SCRIPTURE: Luke 7:18-35

OBSERVATION:
John believed that Jesus was the messiah, he was just confused about why Jesus operated as He did. Jesus’ answer to John’s question is to point to the miracles as signs that He is the messiah, as the Jewish Scriptures prophecied. But He also adds that the messiah will not operate in a worldly fashion. In His kingdom, the insignificant will be honoured (including sinners). People will take offense at His message (blessed are those who do not!). And He will be attacked because He does not follow the religious rules and rituals (like fasting and separating from sinners). The message of the kingdom is upside-down according to the worldly, and the fact that the Pharisees rejected His message shows that they are worldly – self-serving and self-bloated. But wisdom will be evident in the lives of those who live it. Look at the fruit of peoples’ lives (compare Jesus to the Pharisees) and you will see whose teaching makes more sense.

APPLICATION:
The people in Jesus’ day did not recognize Jesus because the official religion had changed the original message. They adapted it to suit their own religious and selfish preferences. They focused on externals but their hearts were far from God. Is it possible that we have adapted the message to suit our own religious and selfish preferences (this is a rhetorical questions for me, I believe strongly that the answer is yes). The way of Jesus involves patience, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, love, self-sacrifice, etc. If I look at the fruit of my life, what do I see? If I take offense at what Jesus says (either overtly or subtly, by just ignoring it), then I forfeit the blessing of God. The blessing is for those who practice what Jesus’ says, not just pay lip service to it.

PRAYER:
Lord, if I am to be a Jesus-follower, I need to practice what You teach. Help me not to be content with being religious, grant me a heart that wants to be radical, to actually practice what You preach. Amen.