Many of us have been taught many times over that the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh pointed respectively to Jesus royalty, his priestly role or his divinity, and his forthcoming death and burial.
R T France would caution us here, and helpfully allows the rest of the Bible to tell us what they signify. Letting Scripture interpret Scripture is always a far safer bet than guessing or importing symbols from elsewhere. So here is what he suggests:
Helpful words from R T France on the visit of the Magi. The star's role changes as they leave Jerusalem for the final leg of their journey to Bethlehem:
God willing (* see James 4:15) I will be speaking on an "Unlocking the Bible" weekend at Otford Manor, the fine home of the fine Oak Hall Expeditions, next weekend (November 18-20).
That is one of the most fruitful questions I've asked of this familiar Psalm.
As I explained about a year ago, the book of Psalms is not 150 prayers and hymns in random order. It's sometimes hard to know exactly what conclusions we should draw from the order the Psalms are in, but that they have been carefully arranged is beyond doubt.
I'm delighted to commend to readers of this blog an upcoming day conference in North London. It is organised by Emmanuel Church in North London, where my friend Steve Jeffery is the minister. One of the things I have always appreciated about Emmanuel is the way they enjoy putting events on that will serve the wider church.
Here's some of the blurb from their website.
Next Sunday falls as part of a week off for us, so we won't be at Kemsing or Woodlands churches.
The week after is 30th October. For a couple of years now, we've taken the opportunity that comes around four times a year (the fifth Sunday of the month) to have one joint service for both churches. In the main they've been happy celebrations, and the aim is always to worship the one Lord Jesus Christ, and to remind ourselves that the gospel which unites us is far stronger than any cultural, geographical, or ecclesiastical-taste differences we might have.
Yesterday, I quote from John Stott on the Sermon on Matthew 5:38-48. It may seem impossible that we live in the way Jesus teaches.
Here is Stott again:
John Stott, in his magnificent commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, makes these remarks on 5:38-48:
“Our duty to individuals who wrong us is not retaliation, but the acceptance of injustice without revenge or redress.” (page 105)
Jesus then gives 4 example of what this looks like in practice.
As I look at Psalm 6, in preparation for this coming Sunday evening, I went back to visit a blog post by Adrian Reynolds over at The Proclaimer.
He says this, which is very helpful indeed:
Some sobering words from Chris Green as he comments on 2 Timothy 4:10
