Theological Commentary: Click Here
And the crowd
was astonished because he taught as one with authority. I love that description. So often I wish that same description was true
about me. I wish I taught with the same
authority as Jesus. Then I realize where
it ended for Jesus. The crowd shouts for
Him to die. That’s the result of
teaching with authority. Eventually the
crowd chants for your death.
What is
Jesus teaching that amazes the crowds – and eventually allows the Pharisees to turn
them against Him? He is radical. He is radical, but not in the way most people
think about radical.
Jesus tells
us to focus on getting our own house in order.
That’s what the first message is all about. How on earth can I possibly help anyone if I
am ignorant of my own failings? How will
I be able to speak truth into the lives of others if I am not even able to
apply truth to my own life and show why that truth is so valuable?
This is why
Jesus cautions us to enter by the narrow gate.
This is why He tells us to build our house on the firm foundation of God’s
ways. In order to impact the world
around me, I have to be focused on making sure that the truth is being applied
to my life first. Nobody will willingly
follow a hypocrite once they are proven.
But people will occasionally follow a person who is following a difficult
path if that path shows good fruit.
This brings us
to one of my favorite teachings in this chapter. Jesus reminds us that we will know people by
their fruit. Want to know a good person? Look for how their teaching is being applied
to their own life. What to know someone
worth following? Lok for someone who
practices what they preach and their life is bearing out in a way that you want
to happen to you.
<><
As an aside,
I hate the corruption that modernity brings to the opening verse of this
chapter. Judge not lest ye be
judged. So many people use that to
champion their cause of letting anything go.
But that is not what this is about.
It’s not my place to tell other people they are going to Hell, but it is
my absolutely my place to show them where their errors might lead to hardship
in life. For the record, I want people
looking out for me like that, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment