Key
Bold = verse commented upon
Blue
= comment
Highlight = direct command
Highlight = direct command
1 For you yourselves
know, brothers, that our reception among you was not without effect. 2 Rather,
after we had suffered and been
insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle. We have face
difficulty in our efforts to serve God/execute His will, but we can overcome
them by drawing strength from Him. See Sirach
2, Matthew
11:28-30, John
15:1-3, John
16:33. 3 Our
exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through
deception. 4 But as we were judged
worthy by God to be entrusted with the gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please human beings, but
rather God, who judges our hearts. We should
respond to that difficulty by focusing entirely on God, clinging to Him,
without regard to what others think. This seems to reflect the same principle
as Psalm 37 and Matthew 6. 5 Nor,
indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a
pretext for greed—God is witness— 6 nor did we seek praise from human
beings, either from you or from others, Again, Psalm 37 and Matthew 6. 7 although
we were able to impose our weight as apostles of Christ. Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing
mother cares for her children. Humility,
selflessness. See Sirach 3:17-23. 8 With
such affection for you, we were determined
to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us. We must
draw near, on a personal level, to those we minister to, serve.
1 For the leader. A
psalm of David.
Lord, you have probed me, you know me: 2 you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. 3 You
sift through my travels and my rest;
with
all my ways you are familiar.
4 Even before a word is
on my tongue,
Lord, you know it all. 5 Behind and before you encircle me
and rest your hand upon me. 6 Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me,
far too lofty for me to reach.
God can help us through difficulty, as
explained in connection with 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8, above, because He know
precisely what each of our individual situations and inner dispositions are.
Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than
any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and
marrow, and able to discern reflections
and thoughts of the heart.
One of
the ways God helps us through difficulties, as discussed in connection with 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 and Psalm 139:1-6 above, is by speaking to us
through His Word. He will often lead us to a passage that addresses our
situation (remember, He knows exactly what we are dealing with and our inner
dispositions, Psalm 139:1-6), and speaks directly to us
through that passage. Maybe that is what St. Paul was referring to in 2
Timothy 3:16-17 when he said that scripture is a God inspired means for
“guiding people’s lives” and making them “fully equipped for any good work” (New
Jerusalem Bible).
23 “Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and
have neglected the weightier things of
the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. [But] these you should have done, without neglecting the
others. 24 Blind guides, who
strain out the gnat and swallow the camel. “[J]udgment
and mercy and fidelity” are more important than devotional practices, but we
should pursue both.
25 “Woe to you, scribes
and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but
inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence. 26 Blind
Pharisee, cleanse first
the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean.
