A few thoughts in response to the questions–
Questions:
- In verse 4 “somewhere” refers to what Scripture? Why might the preacher again use this technique of not identifying the Scripture?
“Somewhere” refers to the beginning of Genesis, which, again, the preacher knows every man, woman, and child has heard a hundred times, the story of Creation. This is akin to “call and response” in speaking, where the speaker gives the audience something to say back to him, something that reinforces (to the listeners) that they have already heard, already know, what the speaker is getting at–he is just extending their vision or deepening their understanding of it. It is not some random choice of Scripture. It is a foundational passage.
- In verses 1-11 the preacher mentions “rest” directly 9 times and another time or two indirectly. What might have been the first “rest” of all? Who were the two who achieved the second “rest”? How does the third “rest” operate at two levels?
The original “rest” was the “rest” God took on the day after his 6th day of creating, the Sabbath. But the text reads that he rested “after all his works” which leaves the impression that all that happens to the human beings has implicitly been handled by God (since all his works are now done) in that very act of Creation. Not content to leave perfection alone, however, we human beings sinned and thereby drew the process out in time that we call human history. The second “rest” was the rest of the people of Israel, that they were to have when they settled into the Promised Land. But only Joshua and the faithful Caleb survived to enter that land from among all the ones God liberated from slavery in Egypt. Only those two took “the narrow way” of being faithful to God, heeding a warning Jesus will take up in his teaching to us. The third “rest” we are called to operates, after Christ comes, on two levels, the Now and Not Yet. Now, those who are repentant, faithful, united to Christ enter the permanent rest upon their leaving this world at the end of their lives. The final result of all this is The Rest corresponding to that first reference in Genesis–the complete, perfect, and everlasting Rest after the 2nd Coming and New Creation that involves all God’s people forever.
- What does “the word of God” mean in verse 12? How might that tie into the purpose of this website?
“The word of God” in verse 12 means Jesus’ words, the very words he spoke when he lived on earth. Secondarily, it refers to his words to us in Scripture, in the Gospels, in the prophets, and all the various ways and types of writing we find there. We pray, worship, and learn to live in accordance with His words as we ponder and study these writings. They call us to prayer, for instance, and then help us understand what we pray and the responses we believe we are receiving to our prayers, when we are listening to the Lord.
- See verses 14-16. Doesn’t Jesus’ divinity imply that he could not sin? And, if he could not sin, how can he sympathize with our weaknesses?
It would be odd to think that divinity could not have free will. In his divinity, Jesus had complete free will. In his humanity, his free will was not compromised or weakened by Original Sin. Therefore, if anything, his will was/is freer than yours or mine. Our experience is most often that giving into sin due to our weakness, weakens us further. Jesus resists completely, thereby taking the full measure of the forcefulness of the attraction of sin. He realizes its power to a depth we don’t encounter because we submit to it earlier. If anything then, he understands what we are facing, the power of it and the evilness of it, better than we do. And, therefore, he has more compassion on us in our struggles. A great, great priest whose heart is filled with love for us.
Question 4
My thoughts on this started out with the issue of free will, assuming also that Jesus had free will. I’m still lost on the issue of original sin because it seems we are more challenged because of it. Doesn’t Original Sin cause us to be more attracted to it?
A two-edged sword, in battle, is one that defends us from attacks on all sides. Some of the most cutting experiences we mortals face occur when we make a correct decision that will be sharply criticized by those on all sides of an issue. Perhaps, as a leader, we see farther than our critics or simply understand the issue better than most. We should rejoice that we have an Advocate who understands the pain of these decisions to mere mortals who desire to be, at all times, of good repute to our neighbors and friends. We have an Advocate who will, in time, see that the Truth prevails.