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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, February 11, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Chronology of Matthew Bible Verse:Matthew 10:16-20 (ESV) "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. Bloch|Christ in Gethsemane When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake." Message:
As we read along in Matthew, we notice that some passages appear out of place, because they do not make sense chronologically. One notable example is that Matthew gives a long account of the Sermon on the Mount; and yet, if the chronology of his gospel is precise, he was not present, for he relates his own calling as an apostle afterward.
Today’s passage gives another type of apparent inconsistency in timing. In verse 5, remember, Jesus told his apostles “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans.” Yet here, suddenly, we find him speaking of things that will not occur (for the most part) until after his Ascension, including bearing witness to the Gentiles.
Besides the inconsistency about preaching to Gentiles, there is a greater anachronism. The missions in Judea that the apostles are about to embark upon will not occasion any great floggings or civil disruption, no people turning family members over to the authorities to be executed. Christ’s words appear to change their time frame in the middle of his speech; but this is an editorial choice made by Matthew.
Jesus teaching
One characteristic of Matthew is that he was a great collector of Jesus’ teachings. Rather than attempting to present them piecemeal, when he reaches a point in the narrative where a theme arises, he will treat a theme with sayings that appear to be taken from other times and places. Matthew is more interested in treating specific themes comprehensively than in getting the timing right.
Mark and Luke, although they are more chronologically accurate, are more apt to present Jesus’ teachings in scattered bits. And both approaches have benefits. If we want to concentrate on the life of Jesus, we might prefer Mark and Luke; if we want to concentrate on His teachings, we might prefer Matthew or John.
Matthew 10 is, then, such an essay or collection of teachings: “advice to disciples” or “converting people to Christianity.” One cannot say with certainty whether Christ, when he gathered the apostles to prepare them for their first mission without him, taught them the entirety of what Matthew relates in Chapter 10. He might have done; or Matthew might have added appropriate teachings that he heard at other times, or that he heard second-hand.
But one can say with certainty that the advice is often more appropriate to later disciples and missionaries than to the apostles at this time. Christ foresees a great and sometimes violent division between those who believe in him and those who oppose him. The violence begins, first, against Christ himself, and then spreads to those who believe in Him after his Ascension, notably with the murder of Stephen. (Acts 6:8 to 8:4.)
agony of Jesus Christ
Agony of Jesus, from
The Passion of the Christ
He is speaking to his apostles; but he is also speaking to history, because many of the problems he addresses will not occur while he is alive. To our knowledge, Christ was the first to die in his own name; so certainly, such predictions as “[b]rother will deliver brother over to death” apply, not to the mission the apostles are about to undertake, but to future disciples, who will come later.
Meditation : Prayer : Now to Him who has given me grace in accordance with His gospel, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for many ages past, but now revealed and made known by the command of the eternal God, so that all mankind might find the obedience that comes from faith; to the only God, the God of wisdom and truth, be glory forever through His only son, Jesus Christ. .....Amen |
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