Antropologiczne implikacje Jr 1,4-19

Abstract

This article presents an analysis concerning the special task the prophet Jeremiah was to undertake: Yahweh appointed him a prophet for nations and therefore sacrificed him as a gift for the people. A statement that God’s messenger belongs, in a certain sense, to the people, seems to have a special anthropological meaning in this text. Jeremiah personally found out how much he was the part of the Israel community after he had been persecuted for the words of reproof and had witnessed the conquest and destruction of Jerusalem. As these events were taking place, Jeremiah was acting as a defenceless man who cannot resist his persecutors. When he appears before the court, his only weapon is the strong belief that: “in truth the Lord had sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing” (Jer. 26,15). Nevertheless, he cannot oppose them with word or deed since he is a servant of the people he was sent to. His task is to reprove them and he is not able to resign and ran away, no matter what the reaction of his listeners would be. He remains in Jerusalem after its conquest and then accompanies fugitives to Egypt. He never leaves his people. In the light of the analysis that has been carried out we can therefore declare that Jeremiah was very strongly inscribed into the world he lived in. Specially prepared and equipped by God, he undertakes a specific activity towards particular people. That is what happens in prophets’ lives. Jeremiah is distinguished from the others by his relationship with God. Perhaps that is why in the Matthew’s Gospel (16,14) he is mentioned among the prophets associated with Jesus’ mission.