Covenant Theology In Outline Form - Part 13 & Tackling Tradition 14: Easter as Eschatology

Mark 16:9 - 17

Shema & Historical Prologue 

Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 

• Yeshua, who is theandric, physically & bodily rose from the dead on the first day of the week, the dawning of a new covenantal era that had begun in the days of John the Baptist & now expands in again in light of the completed work of Yeshua, the theanthropic Redeemer - Mediator.   
• Historical Meaning:  He finds Mary Magdalene not long after He was released from the tomb, &, He comforts her (John 20:11 - 18).  
• Cosmic Meaning: After He rose from the dead, He eventually ascended to heaven & comforted His people & began to teach them.   God Himself also teaches the people.   As the Law & Gospel spread, the world is exorcised.  

10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

• Historical Meaning: This section of the text corresponds to John 20:18
• Cosmic Meaning:  In the Pneumatic Estates & Precincts of the Church Triumphant, news of the Resurrection spread like wildfire. The news had a winnowing effect.  Some believed it, others did not (at least not at first). 

General & Specific Stipulations 

12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

• Historical Meaning: This text corresponds to Luke 24:18 - 35 (The Road to Emmaus).  There, the two people with whom He broke bread bathed warmly in His presence & words.   Their report of these events had a winnowing effect. Some believed & others did not. 
• Cosmic Meaning:  The LORD is in constant communion with us (Romans 2:14 - 16).  As the LORD & Yeshua teach us in Heaven & on Earth, we are bathed in God’s presence & glory as in a warm bath/mikvah.  This teaching has a winnowing effect. Some believe & others do not (at least not at first). 

Renewal, Document Clause & Witnesses 

14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 

• Historical Meaning: This section corresponds to Luke 24:16 - 39 & John 20:24 - 29 & is pretty straightforward. The eleven constituted the leadership (from one perspective) & the other members of the (figurative) 120 mentioned in Acts 1:15.   He rebuked them for their hardness of heart. 
• Cosmic Meaning: The kingdom of God is like a great feast (Lev.  23, Rev. 22).  In addition, the people are parceled out many ways (Gen. 4 & 5, Gen. 10 & 11, Acts 2, Rev. 14).   They go through cycles of reformation, and the LORD draws their attention to that fact, correcting our faith & practice & moving them forward in Redemptive History. 

15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

• Historical Meaning:  This corresponds to Matthew 28:16 - 20 & Acts 1:6-9. 
• Cosmic Meaning: These covenantal cycles are of cosmic import.  Covenant Theology teaches us that the Gospel is for all living things (Gen. 9:7 - 17.  Mark 4:21 - 23)

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay

their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Historical & Cosmic: As the Law & Gospel spread, the land is civilized.  Over time, people grow multi-lingual (Gen. 11, 1 Cor. 14), the land is exorcised,* (Mark 5:1 - 20, Acts 16:16 - 18, Acts 19:11 - 20, Rev. 20:14 - 15).   In addition, medicine develops & people are healed miraculously & non-miraculously (John 5, John 9: 1. 2,1 Cor. 12:28).  Some medicines are poisons.   In addition, the reference to poison refers to spiritual warfare & persecution (Acts 19: 21 - 41 Heb. 11:36 - 38; Rev. 6 : 9-11, 9:10, &12:1-6) 

*The text isn’t an endorsement of snake handling, rather,  the text is deploying a metaphor for demons.  Acts 28:1-6 is describing a literal event that has symbolic significance.  Paul’s disposal of the viper serves to illustrate authority over demons & the demonic realm.  The LORD & His people are the ones in control of what goes into the fire.   

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 

• One day, Christ will return when heaven really & truly meets earth.  He will yet again sit down @ the right hand of God on an earth that is made heavenly. 

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

• The human race/species will continue on forever, testifying of God’s grace & goodness, living in the light of the LORD’s Gospel, learning & teaching all living things the LORD’s Law & Gospel to the entire cosmos (Ezekiel 40 - 48; Rev. 20 - 22)

John 7:53 - 8:11 

Preamble 

Historical Prologue 

General Stipulations

Specific Stipulations 

Renewal, Document Clause 

Witnesses 

Preamble/Shema

• They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 

Yeshua is also a cipher for God atop His holy mountain (Sinai)

Historical Prologue 

• We enter text into a specific time & place,  both on Earth & in Heaven this the sort of thing Yeshua did.   

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 

• As the sun continued to rise over the new covenant administration, Yeshua, now in heaven & the literal theanthropic Redeemer-Mediator, continued His 3fold ministry of Prophet, Priest, & King.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught on in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. 

General Stipulations & Specific Stipulations 

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 

• He, the God-Man, spoke & wrote Scripture.  

Renewal

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  

• The Lord presents them with a moral dilemma, a morals test of sorts. Covenant renewal involves a morals test, & moral tests challenge us.  Will we rise to that challenge or shrink back? 

Document Clause

And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 

• The Lord continues writing Scripture. 

Witnesses

But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 

Then He tood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” 

• A public challenge was issued that the woman’s accusers realized they could not answer. 

Link to 12  Link to 14