II Corinthians 11:21b-12:10
Dear RTB’ers,
Today’s reading has three major parts – Paul’s “suffering” for his testimony to the Lord; the vision/revelation that he saw; and his “thorn in the flesh”. First, his suffering… When I read about all that he went through, I cringe. I do not handle physical pain well and he lists so much that he had to endure physically. Then at the end of that list he adds his own “pastoral” emotions, …the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (v. 28b) What he went through…!!
As to the vision… There is general agreement among scholars that Paul is speaking of himself as the … man in Christ who … was caught up to the third heaven… (v. 2) He even says as much himself in verse 7, So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations… As to what Paul saw or what he heard that “cannot be told”, we’ll have to do our own imagining.
Finally, the “thorn in the flesh”… I suspect that many millions of other people have been like me and thought of their own personal “thorn in the flesh” that they have had to deal with – items over which they have prayed time and again and from which they not been delivered. Even now I still can’t lift my elbow to shoulder level without pain – I’m looking forward to my shoulder doctor visit the second day that we get back! “Thorn in the flesh…”?? Pain, yes. Thorn, probably not!
Blessings!
See also: