Seventh Sunday of Easter – Year C
Sermon Notes from the Church’s Ministry Among Jewish People
RCL Readings – Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21; John 17:20-26
ACNA Readings – Acts 16:16-34; Psalm 68:1-20; Revelation 22:10-21; John 17:20-26
Seasonal Introduction. Eastertide, the season of Easter, is always 50 days long. It follows the pattern of the Jewish calendar with 50 days from Passover to Shavuot or Pentecost. During these days we remember the last weeks of Jesus on earth after His resurrection. Easter is all about the resurrection! This season's traditional greetings of “He is risen!” and “He is risen indeed!” can bring hope and light to our broken world. “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”[1]
The seventh Sunday of Easter is also known as the Sunday after Ascension Day. Jesus rose from the dead but He also ascended into heaven where He has authority to rule and reign. And yet He chooses to intercede on our behalf. This year the Seventh Sunday of Easter also coincides with Shavuot, a reminder that God gives all we need to live—whether it is the physical bread we eat or every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Common Theme. Whether God is descending to earth to give the Torah to His people or Jesus is ascending to the heavens to intercede for His people in righteousness and judgment, God still wants to dwell with His people. But He calls us to live in unity and to be obedient to His commandments.
Hebraic Context. Shavuot (weeks) is one of the three pilgrim festivals that God commands His people to celebrate each year (along with Passover and Sukkot).[2] The Greek term Pentecost is not known in relation to Shavuot prior to the book of Acts,[3] but Leviticus 23:15-16 does command that fifty days should be counted out from Passover to Shavuot. Pentecost does not simply mean “fifty” but rather “the fiftieth”—namely the end of the counting of the Omer. Both Passover and Shavuot are naturally harvest festivals, where Passover coincides with the barley harvest and Shavuot coincides with the wheat harvest.
Every culture in history that believes in gods celebrates planting and harvest festivals. But because Pagan cultures celebrate harvest festivals, many Christians have turned away from celebrating the bounty God provides. To forget that God controls the sun, the rain, the soil, and even the many insects that provide for our food (or burn, drown, and devour it) is as deceiving and as devastating for our culture as believing that a piece of wood, stone, gold—or even our own hand—provides all we need. Acts 20:16 reminds us that Paul greatly desired to be in Jerusalem for Shavuot, even asking others to go out of their way so that he didn’t have to—a very un-Paul like request.
But Shavuot isn’t simply a harvest festival. When God saved Israel and brought them out of Egypt (remembered during Passover) it wasn’t to take them directly to the promised land. Had God only wanted to give a land to Israel, they would have simply gone up to the Mediterranean, followed the international trade highway, and arrived at their destination. The reason God gives for taking Israel out of slavery in Egypt was so that He could be their God and dwell among His holy people.
“I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.” (Exodus 29:45-46)
As Jewish scholars studied the Scriptures, they noted that Shavuot is not only when wheat is harvested in Israel, it is also the time that God gave the Torah to His people.[4] “Be Holy, for I am Holy.” God requires His people to be holy if He is to dwell among them.[5] And so God gave them His guidance and instructions—His commandments and statutes—the Torah. No one can follow the whole of God’s law; we are all sinners. Yet God called for Israel to keep the Torah that they might live.
How could this be possible? “Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Even though we know that Abraham sinned, God Himself said that Abraham obeyed. And so God was with Abraham and blessed Him (and the whole world through Abraham). At Mount Sinai, God knew that Israel would sin, but He still asked them to obey Him. Through them, God would bless the world.
The story of Shavuot extends beyond Mount Sinai and the Jewish people. The scroll of Ruth is traditionally read during Shavuot. The story revolves around the activities of the barley and wheat harvest[6] but ultimately it is about a gentile woman dwelling among God’s people and declaring that the God of Naomi would also be her own God—and about God’s acceptance of her faithfulness. The gifts of food (that we might physically live) and Torah (that we can know God) are both incredibly important. Surely it is worth remembering God’s provision by giving thanks for the daily bread and being obedient to His call to “Be Holy”.
