December 13, 2024
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Reading along with us in our Lenten readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Advent 2024 – Day 13 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Year of Popularity
Read Sections 3.37 through 3.41 (pages 51-56)
This book is an account of Jesus’ life and teachings told through in chronological order from the four Gospels to create one continuous story.
*If you do not have a copy of the book please contact the church at (401)667-0775 and we can get you a copy.
What an amazing picture of surrender to God we see in the woman who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, and rubs them with what appears to be her only perfumed oil. Jesus’ explanation to the Pharisees here is so obvious and yet they do not see it! To be forgiven of a debt one could NEVER pay should of course produce such appreciation, such surrender! But He is still challenging their thinking of blessing and those that deserve to be blessed. They still think it is about what we can do instead of realizing it is about what He has done! What He has done drives the motivation to follow His ways, life a life of appreciation and surrender and the best part is that His way is one of rest, we come to Him heavy, overwhelmed trying to do it ourselves and He takes that from us!
John the Baptist doubts?? Hard to believe he spent all his time preparing the way for Jesus and now he questions. So Jesus does not rebuke but shows John’s followers that he is God by miracles A lesson for all of us also. It’s ok to question. Just look at all the facts. Only one conclusion!! Pharisees hated anyone who spoke the truth. Exposing them and their motives criticizing John and Jesus for dinning with sinners. Jesus was exposing their hypocrisy!! What an awesome picture of forgiveness for those with many sins. The women Anointing Jesus feet . Those who have been forgiven of much will love much. Love that truth. Ok. Now Jesus heals a man blind and speechless from a demon. And the real BLIND say that he heals with demonic power. Can’t believe what they are saying. That demonic power is being used against demons. Doesn’t even deserve a response. But Jesus exposes the truth once again. House divided will crumble !!
Advent Day 13
Advent Day 13
It is amazing how blinded and hardened the Pharisees were. The Son of God was walking with them proclaiming profound truths and doing miraculous things yet for the most part they did not acknowledge who He was. They thought He must be getting His power from Satan! The very scriptures and teachings that the Pharisees were well versed in prophesied His coming, yet they still refused to see Him, and John the Baptist for that matter, for who they were!
Reflecting on Jesus’ gentleness (Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest) and his power to ease my burdens… I think in this context, he is talking about the fulfillment of the law that his death will soon bring into completion.. I am so happy that I know him and that I can abandon all my burdens upon him…
Discouragement and doubt can enter anyone’s heart and we see it here with John the Baptist. Even with all he saw and experienced, he still gets caught up in it. How important for us and him to address it quickly and put the truth to the test and affirm to ourselves just what we believe and why we believe it. And that is what Jesus provides for him and then affirms to others just how important John was to the plan of God. And yet any believer in Jesus is more important in the spiritual realm. And how glad we can be that the load that we have when we follow Jesus is light. He calls those who are weak and burdened and offers us rest, because He does the heavy lifting when it comes to forgiveness and provides re-identification in our persons and nature and power for our lives. The only things He really calls us to is be humble, have faith and make right choices, which are really easy when we trust a God who is so evident and loves us so much. And that forgiveness extends to the worst of sinners and to those that others would not forgive. And people were drawn to that message and saw the validity of Jesus’ claims and not only followed Him but supported Him as well. And some of them were women and Jesus welcomed and valued them too. And how silly it is to suggest that this amazing man that does amazing things is empowered by the devil. It comes down to they can’t explain how He is doing what He is doing and they have already made up their minds that He isn’t of God, so this “spiritual” power must come from the dark side. Or maybe, just maybe, He is actually empowered by God and they are the ones, by not getting it…are working for the dark side. But they need to watch what they say and what they think, because if they deny the work of the Spirit in their own hearts testifying of Jesus, then that cannot be forgiven.
Advent day 13
”And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by all her children.”“
Luke 7:31-35 NKJV
I feel like this is representative of our times. Expectations are suggested and then criticized when people don’t comply. John and Jesus came to fulfill the law and both are rejected.