The mind of Christ - Psalm 118

If one reads carefully in chapters 19 and 20 of Dr. Luke's gospel, one finds several references to Psalm 118, including Jesus making a razor sharp explanation that concludes His parable of the vineyard.

But he looked at them and asked, "What then does this scripture passage mean:

The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

YOUCH! The two-edged sword is sharp as sharp!

That being the case, it behooves us to dip backwards and take a short look at this mighty psalm, Psalm 118. Here are a few questions on this psalm:

1. In the first four verses, the psalmist exhorts
   1. Israel,
   2. the house of Aaron, and
   3. those who fear God
   tp give thanks to God. Is there a group of human beings that are permanently outside this set of three groups?
2. Is the psalmist in danger? Is he a weenie or is he brave? What kind of danger was Jesus heading into?
3. What was the thing about Jesus that most scandalized the Pharisees?
4. Was the Lord Jesus ever encircled during the betrayal and crucifixion? Did he ever cut anyone off?
5. Was the Lord Jesus chastised during the betrayal and crucifixion?
6. How did shouts of deliverance sound during the betrayal and crucifixion, if at all?
7. Can you see Jesus joyfully exclaiming, "Open for me the gates of righteousness! I shall enter them and thank God"?
8. How does this view of Jerusalem square with what Blessed John saw in the Revelation? Sneaky peek: Rev. 21.
9. What does the Church teach about the Lord’s Day? Which day is THE day that the Lord has made?

We will study this Thursday in Psalm 118, and, in that, seek to "learn him," seeking as always to become doers of the Word.

Postponed

I have to postpone the Psalm 118 session until next week, due to transportation difficulty. So session is cancelled, today only. Sorry!

Dr. Luke's record of the Lord's εξοδον, his Exodus

We concluded last week's discussion by looking into the question of Jesus following his interaction with IRS man Zacchaeus by the parable of the wicked king and his ten "minas." What did Jesus accomplish with this pair of teachings, side by side?

This week we will look into the answer: his mission in Jerusalem. Here are a few questions to think over:

1. 
   Jesus sees his place of torture and execution, Jerusalem, and he weeps, for Jerusalem? Not for himself? What is the subject of his sorrow in vv. 41-44?
2. Was Jesus actually in the line of David, king of Israel?
3. Has God ever raised praise from the very stones of Earth?
4. Previously many times Jesus admonished people not to blab about him, and he definitely discouraged people from proclaiming him a king... but not this time. Why is that?
5. At Mass, when do we repeat the exclamation of Jesus as Lord? What does that signify, geospatially?
6. Who was worse: the money-changing merchants in the Temple or the scribes and Pharisees everywhere else? How were the two groups similar?
7. In v. 48, Dr. Luke writes that the people hung upon Jesus' words. How does Luke back up that concept with the beginning story of Ch. 20?
8. Did Jesus ever reveal the source of his authority?
9. Does Jesus show salt in this beginning of his Jerusalem mission?

This exodus from Jerusalem is the center of all history. We do well to look into it and thereby find our feet, steady and sure, ready to become doers of the Word.

Mr. Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree

In Ch. 19 of Luke, we read about worthy Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. Here are a few study questions to work on:

1. Jesus came to save the lost. But did Zacchaeus act as if he were lost?
2. How would you feel if you were hustling and bustling to find Jesus, and then you turn the corner and hear Jesus call out, "Aha! Just the man I was looking for?"
3. How dignified was it for the top IRS man in Jericho to hustle about and climb a sycamore tree?
4. Zacchaeus gave half of his belongings to the poor, then repaid victims fourfold. What was Zacchaeus' extortion rate?
5. Is fourfold repayment a true restitution?
6. Did the man who hid his gold in a handkerchief commit a sin or omit a righteous action? Sin of commission or sin of omission?
7. Is usury OK with Jesus?
8. The parable of a king and his three servants ends rather harshly. Is there any resemblance between this king and the Lord Jesus?
9. It is interesting to think about the contrast Jesus makes between how Zacchaeus handles money and how the ten servants of the parable handle their money. What did Jesus accomplish with this pair of teachings, side by side?

I think this last question, #9, will be the most helpful for us, as we seek to become doers of the Word.