Acts 16:16-34. Paul walked through much of modern Turkey before reaching Philippi and speaking to the righteous women who worshipped God there. Seemingly ignoring the greater gentile population of Philippi, Paul continued to go to the place of prayer daily to meet with Lydia and the brethren in the city.[7] However, they were interrupted in their daily journey by a fortune teller.
Luke’s use of πνευμα πυθωνα (pneuma pythona, the spirit of the python) draws on both Greek and Hebrew imagery. In Greek lore, the great divining python was slain by Apollo at Delphi (formerly Pytho), a place known for its oracles. In Hebrew the interpreter of omens, מנחש (m’nachesh), shares a root with nachash (snake), as in the snake in the garden of Eden.[8]
From Genesis to Revelation the serpent symbolizes Satan. Many cultures also associate the snake with evil, chaos, and destruction. But some also believe the serpent to be a source of wisdom and power. The Scriptures are clear that there are spiritual powers in this world. Demons have knowledge and power in this world. But as in Mark 5, where demons recognize Jesus, this spirit identified Paul and Silas as servants of the Most High God. And, as servants of the Most High God, they only need a word for the spirit to leave the slave girl.
The gentile owners were extremely unhappy, losing their source of income, and went to the magistrates of the city to accuse Paul and Silas of being Jews. The odd ways of the Jewish people were well-known in the world: they did not worship idols nor did they worship kings, the Jewish people wouldn’t even eat meat offered to idols; they were often thought to be atheists; and the Jewish people were considered lazy because they refused to work on the Shabbat, an institution that was unheard of in the rest of the world. Because Jews separated themselves religiously and in dietary customs, they were viewed as hostile to the rest of the world. Nonetheless, throughout the world many gentiles had heard the teachings of Torah and witnessed the radical lifestyle of Jews who believed in an almighty, personal, and loving God and joined them.
The mob that gathered in Philippi were not among those gentiles who followed God. Paul and Silas were beaten and quickly thrown in jail (which Acts 16:35-40 points out was illegal). Paul often wrote of suffering, something that many in the church today won’t accept as being the way of the disciple of Jesus, but also wrote of joy in suffering. “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance… and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”[9] He didn’t simply preach these words but prayed and sang hymns to God while in prison.
This is the witness to the world that Jesus spoke about in His prayer to the Father in John 17:20-26. Jesus also prayed that His glory would be shared with the disciples, which forms part of Paul’s case to rejoice in suffering, “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings…” The witness of Jesus’ disciples does not only come through the miraculous but primarily through the willingness to rejoice in suffering. Paul miraculously cast a demon out of a slave and got thrown in jail as a result. Paul sang to God in joy and one of the Philippians, along with his household, learned to believe in Jesus as Lord.
Of course, God still performs miracles and the earthquake that freed Paul and Silas opened many doors. Luke mentions that “all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” He also mentions that all the prisoners heard Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns. Finally, Luke writes that all the prisoners stayed. While we might understand Paul and Silas staying where they were, why would the other prisoners stay? Luke doesn’t say, but perhaps the hints are there.
The Philippian jailer asked “what must I do to be saved?” He might not have immediately understood this to be a spiritual question, but as Paul and Silas spoke, he invited them to his house, believed in Jesus, was baptized, and rejoiced. Just like Cornelius, the gentile who already believed in God, and like Lydia, the faithful business woman in a faithless, gentile city, the Philippian jailer, a gentile who did not know God at all believed in God and was able to join with Lydia and the brethren who were in Philippi in following Jesus.
Psalm 97.[10] Every year the people were to celebrate God’s salvation during Passover. But God doesn’t simply save His people, He draws us near. We see this throughout history, but perhaps nowhere more clear than the passage of time beginning at Passover and ending at Shavuot.[11] Psalm 97 draws us to the foot of Mount Sinai during Shavuot to declare that “The LORD reigns”.
The events at Mount Sinai spoken of in Exodus 19 remained in the mind of the people of Israel as we can see in the folk song of God’s victory in Judges 5:5; in Psalm 97, likely used in temple worship; and in numerous references throughout the prophets. Darkness and fire went out from God, lightning and earthquakes—the “mountains melt like wax before the LORD”. But this is a time of rejoicing. God is on a throne and He acts in righteousness and justice.
The righteousness of God is continuously paired with the justice of God.[12] Righteousness, often synonymous with charity, does not immediately seem to pair with justice; yet God both upholds His holiness and makes a way to dwell among His people. It was at Mount Sinai on Shavuot that God came in power to give His Torah to the people of Israel that they might live—in order that He might live among them. And it was at Mount Sinai that the people built a worthless idol and were put to shame.
But even as God gave His Torah at Mount Sinai, it isn’t something that only happened in the distant past that we remember as folklore and a holiday once a year. The psalmists and prophets brought God’s presence from the past and Mount Sinai to the present and Mount Zion. Isaiah 2:3 states that many from the nations will 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 out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” It continues with judgment that leads to peace, “He shall judge between nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares…”
God saves, “He preserves the lives of His saints.” He also judges from His throne. When He descended upon Mount Sinai and made His throne at Mount Zion, we were shown His power and glory and righteousness. But we also were shown how to worship Him alone, how to love the Most High God, and how to rejoice in the LORD with thanksgiving—for He revealed Himself to His people.
Revelation 22:12-21.[13] In Revelation 1:8, the Lord God declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” Now, Jesus states that He sent His angel to testify. While it is the angel who appears to speak, he speaks the words of Jesus as His emissary and declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” If the book of Revelation wasn’t clear enough before, Jesus takes the same title as God—the title of the creator of the heavens and the earth according to Isaiah 48:12-13.
Revelation begins and ends with a statement that Jesus is coming soon. This promise brings great hope, but it also carries a warning. Jesus often states that He will judge, “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.” Although the judgment comes according to the will of the Father, “As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.”[14]
The judgment includes both invitation and exclusion. Revelation 22 presents a vision of entry into the city of God, where the tree of life yields fruit and healing for the nations. Those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb—those who have endured and overcome in great tribulation—are welcomed into this eternal Jerusalem. But others are left outside: the sexually immoral, idolaters, murderers, liars, and those who practice sorcery. It is tempting to assume these warnings apply to someone else, but Jesus makes it clear that His warning is for the church—from Revelation 2:7 to 22:16. Matthew 25:31-46 also warns of the coming judgment, where many who approach Jesus (the Son of Man) with great hope and confidence will nonetheless be turned away.
Several Greek manuscripts read Revelation 22:14 as, “Blessed are those who do His commandments”. This is likely a scribal error as the term “those who wash their robes” is πλυνοντες τας στολας (plunontes tas stolas) and can, at a quick glance, appear to be the phrase ποιουντες τας εντολας (poiountes tas entolas). Certainly, to “do His commandments” is not incorrect in context. John 14:15 and 21 reminds us that “if you love Me, you will keep My commandments”. In Revelation, the dragon makes war with all “those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”[15] And Matthew 25, the judgment doesn’t concern what we believe but how we act. However, the earlier and more numerous manuscripts prefer to refer back to those whose robes are washed in Revelation 7 and possibly Revelation 19:6-9.
The end of Jesus’ revelation connects to God’s covenantal relationship throughout history. Yes, there is judgment, but God’s faithfulness is evident to all. Jesus is the promised king who will reign eternally on the throne of David. He is the root of Jesse who will not judge on hearsay but with righteousness.[16] Revelation 22:16, by connecting to Isaiah 11, describes not only Jesus’ righteous judgment but also looks forward to a renewed creation where no harm or destruction will occur on His holy mountain.
