So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
—John 8:31-33
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
—John 8:58
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham
—Hebrews 7:9
Many cultures have the idea of a "golden age" in which "our" standard of living was at its highest. The definition of "our" depends on who is speaking or writing. And the definition of highest seems often to involve some combination of prosperity, culture, and power. And selective memory.
Jean Redpath, the noted Scottish folk singer, told of being approached during an intermission by an audience member who asked her to sing "some of the good old songs". With a twinkle in her eye, Redpath said that she had been tempted to reply, "The last one I sang before intermission was from the 13th century. Is that old enough for you?" She observed that most people defined "good old songs" as tunes they remembered from their own childhood years.
Selective memory is not new. There are even examples in Scripture.
The hearers of Jesus who identified themselves as descendants of Abraham, a people who “have never been enslaved” seem oblivious both to the history of Israel and to their current status. The Israelites who had been slaves in Egypt, the Isrelites oppressed by surrounding peoples during the time of Judges, and the people of Israel and Judah during the years of exile were all descendants of Abraham. And the very people who objected to the statement of Jesus that “the truth will set you free” were living in a country under Roman occupation and rule.
The kingdom of Solomon, arguably a time of great prosperity, also became a time of spiritual poverty. It set the stage for the division of the nation and collapse into idolatry. Those of Jesus' time who looked further back to the time of Moses forgot that Moses described Israel, ironically nicknamed "the upright one", as stubborn scoffers. And forgot that long before Moses and the Law and the Aaronic priesthood, Abraham gave a tithe to a mysterious “priest of God Most High”.
And the Lord Himself was before Abraham, from the beginning. The kingdom of the Lord is not a matter of "restoring" some imagined past human greatness. It calls His people to witness something that human power alone has never achieved, and will never achieve.
From the Beginning (part 2)
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
—Psalm 139:8
“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.”
—Deuteronomy 32:15
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
—John 8:31-33
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
—John 8:58
One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham
—Hebrews 7:9
Many cultures have the idea of a "golden age" in which "our" standard of living was at its highest. The definition of "our" depends on who is speaking or writing. And the definition of highest seems often to involve some combination of prosperity, culture, and power. And selective memory.
Jean Redpath, the noted Scottish folk singer, told of being approached during an intermission by an audience member who asked her to sing "some of the good old songs". With a twinkle in her eye, Redpath said that she had been tempted to reply, "The last one I sang before intermission was from the 13th century. Is that old enough for you?" She observed that most people defined "good old songs" as tunes they remembered from their own childhood years.
Selective memory is not new. There are even examples in Scripture.
The hearers of Jesus who identified themselves as descendants of Abraham, a people who “have never been enslaved” seem oblivious both to the history of Israel and to their current status. The Israelites who had been slaves in Egypt, the Isrelites oppressed by surrounding peoples during the time of Judges, and the people of Israel and Judah during the years of exile were all descendants of Abraham. And the very people who objected to the statement of Jesus that “the truth will set you free” were living in a country under Roman occupation and rule.
The kingdom of Solomon, arguably a time of great prosperity, also became a time of spiritual poverty. It set the stage for the division of the nation and collapse into idolatry. Those of Jesus' time who looked further back to the time of Moses forgot that Moses described Israel, ironically nicknamed "the upright one", as stubborn scoffers. And forgot that long before Moses and the Law and the Aaronic priesthood, Abraham gave a tithe to a mysterious “priest of God Most High”.
And the Lord Himself was before Abraham, from the beginning. The kingdom of the Lord is not a matter of "restoring" some imagined past human greatness. It calls His people to witness something that human power alone has never achieved, and will never achieve.