Biblical prophecy can be like looking at a range of mountains. Individual peaks rise up, and appear to stand right next to each other. However, in reality, there is a valley between them.
When the Jews read the Scripture, they saw prophecy concerning God’s Promised One. They saw the Promised One on the throne of Israel, ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity.
So, maybe, it’s not so strange for one woman, who believed that Jesus was God’s Promised One, and therefore, that the golden age was coming very soon, to ask Jesus to give her sons high positions in his kingdom.
She, like many of the Jews, saw the Reigning King mountain peak, but missed the Suffering Servant mountain peak. So, Jesus had an opportunity to teach two lessons.
First, in God’s kingdom, love rules. So, those, in the highest position, give the most. They are servants. Service is not just physical labor. Generosity is also service. Teaching, and encouragement, to enable people to live improved, more optimal lives, is also service. But, in all cases, a servant gives himself, and his resources, to meet needs, and to make someone else’s life better.
And that leads to the second lesson. God is a servant. And God’s Promised One is a servant. God’s Promised One in one particular way – by giving his life to ransom the world. To pay the price, so that each, and every person, living in the past, present, and future, can be delivered from sin, the devil, and the world, and brought into God’s family, and kingdom.
Not everyone will choose to receive this gift. But there is a gift for everyone, bought, and paid for.
No comments:
Post a Comment