"So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom you are persecuting.'" (Acts 22:8)
It is quite obvious to me that if I "persecute," viz., mistreat in any way, any who are Followers of Jesus Christ, I am mistreating, "persecuting," our Lord Jesus. There is no metaphor here!
Today as I read our text I took particular note of Jesus' use of, "I am Jesus of Nazareth," not Jesus, the Christ, nor Jesus, the Son of God, but, "....of Nazareth." Could it be that Jesus is emphasizing His humanness here to Saul, His identity as, "The Son of Man," with and in those who follow Him? I am Sherwood of McKeesport; you are you of your birth place. I believe our Lord Jesus Christ is saying to us that He is One in His People. What you and I do to any Follower of Jesus, who is from any town of any nation, we do to, "Jesus------------- of Nazareth."
The exhortation for me today is to be very, very careful how I treat you, how I treat any who is a Follower of Jesus, a member of His Church. Again, there is no metaphor here. If I am unkind to you, I am literally unkind to Jesus. If I speak evil of you, I speak evil of Jesus. If I find fault with you, I find fault with Jesus. He is indeed, "Jesus of Nazareth." May you and I never persecute _______ of _______.
Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray I never "persecute" You! Amen.
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I have had another friend say that they have not received my devotionals for quite a while. As I have indicated before, this happens. Names just disappear from the mailing list. If you do not receive a devotional for a few days, please let me know. Also, I remind you that you can go to: apfdevotionals.blogspot.com to receive any of the devotionals. I hope you received my note from the US Capitol Building yesterday.
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
