detail, that human and angel measurements are the same. We
are called always to keep our eyes on the prize, the coming of the kingdom of
God, but we first have to have a vision of that kingdom. What we know now is only a weak analog for
what is to come. Our world is fallen
while the new creation is perfect in every way, far surpassing anything we
could do or create.
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