Old Testament reading: Psalm 39-41
“Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me” (Psalm 41:9). To whom it is that David here refers is unknown. Perhaps he was speaking of Ahithophel, who had served as David’s counselor, but had abandoned the king in favor of assisting in the treachery and treason of Absalom (2 Sam 15:12). No matter, for we know how these words would later come to pass in the life of the Lord Jesus. Jesus quoted this very text as he foretold His betrayal by Judas Iscariot in John 13:18. Moreover, Jesus did not simply use David’s words as a parallel or illustration, but rather identified them as a prophecy of Scripture that must be fulfilled. In Psalm 41:10-13 we can see a parallel in the account of David and Ahithophel with Jesus and Judas. As Ahithophel and Absalom did not triumph over David, neither did Judas Iscariot and his master, Satan (John 13:27), triumph over Jesus. Again we see the richness of the Psalms as they look forward to the coming Messiah!
New Testament reading: Luke 20-21
The power of a proper hermeneutic. “Hermeneutic” is a fancy word for the principle of interpretation of the Bible or other texts (e.g., the Constitution). The hermeneutic that has guided the church for many years now has been expressed in recent times as “Command, Example, and Necessary Inference.” This principle of biblical interpretation is a sound and faithful guide in matters of faith and practice. Unfortunately, many in the church have rejected the principle of inference, and some have gone so far as to mock it. However, in Luke 20:37-38, Jesus uses this express principle to refute the Sadducees’ error in the matter of the resurrection. Quoting Exodus 3:6, Jesus uses the self identification of His Father as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” as necessarily implying that these men were indeed still alive, though their physical bodies were long since deceased. The Sadducees were honest enough to accept Jesus’ use of inference as valid and made no attempt to argue or mock it. Many of our my brethren would do well to show the same integrity in the interpretation of the Sacred Text.
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