Cheryl Schatz

Peter, You said: As such, phrases such as “gives”, “comes” and “drive away” must have relevance to the conversation at hand – as a FIRST priority of the reading as we try to determine the intended meaning of the passage. Only by acknowledging that, can we then go on to try to determine if this is ALSO a universal principle that applies after Jesus ascends – which makes the “looking ahead to the coming Messiah” a moot exercise. You are saying that one must see these words as ONLY applicable to the people of the time of Jesus and by determining this, you are not only missing verses that take this as a salvation passage, you are actually practicing begging the question. Having relevance to the people at that time CANNOT disregard people after that time unless the words actually say that. Jesus did not make a mistake by not adding a term that limits the application of time. Instead, Jesus used the present tense without a limiting term. “For” is not a time limit, it is a reason.