Book of Common Prayer

Let us see what the Law itself has to say

²¹ Now tell me, you who want to be under the Law, have you heard what the Law says?

^22-27 It is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and the other by the free woman. The child of the slave was born in the ordinary course of nature, but the child of the free woman was born in accordance with God’s promise. This can be regarded as an allegory. Here are the two agreements represented by the two women: the one from Mount Sinai bearing children into slavery, typified by Hagar (Mount Sinai being in Arabia, the land of the descendants of Ishmael, Hagar’s son), and corresponding to present-day Jerusalem—for the Jews are still, spiritually speaking, “slaves”. But the free woman typifies the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of us all, and is spiritually “free”. It is written: ‘Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who do not travail! For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband.’

^28-30 Now we, my brothers, are like Isaac, for we are children born “by promise”. But just as in those far-off days the natural son persecuted the “spiritual” son, so it is today. Yet what is the scriptural instruction? ‘Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.’

³¹ So then, my brothers, we are not to look upon ourselves as the sons of the slave woman but of the free, not sons of slavery under the Law but sons of freedom under grace.

Do not lose your freedom by giving in to those who urge circumcision

5 Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery.

Jesus refuses to give a sign

^11-12 Now the Pharisees came out and began an argument with him, wanting a sign from Heaven. Jesus gave a deep sigh, and then said, “What makes this generation want a sign? I can tell you this, they will certainly not be given one!”

¹³ Then he left them and got aboard the boat again, and crossed the lake.

^14-20 The disciples had forgotten to take any food and had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus spoke seriously to them, “Keep your eyes open! Be on your guard against the ‘yeast’ of the Pharisees and the ‘yeast’ of Herod!” And this sent them into an earnest consultation among themselves because they had brought no bread. Jesus knew it and said to them, “Why all this discussion about bringing no bread? Don’t you understand or grasp what I say even yet? Are you like the people who ‘having eyes, do not see, and having ears, do not hear’? Have your forgotten—when I broke five loaves for five thousand people, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” “Twelve,” they replied. “And then there were seven loaves for four thousand people, how many baskets of pieces did you pick up?” “Seven,” they said.

²¹ “And does that still mean nothing to you?” he said.