"You search the ancient prophetic writings because you are seeking the path to eternal life. The prophets themselves testify clearly of me. And yet, you hesitate to come to me that you might find new life."
-- Jesus
Any modern day traveler has most likely had a disturbing debate with a high tech navigator that goes something like this:
Garmin: "In one mile turn left."
Me: "I don't want to turn left."
Garmin: "In 500 feet turn left."
Me:" I told you, I'm not turning left!"
Garmin: "In 25 feet turn left."
Me: "Why aren't you listening to me...WE ARE NOT TURNING LEFT!!!"
Garmin: "Recalculating...in one mile turn left."
Me: "AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!"
Finding the right path has always been daunting...
Modern day navigation tools give us a wealth of information such as weather conditions, traffic delays, distance and time to destination. But whatever navigation tools we use, it is still up to us to accurately interpret the information.
And whether it is modern technology or ancient writings, what they can't give is a guarantee that we will like what we find when we get there!
Think of the unsuspecting women hoping to land a major role in a Harvey Weinstein movie...
So the problem with the people of Jesus' day wasn't in the navigation, the prophets took them right where they needed to be, it was that Jesus didn't match up to their pre-determined interpretation of doctrines and theories about Messiah!
Could modern day religionists possibly be guilty of the same: promoting doctrines and theories over The Living Savior?!
What's Not To Love?
The townsmen of Nazareth probably offer the greatest example in Jesus' life of how to be at the right destination with the wrong expectations!
MacDonald observes:
"...to Nazareth He comes with the sweetest words of the prophet of hope in His mouth—good tidings of great joy—of healing and sight and liberty; followed by the godlike announcement, that what the prophet had promised He was come to fulfill. His heart, his eyes, his lips, his hands—his whole body is full of gifts for men, and that day was that scripture fulfilled in their ears.
The prophecy had gone before that He should save his people from their sins; He brings an announcement they will better understand: He is come, he says, to deliver men from
To the women of it, I imagine, it sounded the sweetest, in them woke the highest hopes. They had scarce had a hearing when the Lord came; and thereupon things began to mend with them, and are mending still, for the Lord is at work, and will be.
He is the refuge of the oppressed. By its very woes, as by bitterest medicine, he is setting the world free from sin and woe. This very hour he is curing its disease, the symptoms of which are so varied and so painful; working none the less faithfully that the sick, taking the symptoms for the disease, cry out against the incompetence of their physician. 'What power can heal the broken-hearted?' they cry. And indeed it takes a God to do it, but the God is here! In yet better words than those of the prophet, spoken straight from his own heart, he cries:
'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'
He calls to him every heart knowing its own bitterness, speaks to the troubled consciousness of every child of the Father. He is come to free us from everything that makes life less than bliss essential. No other could be a gospel worthy of the God of men.
Best of all, the story of him who is Himself the good news, the gospel of God, becomes not only more and more believable to the childlike heart, but more and more ministrant to his life of conflict, and his assurance of a living father who hears when his children cry. The gospel according to this or that expounder of it, may repel him unspeakably; the gospel according to Jesus Christ, attracts him supremely, and ever holds where it has drawn him."
The Ignoble, Influential, and Indifferent response to The Infinite.
The Ignoble, like the men of Nazareth who, with fierce nationalistic pride, reserve the "right" to determine for themselves what claim Jesus has on their faith in Him while their supposed familiarity with the "scriptures" breeds the worst kind of contempt: truth in Him was not truth in them!
The "truth" they were determined to find was a conquering King for whom they would gladly take up sword and club to break hearts (and heads) in the name of the Healer of Hearts!
Jesus walks away from them...
As for the Influential, those who fancy themselves powerful enough to both insulate themselves from the miseries of this world and manipulate miseries in order to control others for their own pleasure, would find this good news, The Man, in a word, threatening!
Jesus calls them out.
The Indifferent, may stumble into Him, but will never really understand Him because of a greater commitment to their own ways than His.
Jesus keeps calling.
So then let us remember that doctrines and theories about the Creator, Redeemer, Savior and Messiah may help us navigate toward Him, but may be the very thing that keeps us from truly coming to Him!
(adapted from Jesus and His Fellow Townsmen, The Hope of the Gospel, by George MacDonald, emphasis added.)
Garmin: "In one mile turn left."
Me: "I don't want to turn left."
Garmin: "In 500 feet turn left."
Me:" I told you, I'm not turning left!"
Garmin: "In 25 feet turn left."
Me: "Why aren't you listening to me...WE ARE NOT TURNING LEFT!!!"
Garmin: "Recalculating...in one mile turn left."
Me: "AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!"
Finding the right path has always been daunting...
Modern day navigation tools give us a wealth of information such as weather conditions, traffic delays, distance and time to destination. But whatever navigation tools we use, it is still up to us to accurately interpret the information.
And whether it is modern technology or ancient writings, what they can't give is a guarantee that we will like what we find when we get there!
Think of the unsuspecting women hoping to land a major role in a Harvey Weinstein movie...
So the problem with the people of Jesus' day wasn't in the navigation, the prophets took them right where they needed to be, it was that Jesus didn't match up to their pre-determined interpretation of doctrines and theories about Messiah!
Could modern day religionists possibly be guilty of the same: promoting doctrines and theories over The Living Savior?!
What's Not To Love?
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' And he . the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.'—Luke iv. 14-21.
MacDonald observes:
"...to Nazareth He comes with the sweetest words of the prophet of hope in His mouth—good tidings of great joy—of healing and sight and liberty; followed by the godlike announcement, that what the prophet had promised He was come to fulfill. His heart, his eyes, his lips, his hands—his whole body is full of gifts for men, and that day was that scripture fulfilled in their ears.
The prophecy had gone before that He should save his people from their sins; He brings an announcement they will better understand: He is come, he says, to deliver men from
- sorrow and pain,
- ignorance and oppression,
- everything that makes life hard and unfriendly.
To the women of it, I imagine, it sounded the sweetest, in them woke the highest hopes. They had scarce had a hearing when the Lord came; and thereupon things began to mend with them, and are mending still, for the Lord is at work, and will be.
He is the refuge of the oppressed. By its very woes, as by bitterest medicine, he is setting the world free from sin and woe. This very hour he is curing its disease, the symptoms of which are so varied and so painful; working none the less faithfully that the sick, taking the symptoms for the disease, cry out against the incompetence of their physician. 'What power can heal the broken-hearted?' they cry. And indeed it takes a God to do it, but the God is here! In yet better words than those of the prophet, spoken straight from his own heart, he cries:
'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'
He calls to him every heart knowing its own bitterness, speaks to the troubled consciousness of every child of the Father. He is come to free us from everything that makes life less than bliss essential. No other could be a gospel worthy of the God of men.
Best of all, the story of him who is Himself the good news, the gospel of God, becomes not only more and more believable to the childlike heart, but more and more ministrant to his life of conflict, and his assurance of a living father who hears when his children cry. The gospel according to this or that expounder of it, may repel him unspeakably; the gospel according to Jesus Christ, attracts him supremely, and ever holds where it has drawn him."
The Ignoble, Influential, and Indifferent response to The Infinite.
The Ignoble, like the men of Nazareth who, with fierce nationalistic pride, reserve the "right" to determine for themselves what claim Jesus has on their faith in Him while their supposed familiarity with the "scriptures" breeds the worst kind of contempt: truth in Him was not truth in them!
The "truth" they were determined to find was a conquering King for whom they would gladly take up sword and club to break hearts (and heads) in the name of the Healer of Hearts!
Jesus walks away from them...
As for the Influential, those who fancy themselves powerful enough to both insulate themselves from the miseries of this world and manipulate miseries in order to control others for their own pleasure, would find this good news, The Man, in a word, threatening!
Jesus calls them out.
The Indifferent, may stumble into Him, but will never really understand Him because of a greater commitment to their own ways than His.
Jesus keeps calling.
So then let us remember that doctrines and theories about the Creator, Redeemer, Savior and Messiah may help us navigate toward Him, but may be the very thing that keeps us from truly coming to Him!
(adapted from Jesus and His Fellow Townsmen, The Hope of the Gospel, by George MacDonald, emphasis added.)
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Comments are welcome. You can post them here or send me an email: clyon2msu@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, hope you are encouraged, blessed, challenged and grow stronger in your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Charlie