Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 30, 2003
2 Chron. 36:14-23; Psalm 122; Eph. 2:4-10; John 6:4-15
The lesson from 2 Chronicles signals the need for a deliverer. We read that despite the Lord’s continual calls to Israel to repent and obey the Lord, they not only disregarded such pleas, but also “kept on mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets.” This persisted until “the wrath of the Lord rose against this people, until there was no remedy.” While Cyrus, the king of Persia, was used by God to bring back a remnant to Canaan to rebuild the temple, the people of God longed for a “prophet like you (Moses) from among your brothers” (Deut. 18:15).
The lesson from Ephesians touches on the reason why God, despite his people’s continued rebellion and their desire to live their lives as if he did not exist, did in fact come to deliver them from the mess they so richly deserved. We are told simply that, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4). A similar motive is given for the call of Israel to be God’s people in the first place. We read in Deut. 7:7: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” Those who say the Old Testament reveals a God of wrath, while the New Testament reveals a God of love have not paid attention to the Bible.
Finally, John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000 is given as a “sign.” For John, a sign is an attestation of Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel, the Lamb of God, the Messiah (all used in John to describe Jesus). Moreover, he is “the Prophet who is come into the world.” Aware of the promises given to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15, the people see in Jesus the one God has chosen to fulfill the promises made in the Old Testament. Despite this, the people are still clueless about the nature of his messiahship. They wanted to make him king, and “perceiving this, he withdrew again to the mountain.”
What they could not understand is that Jesus would usher in the kingdom of God through his death on the cross. Not only would he feed the crowds with bread, but more importantly, he himself would offer his own body to the cross, that through his death we might feed upon him who gave himself up for us.
Look It Up
Look up Deuteronomy 18:15. Notice how this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.
Think About It
Do we sufficiently understand the mercy and grace of God, who has offered eternal life to a world of rebels? What should our response be to his love and mercy?
Next Sunday
Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 6, 2003
Jer. 31:31-34; Psalm 51 or 51:11-16; Heb. 5 (1-4) 5-10; John 12:20-33
