Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
John 6:68
Words are powerful things. We all know, probably from personal experience, that the old saying about sticks and stones is just a defence. Names and hard words will always hurt. But it's not simply words that have got Jephthah into trouble in our reading from Judges 11, it is a vow. He has promised to sacrifice to God the first thing that comes out of his doors when he gets home. Tragically, and in a move copied by fairytale writers, it is his daughter. It could be that he did sacrifice her to God as a burnt offering. However, the Levitical laws did allow for a vow that would end in sin to be broken and human sacrifice was clearly an abomination. Hopefully, and it is still harsh, Jephthah simply dedicated his daughter to perpetual virginity, which would have ended his family line even so. No wonder the people of Israel wanted a King with all that going on!
Speaking of Kings, enter Jesus (neat link I thought). In our reading today he is losing followers due to the uniqueness of his claims and struggling with his brothers who seem keen to put him on display, but do not really believe in him.
After Jesus explained that he is the true bread that has come down from Heaven, many of his disciples start to grumble. Many left because of what he claimed about himself. People getting offended by the uniqueness of Jesus' claims is not a new thing. It would appear that the disciples who left Jesus were happy to follow him while he was turning water to wine and feeding five thousand people and saying interesting things. That was entertaining and did not demand any personal commitment. However, when Jesus started describing himself as the 'Son of Man' and saying that eternal life is given through feeding on him, people start getting offended and leaving. Not Simon Peter though. This time he sums the situation up perfectly. When Jesus asks him if he is going to leave he repiles … "Lord, to whom else shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." That says it all really.
John Martin-Jones
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 59:9 -17, Judges 11:29-13:35, John6:60-7:13
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