The Tension Increases
Luke 13:1-21
How often do you think we refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace? I think we use that appellation often. How often do you think the people of His time referred to Him as the Prince of Peace? I don’t think anyone did.
One of the things we need to remember about Jesus was that He tended to upset the established Law…not be dismissing it but by reinterpreting it. Any number of time He points out to the Pharisees that they are supposed to be teachers of the Law, but they do not understand the law.
Jesus called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers” at least twice. I doubt that they took too kindly to that description of them. Jesus said that He would split families up…part of the family would believe in Him; others would not.
Jesus was a rebel in the best context of the word. He wanted to change the status quo. He was here to do just that. If that were not true, He would not have been sent to us as the Messiah. He would have remained a good teacher of the Law. But Jesus was so much more than that. We are told to “repent of our sins or perish”. We are all sinful people. If we do not absolutely repent of our sins, we can be certain we will perish. There is no gray area in the matter.
And in my opinion I think that when we truly repent of our sins, Jesus does not expect us to repeat them again and again. One of the intriguing thing about this passage is the indication that God will wait for us, but He won’t wait forever. We do not know how long He will wait so we need to make ourselves right with God as soon as possible.
Carol
Bible Breath: Unless we repent / We perish
April 9, 2008 at 1:46 am
Carol, I like what you said about Jesus being a ‘rebel’ in the best context of the word… to me, that translates as being radical and relevant to our times. There are many youth like myself who love Jesus with all their heart and use radical means to reach out to others like themselves… but often their efforts are met with nothing short of contempt… It’s encouraging to know that Jesus Himself got the same treatment, and it’s worth the effort even when others don’t think so.
April 9, 2008 at 10:52 am
Hi, Janiesusanna,
Thank you for leaving a comment!!! Jesus got much worse treatment than the rebels of our time. He was crucified for us.
Keep reaching out. Most of us do not do that…and then we wonder why the church is not growing. It is because of us. We are to make it grow…not the pastor. He is to teach and minister, etc. But we have to make the fields grow so to speak. And most of us do not do it well at all…no matter what our ages are.
By the way, I don’t imagine that anything you can do to reach out to people is anywhere nearly so “radical” as the things Jesus did. I would like to know what kinds of efforts you and others are making which result in “nothing short of contempt”.
There is another “radical” which also needs to be met in the church. It is called “radical hospitality”. People read the book from which the term is taken, FIVE PRACTICES OF FRUITFUL CONGREGATIONS by Robert Schnase. It is a terrific book. Anyway, when I read the chapter on “radical hospitality,” I was amazed. It was nothing more that what is written in the Bible about hospitality!! It is a good book. If we all did that stuff, we would end up with more Christians, and the churches would thrive…but we don’t do it.
Once again. Thanks for leaving comments. Keep reaching out. It will be successful…even if you cannot see it. Part of our problem is that if we do not immediately see the results of our labors, we stop. We must persevere.
When I started our website, about three or four people a day would come. When I began “Read the Bible in a Year” page and blog, nobody seemed to be there. I write almost daily and rarely hear from a soul. But I know people are out there so I continue.
Once again, you and your friends continue reaching out no matter how you are treated. Christian love will always win the day. But you may not see the outcome.
Bless you,
Carol