In the very next story, Jesus goes to the home of a woman named Martha. He knows Martha. He sees her. He offers her a new perspective. He invites her to open her arms to receive the gift of his presence. To the lawyer, he says, “go and do.” To Martha, he says, “sit and listen.” Jesus knows them both. He knows exactly what they need. Jesus knows us too. He knows exactly what we need.

As Moses, in the first Exodus, led the people of God out of their slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land, so Jesus will now, in this second and greater Exodus, lead the people of God out of their slavery to sin and death, and into the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God!

In this juxtaposition of the “majesty of God” and the foretelling of Jesus’ death – in the tension between these two seemingly contradictory claims – we find our theme for this Sunday. What exactly is “the majesty of God” revealed to us in Jesus Christ?