December 7, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in our Lenten readings from “The Life of Jesus”? Here’s today’s reading:
Advent 2024 – Day 7 in the Book: “The Life of Jesus“
The Beginning of Jesus’ Public Life
Read Sections 2.13 through 2.18 (pages 28-31)
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 A great comparison to those that are hungry for the truth and those that believe in their own way. They are good people and in no need of help. The woman at the well. Went back to her home town and her town began to believe. Even with her checkered past. Her town listened and believed. What a great picture of those hungry for forgiveness and a savior. Then there is a government official who walked 20 miles to hopefully meet Jesus and ask him to heal his son. What are the odds that all this would happen. Tremendous faith. And humbleness. Hoping he was one of herod’s officers. And Herod would hear of this miracle. This man’s faith is exactly what our father is looking for. As Jesus tells him, go home, your son has been healed. He goes believing and his son is healed. Wow!! And then it begins, Jesus goes home to a stubborn obstinate people. Why bother!! I would have stayed away and preached to Gentiles. But that’s not the father’s plan. To think of all the rejection from his own people He knew that and still returned. Just another lesson in who Jesus was and is. His love for all of mankind
“ The right time is now here. God‘s kingdom is very near. Change your hearts and lives, and believe the Good News!”
There is a good mindset comparison here as we see Jesus’ followers concerned about Him eating something and Jesus’ response that He is fed in a different way. Now we know Jesus physically ate while He was on the earth but it was a good way to show us how we can easily forget the eternal picture when we are distracted by earthly things.
Also, not surprisingly it was easier for people to accept Him and His teachings that had never met Him before over the people of His hometown. They weren’t as easily able to let go of whatever preconceived notions they had about Him and who He was in their eyes. Made me think we should never get so familiar with God in our lives that we take for granted His power, righteousness, and all He has done and is able to do!
Advent Day 6 & 7
Advent day 7
What a statement that Jesus’ food was to do the will of God. It is what sustained and empowered Him more than earthly food. We may know what He is saying when we are so impassioned or engrossed in something, we forget to eat. May our greatest passion be for doing God’s will. And the harvest is plentiful in our day as well, even though people don’t realize it, but their need is so great. And the natural thing is for the one who comes to know Jesus to tell others and they come to know Him as well, like what happened with the Samaritan woman. And how great is Jesus’ power that He heals from a distance. He never needed to touch someone in order to heal them. Just by His words it would be done. And yet in spit of all that, he is rejected in His own town. He does call them out about things they are thinking that he is telling them rather then them saying it. But how natural for someone who knew someone back in the day, and then they go and become famous and when they come back for people to say, hey, perform for us as well. But Jesus never wanted to be accepted because of what people could get from Him in His miracles, but rather for the miracles to point to who He is and then people believe Him for who He is.
When Jesus goes to his hometown they question his statements regarding His being the fulfillment of the reading from Isaiah and want to request that he do miracles before them. Actually they don’t say that, He tells them what they are thinking! Is that not evidence enough? He also references Elijah and Elisha helping and healing non-Israelites when God could have easily sent them to an Israelite widow or an Israelite leper. This is a precursor of Jesus coming to the children of Israel, their rejection of Him, and the gospel being preached to the Gentiles.
”But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.“
Acts 13:45-48 NKJV