Opposites
Commentary
The traditional symbol for drama was two masks, one for comedy with the mouth wide and corners turned up, the other for tragedy with corners of the mouth turned down. Such opposites occur in the lessons today.
In Jeremiah 17, "cursed" ('arur) carries the force of divine disapproval, while "blessed" (baruk) expresses God's favor. In Luke 6, the words lean more in the direction of natural effects, although God's disposition is certainly not to be ruled out. Greek makaroi means literally "the happiness of," but might be translated "How fortunate" rather than "Blessed," while the Greek oiai would express the opposite.
Such exact distinctions are not always in order currently. Dramatists talk about the number of plays which fall somewhere between comedy and tragedy, in depicting the confusing reality of modern life. Science and modern philosophy have taught us to deal in tentative probabilities more than in absolutes. The horrors of totalitarian governments have validated the need for freedom of expression for diverse views. Is there any room left for clear distinctions between truth and opinions?
Both Scripture passages pertain to a person's relationship with God. It is not the exploration of nature in theoretical learning nor the distribution of powers in social arrangements that is under discussion. The very seat of personal integrity is being located. The passages might remind us of Joshua's challenge, "Choose this day whom you will serve; ... as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)."
Since God uses human agents, we still have judgments to render. As in Jeremiah's time, false prophets need to be rejected. In spite of temptations to escape responsibility, especially when we are satisfied, we need to recognize the difference does not lie between divine effort and human effort. Jeremiah had been teaching God's will for Israel as acceptance of Babylonian conquest.
Fortunately Christ has come. His teachings give us the basic guidance with many specifics to be worked out with other Christians. The beatitudes and woes in Luke describe a view of life in relationship with God that is provocative and difficult to equate with life in modern society. Yet, with other teachings of Jesus that are recorded in Luke, a clear picture emerges for clarifying life with God and others. Life with God calls for full commitment, distinct from any other.
OUTLINE I
Green by God
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Introduction. Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible makes a sharp distinction between two ways of life. The dichotomy may contrast wise and foolish, righteous and wicked, diligent and lazy. Proverbs provides examples. In comparing the cursed and the blessed, the present wisdom poem illustrates the point by a reference to vegetation, very like Psalm 1.
A. vv. 5-6. Some think the cursed one was Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, who had relied upon warfare and alliances to rebel against Babylon, contrary to the Word of the Lord from Jeremiah. The king had suffered horribly after his defeat (chapters 27, 39). Others consider the prophet himself to be the subject. Suffering rejection, he had succumbed to human inclinations and denounced God. A wisdom poem does not require a specific reference, however, since it is meant to apply generally in human experience.
B. vv. 7-8. If Jeremiah were the subject, he would be testifying to the blessing he received after repentance. No longer like a shrub with shallow roots drying up in the desert, he was like a tree strongly pushing roots toward water. Even in suffering he experienced the blessing of a sustaining relationship with God.
C. vv. 9-10. "Heart" meaning thought and will and "kidneys" referring to emotions, both suggest the hidden depth of human personality. Since deception is easy in human relations, only God deals with us as we really are.
OUTLINE II
Committed for life resurrected
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
A. vv. 12-14. First, Paul says that without the resurrection of the dead, the proclamation of the gospel is in vain. The resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the gospel and the identification between Christ and believers is so complete that either both know resurrection after death or neither. Such identification has held a key place in God-ordered reality since creation (vv. 22, 45-49, Romans 5:12-15). Believers are, indeed, the body of Christ (12:12, 27).
B. vv. 15-16. Second, on the same premise, the teaching of the apostle and others in the church has misrepresented God, because it claimed that God had raised Christ. The testimony to Christ's resurrection had been presented in verses 4-8.
C. vv. 17-19. Third, faith is futile and Christians deserve more pity than any others. Hope only in the present life does not represent the gospel for Paul. The resurrection verifies, validates and completes the salvation of Christ's atoning death (Romans 4:24-25; 6:3-11; 8:33-39; Philippians 3:8-11). Contrary to Hellenistic dualism, Paul believed the spirit of the resurrected Christ empowered Christian earthly life and would reach fulfillment in the resurrection of the body.
D. v. 20. The conclusion draws upon the Jewish offering of the first sheaf of grain from the harvest (Leviticus 23:10-11). Like that consecration of the entire harvest by the ritual offering, Christ's resurrection assures the resurrections of all who belong to him.
OUTLINE III
Now and then
Luke 6:17-26
A. vv. 17-19. Jesus had just come down from the mountain where (as typically in Luke) he had prayed and had chosen the 12 apostles from the larger group of the disciples. Besides his disciples now, both Jews and Gentiles had come some distance for healing (Mark 3:7-12). This is the setting for the "Sermon on the Plain."
B. vv. 20-23. "Poor" refers to pious persons, usually of little means, who rely on God and await the kingdom. With "hunger" and "weep," the adverb "now" contrasts the present with the future and sharpens the eschatological intent. The satisfaction of the hungry will come at the Messianic banquet, a feast of the kingdom of God (13:28-30; 14:15-24; 22:30). The contrast between present and future will be as great as between weeping and laughing. The simple literary form, in contrast to Matthew 5, also reflects Luke's concern for the well-being of the needy in the present, as indicated in traditions which only he preserved (10:30-35; 16:19-31; 19:8-9). Identification with the Christ will mean sharing persecution with him, from personal animosity to ostracism and slander.
C. vv. 24-26. Distinctive of Luke, Jesus identifies with the prophets by announcing condemnations that parallel the blessings. There had been a history of those who were well off seeking popularity with foreign rulers and compromising their faith. The terminology suggests they are living off borrowings that won't last (cf. 12:16-21).
In Jeremiah 17, "cursed" ('arur) carries the force of divine disapproval, while "blessed" (baruk) expresses God's favor. In Luke 6, the words lean more in the direction of natural effects, although God's disposition is certainly not to be ruled out. Greek makaroi means literally "the happiness of," but might be translated "How fortunate" rather than "Blessed," while the Greek oiai would express the opposite.
Such exact distinctions are not always in order currently. Dramatists talk about the number of plays which fall somewhere between comedy and tragedy, in depicting the confusing reality of modern life. Science and modern philosophy have taught us to deal in tentative probabilities more than in absolutes. The horrors of totalitarian governments have validated the need for freedom of expression for diverse views. Is there any room left for clear distinctions between truth and opinions?
Both Scripture passages pertain to a person's relationship with God. It is not the exploration of nature in theoretical learning nor the distribution of powers in social arrangements that is under discussion. The very seat of personal integrity is being located. The passages might remind us of Joshua's challenge, "Choose this day whom you will serve; ... as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)."
Since God uses human agents, we still have judgments to render. As in Jeremiah's time, false prophets need to be rejected. In spite of temptations to escape responsibility, especially when we are satisfied, we need to recognize the difference does not lie between divine effort and human effort. Jeremiah had been teaching God's will for Israel as acceptance of Babylonian conquest.
Fortunately Christ has come. His teachings give us the basic guidance with many specifics to be worked out with other Christians. The beatitudes and woes in Luke describe a view of life in relationship with God that is provocative and difficult to equate with life in modern society. Yet, with other teachings of Jesus that are recorded in Luke, a clear picture emerges for clarifying life with God and others. Life with God calls for full commitment, distinct from any other.
OUTLINE I
Green by God
Jeremiah 17:5-10
Introduction. Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible makes a sharp distinction between two ways of life. The dichotomy may contrast wise and foolish, righteous and wicked, diligent and lazy. Proverbs provides examples. In comparing the cursed and the blessed, the present wisdom poem illustrates the point by a reference to vegetation, very like Psalm 1.
A. vv. 5-6. Some think the cursed one was Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, who had relied upon warfare and alliances to rebel against Babylon, contrary to the Word of the Lord from Jeremiah. The king had suffered horribly after his defeat (chapters 27, 39). Others consider the prophet himself to be the subject. Suffering rejection, he had succumbed to human inclinations and denounced God. A wisdom poem does not require a specific reference, however, since it is meant to apply generally in human experience.
B. vv. 7-8. If Jeremiah were the subject, he would be testifying to the blessing he received after repentance. No longer like a shrub with shallow roots drying up in the desert, he was like a tree strongly pushing roots toward water. Even in suffering he experienced the blessing of a sustaining relationship with God.
C. vv. 9-10. "Heart" meaning thought and will and "kidneys" referring to emotions, both suggest the hidden depth of human personality. Since deception is easy in human relations, only God deals with us as we really are.
OUTLINE II
Committed for life resurrected
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
A. vv. 12-14. First, Paul says that without the resurrection of the dead, the proclamation of the gospel is in vain. The resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the gospel and the identification between Christ and believers is so complete that either both know resurrection after death or neither. Such identification has held a key place in God-ordered reality since creation (vv. 22, 45-49, Romans 5:12-15). Believers are, indeed, the body of Christ (12:12, 27).
B. vv. 15-16. Second, on the same premise, the teaching of the apostle and others in the church has misrepresented God, because it claimed that God had raised Christ. The testimony to Christ's resurrection had been presented in verses 4-8.
C. vv. 17-19. Third, faith is futile and Christians deserve more pity than any others. Hope only in the present life does not represent the gospel for Paul. The resurrection verifies, validates and completes the salvation of Christ's atoning death (Romans 4:24-25; 6:3-11; 8:33-39; Philippians 3:8-11). Contrary to Hellenistic dualism, Paul believed the spirit of the resurrected Christ empowered Christian earthly life and would reach fulfillment in the resurrection of the body.
D. v. 20. The conclusion draws upon the Jewish offering of the first sheaf of grain from the harvest (Leviticus 23:10-11). Like that consecration of the entire harvest by the ritual offering, Christ's resurrection assures the resurrections of all who belong to him.
OUTLINE III
Now and then
Luke 6:17-26
A. vv. 17-19. Jesus had just come down from the mountain where (as typically in Luke) he had prayed and had chosen the 12 apostles from the larger group of the disciples. Besides his disciples now, both Jews and Gentiles had come some distance for healing (Mark 3:7-12). This is the setting for the "Sermon on the Plain."
B. vv. 20-23. "Poor" refers to pious persons, usually of little means, who rely on God and await the kingdom. With "hunger" and "weep," the adverb "now" contrasts the present with the future and sharpens the eschatological intent. The satisfaction of the hungry will come at the Messianic banquet, a feast of the kingdom of God (13:28-30; 14:15-24; 22:30). The contrast between present and future will be as great as between weeping and laughing. The simple literary form, in contrast to Matthew 5, also reflects Luke's concern for the well-being of the needy in the present, as indicated in traditions which only he preserved (10:30-35; 16:19-31; 19:8-9). Identification with the Christ will mean sharing persecution with him, from personal animosity to ostracism and slander.
C. vv. 24-26. Distinctive of Luke, Jesus identifies with the prophets by announcing condemnations that parallel the blessings. There had been a history of those who were well off seeking popularity with foreign rulers and compromising their faith. The terminology suggests they are living off borrowings that won't last (cf. 12:16-21).
