On Sunday, Matt. 11:1-15 was presented to our community as God's challenge to us to develop ears that hear when confronted with the unexpected.
Let me summarize the message:
>For John the Baptist, he was confronted with Jesus living out an unexpected form of Kingship (or, an unexpected way of being the Christ or Messiah).
>Jesus confronted the crowds with the unexpected nature of the Kingdom of God: Even its greatest prophets, who announce the coming of the LORD, are not as great as the least in the Kingdom of God.
>For my friend Brandon, he was confronted with the unexpected employment of roofing, away from church ministry.
>All of them had to face God's challenge to develop ears that hear. Would John stick with this Messiah and be blessed (11:6)? Would the crowds accept the presence of God in their midst in the form of a seemingly powerless prophet (11:14)? Would Brandon hear the call of God to be light in a dark community?
What resonated with you? What other takes are there on this passage? What confrontations with the unexpected have you had that would be appropriate to share?
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7 comments:
I have a little different take on why John
might have sent his disciples to ask that question of Jesus. I think
that John knew all along and always did know that Jesus was the
Messiah. I think that, once he was in prison, John's disciples were
the ones who became disillusioned. Many had followed John and then
became followers of Jesus after His baptism. And now it did not seem
that things were going the way they should be going. John was in
prison, and Jesus was not the conquering hero who drove out the Romans
that so many had felt the Messiah should be. So they went back to John
and asked him if Jesus was the Messiah, since it was John who told them
about Jesus in the first place. I think John said, "Why ask me? Go
ask Jesus yourself." He knew that Jesus would tell them the truth,
whereas if he told them, they still might not believe. When John's
disciples went to Jesus,
it seems as if the question comes from John, yet it could just as
easily be read that it comes from the disciples themselves, with John
directing them where to get the answer. And Jesus answers them in a
way that does not embarrass them. He tells them to go back and tell
John of what they had seen and learned. That gives John a chance to
tell them, "I told you so..." In short, I don't see John wavering in
support of Jesus, I see John's disciples wavering in support of Jesus.
And John gives them a way to confirm what he had already told them.
Either way, the basis of your message to us yesterday is the same.
Great perspective Bob!
I identified with Brandon in thinking he was somehow in a place he shouldn't be. How did he get here? Was God disappointed with him for his choice?
As I go about my day, I mix with customers who are definitely "in the dark" about God, Jesus, and living for eternity. Sometimes, I feel as I am being unduely influenced in their way of living, rather than my influence to Jesus' ways of living.
And yet God can show me in an unexpected way, how valid my life and witness still are. And I can rejoice, because I didn't see it that way. It causes me to "pay more attention" ... to have ears that hear.
i definitely relate, marcia--being around people who need salt and light! :D honestly, thanks for sharing.
talking with George Heier today, I was comforted that more people than just me ask the crises questions. and I am thankful that God is secure to handle them.
My reading for the Mon.28th was from Ezekiel Chap. 37. The valley of dry bones! Talk about raising people from the dead! I thought about what Lewis wrote. The Son does what he sees the Father do.When Jesus spoke of raising the dead, the Jewish leaders and the people should not have been surprised. they should have remembered the story of Ezekiel.
Great thought, Gene. One thing I love about this connection you have made is that Ez 37 is intimately connected to Israel being returned from exile. So, Ez 37:11-14 talks about Israel being returned to their home land and settled there.
If you think about God's punishment time and again in Scripture it is "exile"--sending people away from their home. Adam and Eve sin and they are sent away ("exiled") from the Garden of Eden. Israel sins and they are taken into Assyria. Judah sins and they are taken to Babylon. Jacob sins against his family and he is forced to leave home... And how does God describe punishment to Adam and Eve? The day you disobey you will die: Exile means death. And what is a greater form of exile than physical death? In Jesus' resurrection, then, we have the greatest form of return from exile! If that banishment can be overturned, then there is none which can't be!
I really think this was a timely message especially in the days we live in. Our main goal is to do God's will and that means speaking up when we need to as the Spirit leads. JTB was in prison for speaking up and became isolated from the one he was speaking about, the Messiah. We today can find ourselves in an "unfavorable light" today as we speak out against the sin of this age. We will not be forsaken as JTB might as felt but, we could have feelings about our situation. We need to stand true to the Word of God and His will. There will be a lot of bad things happening as we approach the end times and we must have ears to hear and the determination to to do God's will. It may cost us our lives even, but our Lord is full of grace and will supply all our needs.
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