2 Kings 2:11-18

Transfiguration Sermon Exegesis

2 KINGS 2:11

וַיְהִי הֵמָּה הֹלְכִים הָלוֹךְ וְדַבֵּר וְהִנֵּה רֶכֶב־אֵשׁ וְסוּסֵי אֵשׁ וַיַּפְרִדוּ בֵּין שְׁנֵיהֶם וַיַּעַל אֵלִיָּהוּ בַּסְעָרָה הַשָּׁמָיִם׃

As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared chariots of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

The סְעָרָה "whirlwind" that took Elijah to heaven is the same word used for the storm from which God speaks in Job 40:6. Ezekiel also saw a סְעָרָה "windstorm" at the beginning of his prophecy (Ezek. 1:4), and the frightening storms of the Mediterranean (and the Red Sea?) are described this way as well (Psalm 107:25; 148:8).

רֶכֶב is a collective term, "chariotry, chariots." The chariots, usually depicted as a vehicle for Elijah, simply separated Elijah from Elisha. The mistake of assuming that the chariot was Elijah's vehicle goes back at least as far as the apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus: "You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire" (Ecclus. 48:9). When God's holiness approaches mankind, he protects people by setting limits (Exodus 19:12; 30:20) or by sending his angels (Genesis 3:24) or by other means. The chariot and horses of fire appear to have served this purpose to protect Elisha from what was happening to his master.

Was Elijah dead after this? The answer is that, like Enoch before him (Genesis 5:24; Hebrew 11:5), Elijah was translated alive into heaven. The common term in the Bible and apocrypha is simply "taken up." "Enoch pleased the Lord, and was taken up; he was an example of repentance to all generations" (μετετέθη, Sirach 44:16); "No one like Enoch has been created on earth, for he was taken up from the earth" (ἀνελήμφθη, Sirach 49:14); "Elijah because of great zeal for the law was taken up into heaven" (ἀνελήμφθη, 1 Maccabees 2:58).

Elijah's body was no longer his sinful body; it would certainly have been transformed into the holy, sinless body we will all have at the resurrection. The only difference between Elijah assumption into heaven and our own on the Last Day is that his happened at the end of his life without the intervening rest stop of death. His soul was never separated from his body, and this is to God's glory, that we are shown in Elijah's translation the state that we will have in eternity with God.

2 KINGS 2:12a

וֶאֱלִישָׁע רֹאֶה וְהוּא מְצַעֵק אָבִי אָבִי רֶכֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל וּפָרָשָׁ֔יו

Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!"

Elisha's cry was famously quoted by Philip Melanchthon when he learned of Luther's death in 1546. וְהוּא מְצַעֵק "and he (himself) cried out" is noted as a hapax phrase in the Bible. The loss of Elijah was painful for Elisha, but of course Elijah was entering into eternal glory.

The accentuation of וּפָ֣רָשָׁ֔יו seems strange but is the result of rigidly followed rules of accentuation. The zaqef ends the clause, and although the munach isn't essential it appears to be standard with a zaqef qaton (Price p. 33) here is serves the purpose of metheg marking a secondary stress in the word. It is referred to as "munach-metheg" in this position (Price p. 125-126) and is often found with zaqef serving in this way (cf וַיֹּאמְרוּ in 2:15).

2 KINGS 2:12b

וְלֹא רָאָהוּ עוֹד וַיַּחֲזֵק בִּבְגָדָיו וַיִּקְרָעֵם לִשְׁנַיִם קְרָעִים׃

And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Rending one's clothes was a common way of showing grief; normally this was a "partial" tear, but Elisha actually tore is robe in half (לִשְׁנַיִם). The action is followed immediately by Elisha picking up Elijah's robe: Elisha showed that he was leaving his old role behind and taking up this new one as the Lord's prophet.

2 KINGS 2:13

וַיָּרֶם אֶת־אַדֶּרֶת אֵלִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר נָפְלָה מֵעָלָיו וַיָּשָׁב וַיַּעֲמֹד עַל־שְׂפַת הַיַּרְדֵּן׃

He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

Elijah had used his אַדֶּרֶת "cloak" to divide the water of the Jordan when the two men crossed (2:7-8). The significance of Elijah's אַדֶּרֶת was not the passing of God's grace from one man to the next. Elijah left this up to God by saying that Elisha would inherit "a double portion" of his master's spirit (a common way of talking about an heir, cf. Deut. 21:7) only if Elisha saw him when God took him away (2:10). The אַדֶּרֶת must have fallen from Elijah as he ascended; he would have no need of it in heaven.

2 KINGS 2:14a

וַיִּקַּח אֶת־אַדֶּרֶת אֵלִיָּהוּ אֲשֶׁר־נָפְלָה מֵעָלָיו וַיַּכֶּה אֶת־הַמַּיִם וַיֹּאמַר אַיֵּה יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֵלִיָּ֑הוּ

He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?"

The words are a very tightly crafted poem: ahyah yahweh, elohai eliyahu? When Elisha struck the water, he was showing his faith in the words of Elijah and in the response God would give.

Since the phrase "he struck the waters" is repeated in the second half of the verse, should we understand that the river did not part the first time? Is that what brought on the question from Elisha? But he struck the water (again) in 14b and the river parted once again. The idea that the river didn't part the first time is the cause of the LXX reading καὶ οὐ διέστη "but it did not part."

The word וַיֹּאמַר has the Mp note "Occurs 91 times." The reference counts the number of times this word is accented on the ultima rather than the penult.

2 KINGS 2:14b

אַף־הוּא וַיַּכֶּה אֶת־הַמַּיִם וַיֵּחָצוּ הֵנָּה וָהֵנָּה וַיַּעֲבֹר אֱלִישָׁע׃

And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

The Lord permitted Elisha to perform this miracle: In all, there will be twelve specific miracles performed by Elisha during his ministry as prophet and a thirteenth involving his bones. The Shunamite woman given a son (4:8-17) is a prophecy on Elisha's part; not strictly a miracle he performed.

1. Dividing the water of the Jordan (2:14)
2. Healing the water (2:19-22)
3. The bears punish the student prophets (2:24)
4. Ditches to deliver Israel from Moab (3:1-27)
5. The widow's oil (4:1-7)
6. The Shunamite woman's son raised from the dead (4:18-37)
7. Death in the pot (4:36-41)
8. The feeding of a hundred (4:42-44)
9. Naaman cured of leprosy (5:1-19)
10. Gehazi given leprosy (5:20-27)
11. An axe head floats (6:1-7)
12. Arameans are blinded (6:8-23)
13. An Israelite raised to life (13:20-21)

2 KINGS 2:15a (This verse begins a new seder reading in the Hebrew text).

וַיִּרְאֻהוּ בְנֵי־הַנְּבִיאִים אֲשֶׁר־בִּירִיחוֹ מִנֶּגֶד וַיֹּאמְרוּ נָחָה רוּחַ אֵלִיָּהוּ עַל־אֱלִישָׁע

Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha."

The miracle of dividing the water of the Jordan had many witnesses; the student prophets saw and confessed their faith. The term מִנֶּגֶד "from before him / opposite him" indicates that they were there to see what happened, just across the river. Raabe's analysis: "The complex peroposition min + neged functions as an adverbial. It indicates a position 'in front, opposite, within the field of vision": A faces B and can observe B" (Obadiah, p. 172).

2 KINGS 2:15b

וַיָּבֹאוּ לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ־לוֹ אָרְצָה׃

And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ eshtafal (hishtafel) חוה wc imperfect 3 plural "bow down." Older lexicons offer shachah as a root.

2 KINGS 2:16a

וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו הִנֵּה־נָא יֵשׁ־אֶת־עֲבָדֶיךָ חֲמִשִּׁים אֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי־חַיִל יֵלְכוּ נָא֮ וִיבַקְשׁוּ אֶת־אֲדֹנֶיךָ֒

They said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master;

The accent pattern at the end of the verse is zarqa+segolta (these two always occur together for musical reasons), where the segolta has the same disjunctive force as a zaqef. The number fifty reminds us that a large crowd of witnesses saw what just happened.

2 KINGS 2:16b

פֶּן־נְשָׂאוֹ רוּחַ יְהוָה וַיַּשְׁלִכֵהוּ בְּאַחַד הֶהָרִים אוֹ בְּאַחַת הַגֵּיאָ֯וֹת וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא תִשְׁלָחוּ׃

...perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "Do not send."

Note the qere for הַגֵּיאָ֯וֹת. The Mm note that follows the qere tells us that this is one of three times that this word is written plene (2 Kg. 2:16; Ezek. 6:3 and 35:8).

The search for Elijah's body was not just symbolic. They wanted to discover whether he was dead, so that they could bury him. Elijah had told Elisha that he was going to be taken away, but the other prophets had not been privy to that conversation.

2 KINGS 2:17

וַיִּפְצְרוּ־בוֹ עַד־בֹּשׁ וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁלָחוּ וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ חֲמִשִּׁים אִישׁ וַיְבַקְשׁוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה־יָמִים וְלֹא מְצָאֻה׃

But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, "Send." So they sent fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him.

There is "a time to search and a time to give up" (Ecclesiastes 3:6), and not finding Elijah's body they arrived at the conclusion that he was in heaven, just as Enoch had been taken away.

Perhaps the timing of the taking of Enoch and Elijah preaches a message as well. Enoch's assumption took place shortly after the death of Adam. Since Adam had personally been the recipient of God's curse, Enoch's translation to heaven was a physical reminder to the people of that time that there was also a promise of salvation and not just the curse of death for mankind. When Elijah was translated, Israel was divided and both northern and southern kingdoms were going to be carried away into exile. Elijah's translation was yet another reminder to the people that for those who believe God and trust his promises, there is the forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

2 KINGS 2:18

וַיָּשֻׁבוּ אֵלָיו וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בִּירִיחוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם הֲלֹא־אָמַרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם אַל־תֵּלֵכוּ׃

They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go '?"

Elisha's rebuke is not severe; he had faith, and it was time to teach these other men about faith, too. Here the prohibition is changed to אַל with the jussive indicating dissuasion.

THIS ACCOUNT FOR TRANSFIGURATION:

At Transfiguration, we meditate on the Glory of God, shown in this text by Elijah's departure, the fiery chariots and horses, and also by the miraculous division of the Jordan. By moving the pericope from the usual 2:1-12 to these verse which dwell on the aftermath of Elijah's translation, we are reminded that Jesus and his apostles came down the mountain again after the glorious transfiguration to proclaim that glory to the world. As with Elisha, so with the disciples, and so with us.

THE GLORY OF A GODLY LIFE (Sermon Studies B outline)

1. Glorious when it is spent serving the Lord

2. Glorious when it departs to eternal life

Job 2:1-8

 וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וַיָּבֹאוּ בְּנֵי הָאֱלֹהִים לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל יְהוָה וַיָּבוֹא גַם הַשָּׂטָן בְּתֹכָם לְהִתְיַצֵּב עַל יְהוָה

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן אֵי מִזֶּה תָּבֹא וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר מִשֻּׁט בָּאָרֶץ וּמֵהִתְהַלֵּךְ בָּהּ

2 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

Once again we see the angels arranging themselves before God, and now the changes in the scene are so subtle that it's almost impossible to show them in the translation. One thing you might see by comparing chapter 1 with this scene is that here, Satan also "presents himself" before the Lord, something he did not do before. What was his motive? We would never call it obedience or submission, and it certainly wasn't worship. So we're left with the possibility, maybe the probability, that it was done in mockery. The Lord doesn't mention it, though. What God does say here is, "Where have you come from?" The sentence is just a little different from the one in Job 1:7. There God said: meʼáyin taboʼ? (From where have you come?). Here God says: ʼey mizéh taboʼ? (From what spot have you come from?). Satan, however, doesn't really answer this question any more than he answered the first one. Here, the question is directed at Job's location: Weren't you just with Job in that spot?

JOB 2:3

  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הֲשַׂמְתָּ לִבְּךָ אֶל עַבְדִּי אִיּוֹב כִּי אֵין כָּמֹהוּ בָּאָרֶץ אִישׁ תָּם וְיָשָׁר יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים וְסָר מֵרָע וְעֹדֶנּוּ מַחֲזִיק בְּתֻמָּתוֹ וַתְּסִיתֵנִי בוֹ לְבַלְּעוֹ חִנָּם

3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

God keeps up the questions about Job. The devil lost his attempt to incite Job to curse God; God praised Job; God triumphs over the devil whenever this happens, as Jesus did in the ultimate triumphal procession when he descended into hell to proclaim his victory on Easter Sunday (1 Peter 3:19). The devil had predicted that Job would rebel, but we are not all like you, Satan. Job kept his faith.God also shows that despite the devil's actions and intention, it was God himself who afflicted Job, since it was done with God's permission and God used it for his own purpose.

JOB 2:4-6

וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר עוֹר בְּעַד עוֹר וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לָאִישׁ יִתֵּן בְּעַד נַפְשׁוֹ

אוּלָם שְׁלַח נָא יָדְךָ וְגַע אֶל עַצְמוֹ וְאֶל בְּשָׂרוֹ אִם לֹא אֶל פָּנֶיךָ יְבָרְכֶךָּ

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הִנּוֹ בְיָדֶךָ אַךְ אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ שְׁמֹר

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 6 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

What does Satan know about skin? Everything he knows, he has learned from watching mankind. This knowledge has hinted to him that if Job feared for his life, he would turn on God. Remember that Job never learns about this conversation; it takes place behind the scenes. But God is confident about his servant. He only puts this caution on the devil: He can threaten Job's life, so that Job will think he is about to die, but he cannot actually kill him. God sets limits on all things, the way he himself tells us he has set limits on the sea, saying "This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt!" (Job 38:11).

JOB 2:7

וַיֵּצֵא הַשָּׂטָן מֵאֵת פְּנֵי יְהוָה וַיַּךְ אֶת אִיּוֹב בִּשְׁחִין רָע מִכַּף רַגְלוֹ עד קָדְקֳדוֹ

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The second-to-last word should be read as וְעַד.

Satan sent Job a disease, "bad boils," that is not possible to diagnose from the symptoms in the book, although we have quite a bit of information. Most physicians are agreed that Job could have been suffering from more than one malady. His symptoms included:

1. Bad boils (2:7).

2. Disfiguration (2:12). His friends could hardly recognize him.

3. Oozing sores that scab over (7:5).

4. Sores infected with worms (7:5).

5. Red and swollen eyes form weeping (16:16).

6. Chills (or trembling) and fever (21:6; 30:30).

7. Darkening and peeling skin (30:30). This is associated with the fever.

8. Sleeplessness (7:4)

9. Delirium and terrible nightmares (7:13-14).

10. Diarrhea (probably what is meant by never stopping "churning inside me" (30:27).

11. Perhaps choking (7:15), but this might be disputed.

12. Bad breath (19:17), perhaps one of Job's most famous symptoms.

13. He was emaciated ("nothing but skin and bones," 19:20).

14. He suffered from excruciating pain in his bones (30:17).

JOB 2:8

 וַיִּקַּח לוֹ חֶרֶשׂ לְהִתְגָּרֵד בּוֹ וְהוּא יֹשֵׁב בְּתוֹךְ הָאֵפֶר

8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. (NIV)

Anyone who has had an extremely bad rash knows that scratching open the boils (not recommended by doctors) can give a small amount of relief from their terrible itching. Something else we see here is that Job was not sitting in a city gate as he once had done (29:7). He had rescued people when they needed help (29:12), and now he was sitting in ashes; the owner of nothing at all; he could not even (as Thomas Aquinas said) "afford suitable cures for himself." The only thing Job had left was his marriage. And the devil was about to attack that, too.

Job 1:18-22

זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר בָּנֶיךָ וּבְנוֹתֶיךָ אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים יַיִן בְּבֵית אֲחִיהֶם הַבְּכוֹר

 וְהִנֵּה רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה בָּאָה מֵעֵבֶר הַמִּדְבָּר וַיִּגַּע בְּאַרְבַּע פִּנּוֹת הַבַּיִת וַיִּפֹּל עַל הַנְּעָרִים וַיָּמוּתוּ וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (TNIV)

Now a final tragedy strikes Job (although as we shall see, even this is not truly the final blow). The truth of the matter is shown in the little detail that it happened at the house of the oldest brother, but whichever house will not matter to Job because of what happened: all of his children died. Before we experience Job's grief, let's just peek at some of the details.

The wind is called רוּחַ גְּדוֹלָה  ruach gedolah, a "mighty wind." The only other time this wind appears in the Bible is in Jonah 1:4, when it is hurled by the Lord into the sea to stop Jonah's running. This wind swept in from the desert, but somehow struck all four corners of the house; this gives the wind the appearance of a cyclone, swirling all around the house and smashing it to bits. Finally, the servant says that he "escaped," literally "but I slipped away--only I."

Job's property was stolen or destroyed, but now Job's future was ripped away from him, too. His children were his legacy, and now there is nothing left. Job's wife was still young enough to bear him more children in the future, but the one thing a parent grieving for a dead child wants to hear is a glib comment about being able to have more.

