The Will of God

Jim:

Zephaniah 3:1-13
Verse 9 is fascinating: “At that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him with one voice.” This is fascinating because according to Genesis it was God who confused human speech in the first place to keep them from building the tower of Babel. Now God is promising to grant a pure form of speech to the peoples so that they may praise and worship God. With a unity of purpose that is focused on God and God’s will, there is no reason to separate peoples one from another. Incidentally, the first Pentecost (Acts 2) comes to mind when I think of this passage and the idea of a pure form of speech. The apostles went into the world speaking in every known language and calling all to repent and believe in God. It was not a common language they spoke, but a pure one in that it pointed to God.

1 Peter 2:11-25
I focused on verse 24 this morning: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” This paraphrase of portions of Isaiah 53 helps to set the ministry of Jesus, his death and resurrection, into the context of salvation history and makes its relevance to the community of faith very clear. Our sins died with Jesus on the cross. We are free. We may now concentrate on living to God and God’s will.

Matthew 20:1-16
Verse 15 says, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?” Thought it is the owner of the vineyard in Jesus’ parable who is speaking, the words belong to God. God, as Creator of the universe and as Sovereign Lord, is free to do as God wills. In this case, Jesus asserts God’s right to bring salvation to whomsoever God chooses, whether they have lived a righteous life as long as some others or not. Incidentally, there are some real similarities between this passage in Matthew and Luke’s account of the parable of the Prodigal Son where the father reminds the older brother that he (the brother) has enjoyed the benefits of his relationship with the father all along and should not begrudge his father’s joy at the return of the wayward son.