Apostolos are made AS the filth of the world

“For I think that God has set forth us the apostolos last, as it were appointed unto death. For we are made a spectacle (Greek word, theatron, a place of public show) unto the world, and to messengers, and to people. We are fools for the Mashiach’s sake, but you are wise in the Mashiach. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honorable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place, and labor, working with our own hands, being reviled, we bless. Being persecuted, we endure it. Being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things unto this day. I write not these things to shame you, brethren, but as my beloved sons and daughters (full inheritance as kings and priests) I warn you. FOR THOUGH YOU HAVE TEN THOUSAND INSTRUCTORS IN THE MASHIACH, YET YOU HAVE NOT MANY FATHERS, FOR IN THE MASHIACH I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU THROUGH THE GOSPEL. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me as I follow the Mashiach.”  – 1 Cor 4

There are three words in this passage that our connected: spectacle…filth of the world… offscouring. The key to understanding the passage is the word “offscouring”. The Greek word for “offscouring” is peripsoma. This  is the only place in the New Testament this word is found, and it is not found in the LXX (Greek translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew) as far as I examined. This means there is no other witness to the word in the Greek as far as the Bible (Old and New Testament) is concerned. In this case I went to Adams Clark’s Commentary for a witness to this word in any passages in secular writings of the time. Here are his condensed comments on the passage starting at “We are as the filth of the earth, the offscouring of all things”: “The Greek word which we render filth is “perikatharmata”, literally meaning a purgation or sacrifice. That which we translate offscouring is “peripsoma”, a redemptive sacrifice. To understand the full force of these words, as applied by the apostle in this place, we must observe that he alludes to certain customs among the nations, who, in the time of some public calamity, chose out some unhappy men of the most abject and despicable character to be a public expiation for them. These they maintained for a whole year at the public expense. And then they led them out, crowned them with flowers, as was customary in sacrifices, and having heaped all the curses of the country upon them, and whipped them seven times, they burned them alive. Afterwards their ashes were thrown into the sea, while the people said the words, ‘peripsemaemon ginon’ or translated ‘be thou our propitiation’. Sometimes the person thus chosen would was thrown into the sea as a sacrifice to Neptune, the people saying the same words as before.”

In the Vine’s Expository Dictionary under the word offscouring these words are used to describe the meaning of the Greek word “peripsema” and its synonymous (like) word, “perikatharma”: “refuse, rubbish were used especially of condemned criminals of the lowest classes, who were sacrificed as expiatory offerings…because of their degraded life (Lightfoot)”

The point I am making is Paul was using words in this passage, ”spectacle…filth of the world… offscouring” which were words that would have made a tremendous impression on the hearers. These were words associated with ritual and calamity, the worst of criminals and human sacrifices. These were words of long standing customs of the nations (Gentiles). Read the book of Yonah and his casting into the sea. Read about the law of the scapegoat in the law of Moshah which took away human sacrifice from the pagan custom of sacrificing people. There is great reference (prophecy) to Yeshua, the fulfillment of the scriptures, in each of these passages in the Old Testament. The criminal who would be the scapegoat for the supposed sins of the people was crowned with flowers, which was a custom across much of human sacrifice throughout history Compare this to the judgment of our Savior, Yeshua ha Mashiach, and He not offered this mercy of a crown of flowers, but upon His head went the cruel mockery of a crown of thorns according to the purpose of God.

Yes, the apostolos are made as the filth of the world, the scapegoat for all in the flesh, but they are not the scapegoat in the Spirit, for the scapegoat of the Spirit is reserved for our blessed Savior, Yeshua ha Mashiach, who tasted death for all people. He is “the scapegoat”. The apostolos, as well as we,  at the most are partakers of the sufferings of the Mashiach, light afflictions compared to the glories that should follow. The glories that follow is living and abiding in the presence of God face to face for ever and ever, having conversation with our God, eye to eye forever and ever.

I mark this writing by the one true gospel. The one true gospel is the Mashiach, Yeshua of Nazareth, died for our sins according to the Old Testament, He was buried and He rose again the third day according to the Tanach. (Luke 24, 1 Cor 15:1-6) Yeshua of Nazareth is the only Mashiach of God.

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