But Job shows us how a believer reacts to even this kind of tragedy. Job prays.

וַיָּקָם אִיּוֹב וַיִּקְרַע אֶת מְעִלוֹ וַיָּגָז אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ וַיִּפֹּל אַרְצָה וַיִּשְׁתָּחוּ

וַיֹּאמֶר עָרֹם יָצָתִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי וְעָרֹם אָשׁוּב שָׁמָּה יְהוָה נָתַן וַיהוָה לָקָח יְהִי שֵׁם יְהוָה מְבֹרָךְ

 בְּכָל זֹאת לֹא חָטָא אִיּוֹב וְלֹא נָתַן תִּפְלָה לֵאלֹהִים

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (NIV)

Tearing the robe was a common way of showing grief in both the Old and New Testaments. We often overlook that Job also shaved his head. This, too, was a form of showing grief ("Moab wails... every head is shaved," Isaiah 15:2, cp. Jer. 48:38; Ezek. 7:18).

Job admits that he came into the world with nothing, and the same is true for all of us. Paul said, "We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it" (1 Tim. 6:7). Job knew that death is in God's hands. Without knowing the promises of the gospels, Job only knew that death was "the place of no return... the land of gloom and deep shadow" (Job 10:21). Yet he had a vague understanding of a resurrection from the dead, as we will see in chapter 19.

Job also admits that everything he has in this world is a gift from God. "God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing" (Ecclesiastes 6:2). And as we have said, God is also the one who promises life after death: "God... gives life to the dead and call things that are not as though they were" (Romans 4:17).

Finally, Job praises God, and God credits Job's faith as righteousness. Only a believer can praise God when troubles come. An unbeliever might unknowingly or unwittingly use the words in good times, with irony or out of imitation of a believer, but only someone with faith can express this faith in the face of this kind of loss and disaster. Job's prayer isn't ironic or cynical; it is nothing but honest faith expressing itself in love. Job praised God, not for the death of his children, but for the gift God had given to him in those children.

Whenever any of us loses a loved one, we must remember that she (please let me think here of my own mom) was a blessing, and that God let us be blessings to her while she was with us. We will miss that person, but God used us to help them through troubles just as he gives us friends and family to help us through our own. Praise him for those blessings! The Lord gave, and the Lord took away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Luther:

We have an example in saintly Job after all his cattle and also his sons had been slain and he had been stripped of all his property. Then he said (cf. 1:21): “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. As it pleased Him, so it has happened. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And when his wife came, mocked and reviled him, and said: “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God, and die,” he replied (2:10): “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Therefore He did as it pleased Him.” Job says: “God gave it, and God took it away.” He did not say: “God gave it, and the devil took it away,” even though the devil had taken it away. Now this man sanctified the Lord in the right way. Therefore he was also praised and lauded so highly by God. (LW 30:104)

Job 1:16-17

עוֹד זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר אֵשׁ אֱלֹהִים נָפְלָה מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם וַתִּבְעַר בַּצֹּאן וּבַנְּעָרִים וַתֹּאכְלֵם וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

In this second tragedy, all of Job's seven thousand sheep are killed by "the fire of God." This could be a reference to lightning (as in 1 Kings 18:38), or to a storm of burning sulfur from a volcanic fissure such as that which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. This kind of an event is also used in the Bible as an example of the judgment of the Last Day (Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 30:33 and 34:9; Ezekiel 38:22 against Gog; several times in Revelation, and even once later in Job 18:15). Because of the early date of Job, some might see a possibility that if Job's sheep were grazing close to the shore of the Dead Sea, they might actually have been destroyed in the very same lava-storm that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah just after sunrise one day, along with the towns and vegetation of the area (Genesis 19:23-25). However, we can only leave that as a possibility, and not a certainty.

עוֹד זֶה מְדַבֵּר וְזֶה בָּא וַיֹּאמַר כַּשְׂדִּים שָׂמוּ שְׁלֹשָׁה רָאשִׁים וַיִּפְשְׁטוּ עַל הַגְּמַלִּים וַיִּקָּחוּם וְאֶת הַנְּעָרִים הִכּוּ לְפִי חָרֶב וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (NIV)

In this third tragedy, a Chaldean raid is described. Ur, a city in Chaldea, had been the birthplace of Abram. At this time, the Chaldeans occupied cities along the banks of the Tigris River, the eastern edge of modern Iraq. The three raiding parties are similar to the tactics of Gideon (Judges 7:16). The purpose for the three groups was perhaps (a) one group to create a diversion to draw away the servants, (b) one group to drive the camels in a certain direction, and (c) a final group to surprise and kill the servants. Later the Chaldeans would become renowned as magicians; their name is the word used for "wise men" or "magi" in other parts of the Bible, but here, the only place when the "wise men" even are mentioned with camels, they are mere thieves and bandits.

Were these raids by the Sabeans and the Chaldeans nothing but singular events, stirred up by Satan to persecute Job, or did the devil use some bigger events to stir up the pot all around the countryside? It is possible, perhaps even probable, that the raids that are going on in this chapter are part of a larger world scene at this time; that the lawless destruction going on was caused by fear of such "fire from God" that we see here and in Genesis 19. Canaan looked inviting, "well-watered, like the garden of the Lord" (Genesis 13:10), but if such firestorms made agriculture a gamble at best, then the emerging bands of thieves would be something we would expect to find.

These are not the last of Job's troubles, but his losses are starting pile up. So far, of the possessions he had, this is what has taken place:

7,000 sheep          -    destroyed by fire
3,000 camels         -   stolen by Chaldeans
500 yoke of oxen  -   stolen by Sabeans
500 donkeys         -   stolen by Sabeans

In addition, all of the servants that were guarding and keeping his herds and flocks were killed; so far, only three have survived to tell the tale.

