Insightful Musings on theScriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Greetings, dear ones.
It’s already been a busy day. I opted to pick up Nicholas at 6:15am. I did a jog after, ate some breakfast, and have engaged in business phone calls. Now I need to build a plan for the rest of the day and get busy.
Am I getting old and lazy, more confused, more distracted by distractions?—I’m not sure. But the fact is that I have not been rising early enough to do up original essays. In line with that pattern, here’s another production from 2010. I think it’s about as relevant now as it was then.
Have a great day of trusting the ‘Alpha and Omega.’
Love, Dad/Ray.
Let’s take this situation apart. Notice that in verse 15 it says, “He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.” That’s nice. Jesus is getting the equivalent of a standing ovation. Notice verse 22: “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” Things are looking great. Jesus’ approval ratings are high. But just 6 verses later it’s like a bomb goes off. It says, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.” They proceeded with an attempt to throw Him over a cliff. Good grief! What a difference! What in the world happened? What meaning did they draw from Jesus’ words that set them off like this? After all, He was just relating some well-known stories contained in their own sacred writings. As I try to figure it out, it seems clear that it was Jesus’ application of those stories that fueled this dramatic turn in public sentiment. He was indirectly rebuking their national arrogance. He was meddling with their popular attitudes of superiority and spiritual pride—and they didn’t like it one bit! They had the firm mindset that they, the Jews, had special exclusive rights to God—that God liked them more than anyone else—that they were better than anyone else.
Beware of any hint of such a notion in yourself. Avoid the temptation to sing “Amazing Grace” at heart level something like this: “I deserve God’s love and prosperity. He sure is blessed to have ME!”…rather than the correct way—“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”