Jesus, The Bread of Life
6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. (NIV)
The last verse of Revelation 13 tells us that the number of the Beast is 666 (six hundred sixty-six). A lot of people have had theories about what that number means (although few are more harebrained than the one that science fiction author Robert Heinlein published). To be brief, and remembering that this devotion isn’t about that verse, “666” seems to be a permanent falling short of God’s divinity (typified in Revelation by the number 7). it’s the number of sin; the superlative of sin, and the ultimate expression of sin.
But don’t go reading “666” into every occurrence of that number. It certainly has nothing to do with the numbering of Bible verse like this one. In fact, the division of the Bible into chapters and verses is a relatively modern invention.
What the Bible tells us in this verse is that the number of Jesus’ disciples dropped quite a bit after this moment following the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Jesus told the Jews the truth, and his own disciples (who at one point numbered at least 72) dropped by “many.”
Proclaiming the truth of the word of God won’t always bring the kind of success we expect. But it will always do something. The word of God works in people. So don’t be afraid to share it; just never underestimate it.
Something Extra:
Philemon 4-5
4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.
With only a few exceptions (Galatians and Titus), Paul tells his readers that he is praying for them in the beginning of this letters. Since this is a personal letter to one man, when Paul says “I remember you” and “I hear about your faith” he is talking about Philemon alone and not a group.
The Greek of verse 5 might be awkward, since it says literally I hear about your love and faith, which you have for the Lord Jesus and for all the saints. Paul of course has both love and faith for Jesus, and love for the saints, but his faith is in Jesus and not in the saints. Paul is using a literary device called a chiasm, named for the X-shaped Greek letter chi. In a chiasm of four nouns like this one, the first and last items are linked, and the second and third items are linked, like this:
love faith
X
Jesus saints
Paul is using elegant, light-hearted language with his old friend Philemon. In this letter, we will also see Paul follow a pattern Greek rhetoric in which first there is a friendly rapport established, then an appeal to the intellect through logic, and finally the appeal is driven home with emotions.
Paul wants his friend to do something, but he’s being careful and loving with the way he’s putting his request. We can follow Paul’s example in the way we make requests of one another. We treat one another in love, because our loving Father in heaven has made us a part of his family. So as we talk, live, work and love, we do it with our Savior’s love in mind as both an example and a motivation, thinking always, “I want my friend in heaven, too.”
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
