Ezekiel 24 – Ezekiel, who is in Babylon, prophesies
that the city of Jerusalem is now under siege and shall suffer complete
destruction and death of the population by the sword – all because of its
unfaithfulness.
Ezekiel’s telling of the history of Israel, from its beginnings, is
one that focuses only on the failures of faith and continual passions for
unwholesome customs and idolatry. Here the message is more that God has
continually had to punish Israel for the sake of his name and reputation – to
show that He is Lord, and to show this to all the world, not just to Israel. Like Jeremiah, he sees Babylonian power as
a tool of God in dealing with his unfaithful partners in the Covenant.
In the coming 8 chapters, Ezekiel prophesies against the nations
that surround his beloved – Ammon, Moab, Edom, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon and
Egypt. Lawrence Boadt says Ezekiel is here referring to the “seven peoples”
referred to in Deuteronomy (7:12). God’s defeat of these “foreign nations” will
be the beginning of God’s “new covenant” when he returns his people to their
lands.
Only when all is lost does Ezekiel turn to the future and God’s plan
to return the exiles and purify their faith. There will be a new David to lead
the flock and new hearts in the people
Ezekiel 25 – Oracles against Ammon,
Moab, Edom and Philistine:
Ammon - The Ammonites
together with the Israelites and the Moabites were considered the Aramaean
branch of the Semitic race. They were descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot. If you want to learn more about each of the “nations”
Ezekiel writes about here, you can check out articles at the Catholic
Encyclopedia site at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01431b.htm. When I last checked there was an election day message you
may not like, but the articles are good.
While
the Israelites did not take their land, they and the Moabites were banned forever
from serving in the Temple even when they converted to the worship of Yahweh.
They worshipped the god Milcom or Moloch.
Ezekiel
prophesies that because they were happy at the desecration of Israel’s Temple,
they shall be handed over to the Arab nomads who will invade. “I will reduce
you to nothing, and so you will learn that I am Yahweh” (25:7).
Moab – Moabites were also
incestuously descended from Lot.
For
seeing the House of Judah as in no way special, she too will be handed over to
these “sons of the East” (25:10) and will be forgotten.
Edom – Idumaea – the name comes from
the red color of its sandstone cliffs. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07638a.htm.
For
taking revenge on the House of Judah, she shall be reduced to a desert.
Philistine - For taking revenge
on God’s people and trying to destroy them, Philistine will suffer terrible
acts of vengeance so that they learn that the Lord is Lord.
John 19 – Pilate has
Jesus flogged.
The soldiers mock him by putting a crown of thorns on his head and dressing him
in a purple robe. They strike him on the face and say, “Hail, King of the
Jews!” Pilate gives him back to the people, telling them again he finds “no case against him” (19:4).
The
crowd demands his crucifixion. Pilate tells them to take him. They tell him by
their law he has incurred death for claiming to be the Son of God. This
frightens Pilate. He questions Jesus again, asking him “Where are you from?” Jerusalem Bible note points out that the whole point of the gospel is to
show how everyone is confronted with this mystery of Jesus’ origins—the people
of Cana, the Samaritans, the apostles, the multitudes, the Jewish leaders and
now Pilate. But now Jesus says nothing. Pilate can’t believe he is not
going to answer him, seeing the power he (Pilate) has over his fate. Jesus says
to him, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from
above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin”
(19:11).
Pilate wants to
release him, but
the Jews threaten to impute disloyalty to the emperor to him if he does. He
takes Jesus outside and sat on the judge’s bench at Gabbatha (The Stone
Pavement). It is about noon of the day of Preparation for Passover. The crowd
again demands he be crucified. Three times Pilate has
let the crowd know he finds no case against Jesus, but three times the crowd
demands that Jesus be put to death, ultimately making it look that if Pilate
releases him, they will make it plain to the emperor that Pilate’s loyalty to
Caesar must be in question. Pilate finally hands him over to the crowd,
or maybe to the chief priests (19:15) to be crucified.
They
take him to the Place of the Skull where they crucify him along with two
others. Pilate had an inscription placed over him that said, “Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” It is written in Hebrew (Aramaic), Latin and
Greek. The chief priests don’t want it written that way. They prefer, “This man
said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate keeps it as it is. When the soldiers
finish placing him on the cross, they took his clothes and divided them among
them (into four). His seamless tunic, they cast lots for—all of this
according to Scripture [Ps 22:18]. The high priest’s
robe was supposed to be seamless.
Near
the cross stand his mother, his mother’s sister and Mary Magdalene (three
Marys). When Jesus saw his mother next to the discipline whom he loved, he said
“Woman, here is your son.. . .Here
is your mother.” Use of the term “woman” might allude
to the greater identity John sees in Mary as the new Eve according to Jerusalem Bible notes. The
disciple takes Mary into his home.
Jesus
knows it is finished. He says, “I am thirsty”. His words are from Psalm 22:15.
Both Matthew & Mark say Jesus cried out the first line of this psalm: “My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (see Matt.27:46 and Mark 15:34). Luke
has Jesus quoting Psalm 31:5 which is very different, more at peace. They give
him wine on a branch of hyssop. He says, “It is finished” (19:30) or in the New Jerusalem “It is accomplished.” The translation of this phrase is important in making the
link I think is so important to understanding John’s grasp of this moment
Christologically.
Because
it is the Day of Preparation, they don’t want to leave the bodies on the
crosses past sundown. With Pilate’s permission, they break the legs of the
crucified men and removed their bodies. Jesus’ legs are not broken because he
is already dead (19:33). Instead one of the soldiers pierces his side with a
sword and “blood and water came out” (34). All of these things were seen as
fulfilling scripture [see Zc 12:10, Nb 21:9 and Rv 1:7].
The Jerusalem Bible says
the blood is the blood of the lamb poured out for the salvation of all (6:51)
and the water is a symbol of the Spirit. Church Fathers saw the water and blood
as symbols of baptism and Eucharist or together
“the Church” which was born like a second Eve from the side of the second and
perfect Adam.
Joseph
of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus’ gets Pilate’s permission to take
Jesus’ body. Nicodemus helps by bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes. They
place him in a new tomb in the garden nearby.
As
I have mentioned earlier in my posts on John’s gospel, I have recently gotten
very excited about more recent insights I have had on the connections I think
exist between the gospel and several Genesis references. If you want to check
out that article, it can be accessed at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1absTac7RqOsG9XxVWT1VqVexCPvmB4szFdD1hCTERAE/edit
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