2nd Corinthians Lesson 12

2 Corinthians 3:6-

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

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Lesson Transcript

Opening and Review of Verse 6

Good evening. Please open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Next week, we should finish out this chapter, which will also finish out the chapters that I was assigned.

We ended last week in verse 6, and we said quite a bit about verse 6, but I’ve got a little more to say about it today. Because, as we mentioned, verse 6 ends with a phrase that is one of the most misused verses in the Bible: “For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.”

Review of Last Week’s Discussion

And we had quite a bit to say about that last week. We were looking particularly into what does that phrase mean. We looked at several possibilities. They really were based upon what Paul means when he says letter. When he says the letter killeth, what does he mean by the letter?

We said last week that some say the letter is just the old law, that the old law just kills. That’s just what the old law does. But Romans 7, Paul describes the old law, and he says it’s spiritual, it’s holy, it’s just, it’s good. So that didn’t really seem like the best option.

Others say, no, the letter there really refers to the warped legalistic view of the old law, a flawed view of the old law. But that also had a problem because it doesn’t really fit too well with the context here. And it also is different from how Paul uses that same distinction elsewhere, which he does in two other cases I mentioned last week.

And we ended class by looking at a third possibility, and that is that the phrase “the letter killeth” refers not to a deficiency in the old law, but rather to man’s inability to keep the old law, a deficiency in man. He’s unable to keep the old law perfectly, which is why it kills. And we looked at parallel passages in Galatians 3, verses 10 to 14, and Galatians 3, verse 21. And that’s where we ended last week.

Additional Support from Romans 8

Now we should also compare Romans 8, verses 3 through 4. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

The law was not weak in and of itself. That’s not what that verse says. It says it was weak through the flesh. Weak through the flesh. Well, how is that weakness overcome? The verse continues: by those who walk not after the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I think that’s what is under discussion here when it says, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.”

Two Different Ministries

One final way you can look at that phrase is to look at it as instead describing two different ways of rendering service to God. Of ministering, of the ministry of the letter and the ministry of the Spirit, how those differ. And that view, I think, fits the context well because this very verse mentions ministry earlier in this same verse, and it’s a big topic of discussion here by Paul.

Under the old covenant, ministry to God was by perfect obedience to the old law. There’s only one person who was ever able to do that. Of course, that was Jesus. Under the new covenant, ministry to God is by obedience to the gospel, and then, as Paul said in Romans, by walking according to the Spirit, not after the flesh.

We’re not faced with an impossible task under the new covenant, like they were under the old covenant. Under the new covenant, God has done the hard work for us. And in fact, that’s exactly what Paul says in Romans 10, verses 6 and 7. That God has done the hard work for us under the new covenant. We’re no longer faced with an impossible task.

The first ministry kills because no one other than Jesus was ever able to do it. While the second ministry gives life. I think that is what’s being discussed there in that difficult verse 6.

Understanding the Context of Verses 7-18

Now, before we move into verse 7, in fact, verses 7 through 18, I want to say a little bit about these closing verses of chapter 3. Verses 7 through 18 are very difficult to unravel. And not only as to what they mean, but also as to how they fit in with what Paul is trying to say here.

What point is Paul making here? To what and to whom is Paul responding here in verses 7 through 18? How we answer those questions is going to determine our view of these difficult verses.

Why this sudden excursion into the old law? Why start talking about Moses? Was Paul responding to some in Corinth who were binding the old law on Christians? Perhaps was Paul responding to the false apostles in Corinth, at least some of which we know were Jewish. Perhaps. What is the context here? What argument is Paul making here?

The Key Theme: Glory

I think the text itself gives us a very important clue as to why Paul is making these arguments. You’ll recall earlier in chapter 1, we were looking at words that were occurring over and over and over and over. The word comfort, for example. Well, there’s a word that appears 14 times in this chapter. Glory. Glory. Glory is a key theme in this section of this letter. It has to be. It’s used 14 times.

Paul, in fact, is going to make the incredible assertion here that his ministry is more glorious than the ministry of Moses. And to a Jew of that day, that was an incredible assertion. And yet, Paul is going to say that. He’s going to explain why that’s the case.

Why did Paul make that assertion? That’s our real question. Why is he saying this here? Was it because some in Corinth were making a negative comparison between Paul and Moses? Was it because some in Corinth were making a negative comparison between the old covenant and the new covenant, and he’s responding to that? I don’t think so. I don’t think so.

Paul’s True Purpose: Justifying His Boldness

What was Paul trying to do here? What point was he making? Well, let’s let Paul answer that question. Look at verse 12. “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.” I like the American Standard Version a little better on that verse. It reads, “Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech.”

Notice that word, “therefore,” “therefore,” in verse 12. What we see in verse 12 is the reason for the prior verses. Paul is getting to the crux of his argument. He’s saying these things starting earlier, and then he gets to verse 12. He says, “Therefore,” “Therefore,” Paul is justifying his great boldness of speech.

The conclusion of this section is not, therefore, the new covenant is better than the old covenant. The conclusion of this section is not, therefore, I am more glorious than Moses. The conclusion is, therefore, we, meaning Paul, use great boldness of speech.

I don’t think Paul’s main focus here is to counter some false teaching in Corinth about the old law. Instead, I think Paul’s focus here is to justify his own confidence, verse 4, and his own boldness, verse 12, as an apostle of the new covenant, verse 6. And I think that view fits the context of this letter, and especially the context of this part of the letter.

Paul’s Boldness Throughout the Letter

Now, later, we’re going to see Paul return to this issue of his boldness. In chapter 7, verse 4, he’s going to talk about his boldness of speech. Chapters 10, verses 1 and 2, he’s going to talk about his boldness. Chapter 11, verse 21, he’s going to say it again.

Paul’s earlier letter to them, that sorrowful letter that we’ve talked about, had been very bold. And it seems that some in Corinth thought it had been too bold. Which is really a little ironic since they were also at the same time complaining that Paul was too weak. So either too weak or he’s too bold. They wanted Paul just right, apparently.

But, I mean, that’s what Paul’s responding to here. Paul’s goal here is to justify that boldness. And he does that by comparing his ministry under the new covenant to the ministry of Moses under the Old Covenant. I think that’s why he’s making this comparison.

The Ministry of the New Covenant

Verse 6 says that Paul is a minister of the New Testament, and that New Testament is far more glorious than the Old Testament, he will tell us. If Moses and the prophets were bold under the old covenant, how much more bold should God’s ministers be under the new covenant?

Hebrews 4:16, “let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace.” Hebrews 10:19, “having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”

The new covenant comes with boldness by those who proclaim it. It should, anyway. And I think that’s Paul’s point here.

Verses 7-8: The Glory of Moses vs. the Glory of the Spirit

Okay, now we’re ready for verse 7. Verse 7 and 8. “But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?”

The Background from Exodus

Now these verses are pointing us back to an event in the Old Testament that we’re all familiar with, in Exodus chapters thirty two through thirty four. We recall that Israel’s idolatry with the golden calf had caused Moses to smash the two tablets of the covenant in Exodus 32. And Moses then berates the people for sinning a great sin.

He returns to the presence of the Lord on Mount Sinai and hopes that he can make atonement for that great sin. The Lord does not relent, though. In fact, in chapter 32, verse 33, God says, “Whoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” The people suffer a great plague because they made that golden calf.

Moses, though, successfully intervenes with God on their behalf in Exodus 33 and is shown the glory of the Lord. When Moses descends a second time with the tablets of the covenant, his face shines from having been in the presence of God.

Exodus 34, verse 29. “And it came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony in Moses’ hand. When he came down from the mount, that Moses wished not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with them.”

His radiance evoked fear. So after delivering to the people all that the Lord had spoken to him, he covers his face with a veil. And from then on, when Moses approached the Israelites to reveal God’s commandments, he wore that veil to cover his face. But when he talked with God, he removed the veil.

