BiblicalInsights.net

The friendship of David and Jonathan is one of the purest in the entire Bible.  Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection.  Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than either acquaintance or co-worker.  Jeremy Taylor defines friendship in the following manner, “By friendship you mean the greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds of which brave men and women are capable.”
The Relationship Between David and Jonathan
In I Samuel 13:3; and 14:1-14, there is a depiction of the heroism of Jonathan and his armor bearer.  Together, they destroyed a Philistine garrison of twenty men.  Before Jonathan approaches the Philistines, he establishes a sign that would indicate that God would deliver the enemy into their hands.  When the sign was confirmed, Jonathan and his armor bearer fought and won the battle.  David demonstrates his fearless fighting ability by fighting the giant Goliath and killing him (I Samuel 17).  David and Jonathan were both fearless warriors.  Both men loved each other as friends.  Both men respected each other and trusted each other.  Both men had a strong faith in God.  This spiritual bond played a significant role in their relationship.
The Covenant of Mercy
In I Samuel 20:8 and 14-17, David and Jonathan express a covenant of mercy between them.  David sought the preservation of his life from Saul, Jonathan’s father.  Jonathan sought David’s goodwill toward himself and his descendants.  Jonathan remained loyal to David even as David rose in prominence.  Jonathan should rightly have become king.  But Jonathan accepts God’s choice of David to be the next king in Israel.  Consequently, he does not envy David nor become a rival to him as Saul had done.  Jonathan seeks to preserve David’s life and so preserve David’s place in Israel’s history.  Giving place to David is an act of lovingkindness or hesed on Jonathan’s part.  David and Jonathan have internalized God’s mercy in their own lives.  Both had been the recipients of God’s mercy and now they have internalized it in their own relationship with each other.  Hesed has been defined as, “when the person from whom I have no right to expect anything, gives me everything” (Michael Card).  Hesed is grace, mercy, lovingkindness.  When this principle functions in a relationship and is motivated by love, it unleashes a powerful bond that will last a lifetime and beyond.  This is the key to lifetime friendship.
The Covenant of Mercy and Reciprocity
Once a covenant of mercy is established between two people on the basis of love, there is mutuality.  The one who is initially shown hesed naturally demonstrates hesed in return.  This is not a legal expectation.  It is based upon love which acts freely.  Reciprocity is an indication that both parties in a friendship have internalized the truth of hesed.  Hesed is relational.  Its power in a relationship is increased when it is reciprocated.  It becomes the principle upon which the friendship functions.  If hesed is not returned by you in gratitude, you have not understood the nature of hesed shown to you in the first place.  The failure to reciprocate hesed disappoints the person who has shown hesed.  When mutual reciprocity of hesed is active in a relationship, the relationship endures all the ups and downs and good times and bad times presented by external circumstances.  Even after Jonathan died in battle at the same time as his father, Saul, David continued to show mercy to his descendants.  This demonstrates the power of the covenant of mercy between David and Jonathan (see Michael Card, Inexpressible: Hesed and the Mystery of God’s Lovingkindness).
Hesed and You
When hesed is experienced in our relationship with God, we taste of the heavenly gifts of mercy and grace (Heb. 6:4).  We have no right to expect anything from God, but He gives us everything!  Motivated by love, God gives us every spiritual blessing through His Son, Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:3).  We become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16-17). We receive the forgiveness of our sins when we obey the gospel (Acts 2:38, Rom. 6:4 and 17).  We become the children of God (Gal. 3:26-27).  Truly, God is rich in grace and mercy toward us (Eph. 1:7, 2:4). When we internalize God’s mercy and imitate Him in manifesting hesed, we display the divine nature in our relationships with others.  We unleash the power of love and mercy in all of our relationships and we have the potential to form bonds that will last a lifetime and beyond!

Matthew records Jesus’ conversation with a woman of Canaan (Matt. 15:21-28).  Jesus enters the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and is met by a woman with a special request.  The woman is a Gentile.  This is the first time that Matthew reports a woman as addressing Jesus.  The woman’s daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.  She comes to Jesus because she knows and believes that He can heal her daughter.
Faith’s Request
She says, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”  She knows who Jesus is.  She addresses Him as Lord and as the Son of David (a reference that indicates knowledge that Jesus is the Messiah).  Faith is based upon knowledge.  Knowledge of the truth is a solid foundation for faith.  The request is not for herself, but in behalf of her daughter who is suffering and whom she loves.  Faith in the Lord and love for her daughter motivate her to make this plea for help.
Jesus’ First Response
Jesus answers her not a word.  Jesus’ silence tests the strength of her faith.  Jesus is not indifferent to her request.  Will she persist?  Delay tests the authenticity of her faith in Jesus and the love she has for her daughter.
Faith Rebuffed
Jesus’ disciples desire to have her dismissed.  They tell Jesus to “send her away.”  The disciples seem somewhat annoyed by her constant crying out after Jesus.  She was persistent and undaunted by the move to dismiss her request.  Her faith was resilient.
Jesus’ Second Response
Jesus states His mission:  “I am sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  The focus of Jesus’ ministry was among the Jews at this time.  The gospel went to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles.  However, there are times in Jesus’ public ministry where He opened the door of His mercy to the Gentiles indicating that God’s grace is available to all people.
Faith’s Resurgence
The woman worshipped Jesus and said, “Lord, help me.”  This is the second time she addresses Jesus as Lord.  Her faith is fixed on His position and power.  She manifests great pathos.  Her emotions support her faith.
Jesus’ Third Response
Jesus said to her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”  The response of Jesus points out the priority of His mission.  Children are superior to dogs.  The use of the term dogs is not meant to offend her, but to establish the distinction between God’s chosen people and the other nations under the Old Testament.  However, this distinction is about to change under a new dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the New Testament).
Faith Unrelenting
The woman replies to Jesus, “Truth Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fell from their master’s table.”  For the third time she refers to Him as Lord.  Her request comes from an acknowledged position of humility.  She does not possess the rights of the children.  She knows she deserves nothing, but still, she comes seeking a special blessing, indeed, a miracle.
Faith Rewarded
Jesus says to her, “O woman, great is thy faith…”  She knows who Jesus is and that He has the power to help her.  Her knowledge is the basis of her faith.  Her faith underlies her plea.  Her plea is relentless because her faith is great.  Her plea is answered/rewarded by mercy–the very mercy she came seeking.  Jesus said, “Be it unto thee even as thou wilt” (Matt. 15:28).  “And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.”  Mercy was obtained and God’s heart was revealed.  Great faith can be found in unexpected hearts!

In Luke 7:1-10, Luke records a message received by Jesus from a Roman soldier–a centurion.  The man was a God-fearer.  He was known among the elders of the Jews in the city of Capernaum.  Capernaum is Jesus’ temporary home.  It is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and functioned primarily as a fishing village.
The Request
The centurion has a servant that is very sick. He believes that Jesus can heal his servant.  He sends his request to Jesus through the elders of the Jews.  The elders tell Jesus that the man is worthy of a miracle because he has helped support the Jewish religion and had built them a synagogue.  Jesus went with them.

The Request Enhanced.
As Jesus neared the centurion’s house, his friends met Jesus with a message.  They were instructed to tell Jesus, “Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee:  but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed (vv. 6-7).  The centurion said, “I am not worthy.”  The elders of the Jews said, “He is worthy.”  The plea of the centurion is from someone who is keenly aware of his own unworthiness and, yet, he asked for a special blessing from Jesus.  Say in a word and my servant shall be healed. The centurion trusts in the power of Jesus’ words to heal his servant.  He understands that Jesus possess special authority.  As a centurion, he has commanded both his servants and his soldiers to come or to go and they obeyed him.  He believes that Jesus has authority that can be communicated by His words to heal his servant.

Jesus Marvels
“When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, “I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (v. 9).  Luke uses seven different Greek words to capture the amazement of characters in his gospel.  The shepherds were amazed and so were Joseph and Mary.  The people of Nazareth and the residents of Capernaum were amazed.  But, this is the only time that Jesus marvels in Luke’s gospel. The Greek word translated marvel is ekthaumazō.  This is an intensive form of thaumazō.  It means to wonder or to marvel.  It refers to the astonishment of the mind.  Why did Jesus marvel?  The answer is given by Jesus.  The centurion’s faith was great.  Faith is dynamic.  Sometimes it is weak or little and sometimes it is strong or great.  The centurion’s faith involved trust in Jesus’ true identity, the authority with which Jesus could speak and the lovingkindness which characterized the heart of Jesus.  It is the faith of one who is unworthy seeking a special blessing and confident in the asking because of certain knowledge of the heart of God.  Jesus is surprised by great faith in an unexpected heart.

The Heart of God
God, by grace, is willing to give us everything when we are deserving of nothing.  God’s mercies are great and continually available to us.  The bigness that characterizes God’s heart must be met with a greatness in our faith.  Faith that works by love (Gal. 5:6).  Faith that obeys God’s will (Rom. 1:5).  Faith that knows God. Faith that trusts in the power of God’s Word.  Faith that trusts in the lovingkindness which characterizes the heart of God.   Such faith is not fearful of asking God for great and good things even though it is found in a heart that is unworthy.

The word trust occurs around 200 times in the Bible.  Blessed promises, shining like a galaxy of stars are also offered to those who trust in the Lord with all of their heart.  Several different meanings are attached to trust as it is used in the Bible.
First, the word trust is used to mean reliance.  II Kings 18:5, “He trusted in the LORD God of Israel: so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.”  These words were spoken of king Hezekiah and show the reliance of Hezekiah on the LORD.  Hezekiah clave to the LORD and obeyed His commandments.  Hezekiah did not rely on foreign nations.  Instead, He relied upon God and God delivered him from the Assyrians.
Second, trust involves commitment.  Psa. 22:8, “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him.”  Psa. 22 is Messianic and thus the fulfillment is seen in the life of Jesus Christ.  “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (I Pet. 2:23).  The strength of Jesus’ commitment is seen in the intensity of the trial of the crucifixion.
Third, trust is connected with steadfastness.  “Job 35:14, “Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.”  Trust is “staying the course.”
Fourth, trust involves taking refuge or having security.  In Ruth 2:12, Boaz says to Ruth, “The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”  Security is found in the LORD whenever we place our trust in Him.
Fifth, trust is closely associated with confidence and hope.  Trust involves the idea of “waiting with hope.”  “In his name shall the Gentiles trust” (Matt. 12:21).  This is a quotation from Isaiah 42 regarding the Messiah.  Jesus is the hope of the Gentiles, indeed, He is the hope of the world.  In Luke 16:11, the word trust clearly has the idea of “confidence in.”  “Who will commit to your trust the true riches?”  The idea expressed here is to have confidence that someone will keep securely what is of great value.  When we trust God with our soul, we do the same thing.
Sixth, trust is associated with salvation or deliverance.  Nebuchadnezzar spake these words of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God” (Dan. 3:28).  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king” (Dan.. 3:17).  They trusted in God and God delivered them from the fiery furnace.
The object of our trust must be God.  Here are six words to live by: “Trust in him at all times” (Psa. 62:8). We trust in His strength (Isa. 26:4); His bountiful goodness (Nahum 1:7); His excellent loving kindness (Psa. 36:7); and His former deliverances (II Cor. 1:10; II Tim. 4:17-18).  “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is” (Jeremiah 17:7).

The Reformation Movement produced five main ideas:  Sola Scriptura (The Scriptures only–in refutation of the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church (ex-cathedra); Sola Fide (Faith only in refutation of the Catholic doctrine of works); Sola Gratia (Grace only in reaction to the Catholic Church’s doctrine of merits); Sola Christa (Christ alone-salvation is through Jesus Christ); and Sola Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone).  The problem lies with the doctrine of faith alone.  This doctrine omits love and love for God is the greatest commandment (Matt. 22:36-39).  There cannot be love for neighbor without love for God.  Love for God is the most important commandment.  “Faith worketh by love,” Paul states in Gal. 5:6.
Martin Luther mistranslated Romans 1:17 using a phrase borrowed from Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples.  Ben Witherington III makes the following statement, “Erasmus was prepared, however, for criticism when he prepared his Greek NT, and he got it, though there was a bit of a delayed response.  The first edition of 1516 produced few ripples, but when the second edition was published in 1519 this set off the fire alarm bell.  Erasmus would argue that correcting errors in a translation or copy of an original biblical text did not in any way count to disputing the inspiration of the divinely inspired text.  If someone argued it was impious to change anything in Holy Writ, he retorted that it must be worse then to allow scribal errors to stand uncorrected as they obscured the original meaning of Scripture!  Erasmus, in fact, when he publishes this own annotations, not only borrowed the title of Valla, but simply reran various of Valla’s notes.  Note that Jacques Lefevre d’Etaples also followed Valla’s lead, and mentions him in his 1512 commentary on Paul’s Epistles.  This is important for our purposes because Lefevre’s is the work which Martin Luther based his game-changing Wittenburg lectures in 1515-1519.  And here is where I note that it was Lefevre’s commentary on Romans that produced the phrase “by faith alone” which seems to have been noticed by no one–except Luther, who then mistranslated Rom. 1:17 as “for the righteousness of God was revealed by faith alone,” though it actually reads dikaiosune gar theou en auto apokaluptetai ek pisteos eis pistin. That last phrase can be rendered “from faith to faith” or “from the faithful (one) unto faith,” but it cannot be rendered “by faith alone.” So much for the Lutheran stress on sole fide.  (Sola Scriptura And The Reformation: But Which Scripture, and What Translation? JETS, 60/4 (2017): 817-828, p. 822).
Actually, the only place where “faith only” occurs in the NT is James 2:24.  “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”  Notice that the phrase is negated, “not by faith only.”  Luther did not like this statement in James and consequently desired to remove the book of James from the canon of the NT.  James argues that works (works of obedience) are required for justification.  Obedience to the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ is precisely what love for God demands.  “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:23-24).  Love and obedience go together.  Faith and obedience do too!  James illustrates justification by works using the example of Abraham.  Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac (his son) to God as God commanded him to do.  Whenever the word “works” is understood properly as acts of obedience to God and not as self-righteousness, then faith and works are not mutually exclusive.  Faith without works is dead (James 2:26).  No one will be saved by a dead faith.  A living faith is an obedient faith (Heb. 11:17-19; 11:8).  Faith worketh by love (Gal. 5:6) and so both faith and love lead to obedience to God’s commands.  Obedience to the Lord’s commandments is the way that disciples of Jesus are made.  “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe also things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:18-20–The Great Commission).

Researchers have discovered that one of the most important elements involved in transmitting one’s faith to children is emotional bonding or love.  Within tight-knit religious traditions, the chances of passing on faith are highly dependent on the quality of parent-child relationships.  This may run counter to advice about effective religious socialization in these communities that emphasize parental piety as the crucial factor–setting a good example, teaching the right beliefs and practices, and keeping strictly to the law.  Without emotional bonding, this is not sufficient for transmission.  A distant or non-affirming parent-child relationship–particularly with the father–is a catalyst for conversion to another faith or dropping out of religion altogether (Families and Faith, pp. 78-79).
Emotional bonding involves feelings of love and warmth.  A child must feel connected to his/her parents in a meaningful way.  Cold, distant, authoritarian parenting or ambivalent or mixed-messaging parenting (sometimes cold sometimes warm) is not sufficient.  Strained or preoccupied parenting won’t work either.  This occurs when parents are distracted by marital, financial, health or substance abuse problems.  The bond of love must be real and must be felt strongly in both the parent and the child.  Parents should read I Cor. 13:1-13 to learn how to love in a dynamic and effective way.  Authentic love must be shown in a personal and impactful way in the home.
The gender of the parent also plays a significant role in religious transmission.  Having close emotional bonds with the father is strongly associated with transmission of one’s faith to the next generation.  Fathers must lead spiritually in the home.  “And ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).  Fathers must take the lead in demonstrating love for mom and for children in the home.  Love must be more than lip-service.  Love must be communicated both verbally and through concrete actions that leave no doubt about the strength of the emotional connection.  Through authentic love and fidelity to God parents have the greatest opportunity to transmit their faith to the next generation.

The Trinity Review, no. 337, September/October, 2016, pp. 1-2,contained an article by Thomas W. Juodaitis titled, Antichrist’s Ecumenical Endeavors, “Evangelical” Enablers, and the Evisceration of the Protestant Reformation. In this article, Juodaitis shows how the Roman Catholic church is working to take over the Ecumenical Movement with the aim of returning Protestantism to the mother church (Catholicism).  Juodaitis quotes from an article by Michael Day titled, Pope Francis Assures Atheists:  You Don’t Have to Believe in God to Go to Heaven (cited in The Independent, September 11, 2013).
The quote from Pope Francis was made in the context of answering questions posed to him.  In an open letter responding to questions published by Eugenio Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica, Francis wrote, “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith.  I start by saying–and this is the fundamental thing–that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to  him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience…Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.”
Any proposition or doctrine can be proven to be false by showing that it contradicts a plain passage of Scripture.  Here are a few Scriptures to compare with the statement of Francis.
1.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6.
2.  Jesus said, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).
3.  Jesus remarked, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
4.  In the Great Commission recorded in Mark, Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16).
5.  In John 3:18, Jesus said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
6.  In John 3:36, John records, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Let God be true and every man a liar! (Rom. 3:4).