Fulfilled Promises

 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

20 ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ναί· διὸ καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀμὴν τῷ θεῷ πρὸς δόξαν δι᾽ ἡμῶν.

This is one of those verses where we need to look at the language a little bit. The phrase  ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ναί does not translate into English in a one-for-one manner. Quite literally it is something like, "For as many as the promises of God, in Him the yes." The New American Commentary understands the ὅσαι  to refer to an indeterminate number of OT promises of God. That seems to make good sense of the passage.


The point is that the promises of God in the OT are not fulfilled in Israel. They are fulfilled in Christ. Now Romans 9-11 tells us that there is a future hope for some remnant of ethnic Israel, but if we focus on Israel we have missed the point. The point is Christ. 


The Bible is not a book about Israel, though Israel is in it. The Bible is about Christ. Specifically, it is about how God created man, man fell, and what God did to redeem His people back to Himself. Why was it such a long history instead of redeeming them right away? Ultimately it was for His glory, which He deserves. Also, keep in mind that if He had done it sooner then you would not be reading this and would not have a future hope of eternity with Him.


If you are in Christ, rejoice that He saved you. If you are not, what keeps you from repenting and believing?

Condemning

Mark 15:2
(2)  And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And he answered him, "You have said so."

(2)  καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν ὁ Πιλᾶτος, Σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ λέγει, Σὺ λέγεις.

I think I tend to marvel almost as much as Pilate when I read how Jesus defended Himself before these mock trials.  This was what He came for, so it didn't make sense to fight.  I have enough of a sense of self-preservation that I tend to read the hero's plight in any story with eyes for how he can get out of it.  In this case it would seem that Jesus could have got Himself out of this bind.

The phrase translated "You have said so" is simply Σὺ λέγεις..  With the pronoun it would quite woodenly be "you yourself say."  I'm not sure why it gets translated in the perfect, but that works too.  The point is that Jesus didn't fight.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

What does this do to you?  Do you wonder how this guy could be such a wimp and roll over and die?  That would be a very natural response.  Or do you marvel that this guy could have saved Himself several times and yet chose this path.  It was not an easy one, but it's what He came to do.  I hope that this fills you with deeper love and appreciation for the Savior.

I also hope that this spurs you on to greater action.  What have you come to do?  You haven't come to die for the sins of the world, but what have you come to do?  Are you doing it?  Are you as focused as the Lord was in His mission?  If not, what is distracting you and what can you do to eliminate those distractions?

Blasphemy!

Mark 14:61-64
(61) But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"
(62) And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
(63) And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need?
(64) You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death.

(61) ὁ δὲ ἐσιώπα καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκρίνατο οὐδέν. πάλιν ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς ἐπηρώτα αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ εὐλογητοῦ;
(62) ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν, Ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ ὄψεσθε τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν καθήμενον τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ ἐρχόμενον μετὰ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
(63) ὁ δὲ ἀρχιερεὺς διαρρήξας τοὺς χιτῶνας αὐτοῦ λέγει, Τί ἔτι χρείαν ἔχομεν μαρτύρων;
(64) ἠκούσατε τῆς βλασφημίας· τί ὑμῖν φαίνεται; οἱ δὲ πάντες κατέκριναν αὐτὸν ἔνοχον εἶναι θανάτου.

This is the extent of Mark's recording of Jesus' testimony at the false trial put on by the Jews.  It took two little words for them to condemn Him: Ἐγώ εἰμ.  These are the same words that would get him into hot water in John 8, but we'll get there in a couple of months.  The point is that Jesus' testimony was blasphemous in their ears.

Why?  He was invoking the divine name.  He took them back to Exodus 3:14.  This was inconceivable to them and it gave them ample reason to have Him killed.  To equate oneself with God was certainly blasphemous.  Of course, there is an exception if you actually are God.

You may have noticed that I do not necessarily provide a rich exegetical insight daily.  I didn't think that I would for a couple of reasons.  One is that I am hardly an expert at Greek, though I am getting better.  The other is that the English translations do a very good job and there is not a lot to add in most cases.  However, even this relatively short study over seven weeks or so has shown me time and time again that Jesus indeed claimed to be God.  This is not something that we need to infer.  It is right there in the simple statement Ἐγώ εἰμ.

Keep in mind that there are other words and expressions He could have used.  I have to think that there was purpose to every word recorded in Scripture.  I don't think that the repetition of this phrase was a coincidence.

True Evangelism

Mark 5:18-19
(18)  As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
(19)  And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

(18)  καὶ ἐμβαίνοντος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ πλοῖον παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ὁ δαιμονισθεὶς ἵνα μετ' αὐτοῦ ᾖ. 

(19)  καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκεν αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ λέγει αὐτῷ, Ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου πρὸς τοὺς σούς, καὶ ἀπάγγειλον αὐτοῖς ὅσα ὁ κύριός σοι πεποίηκεν καὶ ἠλέησέν σε.

This is an extremely convicting passage for me.  The demoniac rightly wanted to follow Jesus.  Jesus had just set him free from unspeakable terrors.  I think back to my bondage to pornography as well as to gluttony and laziness, but neither really holds a candle to this.  This man was living in tombs and was clearly out of his mind.  In our society he would be continually jacked up with thorazine and kept in a locked facility.  Jesus set him free from all that.

His reaction was pretty sensible.  Jesus gave him everything, so he was ready to give everything to Jesus.  I can guess that Jesus appreciated the offer, but he commanded something much more useful.  He told the man to go and tell his family all that the Lord had done for him.  The word σοι is in the dative, so you could read it very woodenly as "to you."  

Why does this convict me?  The prospect of telling others (such as you, dear reader) about my past is easier than telling my family.  My immediate family knows my story of course.  However, it is discouraging to see so little immediate fruit from it.  I haven't seen my story lead to any lives that are obviously sold-out for following Jesus.

I guess I shouldn't be too convicted because I have obeyed this verse.  I just have a sense that there is more for me to do.  Maybe I should do more with my coworkers.  Maybe I should actually make some non-Christian friends and tell them about what the Lord has done to me, though I've done that a little bit too.  

I realize that it is my job to sow and God's job to create a harvest.  Yet I still read this passage wondering what else I need to do.  Am I bold enough?  Am I faithful enough?  What if anything needs to change?