We often think of the bride of Jesus to be the church, and so it is occasionally portrayed by Paul in II Corinthians and Ephesians. Israel is also shown as a bride in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Hosea. However, Revelation 21-22 shows that the bride spoken of here is neither the church nor Israel but the city of God—Jerusalem. The gates are open and inviting; the river of life that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb is available to those who thirst. But not all will enter. Nonetheless, with hope and longing we should be able to say, maranatha, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
John 17:20-26. Prayer is an integral part of our lives. We have a relationship with the God of the universe and we can come to Him in prayer day or night: in supplication and in thanksgiving, in confession and in praise, in longing and in hope. As children, we learn how to talk through the example of those around us and the same is true when we turn to God in prayer. The Scriptures record many prayers of the saints, from Moses’ multiple intercessions in Exodus 32 to Solomon’s prayer of dedication and supplication in I Kings 8. The prophets and psalmists often pray to God: pleading, praising, arguing, crying, and rejoicing. But in John 17, we have one of the few times we can read Jesus’ prayer to the Father.
Jesus’ prayer is short, only a few minutes long, and uses very simple words but the grammar, syntax, and theology can be very difficult to understand. Nonetheless, in John 17:20-26, Jesus, as recorded in John’s gospel, continuously circles and expands on a single thought, unity.
Jesus mentions that the Father has “loved me before the foundation of the world.” Both Paul and Peter mention that God chose, or foreknew, us before the foundation of the world[17] but Jesus states that He shared God’s glory and was loved before the foundation of the world. Whether stating it directly (as in John 1:1-3) or referencing passages from Isaiah, Jesus is declared to be God in the book of John (along with Revelation). God the Father and God the Son eternally dwelled together in love and glory. But God also wants to dwell with His (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) creation—us.
Our unity doesn’t come about because we all have the same theology, although the practices and beliefs of Jesus’ disciples passed on to us should help us believe that Jesus is sent by the Father—the alternative is to be among those in the world that do not know God—it is that we dwell with Jesus and the Father. Jesus shares both the glory and love that is between Himself and the Father with His disciples and also with those of us who believe in Him through the teachings of the apostles.
The divine presence of God dwelling among those who live in unity is deeply rooted in both Scripture and tradition. God’s blessing of life comes on those who “dwell together in unity.”[18] Thus, the Dead Sea community described their fellowship with the term יחד (yahad, together, or oneness).[19] Pirkei Avot 3.2 says, “if two sit together and there are words of Torah between them, then the Shekinah abides among them.”
Acts 2:1 speaks of the disciples coming together in language that shares a deep connection to Shavuot.[20] Through the disciples' unity on Shavuot (Pentecost), Jesus’ request that the world might know that He was sent by God through His disciples was fulfilled. But this unity extended beyond proclamation of the gospel and into daily life. The disciples of Jesus and the apostles met together to study and to fellowship. They were even willing to share all they had with one another.
The simplicity of God dwelling among us and us being in unity doesn’t take away from Jesus’ earlier statements “If you love me, you will keep my commandments… If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”[21] We are called to obedience, to believe in the testimony of Jesus and His disciples, but (as Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1-6) our unity is found in having one Lord. If we seek to obey Him, we will endeavour “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Hebraic Perspective. The word ‘prayer’ in English is derived from a Latin word ‘precari’, an entreaty for granting a petition. Sadly, too often prayers only represent petitions and requests to God. The Hebrew word for prayer is תְפִלָה tefilah which comes from the verb להתפלל l’hitpallel. The verb to pray in Hebrew is a reflexive verb. A reflexive verb is something that you do to yourself.[22] How can prayer be reflexive? After all, we pray to God–not to ourselves. And God does listen to our prayers. Even Jesus prayed as we find in John 17.