The Symbolism of the Veil

Now, before we even proceed beyond that point, let’s stop and think just a moment about the point Paul is making here, and about the item that Paul has just described, the veil, and that he’s going to have more to say about here, this veil.

Paul’s goal here is to justify his boldness, his boldness in proclaiming the gospel. And now he’s talking about wearing a veil. Typically, one does not associate boldness with wearing a veil, but in fact, one associates the opposite if I’m wearing a veil. I’m not being very bold. But what if I remove that veil? Then I’m bold.

Let’s think, keep that in mind. Veil, no veil. Not bold, bold, as we move on into these verses.

Paul’s Astonishing Point

Now, the giving of the law we know is a glorious moment. And that glory was evident on Moses’ face as his face emitted that luminous glow from his encounter with God. Paul’s point here is simple, yet it’s astonishing. And that is, as great as the glory that was evident in Moses, the glory evident in Paul is greater.

Verse 8: “How shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious?”

Look at verse 7 again. How is the law of Moses a ministration of death? That’s the comparison. Administration of death is what he says about Moses in the law of Moses.

Well, how is it a ministration of death? Well, Romans 7, verse 11 answers that question. “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it it slew me.”

Keep in mind as we keep going back and forth between 2 Corinthians and Romans, Romans was written from the city of Corinth. So when Paul is thinking through this stuff here, very soon thereafter, he writes Romans.

Understanding Why the Law Brought Death

Death came from sin, not from the law, but the law lay behind the penalty for that sin. “For without the law, sin was dead,” Romans 7, verse 8. “And sin is the transgression of the law,” 1 John 3, verse 4. “Sin is not imputed when there is no law,” Romans 5:13.

The law of Moses was a ministration of death. Why? Because absent the ministration of the Spirit that was to come, the law of Moses could lead only to death. That’s the only place it led. Was that because the law was evil? No, but because man was unable to keep the law. Because he’s unable to keep it.

Now we need to stop and note: there has always been a law of God. There has always been a law of God. There was a law of God before the law of Moses. There’s a law of God now. Romans 5:14 tells us that death reigned from Adam to Moses. Which tells us there was a law from Adam to Moses. In fact, we see the law of God in the garden, and we see the penalty for breaking that law.

Galatians 6, verse 2 tells us there’s a law of Christ. But the law of Christ is different from all those other laws. Why? Because the law of Christ is not a ministration of death. The law of Christ leads to life. Leads to life. Romans 8, verse 2: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus had made me free from the law of sin and death.”

An Astonishing Assertion for a Jew

Now, to identify these events at Sinai, which every Jew in that day and every Jew to this day looks on as the greatest event ever. To identify the events at Sinai as a ministration of death is an astonishing assertion for any Jew to make. Jews proclaimed just the opposite. They proclaimed that the law had given them life.

And in fact, a later rabbi expressed it this way: he said, “While Israel stood below engraving idols to provoke their Creator to anger, God sat on high engraving tablets which would give them life.” And Paul is saying, no, it’s a ministration of death.

As a Pharisee, Paul was no different from any other devout Jew who searched the law. And the prophets, because he believed he had life in them. That’s exactly what Jesus said, John 5:39. “Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are that which testify of me,” Jesus said.

But Paul realized after his encounter with Christ and his conversion, [through] Ananias, that the law bore witness to Christ. And that salvation came only through Christ and not through the law.

If the law pointed to Christ, and if life came only through Christ, then it followed that the law by itself, absent Christ, must be administration of death because the life comes through Christ and only through Christ. You take Christ out of the equation, you take Christ out of any equation, and you’re left with death. That was true then, that’s true today.

Paul wept. He wept for his kinsmen according to the flesh in Romans 9, and he would weep for them today. The situation has not changed.

The Glory That Demanded a Veil

In spite of its deadly consequences, the ministry of death came with a splendor that reflected God’s glory. Paul says that the Israelites were unable to look at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face. Consequently, Moses had to veil that glory from the gaze of the Israelites.

