Renewal
Commentary
Since the Sundays in Lent are a time for renewal, rather than for mourning or self-negation, the scriptural lessons this week help us to see the relationship of the old and the new. On occasion, renewal has meant to some that what is old should be totally discarded, while to others, quite the opposite, that the old should be totally restored.
The lessons suggest neither of these alternatives. Rather, God's new revelation and salvation builds upon what had preceded.
People experienced radical newness in Jesus. As the story of his temptations shows, however, part of the drastic difference related to misguided popular views in messianic expectations. God's new work in the Messiah (and it was truly new) was continuous with the old work in ancient Israel. The very story of Jesus' fasting 40 days resembled the 40 days of fasting by Moses at the time of receiving the law.
The story of Moses appears in Deuteronomy 8:13; 6:13 and 16. Even when the devil quotes Scripture for his own purpose (Psalm 91:11-12), Jesus shows how carefully the use of Scripture must distinguish between personal desires and God's purpose. His quotations from Deuteronomy were drawing upon similar temptations that Israel experienced.
Yet, the newness of Jesus emerged in each temptation. His vocation reached beyond economic well-being. He would not be a king like the prosperous Solomon. He turned away from expansive ambitions. He would not be a conquering king like David. He resisted the quick dramatic satisfaction of mysterious apocalypticism.
In Romans, Paul made the most of the distinction between salvation through Law and the gift of salvation through Christ. Yet, he quoted from the Hebrew Bible to make his point.
The passage from Romans presented a confession of faith focused on Jesus, whereas the passage from Deuteronomy contained a focus upon the Exodus. God is deliverer in both passages. God is the generous provider. Jesus and Paul would insist that the same God is at work throughout and with the same intent. On the basis of the past revelation, there were two new developments: (1) the Only Begotten of God became incarnate to triumph over evil and (2) salvation came, not just for one people, but for all people.
OUTLINE I
Confessional commitment
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
A. vv. 1-4. Entrance into the land of Canaan was remembered as fulfillment of God's promise (9:5). No matter how much human effort was invested in gaining the land, it was known in faith as the gift of God. At the same time, enrichment and possession was recognized as a temptation (e.g. 7:1, 5). Moving into a new place and new occupation brought the temptation to adopt the lifestyle and the religion of former and remaining residents. The annual offering of first fruits was a way of acknowledging God's promise and gift of rejecting the agricultural rites of Canaanite Baalism.
B. vv. 5-9. The confession in the liturgy reminded worshipers of their nomadic ancestry, a manner of life quite different from the present. It recalled when they had been oppressed aliens in Egypt and how they became a nation by the Lord's deliverance from slavery and the gift of a land. Their community life depended upon divine blessing.
C. v. 10. Personal involvement in the ritual indicated that not only the territory of the nation, but the property and produce of the individual also belonged to God. The offering was almost like paying rent to the divine owner.
D. v. 11. Community and personal dimensions of life and faith were brought together in the final celebration, probably a sacrificial meal. Not only one's own family, but neighbors who did not possess land were included in the celebration. Joyously, they remembered their common benefactor, God.
OUTLINE II
God's commitment
Romans 10:8-13
A. vv. 8-10. God's word makes clear the divine commitment that claims both private and public aspects of a person's life. Faith and confession belong together. Granted, faith in its essence is invisible. When anyone becomes convinced that God and the risen Christ have personal meaning and effectiveness, the perception of the new righteous relationship with God takes shape in the secret recesses of a person's consciousness. Yet, the word that created faith did not come in private but from communication in the community of faith. Paul is addressing the Christian community in Rome. The quotation in verse 8 comes from an address to an assembly of Israel in Deuteronomy 29-30 (30:14). And the invisible faith is expressed publicly in the confession, "Jesus is Lord." God's salvation reaches the depths of personal consciousness and the open community testimony.
B. vv. 11-13. God's commitment reaches out to everyone. Although there have been different histories for Jews and Gentiles in their relation to God, there is only one God for all. Christ has now made known that God's grace is intended for all. Beginning with a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 and finishing with a quotation from Joel 2:32, Paul makes clear that God welcomes all to prayer and salvation. Like the people in Paul's time, we have the natural inclination to like people who are most like ourselves, but Paul presses us, as he did them, to stand where God stands.
OUTLINE III
Vocational commitment
Luke 4:1-13
A. vv. 1-2. What kind of Messiah will Jesus be? Full of vocational consciousness awakened from his baptism (vv. 21-22) where God called him "my Son," he confronts the meaning of this messianic term in his temptation (vv. 3 and 9). The Spirit received at baptism fills his being, but he faces the ordeal as a human (Hebrews 4:15). For Jesus, the temptations raised the possibility of meeting three popular messianic expectations.
B. vv. 3-4. It was not just a matter of satisfying his own extreme hunger. Now that he knew the hunger experienced by the poor, would he make the solution of their poverty the main goal of his ministry? No, the transcendence in human nature demanded a more comprehensive and profound messianic ministry.
C. vv. 5-8. Would he establish the universal rule of God as a victorious conqueror? No, eventually Jesus clarified a 180-degree contrast by announcing his suffering and death at the hands of worldly power.
D. vv. 9-10. Would the Messiah come in the clouds from heaven (Daniel 7:13-14)? No, Jesus will not settle for a ministry of miracles as the sole basis of his messiahship (cf. 11:29).