Paul says, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:8-9). But all of these things come only with God's permission. The devil cannot strike any one of us if God does not permit it. When we have troubles, as Christians we can see them as tests or challenges, and we have to recognize that God works out everything for the good of those who love him, and sometimes my head cold might simply put me into a place where I can be of service to somebody else in need.

Job 1:13-15

וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וּבָנָיו וּבְנֹתָיו אֹכְלִים וְשֹׁתִים יַיִן בְּבֵית אֲחִיהֶם הַבְּכוֹר

וּמַלְאָךְ בָּא אֶל אִיּוֹב וַיֹּאמַר הַבָּקָר הָיוּ חֹרְשׁוֹת וְהָאֲתֹנוֹת רֹעוֹת עַל יְדֵיהֶם

וַתִּפֹּל שְׁבָא וַתִּקָּחֵם וְאֶת הַנְּעָרִים הִכּוּ לְפִי חָרֶב וָאִמָּלְטָה רַק אֲנִי לְבַדִּי לְהַגִּיד לָךְ

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” (NIV)

Verse 13 foreshadows something that is still on the way. Ominously, we are told that just as the devil begins to strike at Job's world, all of Job's children are together at one of their regular events.We don't need to be told what Job was doing; we already know. When his children got together, he didn't know whether any of them sinned, but he always made a burnt offering on their behalf. We can all but smell the roasting meat with Job as the hurried footsteps of a running servant approach. The Sabeans attacked! The oxen and the donkeys are all gone! The servants are all killed!

It seems best to equate these Sabeans with the nation we will later call Sheba when their queen goes to visit Solomon and is left breathless. Sheba was located in the southern tip of what we call the Arabian peninsula. The modern nation there is Yemen. It's probable that the Sabeans did not come all the way from the far south to Job, but from the north of Saudi Arabia. Later on they are associated with Tema, an oasis not far from the modern Muslim city of Medina. There is even a river bed there called the Wadi eš-Šaba (Sabean Creek) close to Medina. Later in Job the Sabeans are described as "traveling merchants" (Job 6:19); Isaiah 45:14 calls them "those tall Sabeans," and we recall that several African tribes were known for remarkable height, such as the Watusi and the nearby Meroë of Nubia.

Job's world was beginning to be struck by Satan. The blows would continue. The attacks would grow worse.

When God permits us to be tested, how will we react? Will we become angry? Depressed? Will we turn to him for help and support? The Sabean raid cost Job a huge percentage of his possessions and about a third of his servants were murdered. How will he react?

Lord God, help us to look to you for help in the cold, whether we have colds or whether we are cold, Never let our love run cold. Amen.

Luther:

When God gives us a purse full of money, a field full of grain, and a cellar full of wine, and when He lets us be without cross and temptation and enjoy ourselves, then we have a good time and come to think that everything is rosy and that we are sitting in God’s lap. But when God conceals and hides himself and lets the devil do with us what he pleases, then there is trouble and sorrow, yes, there is death itself. From the example of Job one can understand to some extent what it is to be forsaken of God.

Job 1:9-12

 וַיַּעַן הַשָּׂטָן אֶת יְהוָה וַיֹּאמַר  הַחִנָּם יָרֵא אִיּוֹב אֱלֹהִים

הֲלֹא את שַׂכְתָּ בַעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ וּבְעַד כָּל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ מִסָּבִיב מַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו בֵּרַכְתָּ וּמִקְנֵהוּ פָּרַץ בָּאָרֶץ

וְאוּלָם שְׁלַח נָא יָדְךָ וְגַע בְּכָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ אִם לֹא עַל פָּנֶיךָ יְבָרְכֶךָּ

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל הַשָּׂטָן הִנֵּה כָל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ בְּיָדֶךָ רַק אֵלָיו אַל תִּשְׁלַח יָדֶךָ

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” 12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

The devil didn't think Job would stay so squeaky clean if God let him remove his wealth and his household. But Satan didn't strike Job without God's permission. This was to be a test, not merely a temptation. God never tests us or permits us to be tested more than we are able to withstand (1 Corinthians 10:13). There is always a way through the pain. So to Satan, God said: "This far, and no farther." The devil could strike Job's livelihood, but not Job himself.

וַיֵּצֵא הַשָּׂטָן מֵעִם פְּנֵי יְהוָה

Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (NIV)

Are you safe from the devil?

While the world spins in space, Satan slithers in and out of our lives. He comes to us in enticing temptations, he creeps up in cravings and curiosity, he hunkers down behind bad habits – he comes in words, he comes in thoughts, he comes in images, he comes in memories of past sins and temptations – he comes. He comes. He comes again.

Has he come to you in a poor role model? Has he come in the desire for a late model sports car? Has he come in the desire for a supermodel? Has he come in the lust for power? Has he come in the lateness of the hour? Has he come in the despair of the emptiness, loneliness, or pennilessness that causes some to turn their backs on God and say "I will have to take care of myself"?

In the Book of Job, Satan must come before God to admit what he has been doing, and he confesses, "I have been roaming through the earth." There is no place locked so securely that the devil cannot find us.

But for all the devil's careful, crafty art in tempting us, we have an answer — Jesus.

Jesus broke the devil's power when he let himself be put to death, because Jesus carried the sentence of every human being with him to the cross. When Jesus died, our sins, our guilt and our sentence died with him. Now Jesus has risen from the dead – but our sins, our guilt and our shame can never rise from the dead. They are gone forever. God has forgiven us and given us proof through Jesus' resurrection. Jesus lives! And so shall we!

Lord Jesus Christ, my God and my Lord. I have sinned against you. I have been caught by my old enemy the devil and I have let him turn me away from you. Forgive my sins. Bring me into your Word, that teaches me that everything you did for me, you did because you love me. You did it all.

Luther on these verses:

From the example of Job one can understand to some extent what it is to be forsaken of God. Job is straight and upright; he fears God and avoids evil, and there is no one like him in the land, as God the Lord Himself testifies about him. But Satan comes among the sons of God as they come before the Lord and says to the Lord (Job 1:9–12): “‘Does Job fear God for nought? Hast Thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself do not put forth your hand.’” Then the devil himself confesses that he cannot come to Job nor touch his property unless God permits it. For God has put a guard of His holy angels around Job, who guard and protect him and his property, as it is written in Psalm 34:7: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.”

Satan appears again among the sons of God before the Lord and says (Job 2:4): “‘Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. But put forth Thy hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.’ And the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, he is in your power; only spare his life.’” Then the forsaking gradually proceeds. At first God is near, and the devil cannot come close to Job. Then God goes away and leaves room for the devil to touch his property and his body. And Satan does not spare Job but takes his property and kills his children. He also attacks his body, striking him with boils from the soles of his feet to his scalp. Yet Job is not completely forsaken, his soul and life are still preserved and sure under the protection of God and His holy angels, and he still has comfort in his heart. LW 12:126

John 1:29-42

Sermon Study for January 23rd, 2011.

JOHN 1:29

29 Τῇ ἐπαύριον βλέπει τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐρχόμενον πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ λέγει, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

With the words Τῇ ἐπαύριον "the next day" John first introduces the topic of a week's chronology. Similar references are peppered throughout the rest of this chapter up to the first verse of chapter two. These things are given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and when we take them at face value we arrive at this chronology of this first week of our Lord's ministry among us. Like the final week of his ministry, there is a "silent day" about which we are told nothing.

■ Day 1 (John 1:19-28) — John is questioned by the Pharisees. He denies being the Christ.
■ Day 2 (John 1:29-34) — John proclaims Jesus as the Lamb of God.
■ Day 3 (John 1:35-42) — Andrew (and John?) are sent by John to Jesus, and Peter (and James?) join them.
■ Day 4 (John 1:43-51) — Jesus leaves for Cana and calls Philip and Nathanael.
■ Day 5 (John 2:1) — Not described; passed over for "the third day" after day 4.
■ Day 6 (John 2:1-11) — Jesus attends a wedding at Cana and performs his first miracle (the wedding may well have taken more than one day; Jesus uses the image of a wedding banquet several times in his ministry).

A question that needs to be answered about this week is, was Jesus baptized at this time (perhaps during "Day 2"?), or had this taken place already? John the Apostle does not actually describe Jesus' baptism; it may well have taken place before this. In fact, since Mark tells us that Jesus was driven into the wilderness "at once" (Mark 1:12) after his baptism, it seems likely that Jesus had been baptized a little more than forty days before this week. Perhaps this week in John's Gospel marks Jesus' return from his 40-day temptation in the wilderness by Satan (Mark 1:13).

JOHN 1:30-31

30 οὗτός ἐστιν ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐγὼ εἶπον, Ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται ἀνὴρ ὃς ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν. 31 κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ἵνα φανερωθῇ τῷ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον ἐγὼ ἐν ὕδατι βαπτίζων.

30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

John explains now that even he didn't know who the Christ would be, but the purpose of his baptism was that the Christ would be revealed to Israel. The other Gospels tell us that when John had baptized Jesus, something remarkable took place.

This kind of a riddle is called a mashal. It seems to have either a double meaning or a hidden meaning. You could call it a riddle or an enigma. Typically, a mashal's meaning eludes its hearers the first time they come into contact with it. Although John the Baptist uses a mashal, and the Apostles are not opposed to using them in the Epistles of the New Testament, Jesus himself preferred another more illustrative and expansive saying: the parable.

In this mashal, it might be easy for us to see the meaning, since we've been led by John the author up to this point.

Ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεται ἀνὴρ "A man who comes after me" (that is, after John the Baptist) is Jesus, and this makes complete and perfect sense when we remember that John was Jesus' forerunner, just as Malachi had foretold (Malachi 4:5-6).

ὃς ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, "...has surpassed me," From our perspective, this would almost be giving it away: Who else could surpass one of God's prophets but God himself? However, in the culture of the first century AD, the prophets' glory and respect for them grows the further back in time we go. In other words, Malachi was greater than John because Malachi lived 400 years before John. And Isaiah was greater than Malachi because he lived about 400 years before Malachi. And David was greater than Isaiah because he lived about 400 years before Isaiah. And Moses was greater than David because he lived about 400 years before David. And Abraham was greater than Moses because he lived about 400 years before Moses. Don't get caught up in my ball-park "400 year" tallies--the point is that the longer ago the man lived, the greater he would be considered to be. And yet, John says, the one who was coming after him had surpassed him.

ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν "because he was before me." The "before" here is πρῶτoς (protos), "before" in the sense of chronology. If John had meant that Jesus was "before" him meaning "standing right in front of," he would have said pros rather than protos. Jesus is before all of us in time, because he is our Maker. He is God.

John used this enigma to carry out his task as the messenger of God, the prophet who foretold Jesus, and yet without saying anything that would in any way limit or constrain Jesus. John's task was to point to Jesus, not to tell Jesus what to do. In view of the Apostles' confused ideas of who and what Jesus was even at the end of his ministry ("Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" Acts 1:6), and in view of John's own confusion (Matthew 11:2-3), it was better that he just carried out his task faithfully. he pointed to Jesus.

Our witness to Jesus begins there, pointing him out. This is our Savior, who came to take away our sins. And in him, we have freedom from death and hell and from the devil himself. And so we ask God to help us in our other freedom: The freedom to resist temptation; to say no to sin, through Jesus. His blood bought us, and we look to him for our strength and for healing.

