The one who is least ... is greater
When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
The disciples of John the Baptist are leaving and Jesus remembers and honors John.. he calls him more than a prophet and he identifies John a the forerunner of the Messiah. And in doing so Jesus identifies himself as that very Messiah. When I think of John I remember that he said of Christ: "I must decrease and he must increase". John was a humble prophet and as such he prophetically proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb of God that would take away our sins. He deflected attention away from himself and onto the Messiah.
Jesus then says something crazy. He says that one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than a great prophet. To me this speaks to the miracle of the new birth where people have new hearts with God's laws emblazoned on them. It reminds me that each reborn person is more than a prophet who proclaims God's message. It speaks to me about how such people are God's message. John was the last prophet of the old covenant. We who are born again are embodied by the Spirit of the Prophet Jesus.
Thank you Father that, by your grace, I have your laws written on my heart.
Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
I cannot imagine what was going through the mind of John the Baptist. Prison was probably not a part of the plan that he had envisioned. Just a short while ago he was baptizing in the Jordan and proclaiming the good news to everyone in earshot. John had to be wondering why the one who proclaimed freedom to prisoners had not come to his cell to set him free. Hard times will cause the mind to go to strange places and ask difficult questions.
How hard it is to not carry an offence towards God when our prayers are not answered. Like John we sit hurting and wondering if God really is who he said he is. In our misery God does not seem to care about our pain or the prison cell that wraps us in darkness. Yet in the darkness Jesus asks us to trust him and to not be offended that our prayer is unanswered.
In the darkness I will trust you Lord. I will not be offended.
Do not weep.
Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
I am a sucker for tears - just thinking about people in pain sometimes brings tears to my eyes. I can see tears in the eyes of Jesus as he approaches this woman who had lost not only her husband to death but now her son lies on a bier being carried to his grave. She certainly had tears in her eyes when our Lord spoke these words to her: “Do not weep.”
To we who are weeping today the Lord too speaks these words of comfort. This crisis will not have the last word in our life. The pain of the day will eventually give way to a better day. One day that which has died will be given back to us and all will glorify God in response. For a great prophet is present amongst us. God is visiting his people each new day.
Help me to see you through my tears Lord.
Not even in Israel have I found such faith ...
After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” And Jesus went with them.
When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Sometimes religious people of a certain sect can see faith as something belonging to them alone. These often feel that faith is all about following the rules and embracing a specific theology. Then a centurion comes along and helps us to see that faith is really not about rules or theology at all. In this story Jesus marvels at the faith of a humble man that neither followed Jewish law or traditions. The centurions speaks to us of what real faith is.
In the centurion we see a blend of genuine faith and humility. The man could have come to Jesus himself but sent others who he deemed to be more worthy. When he heard that Jesus was coming to his place he felt unworthy of a visit by God incarnate. And in Christ he saw one who had authority over life and death - sickness and health. And the Lord responded to his prayer by healing his servant. We can learn much from the faith of the centurion.
Lord, I so often need to see to believe. Help me to believe before I see.
When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Sometimes religious people of a certain sect can see faith as something belonging to them alone. These often feel that faith is all about following the rules and embracing a specific theology. Then a centurion comes along and helps us to see that faith is really not about rules or theology at all. In this story Jesus marvels at the faith of a humble man that neither followed Jewish law or traditions. The centurions speaks to us of what real faith is.
In the centurion we see a blend of genuine faith and humility. The man could have come to Jesus himself but sent others who he deemed to be more worthy. When he heard that Jesus was coming to his place he felt unworthy of a visit by God incarnate. And in Christ he saw one who had authority over life and death - sickness and health. And the Lord responded to his prayer by healing his servant. We can learn much from the faith of the centurion.
Lord, I so often need to see to believe. Help me to believe before I see.
The foundation on the rock ...
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
A few years ago I turned the TV on one morning to see the image of a large home being swept away by flood waters. The devastation was difficult to watch as the power of the river overwhelmed the foundations of that house. To such an event the Lord Jesus compares a life built on a shaky spiritual foundation. Consider what the apostle tells the Corinthians:
"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In this passage Paul also speaks to the issue of foundation. When we follow Christ and his teachings we lay spiritual bricks on a firm foundation. But when we build our lives on the teachings and philosophies of men we have no assurance of everlasting life. Christ is an eternal foundation and when we build on Him we are able to withstand the torrents of death.
Teach me Lord to build on the foundation that is Christ.
A few years ago I turned the TV on one morning to see the image of a large home being swept away by flood waters. The devastation was difficult to watch as the power of the river overwhelmed the foundations of that house. To such an event the Lord Jesus compares a life built on a shaky spiritual foundation. Consider what the apostle tells the Corinthians:
"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
In this passage Paul also speaks to the issue of foundation. When we follow Christ and his teachings we lay spiritual bricks on a firm foundation. But when we build our lives on the teachings and philosophies of men we have no assurance of everlasting life. Christ is an eternal foundation and when we build on Him we are able to withstand the torrents of death.
Teach me Lord to build on the foundation that is Christ.
Out of the abundance of the heart ...
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
A few years ago I had a continuing dialog with an old friend about his heart. He had been convinced by fundamentalist teaching that his heart was desperately wicked. It took me several sessions to help him understand that his problem was not his heart but his flesh - not the innermost being but the outer one. It is a problem that many have because of bad teaching. In truth, we who have been born of the Spirit were given new hearts by God.
In these few sentences Jesus speaks to this very issue of the inner person exercising control over the outer one. He says that the condition of your heart matters because of the words that come out of your mouth. In my thinking the issue of bad speech or behavior is one of strength. If our good heart is stronger then our nasty flesh then good words will come from it. It speaks to me of how I need to daily feed, encourage and strengthen my heart.
Help me Lord to be strong on the inside today. Help my new heart to win.
A few years ago I had a continuing dialog with an old friend about his heart. He had been convinced by fundamentalist teaching that his heart was desperately wicked. It took me several sessions to help him understand that his problem was not his heart but his flesh - not the innermost being but the outer one. It is a problem that many have because of bad teaching. In truth, we who have been born of the Spirit were given new hearts by God.
In these few sentences Jesus speaks to this very issue of the inner person exercising control over the outer one. He says that the condition of your heart matters because of the words that come out of your mouth. In my thinking the issue of bad speech or behavior is one of strength. If our good heart is stronger then our nasty flesh then good words will come from it. It speaks to me of how I need to daily feed, encourage and strengthen my heart.
Help me Lord to be strong on the inside today. Help my new heart to win.
Can a blind man lead a blind man?
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
Jesus has been speaking to his disciples about loving like God loves and showing mercy to their enemies. He takes it a bit further and tells them in this passage that the judgment they have in their hearts for others causes them to be spiritually blind. Such was the case of the religious leaders of his day. These, who were supposed to lead, were blinded by religious pride. These forgot that their primary obligation was to love and not condemn.
Have you ever thought of hypocrisy as a symptom of spiritual blindness? Ever wonder why the religious leaders could not seem to really see Jesus for who he was? Perhaps each condemnation of another added an obstruction to their spiritual eyes. Maybe hypocritical actions obscure our inner vision? Would that they chose mercy over judgment. Would that they would have repented and received healing for the eyes of their heart.
I repent of judgmentalism Lord. Heal my blindness. Cause me to embrace mercy.
Jesus has been speaking to his disciples about loving like God loves and showing mercy to their enemies. He takes it a bit further and tells them in this passage that the judgment they have in their hearts for others causes them to be spiritually blind. Such was the case of the religious leaders of his day. These, who were supposed to lead, were blinded by religious pride. These forgot that their primary obligation was to love and not condemn.
Have you ever thought of hypocrisy as a symptom of spiritual blindness? Ever wonder why the religious leaders could not seem to really see Jesus for who he was? Perhaps each condemnation of another added an obstruction to their spiritual eyes. Maybe hypocritical actions obscure our inner vision? Would that they chose mercy over judgment. Would that they would have repented and received healing for the eyes of their heart.
I repent of judgmentalism Lord. Heal my blindness. Cause me to embrace mercy.
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