What does it mean then for a prayer to be reflexive? The Hebraic concept of prayer contains within itself the concept of self analysis and self evaluation while in communication with God. The goal therefore is not to try to influence God, rather the opposite, to let God influence you. When Paul and Silas were in prison, they sang praises to God. Jesus sang praises to God even as He walked to the garden of Gethsemane on the day of His death.[23]
How could Paul remain joyful in persecution? How could Jesus declare, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done…”? In declaring our thankfulness, we realize that we have so much to be thankful for. In declaring the mighty works of God, we learn to fear Him and depend on Him as our rock, our fortress, and deliverer. In praying for others, we can remember all that God has done for us.
ACNA Readings[24]
Psalm 68:1-20.[25] David began his psalm with a triumphal declaration, “God shall arise”. When He does, two things will happen. First, the enemies of God will be defeated—it will be as natural a thing as smoke dispersing in the wind or wax melting when on fire. There is no fight, no competition, God will be victorious. As we conclude the Easter season, it is important to remember that death and sin did not conquer Jesus when He went to the cross. He defeated them. Jesus knew that He would go to the cross but He also knew that three days later He would rise from the dead—death has been defeated. Second, the people of God should be glad. This should be just as natural a response as the victory God has over those who hate Him.
Our response should be the same as David’s, who in verse 4 extols us to “Sing to God and praise His name.” Verse 5 notes that part of the redemption includes God protecting the widows and the orphans, which James 1:27 reminds us is true religion. In all the excitement of the Lord’s victory over death we should never neglect the poor and disenfranchised, these ones are at the heart of God. The Talmud, tractate Shabbat 133b.6 states, “Be similar, as it were, to Him, the Almighty: Just as He is compassionate and merciful, so too should you be compassionate and merciful.” If the fatherless and widow, the lonely and imprisoned are precious to God, there is a reminder that we too should ensure they are precious to us.
When God guided His people and brought them to Mount Sinai so that He might dwell with them, He did not only save the mighty and righteous, He brought the grumblers and fearful. When God gives rain to the earth, He doesn’t only give it to the righteous. God provides for the needy.
David used the imagery of jealous mountains fuming in envy at God dwelling with his people in Zion. The psalmist contrasts the mighty mountains of the Bashan, present day Golan Heights and Hermon against the lesser stature of Mount Zion. On the one side you have the mountains of the Bashan-Golan—tall and imposing but with good soil and grazing land from the basaltic rock. Rain falls on Mount Hermon in abundance, upwards of 50-60 inches of rain annually. The limestone formation of Mount Hermon creates the largest karstic spring in the Middle East at Tel Dan (which forms the headwaters of the Jordan) and provides the surrounding land with its bounty. On the other hand, Mount Zion is not a large imposing mountain at all. In actuality, Zion is the smallest of mountains in Jerusalem and hardly comparable to the mountains of the north.
This reflects the character of the Lord, He does not place His temple on the highest but on the least of the mountains. God so often chooses the weak to confound the strong—the orphans, the widows, and the lonely, while kings of armies flee. God is actively involved in the life and victory of his people, even more so now following the resurrection and ascension of the Lord with the sending of the Holy Spirit amongst his people. We are now to be sent forth in the name of the Lord, empowered and emboldened to extend His redemption with life and hope to a broken world.
Psalm 68:20 ends with “Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belongs deliverances from death.” Deliverances, תוצאות (totza’ot) the ‘end, going out, or exit’ is generally a geological and geographical term in the Scriptures.[26] Here it is in the plural. God is the same God throughout history, constantly delivering His people from death. We can view His salvation in the many places God’s salvation was made manifest as shown throughout Psalm 68.
Psalm 68:18 is quoted by Paul in Ephesians 4:8 with commentary that has interested, astounded, confounded, and brought a beautiful mystery to Biblical scholars ever since. Many early Jewish commentators related Psalm 68:18 with Moses going up Mount Sinai (Psalm 68:17) and returning with the tablets God had given him.[27] Moses alone went up the mountain of God, which caused envy and gossip. There he received the Law of God that would bring life to man, a great gift “among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.” Before he could give them, he saw the rebelliousness of Israel and broke the tablets as they would bring death rather than life.
