In the Hebrew Scriptures, the relationship between God and man was defined by covenants. Last
week, we heard about the covenant God made with Noah and today we have God’s covenant
with Abraham. Throughout the history of the Israelites, there were many more covenants, too
many to count here. The common theme in all of them was how God was going to interact with
the Israelites – either through what God would do for them or what God would refrain from
doing. With Noah, God would never again destroy all flesh with a flood and then gave the
rainbow as a symbol of that promise. With Abraham, the promise was that, even in his advanced
age, Abraham and his wife Sarah would become parents of many nations because Abraham
believed that God would make it happen.
God’s means of interacting with the Israelites changed in the New Testament. No longer were
the covenants based on agreements between God and the Israelites, but through the actions of
Jesus, God’s Son. But Jesus does not make this relationship easy. As we read in today’s Gospel
lesson, there are conditions set upon those who desire a close relationship with God. While the
God of the Hebrew Scriptures made covenants with the people, telling them what God would, or
would not, do in the relationship, Jesus lays out the hard truths of what is required in this new
version of the relationship between God and man – that His followers will experience persecution.
