"Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do....O Jerusalem, Jerusalem....How often I wanted to gather your children together,..but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:3 & 37, from today's Gospel Reading)
If humanity desires a full "picture" of Jesus of Nazareth, it needs to read all verses of all the Gospels, and this is just for "starters." The "rest," if you will, is: Read the Bible, all of it, regularly, yes, over and over. It takes a life time just to "scratch the surface." No one will ever know God by picking and choosing which of His Words they want to read.
When the cutesy phrase came into popularity, "What would Jesus do?", it was code for, "What I want Jesus to do." In the mind of the popularists, Jesus does not pronounce judgment, never rebukes, always approves of everything they want, "'walks with me and talks with me,' all the while coddling me." The attempt is to literally create a god of their own image.
Enter Matthew 23. Though the chapter is a judgment on the leaders, this is a summation of Jewish history. This is the God of the Old Testament, revealing Himself in the New Testament, and telling humanity that, "....I am the Lord, I change not." He is just the same as revealed in the Old Testament as He is revealed in the New Testament, just as much Judge and Savior, "rod and staff," just as much the Hater of sin as the Lover of the sinner. He says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom", and, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am Thy God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." This was the "manner" of the, "Word of God," as He walked the shores of the Galilee. Just as then, people today cannot make Him consistent in their minds.
Our texts reveal the rebuke of sin, while also revealing what Ephesians describes as, "the love of Christ which passes knowledge." Here we see the longing of The Creator, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem-- How often I wanted...your children...." And, as we know Him from what all Scripture reveals, the Living Triune God is saying the same today to all humanity as in Jeremiah 22 and our text, "O Earth, Earth, Earth, Hear the Word of the Lord!...How often I wanted...your children."
Father, in Jesus' Name, Thank You for inviting me to live, "under the shadow of the Almighty....Under [Your] wings [I]...find refuge." Amen.
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When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
