Hosea 11 – “When Israel was a youth I
loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son . . .it is I who taught Ephraim to
walk, I took them in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them”
(11:1-3).
Hosea 12 – Referring back to the
earliest origins of the Lord’s relationship with Jacob [later called Israel],
Hosea says of him, “In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his
maturity he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with
us, even the LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is His name. Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, and wait
for your God continually” (12:4-6).
Hosea 13 – The people were brought to
the Promised Land by the Lord and were not to have any other God but Him; but
as they became prosperous and satisfied, “their heart became proud; therefore
they forgot Me. SO I will be like a lion to them; like a leopard I will lie in
wait by the wayside” (13:6-7).
“Shall
I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death,
where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting?” (13:14).
“Samaria
will be held guilty, for she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by
the sword, their little ones will be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women
will be ripped open” (13:16).
Hosea 14 - Finally after
rocking from fury to encouragement repeatedly, Hosea focuses entirely on the
fruits of repentance:
“Return,
O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you and return to the LORD” (14:1). “I will heal their
apostasy, I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them”
(14:4).
Israel
will once again take root “like the cedars of Lebanon, His shoots will sprout,
and his beauty will be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the cedars of
Lebanon. Those who live in his shadow will again raise grain, and they will
blossom like the vine” (14:6-7).
John 7:25-53 - The people are
afraid to speak of Jesus openly, thinking that they will get in trouble with
authorities, but when these authorities do not stop Jesus from speaking, the
people wonder if perhaps the authorities really do think he is the
Messiah—because they refrain from doing anything to him (7:25-26).
The
people are perplexed—they do not know if the Messiah will do more signs, if
they will know “where he is from” (7:27). What kind of figure is this Messiah
they have been waiting for? The Jerusalem
Bible note here indicates that while there was a belief that the Messiah
would be “born in Bethlehem” it was “commonly believed that he would lie hidden
in some secret place . . . in heaven, according to some until the day of his
coming” (161).
Does anyone doubt that the same uncertainties would arise in people
at the “second coming,” or at the coming that the Jews still anticipate?? We
cannot really know what such a thing might be like—uncertainty is at the very
core of our dealing with the spiritual narrative we have here, but it is an uncertainty
that invites faith and confidence that God’s story is not yet DONE.
The Pharisees, however, are sure about things. It says they would have arrested him,
“but his time had not yet come” (7:30). Jesus tells the people he will be with
them a little while longer and then he “will go back to the one who sent me.
You will look for me and will not find me: where I am you cannot come”
(7:33-34).
They wonder if he is talking about going out to the “diaspora”
Jews and maybe even the Greeks
(7:35).
On the last day of the festival Jesus says, “Let anyone who is
thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink” (7:37-38). He quotes the liturgy of the Feast of the
Tabernacles, which echoes the promises of Zechariah and Ezekiel: “’[O]ut of the
believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”
John tells us that these words are a promise of the Holy Spirit,
“which those who believed in him were to receive” (7:39), but he says this
Spirit was not yet among them “for Jesus had not yet been glorified” (7:39).
Again, some in the crowd speak of the expectations surrounding the
Messiah; he will be descended from David and come from the town of Bethlehem
(7:41-43), but they still do not feel sure about whether Jesus might be this
figure or not. No one wants to lay hands on him to arrest him because they are
not sure.
The police report back to the chief priests and Pharisees that no
one has ever spoken like this man, and the Pharisees think they too might have
been “sucked in” by Jesus.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had gone to Jesus himself, advises them
that everyone accused of a crime needs to be given a hearing. And this causes them to accuse Nicodemus
too of being a Galilean too – a supporter of Jesus. “Prophets do not come out
of Galilee,” they argue (7:52).
The overall state of people at this point is confused and divided.
No one is sure of who or what Jesus is.
Even he is not ready at this point to proclaim himself too openly—his
hesitancy with his brothers, his secrecy in coming to Jerusalem. The crowds are
divided, the police uncertain, the Pharisees squabbling still amongst
themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment