Pentecost 13 A Consuming Fire
A Consuming Fire
Heb 12:4-29 Is 66:18-23 Luke 13:22-30
Hebrews 12:4-24
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
18 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Key Words
Struggle – antagonize – agonize against
Resisted –more of directed opposition – set all around…
Shedding – not there…
Blood – hema – silly definition – blood-like = grape juice
Forgotten – was it lost to you
Exhortation - paraklesis/consolation
Addresses – speak thoroughly
Regard lightly – care little
Discipline – paidea - pedagogue
Weary – loosing your grip
Reproved – convinced of fault
Disciplines – paidea – the process of growth under discipline training
Loves - agape
Chastises - whips
Receives – to recognize as a son
Discipline - paidea
Endure – standing firm – resist by direct force
Treating – behaving towards- bringing into presence
son – father – huios -pater
left without discipline – paidea
partnered – you are one of the participants
illegitimate - bastards
children = part of the word illegitimate
earthly - sarx
respected- of higher regard than myself?
subject - under-ranked
Father of Spirits= Lord or God of Spirits in Pentatuch – used in prayer
Live – reference to Numbers 16:22 – Korah- interesting that the gold of the rebellious was sanctified by their blood,
Disciplined - paidea
short time –the tame part of the day
seemed best to them - IMHO
disciplines - paidea
good – gathered together
share holiness – to greatly receive a share of God’s quality of holiness
moment - the present
seems painful – IMHO – psyche - discomfort
pleasant – xara – reason for thanks!
Yields – given for…
peaceful fruit – peaceful harvest
righteousness - justification
trained – excercised – (naked btw) – root of gymnasium
Therefore – through this then
Lift – straighten – lift - strengthen
Drooping hands – exhausted – sent away – a sense of control
Strengthen weak knees – loosened knees ( no strengthen
Make straight paths – poiew trachia
Lame – half speed and power
Healed - to cause something to change to an earlier, correct, or appropriate state[1]
Strive – works towards with an intensity of effort
Peace – freedom from worry
holiness without which – character like that of God
no one fails to obtain – no one lacks
the grace of God – the gift of God
root of bitterness – underground – sharp striking – negatively dominating
springs up – shoot s through the surface
causes trouble - afflicted -
many become defiled – stained/contaminated
sexually immoral - pornos
birthright - prototokos -
single meal – one serving
desired to inherit - - really wanted - kleronomos
blessing – good word
rejected - certified true NOT
no chance to repent – mind hereafter
sought with tears – dilengently tried to recover that which was lost to the point of tears
WE AIN’T OLD ISRAEL!
touched -
blazing fire
darkness and gloom
sound trumpet - description of the mountain of God
beg no further – they feared
endure - bear
order given - forced command
touches -
stoned – targer of stoning
terrifying - phobic
tremble – out show fear
come – drawn near to
living God – zetes
heavenly Jerusalem -
innumerable - myriad – tens of thousands
angels – aggelos
festal gathering - panaguris
assembly - ekklesia
firstborn - prototokon
enrolled – written in
judge - kritic
spirits - plural
righteous - diakisune
made perfect - teleion
mediator – middle man - negotiator
sprinkled blood -
better word
Context
Parallel Passages
2 l It shall come to pass in the latter days
that mthe mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and nall the nations shall flow to it,
3 and omany peoples shall come, and say:
“ Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For pout of Zion shall go the law,1
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
q and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
r nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
[2]
Doctrinal Topics
Law and Gospel
Libronix & Commentary Notes
Thus, then, scourging and reproof are looked upon as good, so that by means of it agreement and relationship with God arise. For what can be more nearly related than a son is to his father, and a father to his son?[3]
It is as if one were to call the words of a physician “threats,” when he tells his patients, “I will have to use the knife, and apply cauteries, if you do not obey my prescriptions and regulate your diet and mode of life in such a way as I direct you.” (Origen, Against Celsus, Ch. LXXII, ANF IV, p. 529)[4]
And the Apostle says in Heb. 12[:24] that the blood of Christ cries out better than the blood of Abel, for the blood of Abel demands revenge and wrath, but the blood of Christ cries out for compassion and pleads for us.[5]
Illustrations
For weeks a woman would come to church but not sign a guest book or give her name. Finally she called the pastor and asked to see him. She told this story:
“When I was 15 I got a strange illness. No one knows what it was. The doctors said I would die. An elder from my church came to pray for me. He told me to promise God that if I lived through the illness I would never sin again. I prayed that way and I got well. I never went back to church. For years I didn’t pray. I didn’t want God to be reminded that I existed. I was afraid he would remember the promise that I broke. But now I know my prayer was wrong. I know Christ has forgiven me. It is a joy to go to church again and to pray again.”
[6]
Isaiah 66:18–23
18“For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.
22“For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so shall your offspring and your name remain.
23From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.”
Luke 13:22-30
The Narrow Door
22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Sin’s Antagonists
Heb 12:4-29 Is 66:18-23 Luke 13:22-30
Antagonize Sin?
The struggle – but it is what we believe?
Struggle for the goal
A different mountain
A different city of God
A different feast!
Struggle is Discipleship
Discipline – not Punishment
Athlete prep
Coach wants us to get to the goal
Discipleship is about
Looking to Christ
Trained to yield righteousness
Unlike Esau
The Blood that matters
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[1]Louw, Johannes P. ; Nida, Eugene Albert: Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains. electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. New York : United Bible societies, 1996, c1989, S. 1:156
l For ver. 2-4, see Mic. 4:1-3
m ch. 14:13; 25:6
n [ch. 56:7]
o See Zech. 8:20-23
p [Luke 24:47; John 4:22]
1 Or teaching
q [Joel 3:10]
r ch. 9:7; Ps. 72:3, 7; Hos. 2:18; Zech. 9:10
[2] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. Is 2:2-4
[3]Philo, of Alexandria ; Yonge, Charles Duke: The Works of Philo : Complete and Unabridged. Peabody : Hendrickson, 1996, c1993, S. 320
ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers. Edited by A. Roberts and J. Donaldson. 10 vols. 1866–1896. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.
[4]Oden, Thomas C.: Pastoral Counsel. New York : Crossroad, 1989, S. 179
[5]Luther, Martin: Pelikan, Jaroslav Jan (Hrsg.) ; Oswald, Hilton C. (Hrsg.) ; Lehmann, Helmut T. (Hrsg.): Luther's Works, Vol. 31 : Career of the Reformer I. Philadelphia : Fortress Press, 1999, c1957 (Luther's Works 31), S. 31:225
[6]Weisheit, Eldon: Homiletic Help!. electronic ed. St. Louis : Concordia Publishing House, 1998