Then
Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John
tried to talk him out of it. "I am the one who needs to be baptized by
you," he said, "so why are you coming to me?" But Jesus said, "It
should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires." So John
agreed to baptize him. Matthew 3:13-15
As
Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he
went in and took his place at the table. His host was amazed to see that he sat
down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by
Jewish custom. Then the Lord said to him, "You Pharisees are so careful to
clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! Fools! Didn't God
make the inside as well as the outside? So clean the inside by giving gifts to
the poor, and you will be clean all over. "What sorrow awaits you
Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb
gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but
do not neglect the more important things. ... "Teacher," said an
expert in religious law, "you have insulted us, too, in what you just
said." "Yes," said Jesus, "what sorrow also awaits you
experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious
demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden. Luke 11:37-42, 45-46
Was Jesus
ever stubborn…or did He feel the emotion of awkwardness? There were moments. He
almost seems stubborn when He insists that John the Baptist baptize Him. It
should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires. Jesus wouldn’t
take “No”…or any excuse that John gave…for an answer. Is that simple obedience
or stubborn obedience? It is hard for us to read between the lines and “hear”
the attitude that Jesus had as He spoke to John with words that could have been
spoken with calm firmness or with stubborn insistence. What do you think? What
was Jesus’ attitude and what emotion was He feeling at that time?
 |
| Did you wash your hands before you ate? Modern hand washing station at an Israeli hotel. |
It was
awkward when Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees about the traditional Jewish
hand-washing ritual…or about paying taxes, caring for elderly parents, and
providing signs from heaven. The Pharisees told Him…“you have insulted us….” His disciples even confronted Him. Then the disciples came to him and asked,
"Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?"
Matthew 15:12. I don’t think Jesus was concerned about what the Pharisees
thought of Him or whether He offended
them. They were offensive to Him. That must have made teaching in the Temple
awkward. They were the Jewish religious leaders and teachers…but He was
gathering huge crowds and people were becoming His followers. Jesus continued
to teach…and the Pharisees continued to try to find ways to test Him so that
they could have Him eliminated from their society…from Israel. Would you be
stubborn enough in your obedience to God that you would offend others?
Prayer
~ Jesus, show us how we can be more like You in dealing with the emotion of awkwardness.
Give us grace to follow You no matter what…and not to be influenced by the
Pharisees around us.
Daily
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 4-6
© 2018 Text and
photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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