John 8:40-49
40Therefore, many from the crowd having heard the Word were saying, “This One is truly the Prophet.” 41Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Others were saying, “But the Christ is not coming out of Galilee, is He? 42The Scripture said the Christ is coming from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was, did it not?” (Psalm 132: 11; Jer 23: 5; 1Sam 16: 1,13; Micah 5: 2) 43So a division arose among the crowd because of Him. 44But some out of them were wanting to seize Him, but no one laid his hands on Him.
45Then the attendants came to the Chief Priests and Pharisees. And those said to them, “Why did not bring Him?” 46The attendants answered, “Never in such a manner spoke a person like this Person!” 47Therefore, the Pharisees answered to them, “Have not also been led deceived, have? 48No one from the rulers Believed in Him nor from the Pharisees, have they? 49But this crowd, the one not knowing the Law, is accursed.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? Your Will Be Done!" We keep coming back to the same topic. Do you recognize what it is? Religion. The Priests, the Pharisees and Sadducees and some other well educated leaders within the Jewish Religion do not understand why Jesus is being listened to at all, let alone by so many people. It appears to the Religious Right that what Jesus says makes no sense.
Many centuries prior to Jesus showing up, the Priests had nearly every Jew under their control. You know, go to Temple or Synagog on the Sabbath, obey the Commandments, trust the rules, rights, and rituals of the original and expanded Ten Commandments, Moses Law, and the then current tenets of Judaism as they ordained it. Now comes a man from, well no one has taken the time to find out from where, and that becomes the first argument. Yet when Jesus is speaking, the words make the common people's heart sing, even though confused, which of course is caused by the Religion that ruled their daily lives. It was natural that some knew more than others, and it was also natural that they would discuss it with one another. What was not natural is that they could not come to a common agreement to find out more so they could make an informed decision.
Today's easy lesson: I know I say it so many times most of you are likely getting sick of hearing it. Never have I not learned something new, or been given a new insight into the verses we are Studying, no matter how many times I read them. The nice thing about becoming very familiar with the Bible is you become more mature, not so much in terms of how life is lived, but in how your Father thinks. That is another reason Jesus came to teach the religious and the everyday people of that time.
Have you noticed that Jesus repeatedly argues with the Religious Leaders, not the common people? The people then were like people now. They didn't understand much about God, nature, emotions, women, men, and so on. They went about their daily business trying to live the way they were taught. Many people ask, "Why did Jesus come when He did?" There is a simple answer. The Israelite community had found that instead of following the Father to victory and to Life in the land of milk and honey, they opted to live a life in accordance of the Chief Priests and Elders, which was rooted in self, formulating their own ideas of what God would like, named it Judaism, and of course the result was living in defeat and in fear. It wasn't so bad for the Jewish Leadership, but for the citizens there was nothing much to cheer about. In fact, one could barely tell the difference between a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person then, just as it is today where it is hard to tell a Christian from anyone else in the world today. Before it could get any worse and find the entire world influenced by and large by what was a grand insult to God, Jesus had to come when He did so He could put a damper on Judaism, and frankly, He did. Even so, no one anticipated how strong and how stubborn the Jewish Leadership was and how hard they held onto God's Chosen. The Farther had an answer to that as well.
How does this impact your daily walk with the Father? Many of you are good weekly, holiday, and other Holy Days of honoring God by attending church. This is not a bad thing, but who is it for? God? You? Someone else? It is only good for you. God is not impressed with your church attendance, He is more apt to want your heart to be supplanted with the Love that Jesus showed through His Completed Work on the Cross, His Death and His Resurrection. Once you receive the Holy Spirit within you, it is time to recognize that superficial works are not within God's first priorities. God wants a personal relationship with you, He wants to lead, not follow. He wants to provide your needs, not just your wants, and He wants you to realize He is not a great vending machine, but indeed the Creator God, exuding Love for the purpose of granting His Life to you, in every way that that can be possible.
If you go to church and listen to a preacher teach about sin, pleasing God by works and so on, then learn of the Freedom you actually have in Grace, how do you come to the conclusion of what God is like? It is similar in many ways to the Israelites above. They are arguing over where Jesus was born, instead of finding out. They are satisfied with rumor and wondering, but not interested enough to seek and find, knock so it will be opened, or ask so they shall receive the Truth. And what does the Truth do? It sets you Free! If you are unsure of the Truth, it is on you to seek, knock, and ask. What you read here is Truth. What you get at your local church? I will leave that to you. But please, DO NOT try to live two lives. One of Grace, one of Religion, a house divided against itself shall fall. Talk to your Father now, and discuss this with Him, He will lead you to all Truth. What a great Blessing! Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
40Therefore, many from the crowd having heard the Word were saying, “This One is truly the Prophet.” 41Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Others were saying, “But the Christ is not coming out of Galilee, is He? 42The Scripture said the Christ is coming from the seed of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David was, did it not?” (Psalm 132: 11; Jer 23: 5; 1Sam 16: 1,13; Micah 5: 2) 43So a division arose among the crowd because of Him. 44But some out of them were wanting to seize Him, but no one laid his hands on Him.
