Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1.
Dear God, we are so grateful that You love sinners! That includes the whole wide world! Help us to follow in Your footsteps by accepting people just as they are, and allowing You to re-make them into Your image and likeness. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Imagine, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day complaining because Jesus was receiving sinners and eating with them! That really should not surprise us when you realize that they did not receive Him as who He really was. For them He was just another poor Jew, son of a carpenter, with a dubious beginning, making claims of being the Messiah.
He was not the only one of His day making these claims. Even Barabbas, the insurrectionist and murderer, whose name was Yeshua bar Abba, meaning “Jesus, son of the Father”, had laid claims to being the Messiah. He was set free while Jesus was crucified. The religious leaders saw to that!
We have to be so careful what voices we are listening to! Jesus warned:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “
So now I ask you, whose voice are you listening to? That will determine your final destination. Today there are so many voices all around us, and each one trying to get our attention. In many instances, even trying to change our minds, or, trying to make up our minds for us, some even challenging what we believe!
Some of these voices are easy to ignore, because they are outright wrong in their premises, and by employing your God-given right to inquire and ask questions you can logically conclude that they are wrong.
Other voices are not as easy to set aside as not being trustworthy. They have adopted the more sophisticated method of the great deceiver, who, in the Garden of Eden, used the subversive method of mixing truth with lies, and creating doubt. Do you know who is behind this kind of talking?
Hint, hint: “Has God said . . .?” “If you are the Son of God . . .” As the old folks, where I come from would say, This method is “as old as sin.” And it is! Therefore my friends, opinions matter! Before they are believed, adopted, or shared, they should be prayerfully and carefully analyzed.
In our Scripture for today, this is not the laity complaining, these are the powers that be in the religious world! These are the people who form the opinion of the believers and non-believers who are seeking truth! That is what makes their criticism of what Jesus is doing so critical!
Do they not know that this is what is expected of the Messiah? Have they not studied the Messianic prophecies?
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Isaiah 61:1, 2).
Had they not heard Jesus, after reading this Scripture in church one Sabbath morning, say the following: ” ‘ “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” ‘ So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ‘ “Is this not Joseph’s son?” ‘ ” (Luke 4:21b, 22. Emphasis provided).
Jesus knew that the moment of awe and admiration would not last very long. Hear His words of warning: ” ‘ “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country” ‘ ” (24)
I wish the verse had ended before the last question. The message was absolutely the best message ever, to be preached in that temple! It was of this that the prophet Haggai had spoken when he prophesied thousands of years before:
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. . . . ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts’ ” (Haggai 2:6, 7, 9).
The Desire of All Nations had come to His temple! His very Presence had filled it with glory! He had just spoken wonderful words of peace! And all they could ponder about was His pedigree! “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Hmmm.
In our Scripture for today, Jesus is fulfilling His Messianic duties and the religious leaders are complaining.
We will continue this conversation.