E. v. 11. The devil will return (22:3). Then, as in the present account, Jesus will triumph. In contrast to Adam (Genesis 3), that other human representative, whose failing we know too well, a person has withstood evil and opened to humanity the possibility for renewal.
The lessons suggest neither of these alternatives. Rather, God's new revelation and salvation builds upon what had preceded.
People experienced radical newness in Jesus. As the story of his temptations shows, however, part of the drastic difference related to misguided popular views in messianic expectations. God's new work in the Messiah (and it was truly new) was continuous with the old work in ancient Israel. The very story of Jesus' fasting 40 days resembled the 40 days of fasting by Moses at the time of receiving the law.
The story of Moses appears in Deuteronomy 8:13; 6:13 and 16. Even when the devil quotes Scripture for his own purpose (Psalm 91:11-12), Jesus shows how carefully the use of Scripture must distinguish between personal desires and God's purpose. His quotations from Deuteronomy were drawing upon similar temptations that Israel experienced.
Yet, the newness of Jesus emerged in each temptation. His vocation reached beyond economic well-being. He would not be a king like the prosperous Solomon. He turned away from expansive ambitions. He would not be a conquering king like David. He resisted the quick dramatic satisfaction of mysterious apocalypticism.
In Romans, Paul made the most of the distinction between salvation through Law and the gift of salvation through Christ. Yet, he quoted from the Hebrew Bible to make his point.
The passage from Romans presented a confession of faith focused on Jesus, whereas the passage from Deuteronomy contained a focus upon the Exodus. God is deliverer in both passages. God is the generous provider. Jesus and Paul would insist that the same God is at work throughout and with the same intent. On the basis of the past revelation, there were two new developments: (1) the Only Begotten of God became incarnate to triumph over evil and (2) salvation came, not just for one people, but for all people.
OUTLINE I
Confessional commitment
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
A. vv. 1-4. Entrance into the land of Canaan was remembered as fulfillment of God's promise (9:5). No matter how much human effort was invested in gaining the land, it was known in faith as the gift of God. At the same time, enrichment and possession was recognized as a temptation (e.g. 7:1, 5). Moving into a new place and new occupation brought the temptation to adopt the lifestyle and the religion of former and remaining residents. The annual offering of first fruits was a way of acknowledging God's promise and gift of rejecting the agricultural rites of Canaanite Baalism.
B. vv. 5-9. The confession in the liturgy reminded worshipers of their nomadic ancestry, a manner of life quite different from the present. It recalled when they had been oppressed aliens in Egypt and how they became a nation by the Lord's deliverance from slavery and the gift of a land. Their community life depended upon divine blessing.
C. v. 10. Personal involvement in the ritual indicated that not only the territory of the nation, but the property and produce of the individual also belonged to God. The offering was almost like paying rent to the divine owner.
D. v. 11. Community and personal dimensions of life and faith were brought together in the final celebration, probably a sacrificial meal. Not only one's own family, but neighbors who did not possess land were included in the celebration. Joyously, they remembered their common benefactor, God.
OUTLINE II
God's commitment
Romans 10:8-13
A. vv. 8-10. God's word makes clear the divine commitment that claims both private and public aspects of a person's life. Faith and confession belong together. Granted, faith in its essence is invisible. When anyone becomes convinced that God and the risen Christ have personal meaning and effectiveness, the perception of the new righteous relationship with God takes shape in the secret recesses of a person's consciousness. Yet, the word that created faith did not come in private but from communication in the community of faith. Paul is addressing the Christian community in Rome. The quotation in verse 8 comes from an address to an assembly of Israel in Deuteronomy 29-30 (30:14). And the invisible faith is expressed publicly in the confession, "Jesus is Lord." God's salvation reaches the depths of personal consciousness and the open community testimony.
B. vv. 11-13. God's commitment reaches out to everyone. Although there have been different histories for Jews and Gentiles in their relation to God, there is only one God for all. Christ has now made known that God's grace is intended for all. Beginning with a quotation from Isaiah 28:16 and finishing with a quotation from Joel 2:32, Paul makes clear that God welcomes all to prayer and salvation. Like the people in Paul's time, we have the natural inclination to like people who are most like ourselves, but Paul presses us, as he did them, to stand where God stands.
OUTLINE III
Vocational commitment
Luke 4:1-13
A. vv. 1-2. What kind of Messiah will Jesus be? Full of vocational consciousness awakened from his baptism (vv. 21-22) where God called him "my Son," he confronts the meaning of this messianic term in his temptation (vv. 3 and 9). The Spirit received at baptism fills his being, but he faces the ordeal as a human (Hebrews 4:15). For Jesus, the temptations raised the possibility of meeting three popular messianic expectations.
B. vv. 3-4. It was not just a matter of satisfying his own extreme hunger. Now that he knew the hunger experienced by the poor, would he make the solution of their poverty the main goal of his ministry? No, the transcendence in human nature demanded a more comprehensive and profound messianic ministry.
C. vv. 5-8. Would he establish the universal rule of God as a victorious conqueror? No, eventually Jesus clarified a 180-degree contrast by announcing his suffering and death at the hands of worldly power.
D. vv. 9-10. Would the Messiah come in the clouds from heaven (Daniel 7:13-14)? No, Jesus will not settle for a ministry of miracles as the sole basis of his messiahship (cf. 11:29).
E. v. 11. The devil will return (22:3). Then, as in the present account, Jesus will triumph. In contrast to Adam (Genesis 3), that other human representative, whose failing we know too well, a person has withstood evil and opened to humanity the possibility for renewal.
