Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 6:1-7:10, John 8:21-38

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul’s life was forever changed when, on the road to Damascus, on his mission to imprison followers of Jesus, He met Jesus Himself. Paul was struck blind, but in a way, his eyes were finally opened to the One who is the way, the truth, the life. Paul wrote in Galatians about his self-imposed exile in Arabia and Damascus. During that time, he studied the Old Testament to better understand how these things could be true. Paul was a trained Pharisee under Gamaliel, a revered Jewish Rabbi. He knew the scriptures. 

But now, with Jesus at the center of them, everything became clear. All things pointed toward the fulfillment that took place in the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus! Judaism was a religion of works, always emphasizing the obedience the people owed to God. And it’s certainly possible to read the Old Testament in that way. But not when you factor in the words and works of Jesus! Instead, it becomes plain that God showed His great love for us by sending His Son to live a perfect life in our place, to overcome sin and temptation on our behalf, and then, to suffer the punishment that we deserved. 

This Gospel-filled unpacking of the Old Testament taught Paul to see Abraham in a different light. No longer was Abraham the example of obedience, but of faith. “Abraham believed God,” (Genesis 15:6) became the defining characteristic of father Abraham. He didn’t merely provide a bloodline for the Messiah, or for the chosen people, Israel, but He believed. And God considered him righteous. It’s easy for us to think about the things that the Old Testament heroes of the faith DID. That’s what Sunday School stories teach us, right? David and Goliath…Noah building the ark…Moses raising his staff, parting the Red Sea…but we have to remember that the Old Testament, just like the New, is all. about. Jesus. 

So what we should actually see throughout the Old Testament is that faith in God is commended. Where there is faith, there are God’s righteous people. Abraham believed God and trusted when God told him that he would be father to many nations. God be praised that we can see these faithful men and women, carried along by God, trusting that we are called to walk, not by sight, but faith. And where there is faith…there is righteousness before God! In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.