What was it about the glory that demanded that practice? Well, the events in Exodus make it very clear that viewing the glory of God can be very hazardous to your health. Moses asked to see God’s glory in Exodus 33, verse 18, but God had warned him that direct gazing at him into the face of God was fatal. Exodus 33:20.

When God placed Moses safely in the cleft of that rock, covered him with his hand, and revealed only his back, in Exodus 33, 21 through 23. Moses’ face still shone from the glory that he had seen, that fleeting glimpse of God’s frightening majesty and splendor. Moses saw it, and he lived to tell about it.

The sinful people below, who had grumbled against God, who had made that golden calf, they could not stand even to see the glory remaining in Moses’ face.

The Transient Nature of the Old Glory

The phrase at the end of verse 7 is interesting, “which glory was to be done away.” If the Greek word for done away means to fade away, then Paul must be telling them that the glory on Moses’ face just faded away over time. The fading glory, some commentaries say, might indicate that the glory of the old law was likely also going to fade away over time.

But I think another, perhaps more likely, possibility is that the Greek verb here means to nullify, to pass away. In fact, that’s how the King James Version renders it, as I just read, “which glory was to be done away.” I think that fits in very well with verse 11, where the same verb is used as the opposite of remaining or abiding. I think it also fits very well with Paul’s argument here. The ministry of the Spirit is replacing the ministry of the letter.

Well, even without knowing precisely what that verb means, we can certainly grasp Paul’s argument here. The giving of the law on Mount Sinai and the ministry of Moses came with a magnificent glory despite its deficiencies. Yet in some way, determined by what that verb means, it was a transient glory.

Paul’s point is this: if glory accompanied something that leads to death, it leads to death. It had glory. How much, much more glory must accompany that which leads to life? That’s Paul’s point here. The glory of the ministry of Christ will never be abolished. It will never fade away.

Verse 9: Condemnation vs. Righteousness

Verse 9. “For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.”

In verse 9, the same contrast that we just saw between the ministry of death and the ministry of the Spirit is restated in different terms. Here, it’s the ministry of condemnation and the ministry of righteousness, but it’s the same two topics under discussion.

Righteousness leads to life, while condemnation leads to death. Here, in fact, in chapter 5, 21, “for He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the what? The righteousness of God in Him.” That leads to life.

Moses Could Not Remove Sin

When the people of Israel sinned, Moses could valiantly attempt to intercede on their behalf, but he was helpless to remove their sin. He was helpless to remove his own sin. He could not make them righteous. He was entrusted only with a ministry of the letter that specified the crimes and stipulated the punishments. That was the old law.

That law he gave Israel resulted only in a curse and a condemnation because no one but Jesus could obey it perfectly. That, by the way, alone, all by itself, that fact alone tells us that the old law was not intended to be permanent.

Why? Because the focus of Scripture since the fall was reconciliation with God, which means that God’s purpose was not to condemn. God’s purpose, His goal, was to save. John 3:17, “for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

That is the goal. That is the plan. It has been since the fall. And if that’s the goal and that’s the plan, the old law could never have intended to be permanent because the old law cannot accomplish that.

If the old law could only condemn, how could it ever have been intended by God to be permanent? We know it was not. In fact, we know that from elsewhere in the Old Testament. And why am I mentioning this? Because if you’re ever speaking with a Jew about Christ, this is a good place to start from the Old Testament. Show them that the old law was always intended to be abolished and to go away and be replaced by something better.

Jeremiah 31, verse 31 speaks of a new covenant. And Zechariah 6:11 shows the high priest wearing a royal crown. That could never happen under the old law. It happened in Christ under the new.

Paul’s point here is this. If a ministry that could lead only to condemnation possessed glory, how much more glory must there be in a ministry that leads to righteousness?

Verses 10-11: The Surpassing Glory

Verse 10, “For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.”

In these verses 10 and 11, Paul provides an explanation for what he just said in verse 9. In fact, I like verses 10 and 11 a little better in the English Standard Version. And they read there, “Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.”

The effects of the glory associated with the giving of the law do not endure when one compares it with the glory associated with the ministry of righteousness, the ministry of the gospel, the ministry of the new covenant, the ministry of the New Testament. That’s where the permanence is.

In fact, the breathtaking glory of the new is so glorious, it outshines the old to the point that it makes it non-existent. I love what one commentary said on this. “As the light of a lantern shines at night, but at noonday is overpowered by the sun, so was the glory of Moses overpowered by Christ.”

Verse 12: The Conclusion - Boldness of Speech

Verse 12. “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech.”

Here’s that conclusion that we started off with. This is what he’s been working toward. Verse 12. Verse 12 explains why Paul made those previous statements in this section. He wanted to justify his great boldness of speech, and particularly the great boldness in that sorrowful letter that we’ve been talking about.

We must not lose sight of the context in these verses. They don’t stand alone, but rather they are part of an argument that Paul is making here. We need to see them in that light.

Studying the Bible as a Whole

We need to be very careful that we don’t treat this letter or any other letter of Paul like the book of Proverbs, for example. You know, for the most part, Proverbs contains, what this title suggests, Proverbs. And in fact, for most of Proverbs, you could put them in a shoebox and shake them up and put them back and they’d all still make sense. I mean, it’s just kind of self-contained verses. You can take one at a time, next one, the next one, and they don’t generally have a whole lot of relationship to the ones around them.

I can’t think of another book in the Bible like that. But sometimes I fear we study every book in the Bible as if it were Proverbs. You know, we look at a verse and we just dive in and dissect it and look at it, and then we move to the next verse without remembering what that verse said or looking at what the next verse said.

And here it is particularly important that we don’t study this letter like the book of Proverbs. We need to make sure in our investigation that we’re looking at everything Paul is saying before and after and following his argument from beginning to end. If we’re going to declare the whole counsel of God, then we need to study the whole counsel of God, and that means studying it as a whole.

Understanding “Such Hope”

Now, what is the hope in verse 12? Well, the phrase “such hope” tells us it’s pointing back to something, right? I mean, he’s coming to a conclusion, such hope, which means we’re looking back to see what that hope is.

The problem is, when we look for hope earlier in this discussion, we don’t see it. In fact, I think the last time we saw hope was back in chapter 1 somewhere. So we don’t see the word here. It must be though instead I think what Paul has just referred to in verse 11. That which remains. That which is permanent, that which comes with the glory that will never fade away.

This hope is our hope in the glory of God, the glory of Christ, the glory of the gospel. That’s our hope. I think that’s the hope he’s talking about, what he just got through talking about in the previous verse.

Supporting Scripture on Hope and Glory

And of course, we see that elsewhere. Romans 5, verse 2. “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Colossians 1:27, “to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this ministry among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Ephesians 1:18, “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”

1 Peter 1:21, “Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.”

Hope. Glory. That last verse from 1 Peter ties them both to what? To the resurrection. To the resurrection. Absent the resurrection, there is no hope. Absent the resurrection, there is no glory. And if you’d like to hear more about that, come back on Sunday. I’ve been asked to preach here Sunday morning, and my topic is the hope in the promise. And we’ll talk more about hope on Sunday.

Verse 13: The Purpose of the Veil

Verse 13. “And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.”

Now, this verse is continuing to refer back to the events in Exodus 34, and particularly the event in verse 33 of Exodus 34. “Until Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face,” it says.

Now, when Moses left the presence of God on Mount Sinai, we’ve discussed this, his glowing appearance so frightened Aaron and the people that they were afraid to come near him. Moses places a veil over his face, and the people came back. They heard Moses give them the commandments of God.

Different Views on the Veil

Now, Philo wrote the following about that. He said, “Moses descended with a countenance far more beautiful than when he ascended, so that those who saw him were filled with awe and amazement. Nor could even their eyes continue to stand the dazzling brightness that flashed from him like the rays of the sun.”

So Philo, for example, attributed the Israelites’ inability to gaze at Moses to the fact that it was just too bright, just dazzlingly bright. They just couldn’t, it’s like staring at the sun. That’s what Philo said.

Well, later rabbinic traditions had a little different view. They said, no, no, what was really going on here was that Israel’s sin with the golden calf was preventing their ability to look at Moses’ face.

Paul gives yet another reason here. He says that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. That’s what Paul says.

The Difficulties of Interpretation

Well, what does that mean? The end of what? What was being abolished? How does that relate to the veil? These are just some of the. I told you this was a difficult section. These are some of the questions. The text is ambiguous. There are a lot of possibilities. We’ll talk about some of them here.

Now, I never miss an opportunity to take a dig at the new international version, so I will do that now as well. The New International Version, which I don’t like very much at all, does what it normally does, and it camouflages the difficulties in the text. The NIV says, “who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away?”

Well, that’s a possibility, but it’s not the only possibility. We’ll talk about some others here. But if all you’re doing is studying the NIV, you wouldn’t know there are some other possibilities, would you? You’d think that’s what it says.

If there are difficulties in the Greek, a good translation carries those difficulties over to the English. And a bad translation does not. NIV does not.

Two Basic Alternatives

Now, commentaries divide between two basic alternatives here. Either Moses veiled himself because he wanted to hide something from the people. Or Moses veiled himself because he wanted to protect someone. He’s either hiding something or he’s protecting someone or something.

Option 1: Hiding Something

Let’s look first at the view that Moses was hiding something. A very prominent view takes abolished here to mean fade away and identifies what was fading as the glory on Moses’ face. And by veiling his face, Moses was preventing the people from seeing the end of that waning glory. He didn’t want them to see that it was fading, is what this view is telling us.

Some commentaries say that Moses did this because he didn’t want the people to know that the glory was fading away, because they might view that as a failure on his part. While others say that he wore the veil because the people would be more likely to heed his commands if they didn’t see the radiance fading away.

Well, that view has some problems. First, there’s a big grammatical problem. The Greek noun used for glory here is feminine, and the participle for abolish or fade is either neuter or masculine, which I think tells us that what’s fading away is not the glory on Moses’ face.

Second, why would the Israelites have been disillusioned or even surprised to see Moses’ radiance starting to fade away? They didn’t think of Moses as God. They knew he was just a man.

And third, doesn’t this kind of attribute to Moses some dishonesty almost, some subterfuge? You know, he doesn’t want them to see what’s going on. I just don’t think that’s a viable alternative.

Another view says, no, what was fading away was the Old Covenant. And this view says that Moses was trying to hide that, that Moses was trying to conceal the temporary character of the Old Covenant that he knew was destined to pass away.

Moses knew that the glory associated with the old covenant made on Mount Sinai was temporary and that it would come to an end with Christ, and Moses was trying to hide that from the people. Well, and I’m not sure how Moses would have known all that. I mean, we certainly know it as we read 2 Corinthians 3, but Moses didn’t have 2 Corinthians chapter 3. So, unless God had told him that, Moses would not have known these things.

But, you know, some commentaries put that forward, and they say, in fact, that under this view, Paul is saying that the Jews from the time of Moses until the present time show their blindness by viewing the old law as the final embodiment of God’s salvation, which in fact it is not.

Now, another view is that, no, what’s going on here is not the law fading away, but in fact, it’s the end of the law. Romans 10, verse 4. “For Christ is the end of the law.” And in fact, the word end there in Romans 10, verse 4 is the same Greek word translated end here in verse 13. So it does have that going for it.

Under this view, Moses put on the veil to prevent the Messianic glory from being seen by the Israelites. Why? Because Moses knew it was part of the divine plan that Israel would be blinded and not believe in the Messiah. And that would then give an opportunity for the Gentiles to believe.

Again, that has a similar problem to the one before it. I’m not sure how Moses would have known all that unless God had told him directly. We know it now, certainly, because of revelation from God, but what we know it from was written after Moses’ day. Also, how does putting a veil over your face really hide these things? So, I think that’s not a real good alternative either.

Option 2: Protecting Something

Let’s look at the second option, and that is not that Moses was trying to hide something, but that Moses was trying to protect something, not hide but protect.

Some argue that Moses was protecting the sacredness of God’s glory. Moses did not want to profane what he’d just experienced by allowing the people to see the glory.

One commentary wrote: “Moses did not spare the Israelites the sight of the borrowed light’s final extinction in order to allow them to think that it was still shining. But because the end, like the beginning of the period of transfiguration, was just too sacred for human gaze.”

Okay, well one problem with that view is that that’s not the reason Paul gives here. And Paul does give us a reason. He doesn’t point to the sacredness of something, but in fact he points to something being abolished or something fading away.

Returning to Context

So what’s the answer? I think we need to start by considering, guess what? The context. The context. We have to go to the context. You’ll notice that a lot of those things I just went over had nothing to do with the context. And we need to start with the context. Not just the context here in 2 Corinthians 3, but now we have another context to consider, and that’s the context of Exodus 34, because that’s what Paul’s referring back to.

So we need to look at the context of 2 Corinthians 3, and we need to look at the context of Exodus 34. What’s going on here? Paul is talking about hardened hearts. And about the condemnation brought by the law against those who were hardened, those who were unable, and in fact, unwilling to keep the law.

As for Exodus 34, it follows, not surprisingly, Exodus 32, a few chapters earlier. And what happened in Exodus 32? The people showed the hardness of their hearts. These were the initial recipients of the old law, having hard hearts.

Chapter 32, verse 31: “Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.”

The Israelites must have been so afraid when it came to Exodus 34. They must have been scared to death, given the great sin that they had committed and the great punishment that had already come to pass against them because of that great sin.

The Protective Purpose of the Veil

The goal of the old covenant was the manifestation of the glory of God, but it had the effect of bringing death and condemnation to those with hardened hearts. If God’s glory had continued in their midst during their hardened condition, they would have been utterly destroyed.

Isn’t that what Exodus 33, verse 3 says? “For I will not go up in the midst of thee, for thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee in the way?”

Moses wore the veil because of the people’s sinfulness, and it was worn to protect them from being consumed. He wore it to protect them from the punishment they deserved under the old law that was at that very time being delivered to them.

The veil allowed the glory of God to be in their midst, with Moses acting as a mediator and without the people being destroyed by that glory. In this sense, that veil represented the judgment of God and it represented the mercy of God.

How This Fits 2 Corinthians 3

Does that understanding fit in the context when we get back to 2 Corinthians 3? Absolutely. Moses tried to protect the people from being consumed, but ultimately he was unable to do anything about their hardened condition. The fault was not with the old covenant or with Moses, but it was with the people.

Give me one more minute, please, and I’ll finish this verse.

The ministry of the Old Covenant was ultimately unable to provide the eternal blessings that had been promised to Abraham. That was not true of the New Covenant. “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” Paul has not left that basic point since he said it in verse 6.

Paul is bold compared with Moses because Paul is able to do so much more than Moses could ever do. What Paul is doing is certainly not due to Paul’s power any more than what Moses was doing was due to Moses’ power. Paul and Moses were both characterized by their weakness, in fact. And each, though, was displaying the great power of God in their lives. Our theme, strength from weakness, shining through in these verses here.

The glory of God no longer needs to be veiled because its end, as in Romans 10, under the new covenant is life rather than death. Removing the veil is what happens when one turns to God and obeys that gospel. And Christians can encounter the glory of God and live. Because the condemnation of that old covenant has been permanently annulled for those who are in Christ.

Conclusion

Next week, we’ll start off with verse 14 and we’ll finish out this beautiful chapter, which, by the way, ends with one of the most beautiful verses anywhere in the Bible. Next week, we’ll start with verse 14.

Thank you so much for your attention and give me a little extra time. Let’s have our closing prayer.