Transformed by the gift of faith, Paul wished the same salvation for his own people even to the extent of offering himself in exchange for the divine graciousness for them (Romans 9:1-5). Christ has the power over all and only in clinging on to Him can one see beyond the current tempests of life (Matthew 15:21-28).
A people so dear
Why have the Jews, in number far greater than that of Jewish converts to Christianity, rejected the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ? Unlike the gentiles did, why have Jews not recognized that the law and the prophets point toward Jesus? That’s what pains Paul so much, his “great sorrow and constant anguish” of heart, that his own people have not accepted Jesus as the Christ, the messiah God promised them and sent them. With evident insistence, Paul proclaims his ardent attachment to his Jewish origin and kindred according to the flesh: “I speak the truth in Christ,” “I do not lie,” “my conscience with the Holy Spirit bears me witness.”
According to Paul, the Jewish people enjoy several extraordinary privileges and prerogatives as the chosen people of God. First, they are called “Israelites”—descendants of Jacob called Israel, hence God’s covenanted people. They enjoy the “adoption” and so designated as God’s children, the “firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). The “glory” refers to their unique experience of divine holiness, as the cloud that led them in the desert (Exodus 16:19) and filled their temple (1 Kings 8:11), thus signifying that God was in their midst. God entered into “covenants” with them, first through Abraham (Genesis 15:18; 17:2), then Moses (Exodus 19:5), and then through the house of David (Psalm 89:3-4). The sacred “law” was entrusted to them (Exodus 20:2-17) and the precepts of divine “worship” (Leviticus 17-26), and the “promises” by God were made through their ancestors (Genesis 12:2-3), the “patriarchs”—the giants of faithfulness.
For their sake
His people are very precious, so much so that Paul feels sorrow and anguish for their failure to accept Jesus Christ. Their greatest boast is in fact that the Christ was to come “from them according to the flesh.” But they do not recognize the true identity of the messiah. Paul does, and he acknowledges Christ’s sovereignty over all. And this Christ is God who is blessed forever.
Paul’s love for his own people and at the same time his distress at their lack of faith can be gauged by his radical proposal. For their sake he is willing to be himself “accursed and cut off from Christ.” This rhetorical exaggeration that he would even be willing to forgo salvation if it would benefit his kin is not to be taken literally. It is simply an expression of the intensity of his sentiments. Moses, too, offered to be taken out of God’s list of intimate friends if the people would not be forgiven for their sin (Exodus 32:32). Just last week we heard Paul say that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
“Lord, save me!”
The challenge of discipleship becomes vividly illustrated by the incident at sea following the feeding of the multitude. Sent on ahead by Jesus, the disciples on board found themselves offshore being tossed about by the waves with the wind against them. Just before daybreak Jesus came to them walking on the sea, and they were terrified. Jesus’ word to them, “Take courage, it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter’s suggestion that he walks with Jesus on the water collided with the frightening reality of strong winds, and in his doubt dunked into the sea, it was, however, his faith in the outstretched hand of Jesus that saved him.
Sent out by Jesus Christ, His disciples in the boat is for the evangelist the picture of the early Church struggling with the tempests of hardship and persecution besetting the believers. Jesus is never really absent; He is in prayer. And He comes to His followers even in darkness, and His arrival means the coming of daybreak and the dissipation of fear. Some may be frightened and even sink into the water of chaos, but the one who walks on and conquers the unruly water has the power to save anyone. Ultimately it is faith in Jesus Christ that empowers us to withstand the waves and the winds. With Jesus the Son of God in the boat with His disciples, the wind dies down.
Alálaong bagá, the mysterious power of Jesus Christ (last week in feeding the multitude with so little supply) is now here manifested in His victorious walk on the unruly water of the sea. Here, too, we are called to share in Christ’s power. After distributing nourishment to the hungry crowds, we are sent to get on board and together bring the boat across the sea proclaiming the Gospel, unafraid of the wind and the waves of opposition and rejection. We are commanded to have courage, for Christ is not a ghost in our life. Indeed, we are even told that we can walk in victory and confidence on the chaotic waters of a world of unbelief.
****
Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on dwIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com. Visit me online, http://alalaongbaga.multiply.com.