45Then the attendants came to the Chief Priests and Pharisees. And those said to them, “Why did not bring Him?” 46The attendants answered, “Never in such a manner spoke a person like this Person!” 47Therefore, the Pharisees answered to them, “Have not also been led deceived, have? 48No one from the rulers Believed in Him nor from the Pharisees, have they? 49But this crowd, the one not knowing the Law, is accursed.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father? Your Will Be Done!" We keep coming back to the same topic. Do you recognize what it is? Religion. The Priests, the Pharisees and Sadducees and some other well educated leaders within the Jewish Religion do not understand why Jesus is being listened to at all, let alone by so many people. It appears to the Religious Right that what Jesus says makes no sense.
Many centuries prior to Jesus showing up, the Priests had nearly every Jew under their control. You know, go to Temple or Synagog on the Sabbath, obey the Commandments, trust the rules, rights, and rituals of the original and expanded Ten Commandments, Moses Law, and the then current tenets of Judaism as they ordained it. Now comes a man from, well no one has taken the time to find out from where, and that becomes the first argument. Yet when Jesus is speaking, the words make the common people's heart sing, even though confused, which of course is caused by the Religion that ruled their daily lives. It was natural that some knew more than others, and it was also natural that they would discuss it with one another. What was not natural is that they could not come to a common agreement to find out more so they could make an informed decision.
Today's easy lesson: I know I say it so many times most of you are likely getting sick of hearing it. Never have I not learned something new, or been given a new insight into the verses we are Studying, no matter how many times I read them. The nice thing about becoming very familiar with the Bible is you become more mature, not so much in terms of how life is lived, but in how your Father thinks. That is another reason Jesus came to teach the religious and the everyday people of that time.
Have you noticed that Jesus repeatedly argues with the Religious Leaders, not the common people? The people then were like people now. They didn't understand much about God, nature, emotions, women, men, and so on. They went about their daily business trying to live the way they were taught. Many people ask, "Why did Jesus come when He did?" There is a simple answer. The Israelite community had found that instead of following the Father to victory and to Life in the land of milk and honey, they opted to live a life in accordance of the Chief Priests and Elders, which was rooted in self, formulating their own ideas of what God would like, named it Judaism, and of course the result was living in defeat and in fear. It wasn't so bad for the Jewish Leadership, but for the citizens there was nothing much to cheer about. In fact, one could barely tell the difference between a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person then, just as it is today where it is hard to tell a Christian from anyone else in the world today. Before it could get any worse and find the entire world influenced by and large by what was a grand insult to God, Jesus had to come when He did so He could put a damper on Judaism, and frankly, He did. Even so, no one anticipated how strong and how stubborn the Jewish Leadership was and how hard they held onto God's Chosen. The Farther had an answer to that as well.
How does this impact your daily walk with the Father? Many of you are good weekly, holiday, and other Holy Days of honoring God by attending church. This is not a bad thing, but who is it for? God? You? Someone else? It is only good for you. God is not impressed with your church attendance, He is more apt to want your heart to be supplanted with the Love that Jesus showed through His Completed Work on the Cross, His Death and His Resurrection. Once you receive the Holy Spirit within you, it is time to recognize that superficial works are not within God's first priorities. God wants a personal relationship with you, He wants to lead, not follow. He wants to provide your needs, not just your wants, and He wants you to realize He is not a great vending machine, but indeed the Creator God, exuding Love for the purpose of granting His Life to you, in every way that that can be possible.
If you go to church and listen to a preacher teach about sin, pleasing God by works and so on, then learn of the Freedom you actually have in Grace, how do you come to the conclusion of what God is like? It is similar in many ways to the Israelites above. They are arguing over where Jesus was born, instead of finding out. They are satisfied with rumor and wondering, but not interested enough to seek and find, knock so it will be opened, or ask so they shall receive the Truth. And what does the Truth do? It sets you Free! If you are unsure of the Truth, it is on you to seek, knock, and ask. What you read here is Truth. What you get at your local church? I will leave that to you. But please, DO NOT try to live two lives. One of Grace, one of Religion, a house divided against itself shall fall. Talk to your Father now, and discuss this with Him, He will lead you to all Truth. What a great Blessing! Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment