In February, 2011, a British film won four Oscars. The film highlighted the efforts King George VI made to overcome his stutter through the help of an unorthodox Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The film was called The King’s Speech. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, He was asked, “Are You a king then?" The Man who stood before the governor certainly did not have the outward appearance of a king. Pilate failed to grasp that the One who stood before him, was truly the ‘King of kings’, and with His speech, He’d brought the universe into being! “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.
‘‘Be of good cheer, Paul ...you must also bear witness at Rome” -
This was God’s promise to the apostle Paul, who had been very close to being ‘torn in pieces’ by the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, as he spoke concerning ‘the hope and resurrection of the dead’. It was God’s purpose that Paul WOULD one day witness in Rome. God’s purpose COULD NOT fail. Shortly afterwards a plot was made on Paul’s life and he notified the Roman guard. We see in this, the strange mix of GOD’S PURPOSE and MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY. Paul didn’t lie back and say, ‘This plot will come to nothing because of God’s will. I don’t need to do anything.’ On the contrary, he felt compelled to act to foil the scheming of his enemies!
“I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large
place” -
When a leper was cleansed he had to follow a certain protocol as prescribed by God [Leviticus 14]. Two small birds were to be taken and one of them was ‘killed in an earthen vessel’. This dark confined space must have been a frightening experience for the small bird. This is so reminiscent of Christ in the darkness of the cross. The living bird was then dipped ‘in the blood of the bird that was killed’, before being released into the expansive liberty of ‘the open field’: a large place indeed!. This second bird would speak of the resurrection of the Saviour. He had said to His disciples, “Because I live, you will live also.” That being so, the believer can say, “He has set me in a large place”: the ‘open field’ of resurrection ground!
“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” -
Before leaving the upper room for the seclusion of the Garden of Gethsemane, it is recorded that they ‘sung a hymn’. Is it not amazing that the Lord. In view of what lay before Him, could ever raise His voice in song. It was the Psalm from which our verse is taken, that the Lord sang on that memorable evening. The psalmist speaks of the sacrifice being bound “with cords to the horns of the altar”. The Lord no doubt would anticipate the cross as these words escaped His lips. The same Psalm spoke of His rejection by the nation – ‘the stone which the builders rejected’. However, His subsequent exaltation is also declared! He is to be ‘the chief cornerstone’. Singing these words must have brought joy to Him! Joy in sorrow!
Some say, “I’ll only believe if I can see with my own eyes”. This was the attitude of the disciple Thomas, who refused to accept the testimony of his ten disciple colleagues when they asserted that the Lord had been raised to life again. Some of those who witnessed the raising of Lazurus from the dead, were unmoved by that dramatic event and ‘went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.’ ‘Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.’ This was gross, inexcusable unbelief! In today’s verse, the Lord is found in His hometown, Nazareth, and their familiarity with Him, clouded their minds and caused them not to believe. Such was the indefensible nature of this unbelief, it caused the Lord to marvel!
“And He marvelled because of their unbelief” -