The baptism took place in the water of the Jordan River (this seems to have been late summer or early autumn of 26 AD, when Jesus was 30 years old). As Jesus was wading out of the water (Matthew 3:16) and looking up to heaven saying a prayer (Luke 3:21), heaven opened and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove flew down and landed on him, and God the Father said, "You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). This sign, all three Persons of the Trinity together at once and the voice of the Father speaking, was an epiphany showing John and everyone else present that Jesus is truly the Son of God.

A little over three years after this incredible week, at the end of another incredible week, this Lamb of God would indeed take away the sin of the world.

JOHN 1:32-34

32 Καὶ ἐμαρτύρησεν Ἰωάννης λέγων ὅτι Τεθέαμαι τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡς περιστερὰν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐπ' αὐτόν: 33 κἀγὼ οὐκ ᾔδειν αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι ἐκεῖνός μοι εἶπεν, Ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. 34 κἀγὼ ἑώρακα, καὶ μεμαρτύρηκα ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.

32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." (NIV)

Τεθέαμαι, perfect middle indicative 1 sg θεάoμαι "See, notice" almost with a sense of "with my own eyes--this was no vision or dream." We get our word theater from this root word, a place were we see a play or vision or speaker without needing it to be described by someone else.

καταβαῖνον pr m ptc, the participle relates an action John witnessed, and the aorist ἔμεινεν "remaining, lighting, landing" depicts an action John relates as a simple fact. The Spirit (as a περιστερὰν, a dove) actually landed on the Lord.

κἀγὼ in verse 33 is a negative, "But I..." leading into οὐκ ᾔδειν, "had not known him" (pluperfect indicative, 1 sg oἶδα, know, understand a report). This is one of the best examples of the definition of a pluperfect in Scripture because it is so clear that John means that before this he didn't understand something, but now he does.

John was a witness to the entire Trinity, visible and present at the baptism of Jesus. He knew that this was yet another proof that Jesus is the Son of God. Martin Luther used this testimony from John to warn us not to listen to people who scorn baptism:

"One must be on one’s guard against (those) who speak sneeringly of Baptism and [say] that it is mere water and of benefit to no one. They gaze at this sacred act as a cow stares at a new door. For they behold a poor preacher standing there, or, in an emergency, a woman who baptizes. They take offense at this and say: “Well, what can Baptism accomplish?” They also claim that whoever does not believe is not baptized. Thus they slander and blaspheme the most venerable Sacrament, and that merely because they do not see farther than a horse or a cow; they see only the water. The thing they take note of is that the persons, the preacher or the midwives, are lowly people who dip water with their hands and sprinkle it over the infant. A sow or a cow can see that much. They are befuddled. Consequently, they blaspheme about Baptism.

"But it is recorded here that all three persons of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, together with all the elect angels, were present at Christ’s Baptism, although invisibly; and heaven was open for the occasion. In fact, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit still attend our Baptism today. Otherwise few people witnessed Christ’s Baptism, and it passed without any fanfare. John the Baptist’s hand, which performed the Baptism, was there; nevertheless, the heavenly hosts of the angels were also present." (Sermon on John 1:32-34).

Dr. Luther also used the testimony of John to describe the most important teaching of the Bible:

"The first and chief article is this: That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins, and was raised again for our justification (Romans 4:25). And he alone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29); and God has laid on him the iniquities of us all (Isaiah 53:6). Likewise, all have sinned and are justified freely and without their own merits by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, in his blood" (Luther, The Smalcald Articles, Second Part, Art. I,1-3). The Son of God came to save us. That's a message to which we all need to witness.


JOHN 1:35-37

35Τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν εἱστήκει ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο, 36καὶ ἐμβλέψας τῷ Ἰησοῦ περιπατοῦντι λέγει, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. 37καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ δύο μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος καὶ ἠκολούθησαν τῷ Ἰησοῦ.

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. (NIV)

This was now the third day of this first week of Jesus' ministry. Once again, John pointed to Jesus and said, Ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ "Look, the Lamb of God!" John's message did not change. John didn't go on to explain everything about Jesus' coming ministry; he didn't know any more than the Holy Spirit had told him. His task was to point out Jesus.

Now two of John's disciples understood. Their teacher had been John for a short while, but now that the Savior was here, they followed Jesus. One of them was Andrew, the brother of the Apostle Peter.

If we could learn something about the theme of each of the four Gospels by the first words Jesus speaks in them, we ht find that in Matthew there is a tendency to show the fulfillment of Scripture. The first thing Jesus says there is "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15).

We might find that in Mark there is an urgency about the gospel message and a call to repentance. The first thing Jesus says there is "The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15).

We might find that in Luke (written for a man named Theophilus who was undoubtedly looking for answers to questions about Christianity) there is a plain honesty about the message of forgiveness. The first thing Jesus says there is "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

And what do we find in John?

JOHN 1:38a

38 στραφεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτοὺς ἀκολουθοῦντας λέγει αὐτοῖς, Τί ζητεῖτε;

38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?"

More literally Jesus asked, Τί ζητεῖτε; "What are you seeking?" These are Jesus' first words in this Gospel. I think that a study of the first thing Jesus says in each of the Gospels seems to reveal something of the character of that Gospel, but I would not go so far as to say it was the intention of the authors to do so.

Lutheran Pastor Abraham Calov (1612-1686) said, "We are accustomed to seek what we have lost, or what otherwise is beneficial or desirable for us. But what was there more desirable, more longed for during forty centuries past on the part of so many illustrious men, the patriarchs, judges, kings, prophets, and all the saints of the Old Testament, than this Lamb of God, which John's testimony on the heights between the Old and the New Testament declared to be present at last?"

