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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Treasuring God's Word |
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John
7:46 Eighteenth Sunday after
Trinity October 11, 2009
Somewhere in the Temple an angry group of priests and Pharisees has
gathered. These are not lowly
servants in the Temple; these are the chief priests and Pharisees.
These are men of rank and power whose names are recognized wherever
Jewish people live throughout the Roman Empire, just as the Romans might
know the names of their politicians and generals.
They have gathered because another group of men has come to report
to them. These men are called "officers."
They are actually guards in the Temple, for the temple maintained a
force of soldiers because of the great value of the Temple furnishings and
the vast amount of money that came to it through the Temple tax and
offerings of the thousands of Jews who came to it each month.
The chief priests and Pharisees had called trusted leaders of these
officers together on another day, and had committed a mission to their
charge; capture Jesus (Jn. 7:32). This
Galilean had been a thorn in the side of the Jerusalem elite from the day
of His birth. Herod considered Him such a threat he was willing to kill all
the children in the area, just to make sure he got Jesus. But he didn't get Him. Thirty
years later He is still a problem, teaching people they must love God with
their whole heart instead of simply performing the outward rituals of
their faith. The Temple
liturgies were beautiful and inspiring, but it was easy to be caught up in
the pageantry and beauty, and loose sight of their meaning and purpose.
Jesus called people to remember the meaning. He also said He is
the meaning; not only of the Temple, but also of the Scriptures and of the
entire Hebrew religion. This
was just too much for the Jerusalem elite.
Jesus is always too much for the elite, no matter what their era or
nationality. So they turned
to the tried and trusted way of dealing with dissenters, kill Him.
These officers were sent to capture Him so they could accomplish
His murder.
I wonder how they intended to accomplish this.
Were the officers sent in uniform, with armour and weapons on
display? Or did they go "under cover" in
"plainclothes?" I
personally think it was a covert operation, for the elite feared the
people too much to take Him openly. Besides,
they were cowherds. Whatever
the plan, they came back without their prisoner.
They came back as failures. But,
notice why they failed. It
was not that His forces were too strong for them, or because they lacked
opportunity, or because they became afraid.
They failed because they recognised something in this Jesus that
was different from all the other teachers and messiahs they had known
before, and Jerusalem was always infested with them like fleas.
What was it about Jesus that caused these men to return to the
Temple empty, probably to lose their jobs and be turned out in disgrace?
It was His words. "Never
man spake like this man."
There was a time when people turned away from Jesus because of His
words. He told them things
they did not want to hear, and they called His words, "hard
sayings," and they stopped following Him.
Jesus turned to the disciples and asked, "will
you also go away?" and Peter said to Him, "Lord,
to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (Jn.
6:68 These guards must have
heard the word of life in the words of Christ.
I do not know what became of them.
I am sure they did not keep their jobs in the Temple; such a
failure would not be forgiven by the elite.
Perhaps they became followers of Christ.
Perhaps they were among those converted on the Day of Pentecost.
I hope so, but I don't know. But
on the day recorded in this passage they were captivated by the Word of
God. Would that we would be
so captivated.
After the Reformation a book of sermons was written and given to
all the parish priests in England. Because
many of the clergy had been Roman Catholics, they were only accustomed to
saying Mass, and didn't know how or what to preach.
So they were required to read the sermons, called
"Homilies" to their congregations instead of preaching their own
sermons. Only after diligent
examinations to ensure they understood the Bible and were capable of
preaching it were they licensed to preach on their own.
And these homilies had catchy titles, like, "An Information
for Them Which Take Offense at Certain Places of Holy Scripture."
Well, maybe the title isn't so catchy, but the sermon is a
masterpiece. At one point it says: "If one could show but
the print of Christ's foot, a great number, I think, would fall down and
worship it: but to the Holy Scriptures, where we may see daily, if we will
... the whole shape and lively image of Him, alas! we give little
reverence or none at all. If
any could let us see Christ's coat, a sort of us would make hard shift,
except we might come nigh to gaze upon it, yea, and kiss it too: and yet
all the clothes that ever he did wear, can nothing so truly nor so lively
express him unto us, as do the Scriptures.
Christ's image, made in wood, stone, or metal, some men, for the
love they bear to Christ, do garnish and beautify the same, with pearl,
gold, and precious stone: and should we not, good brethren, much rather
embrace and reverence God's holy books, the sacred Bible, which do
represent Christ unto us more truly than can any image?"
What I am trying to say to you is that these men went to capture Christ,
but in His words they were turned from animosity to admiration of Him.
We have much more of His word than they, should not our
"admiration" of Him be that much greater?
If it is not, could it be that we do not value His word as much as
we think we do?
O God, because "never man spake like this man" let us treasure
His word, that it may lead us into Thy truth and ways. In the Name of Christ. Amen.
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