Bible Lens—March 21–27, 2016
Subject: Reality
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.
Exploring Bible Verses
from Section 1
5 | Luke 2:48, 49
His mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
At 12 years of age and on the verge of manhood, Jesus was still seen to be under parental supervision. After leaving Jerusalem, for example, he “was subject unto them” (verse 51). But his interchange with Mary in the Temple makes clear that God is his Father. These are Jesus’ first recorded words in the Bible, and the first of dozens of statements in which Jesus called God “Father.”
A poignant coda to this exchange is Luke’s observation, “His mother kept all these sayings in her heart” (verse 51)—an echo of his account following Jesus’ birth, “Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (verse 19).
from Section 2
6 | Isaiah 62:10
Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.
Isaiah’s message is one of exhortation and encouragement, believed by some researchers to be addressed to Jews returning from the Babylonian exile. A later, broader interpretation is that this is a charge to the Christian Church to open its gates and clear the way of obstacles, to welcome sinners and converts. The term “standard” (Hebrew, nec) means signal or banner—a rallying point that can be seen from a distance.
from Section 3
12 | Matthew 21:8
A very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
Laying garments on the ground for a celebrated person to walk or ride over was a marked demonstration of respect. The tradition is described in Second Kings 9:13, when Israelite military captains carpeted stairs before crowned King Jehu to show their reverence. Likewise, tree branches—particularly palm fronds, specified in John 12:13—signified honor and joy.
When the crowds called “Hosanna to the son of David” (Matthew 21:9), they were recognizing Christ Jesus as the promised Messiah.
from Section 4
16 | Matthew 26:53
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus’ reference to 12 Roman legions—over 70,000 soldiers—follows his command to “put up” the sword, effectively answering Peter’s concern over the display of power brought against him. “Presently” is accepted here to mean immediately, without delay. Jesus is making clear that he is not being taken against his will, but in fulfillment of God’s larger plan for the salvation of mankind.
from Section 5
18 | Matthew 27:51
And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
Scholars agree that the tearing of the veil proclaimed the removal of barriers between God and men. The curtain covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies, the innermost room of the Jewish Temple. This sacred sanctuary housed the ark of the covenant, and was accessible only by the high priest—and only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. The veil acted as both a literal and a symbolic separation between Jewish worshippers and the presence, or Shekinah, of their God.
Richly decorated and extremely thick and heavy, the Temple veil is thought to have been about 60 feet high. The top-to-bottom nature of the tear, and the sheer size of the veil, made it impossible to attribute this event to human desecration—and the tearing is believed by researchers to have been witnessed by the priest on duty at the time.
Did you know?
The Mount of Olives, also known as Olivet, is a 700-foot-high series of peaks on the east side of Jerusalem. From the village of Bethphage, on its eastern slope, the holy city would have been fully visible. The garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus spent his last night before the crucifixion, is on its western side. Between the mount and Jerusalem runs the valley of “the brook Cedron” (citation 14, John 18:1)—an often-dry watercourse over which Jesus crossed into the garden. Jesus’ prophecies about the times to come were given on this mount in his “Olivet Discourse” (see Matthew 24—25). And it was here the disciples received Jesus’ final blessing and witnessed his ascension (see Luke 24:50, 51 and Acts 1:9–12).
Related Healing Ideas
Love alone is power
Put up thy sword.
Its blade of steel
Is vainly used to quell
A mortal sense of hate and wrong;
It has but power to prolong
The errors which seem real.
Stretch forth thy hand
In tenderness
And touch with gentle power
Those who in some Gethsemane
Wait through a darkening hour
To sense the healing grace so near;
And with undimmed perception hear
The still, small voice of Love.
Bessie L. Doherty
From the July 9, 1949, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel
For Further Study: Resources used in this issue
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