...Cleopas, one of the two blind-sided disciples on the Road to Emmaus? He might have been on John Newton's mind during the writing of "Amazing Grace"..."I once was blind, but now I see." (Danggit, as Elfson might say, maybe Newton was channeling Cleopas by the guidance of the Spirit that fateful day!...in a post-Reformational, Zen sorta way in the providence of God, of course.) The trouble is, when Jesus "opened their eyes" at supper He disappeared and they started talking about the heartburn Jesus gave them on the road! I wonder if Dr. Luke would have prescribed the herbal version of Prilosec for them?
...The Rich Young Ruler of Luke 18:18...he went away saddened because he was so rich, but Scripture is silent on whether he eventually sold all his stuff and followed Jesus, as He told him in the Matthew 19:21 account of the story. Mark 10:21 says Jesus "loved him" and then told him to take up his cross and follow...is that like "Jacob I loved, Esau I hated" of Romans 9:13?...indicating the Rich Guy was elect unto salvation from before the foundation of the world?
Malchus...the soldier who had really quick reflexes and only lost an ear to Peter's sword instead of his whole head in the Garden of Gethsemane? Did he and the other troops sit around later on over a bottle of Chianti discussing just exactly HOW Mal got his ear back...it was not with some futuristic skin mender like Mal Reynolds' ear-restoration in Firefly, you can bet on that!! Luke says Jesus "touched his ear [presumably the bleeding stump] and healed him." Did Malchus go back to the garden and retrieve his old ear to serve as a trophy...or maybe as a piece of testimony evidence after his conversion experience?
...The Centurion who glorified God, according to Luke 23:47 by declaring Jesus was a righteous man after He gave up His spirit on the cross? Matthew 27:54 and Mark 15:39 say the Centurion said Jesus was the Son of God, too, so based on Jesus comment to Peter earlier in the Gospels that it was the Spirit who gave Peter the ability to say the same thing, I'm guessing The Centurion will be "standing guard though the angels sleep" in heaven, as "The Mansions of the Lord" just played on my computer!! Of course we know they don't, but it's an encouraging image as it follows the line "Where no mothers cry and no children weep..." like I'm doing now.
Guess I'm looking forward to having my tears wiped away, as it says in Revelation...
Y'all have a good day.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment