Psalm 28 (29):11,1
The Lord will give strength to his people. Verse: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord honor and glory.
The reading is from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 1:10-17
Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all [a]speak the same thing, and that there be no [b]divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are [c]contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
St. Paul is rebuking the Corinthians and is pleading with them in the name of the Lord asking them to drop all “DIVISIONS” maintaining unity in the Church. (see v. 10)
We see in v. 11 that Chole was a prominent woman, for she was the one who hosted in Corinthian church in her own home and faithfully reported these “Contentions” to St. Paul.
1:12: APOLLOS was a learned Jew from Alexandria, Egypt, "mighty in the Scriptures"- (Acts 18:24): Originally a follower of "the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25), he was taught more fully about Christ by Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus, and he later preached at Corinth, where some saw him as a rival to Paul: tradition tells us Apollos became the first bishop of Crete- (see Tts 3:13): Paul makes it plain that he and Apollos are partners in apostolic work and that Apollos would not approve of the factionalism in Corinth- (Romans 3:4-6; Romans 4:6; and Romans 16:12):
1:13: IS CHRIST DIVIDED??? OR IS THE CHURCH??? The answer to all questions in this passage is no... One can leave the Church, but not to divide it!!! Factionalism, however, brings great harm to the Church, for it seeks to give the apostle a place only Christ should occupy-(vv. 13-17) ... Many looked upon the apostles as teachers of philosophy rather than preachers of the Cross- (1 Co 1:18-2:5): The factious do not accept true wisdom, which is bestowed by the Spirit- (1 Co 2:6-3:4): and they misrepresent the apostles as rivals to each other rather than as fellow workers in Christ-(1 Co 3:5-23) ...
1:14: CRISPUS had been the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth- (Acts 18:8)...Converted through the preaching of Paul, then baptized, he was apparently succeeded as ruler by Sosthenes- (Acts 18:17): Gaius was a resident of Corinth with whom Paul was staying when he wrote the Epistle to the Romans-(Romans 16:23): The third Epistle of John-(see 3 John 1) seems to have been directed to this same Gaius...
1:15-17: PAUL'S DENIAL does not degrade baptism; he is simply emphasizing that baptizing is not his primary role: As, an apostle, Paul's primary job is to PREACH THE GOSPEL-(v. 17), teaching those seeking God to be baptized: The one who performs a baptism is God's instrument; the convert's loyalty must be to God alone...
WISDOM OF WORDS (v. 17) refers especially to philosophical thought and rhetorical devices...such human wisdom by itself does not promote salvation or an understanding of how God works in the world and what He wishes us to do...
The Gospel According to Matthew 14:14-22
14 And when Jesus went out, He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Sea
22 Immediately Jesus [a]made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
14:14-21: THIS MIRACLE, REPORTED BY ALL FOUR EVANGELISTS: Showing us that Yeshua (Jesus) is indeed feeding a great multitude of His people as He fed the Israelites in the desert (see, Exodus 16): Many early Saints and Church Fathers see in this an image of the Eucharist, an idea made clear in (John 6): In (Matthew 15:32-39), another miracle is mentioned where Yeshua (Jesus) is feeding a crowd of four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish: While some modern day scholars have said and even tried to attempt to say these two stories are the same story!!! According to the witnesses who wrote and gave us the Gospel state pretty clearly that these two events where indeed different accounts, furthermore with Christ Himself referring to both of them separately (Matthew 16:8-10): MOVED WITH COMPASSION- Is used many times concerning our Lord (Matthew 20:34; Mark 1:41; Mark 6:34; Luke 7:13)- shows us His power and authority are extended to those who also suffer!!! According to many early Saints the "FIVE LOAVES" INDICATES THE FIVE BOOKS OF THE LAW (GENESIS-DEUTERONOMY)- Which are broken open in Christ and thus, feeds the universe: "THE TWO FISH" REPRESENT THE GOSPEL BOOK AND THE EPTISLTE BOOK- Teaching of the fishermen, gathering of the leftovers by the apostles (v .20) is showing us that the teachings of the faithful are unable to grasp are nevertheless held in the consciousness of the Church!!!
14:19: Yeshua (Jesus) is showing us we should never eat without first giving thanks to the Lord our God!!!- we can point to the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26)!!!
14:22-33: ONLY THE LORD OUR GOD- Has dominion over nature; so the miracle is confirming the true divinity of Christ Himself - see also (Luke 8:23-27 & Luke 8:22-25)-
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’ In Christ love ❤️ Jared W Campbell
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