In addition to the reversal of destiny we all can have in various times of our lives, there is a thing called peripety! Beth Moore tells us that "this is a sudden turn of events that reverses the expected or intended outcome," a hinge.
This study on reversal of destiny and peripety has been interesting. Peripety spices up things! Take a look at the life of Jesus.
John 6:44 - No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
This study on reversal of destiny and peripety has been interesting. Peripety spices up things! Take a look at the life of Jesus.
He who is without sin became sin for us. Why would anyone do that for us? Because He loves us so much (John 3:13). He came to earth for this specific peripetic (a word I made up) event, to die on the cross for our sins. It would seem to me that anyone willing to do that should be paid more homage to than He is today. Is. 53:2-3 prophesied this: For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
The way I see it, peripety in the life of Jesus was the moment He began to gather disciples and teach about who He could be for each person in the world, past, present and future, and what He was able to do. It was at the moment when He began to speak that completely turned the thinking of so many people around, that the sudden turn of events began to play out. Now came the opposition by the Jewish priests. Their teaching was being questioned and they were becoming concerned for themselves and their grip on society.
Beth tells us that "A peripeteia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling." Isn't Jesus the greatest story ever told? He was born of a virgin. That in itself is a miracle. It had been prophesied hundreds of years before His birth. He was a carpenter's son, not some important king. That makes the story even more intriguing. He had the wisdom and demeanor of someone other than what He "looked like."
The way I see it, peripety in the life of Jesus was the moment He began to gather disciples and teach about who He could be for each person in the world, past, present and future, and what He was able to do. It was at the moment when He began to speak that completely turned the thinking of so many people around, that the sudden turn of events began to play out. Now came the opposition by the Jewish priests. Their teaching was being questioned and they were becoming concerned for themselves and their grip on society.
Beth tells us that "A peripeteia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling." Isn't Jesus the greatest story ever told? He was born of a virgin. That in itself is a miracle. It had been prophesied hundreds of years before His birth. He was a carpenter's son, not some important king. That makes the story even more intriguing. He had the wisdom and demeanor of someone other than what He "looked like."
He studied scripture with the priests and read about Himself at a God-prescribed time, the hinge of His life--just as His ministry began:
Luke 4: 16-22 - So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" [A mere carpenter's son.]
There's the first indication of what Isaiah 53 above tells us, that He would be despised by man.
We've heard about how He didn't falter despite the objection of so many. He continued preaching about Himself, healing people and pretty much shaking the world, suddenly turning things around, how He was arrested, put on trial, convicted of something He didn't do, and then crucified for no reason, other than for telling the truth that some could not see.
But there came another peripety, another reversal of destiny. In Luke 24:6 is the explanation: He is not here. He is risen. How much more of a sudden turnaround could there possibly be? There's one last part of the story that's worth telling. It's probably the last reversal of destiny in Jesus' life we will ever experience. It's as Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus as our returning King:
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
This will happen at the end of days. We are in the last days. One way or another, whether alive or already dead, we will see this happen. Woe to those who have not received Jesus before that time. Revelation 8:13 is a verse that the Apostle John recorded: And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!" There will be people who despite the warnings that they have experienced will not bow to Jesus and will never know a reversal of destiny in their lives.
Our destiny starts out from birth as eternal death, surprisingly enough. Eternal life comes only with acknowledgment of Jesus Christ. I said it before, coming to Christ is the best reversal of destiny a person can choose. The last part of the following scripture is your promise from God for the acceptance of His Son, Jesus. God is always seeking those people.
Luke 4: 16-22 - So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?" [A mere carpenter's son.]
There's the first indication of what Isaiah 53 above tells us, that He would be despised by man.
We've heard about how He didn't falter despite the objection of so many. He continued preaching about Himself, healing people and pretty much shaking the world, suddenly turning things around, how He was arrested, put on trial, convicted of something He didn't do, and then crucified for no reason, other than for telling the truth that some could not see.
But there came another peripety, another reversal of destiny. In Luke 24:6 is the explanation: He is not here. He is risen. How much more of a sudden turnaround could there possibly be? There's one last part of the story that's worth telling. It's probably the last reversal of destiny in Jesus' life we will ever experience. It's as Revelation 19:11-16 describes Jesus as our returning King:
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
This will happen at the end of days. We are in the last days. One way or another, whether alive or already dead, we will see this happen. Woe to those who have not received Jesus before that time. Revelation 8:13 is a verse that the Apostle John recorded: And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!" There will be people who despite the warnings that they have experienced will not bow to Jesus and will never know a reversal of destiny in their lives.
Our destiny starts out from birth as eternal death, surprisingly enough. Eternal life comes only with acknowledgment of Jesus Christ. I said it before, coming to Christ is the best reversal of destiny a person can choose. The last part of the following scripture is your promise from God for the acceptance of His Son, Jesus. God is always seeking those people.
John 6:44 - No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
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