Scripture Study for

Today’s passage from Jeremiah recounts the prophet’s experience not long before the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon. Already that empire had conquered Judah and placed Zedekiah, a client  Davidic king, on the throne. But that king was also rebellious and attempted to shake off the Babylonian yoke. Jeremiah warned the king and others that they should submit to Babylon, who was God’s instrument of judgment, and to expect even worse from Babylon if they did not (38:2–3). This is the “demoralizing” of which he was accused. Zedekiah shows himself to be morally weak, unable to stand up to the princes, first turning the prophet over to them and then secretly helping him. This weakness will eventually lead to  Zedekiah’s—and Jerusalem’s—downfall. 

Having delineated how Israel’s ancestors lived and died with faith  (trust) in God’s promises (11:1–38), the author of Hebrews now comes back to his audience, who are surrounded by the cloud of witnesses to God’s fidelity and trustworthiness. If we are able to place our confidence in God on the basis of their witness (“evidence of things not seen” [11:1]), we will be able to persevere in our struggle against sin. Jesus, of course, is the premier exemplar of faith in God,  which allowed him to face the cross. His faith was vindicated in his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. Christians should look not only to the ancestors but especially to Christ, and struggle mightily, even to the point (literally or metaphorically) of shedding their own blood—as Christ did—with faith in God.

The Gospel reading points once again to the radical nature of  Christian discipleship and the demands of living the gospel. Jesus has come to announce the earth-shattering news that God is bringing divine sovereign power to bear on the world to destroy all that harms creation. The human responses must be, in the first place, repentance and turning back to God to receive the gift of the kingdom. The fire is both the proclamation of the kingdom and the purifying fire of repentance (Luke 3:16–18). Although the message is Good News, it is not “peaceful” in the sense of leaving things undisturbed, nor does it present a sentimental, “nice” notion of God, nor does it require nothing of those who accept. Consequently, it will be accepted by some and rejected by others, causing division within families and society. This is the nature of a purifying fire.