Moses started at the bottom of the mountain, ascended and then descended with God’s gift to even those who were rebellious and held captive. The phrase, “Κατωτερα μερη της γης” (the lower regions, the earth) in Ephesians 4:9 has had many commentaries written on it. In Greek writings in the time of Paul, it would also signify a geological and geographical delineation.[28] However, Paul spoke in a very rabbinical way in Ephesians 4 (not disagreeing with that which came before concerning Moses, but adding to it) in stating that Jesus started above, descended and then ascended once again.
We will not add to the vast wealth of commentary that has come before us but to say that the gifts Jesus brought was to bring the life of God to those who were in ignorance and rebellion against God. This mystery in Ephesians 4 should not bring argument but awe at the mystery of what Jesus has done, bringing the weak—even the captives who once were rebellious—to a place they can receive life as God will dwell in our midst. And surely, God has chosen to dwell in our midst as we remember the Ascension and the upcoming day of Pentecost.
Endnotes
[1] Jaroslav Pelikan
[2] This year, Shavuot is a week earlier than Pentecost due to the western calendar changes. However, both Psalm 97 and Psalm 68 are used in the RCL and ACNA lectionaries respectively and reference the giving of the law in Exodus. The book of Ruth and Psalms 113-118 are commonly read during Shavuot but Psalm 19, 29, 68, and 97 may also be read in many Jewish communities.
[3] The term εορτην εβδομαδων is used instead, feast of weeks.
[4] The giving of the Torah corresponding with Shavuot is based on a traditional reading of Exodus 19. Acts 2 highlights this interpretation of Exodus 19.
[5] Leviticus 11:44; I Peter 1:16
[6] Ruth 2:23
[7] While no synagogue has been excavated in Philippi, this is likely a synonym for a synagogue, as seen in Philo, Against Flaccus 41 and Josephus, The Life of Josephus Flavius 277.
[8] Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10
[9] Romans 5:3-5
[10] The Septuagint attributes Psalm 97 to David
[11] Or perhaps the passage of time between Easter and Pentecost
[12] Psalm 33:5; Psalm 89:14; Psalm 97:2; Psalm 103:6; Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 28:17; Isaiah 32:16-17; Isaiah 56:1; Jeremiah 9:24. God also desires that we exercise both righteousness and justice, Genesis 18:19; Proverbs 21:3; Isaiah 1:21; Isaiah 5:7; Jeremiah 22:3; Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23
[13] ACNA Reading includes Revelation 22:10-11
[14] John 5:22, 30, see also Matthew 16:24-27; 25:31-46
[15] Revelation 12:17
[16] Isaiah 11:1-5
[17] Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:20
[18] Psalm 133:1-3
[19] Although the Dead Sea community generally excluded all who were outside their community and even some within their community who couldn’t adhere to all their rules.
[20] See Hebraic Context
[21] John 14:15, 23
[22] An example would be the Hebrew verb to dress or to wear clothing is ללבוש lil'bosh. The reflexive form of this verb, to dress oneself is להתלבש l’hitlabesh.
[23] The Biblical pattern for a day is evening and morning.
[24] ACNA may include Psalm 47 from the Ascension Day readings rather than Psalm 68, part of the Shavuot readings.
[25] Psalm 68 is traditionally part of the Jewish prayers for Shavuot (Pentecost). Some commentators suggest the psalm was written on the occasion of the entry of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem in which David danced and enthusiastically celebrated before God and the people.
[26] Numbers 34:12 states, “And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit [end] shall be at the Salt Sea”. Joshua uses the term 14 times when dividing the land for the tribes.
[27] Midrash Tanchuma 3.1, Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer 46.5, and Avot d’Rabbi Natan 2.3
[28] Strabo, Geography, 1.3.22, 4.2.3, 13.1.35, and 17.1.2