How many people are seeking things they shouldn't? And how many people are not seeking the things they should? We need to understand that Jesus asks this question to us; not just to Andrew and his friend. Jesus didn't ask the question out of a yawning boredom or a gruff indifference to these men. Jesus asked it the way you would ask a new friend about his life. What is it you do? What is it you want? What brought you here? What are you seeking? And Jesus already knew what they were seeking, but more importantly Jesus also knew the answer, the way to get what they were seeking.

And it is Jesus himself who is the answer, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus holds out the whole promise of the gospel in those words, "What are you seeking?" Those words are like the words of a mom smiling over a huge Thanksgiving Day table spilling over with food: "What would you like, my darling?" It's all there for us, offered by our loving God. We don't have to dig to get it; we don't have to lock ourselves away in a cave to realize it. We don't have to starve ourselves to unlock its secrets. "What are you seeking?" It's Jesus himself and his forgiveness, and here he is, offering himself.

Lord, I want to go to heaven. I want my sins to be washed away. I don't want to sin anymore. I want to worship God with a clean heart. I want to be a child of God.

This is what we seek. And he will answer: Come and see.

JOHN 1:38b-41

οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ, Ῥαββί {ὃ λέγεται μεθερμηνευόμενον Διδάσκαλε}, ποῦ μένεις; 39λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἔρχεσθε καὶ ὄψεσθε. ἦλθαν οὖν καὶ εἶδαν ποῦ μένει, καὶ παρ' αὐτῷ ἔμειναν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην: ὥρα ἦν ὡς δεκάτη. 40Ἦν Ἀνδρέας ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σίμωνος Πέτρου εἷς ἐκ τῶν δύο τῶν ἀκουσάντων παρὰ Ἰωάννου καὶ ἀκολουθησάντων αὐτῷ: 41εὑρίσκει οὗτος πρῶτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἴδιον Σίμωνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, Εὑρήκαμεν τὸν Μεσσίαν {ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον Χριστός}:

They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). (NIV)

Later in his ministry, Jesus would call these same men to follow him as his disciples, and still later he would send them out as four of his twelve Apostles. But for this day, just the third day of his ministry, he simply spent the day with them. Andrew and his brother Simon Peter were two of these men. And the other two? One is probably James, and the other we can assume to be the John who wrote this Gospel. His clue to his own eyewitness of the event is the time: the tenth hour (about four in the afternoon). John remembers even the time of day when he met Jesus and Jesus called him.

The Apostle John downplays his own part in his Gospel. Matthew records the day when Jesus called him away from his table as a tax collector (Matthew 9:9-13). Mark may possibly tell us about himself in his unique and certainly humble mention of the young man who fled in the Garden (Mark 14:51-52), and his mother may have owned the house in whose upper room the Last Supper took place (Mark 14:12-26; cp. Acts 12:12). Luke says "we" in his account of the Acts whenever he himself was present (Acts 16:10, etc.). John would rather be vague ("the disciple Jesus loved") than pepper his Gospel with mentions of his own name.

Maybe we can learn something from John. Like the Baptist, John the Apostle wants to point to Jesus. That's what Andrew did, too: "We have found the Messiah!" Of course, the reality is that the Messiah has found us, but we can excuse Andrew's exuberance. How can we help but jump and shout about our Savior? Go find your brother, or your friend, or your mom, or your old friend from High School, and deliver the news: We have found the Messiah! The Messiah has found us! And that means eternal life.

JOHN 1:42

42 ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν, Σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου: σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς [ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος].

42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). (NIV)

The previous section also ended with a ἑρμηνεύεται "being interpreted" statement (vs. 38, "which, when translated, is Teacher").

The Hebrew language has a wonderful way of accommodating its expressions to the limits of the language itself. Hebrew has difficulty being precise in its grammar, and so the people who spoke Hebrew--the writers of the Old Testament--tend to describe a teaching or a fact more than one way, often through parallel statements. Sometimes this can be cumbersome for the reader, but we can appreciate that by talking in a sort of circle all around a subject, the Hebrew authors drew lines around what they meant: "This, but not that."

On the other hand, the Greek of the New Testament is one of the most precise languages in history. To say something in Greek is not like walking around the perimeter of an idea; it's more like shooting an arrow into the exact center of the idea: "This, and only this."

The Greek of verse 42, for example, tells us in clear language that Jesus looked at Andrew's brother Simon on this day and said (let me be clumsy but accurate in translating): Σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου: σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς "Now (at this time) you are Simon. But (in the future) you will be Cephas / Peter." From the beginning, Jesus shows that he is a prophet. Within a few years, the whole church would be calling this man Peter rather than Simon.

The name Κηφᾶς Cephas is Aramaic for the Hebrew word כֵּיפָא Kephaʼ, "stone, rock." Simon and his brother must have wondered what would bring on this new nickname. More than a year later, when asking his disciples about who people thought he was, and who they themselves thought he was, Jesus would receive this answer from Simon: "You are the Christ, the Son of God." Perhaps by then Andrew's brother had forgotten about this prophecy altogether, but Jesus hadn't forgotten. "(Now) You are Peter (Greek masculine Πέτρος petros "rock"), and on this rock (Greek feminine Πέτρα petra, "bedrock") I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it" (Matthew 16:18).

Peter's confession, You are the Christ, is one of the bedrock foundations of the Christian church. Even though Peter himself was not always very solid, the facts of Jesus' perfect life and his atoning sacrifice are all that we need. They are the bedrock we stand on for all eternity. He truly is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.


________________________
 
SPECIFIC SIN / LAW: The world is sinful and needs the Lamb of God
SPECIFIC GOSPEL: Jesus is the Lamb of God whom came to take away the sin of the world.
TELIC NOTE: "What do you want?" (Jesus' first words).
 
 
          Theme: What Do You Want?
          1. Do you want a Saver? (someone to get you out of trouble)
          2. Do you want a Savior? (the one who rescued you from all your sins)
 
          (I'm not happy with this theme and parts -- I'll keep working at it).