Whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— (Matthew 20:27 CEB)
So how many of us has this verse memorized? This sounds so pleasant. Doesn't everyone want to be a slave? We are in America; slavery is against the law. Surely this isn't true.
Or is it a power struggle? Is this verse making fun of those who seek power?
What is the context of this verse?
But Jesus called them over and said, "You know that those who rule the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— just as the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people." (Matthew 20:25-28 CEB)
This "slavery" is a willing servitude. Let's be like Jesus. It's a good thing to be like Him.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
Jeremiah 13
Another verse that may be misunderstood taken out of context. From Jeremiah 13: "The Lord proclaimed to me: Go and buy a linen undergarment. Wear it for a while without washing it. So I bought a linen undergarment, as the Lord told me, and I put it on. (Jeremiah 13:1-2 CEB)"
Upon first reading, we may snicker at this mention of an undergarment. And the lack of cleanliness thereof. However if we pull away and read the context of this passage, we see the Lord had an important message to his people that had to be delivered with effectual symbolism.
Notice the rest of the passage "The Lord spoke to me again: Take the undergarment that you are wearing and go at once to the Euphrates and put it under a rock. So I went and buried it at the Euphrates, as the Lord instructed. After a long time, the Lord said to me: Return to the Euphrates and dig up the undergarment that I commanded you to bury there. So I went to the Euphrates and I dug up the linen undergarment from the place I had buried it. But it was ruined and good for nothing. Then the Lord’s word came to me: The Lord proclaims: In the same way I will ruin the brazen pride of Judah and Jerusalem! Instead of listening to me, this wicked people follow their own willful hearts and pursue other gods, worshipping and serving them. They will become like this linen garment—good for nothing! Just as a linen undergarment clings to the body, so I created the people of Israel and Judah to cling to me, declares the Lord, to be my people for my honor, praise, and grandeur. But they wouldn’t obey. (Jeremiah 13:3-11 CEB)"
Upon first reading, we may snicker at this mention of an undergarment. And the lack of cleanliness thereof. However if we pull away and read the context of this passage, we see the Lord had an important message to his people that had to be delivered with effectual symbolism.
Notice the rest of the passage "The Lord spoke to me again: Take the undergarment that you are wearing and go at once to the Euphrates and put it under a rock. So I went and buried it at the Euphrates, as the Lord instructed. After a long time, the Lord said to me: Return to the Euphrates and dig up the undergarment that I commanded you to bury there. So I went to the Euphrates and I dug up the linen undergarment from the place I had buried it. But it was ruined and good for nothing. Then the Lord’s word came to me: The Lord proclaims: In the same way I will ruin the brazen pride of Judah and Jerusalem! Instead of listening to me, this wicked people follow their own willful hearts and pursue other gods, worshipping and serving them. They will become like this linen garment—good for nothing! Just as a linen undergarment clings to the body, so I created the people of Israel and Judah to cling to me, declares the Lord, to be my people for my honor, praise, and grandeur. But they wouldn’t obey. (Jeremiah 13:3-11 CEB)"
Friday, October 10, 2014
I Cor 4:10
"Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed." (1 Corinthians 4:10 NLT)
So out of context, we might not care to memorize this verse as is. Who wants to be known as fools, weak, and ridiculed? Is this the apex of our earthly existence and what we should expect as Christians? Or maybe out of context, the writer is telling us that he considers us wise and powerful--wouldn't that be something!
So -- Who is this speaking and to whom? Why? Paul is addressing the church at Corinth. They are having divisions and exalting some apostles over others and drawing the lines about who is better. So In context, Paul is putting the apostles in the foolish, weak, and ridiculed state. He puts the Corinth Christians on the other side of that fence hoping they'll see their situation and consider if that is where they need to be.
Here is a short part of the larger context.
Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. (1 Corinthians 4:6-16 NLT)
So out of context, we might not care to memorize this verse as is. Who wants to be known as fools, weak, and ridiculed? Is this the apex of our earthly existence and what we should expect as Christians? Or maybe out of context, the writer is telling us that he considers us wise and powerful--wouldn't that be something!
So -- Who is this speaking and to whom? Why? Paul is addressing the church at Corinth. They are having divisions and exalting some apostles over others and drawing the lines about who is better. So In context, Paul is putting the apostles in the foolish, weak, and ridiculed state. He puts the Corinth Christians on the other side of that fence hoping they'll see their situation and consider if that is where they need to be.
Here is a short part of the larger context.
Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. (1 Corinthians 4:6-16 NLT)
New blog start
A new blog I'm entitling Out of Context. My hopes are to find a seldom quoted Scripture Reference and find out if it can be taken out of context and what the correct context might be or if I'm completely messed up.
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