EMMAUS SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

The Galatians were foolish. They had heard from some other Christian teachers that they needed to follow the Jewish law as well as have faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Paul was furious about his because he had taught them on his several visits to the churches there the true gospel. Paul says this is no gospel at all! He was the one that called them foolish, yet are we foolish sometimes? Do we think that we need to do spiritual exercises to gain acceptance with God? Or do we think that our sins make us distant from God? Their is nothing else needed, but faith in Jesus and we have full acceptance. Again, it really is FULL and total acceptance with God. He absolutely loves us no matter if we don’t pray that much, or fall into lust, or don’t have much faith. On top of that he likes us no matter what! This is the true gospel let no one teach a different one. There is freedom in Christ.

This book should change your life!  Paul presents Galatians his letter to the Galatians in such a way that there can be no mistaking what he is trying to say. 

We are justified by faith in Jesus.  That’s it!  Nothing else!

Ok except what does it mean to be justified?  Basically he is saying that because of Jesus dying on the cross God considers us “not guilty”.  In his eyes we are innocent, blameless, and free!  No sin we have ever committed will be counted against us if we are believers in Jesus. 

I like to know the rules to the game before I start.  I follow instructions.  I need directions.  So here it is – I believe that Jesus is the son of God – I am not guilty in God’s eyes.  Sounds so simple – there must be a catch?  Nope, nothing!

Knowing that I believe in Jesus sets me free.  Free from worry, free from doubt, free to be me.

Oh my goodness. Galatians is officially my favorite book in the Bible so far. What I learned from this book was so beneficial to me, I just pray that I forever keep it within my heart and live it out.
The main theme of Galatians was freedom in Christ. Paul writes to the churches in Galatia to set a few things straight with them. Since he left them last they have been deceived by false teachers and believed lies about the gospel. They are believing in a gospel different from the one Paul first preached to them. The false teachers were telling them that what Paul had proclaimed was only the foundation, and that they needed to do more to become ‘more mature’ in the gospel. The false teachers believed in Jewish customs and practices, and taught that in order for a person to be saved they must keep these laws. The church was held in bondage by the lies they were believing and living under, so Paul writes to them to set them straight again. Paul’s message is clear: they are justified by faith, not by the works they do. He gives them several different examples to make sure they understand that they are no longer required to follow the law, but through Christ have been set free! Their righteousness comes through faith, and believing in Jesus, not by anything they do. God declared them righteous, justified, and guilt free when they believed in Jesus. They are FREE!
The message that Paul spoke to the Galatians applies to us today. If we believe in Christ, we are justified, righteous, and guilt free. No matter what we do, or don’t do, we ALWAYS have these things and God ALWAYS accepts us. We don’t need to do ANYTHING to earn this. It is a free gift when we believe. When I truly grasped this message, it was like the chains fell off, and I actually felt so free! I am so thankful that I have been able to learn this truth. I am challenged to remember this truth every day and to constantly remember to walk out this new-found freedom in Christ.

Galatians is an awesome book! I’ve never truly understood it before this week, but once it was all unpacked- what a powerful message- and a critical one to us as individuals, the church, and the world!

Paul is writing to the Galatians to tell them to stand firm in their faith and to not be swayed by the Circumcision Faction. The false teachers were teaching that it’s not just Jesus that give them acceptance with God, but Jesus plus other things (Jewish legalistic practices). This touches at everyone’s innate desire to earn God’s love- but Paul is emphatically stressing that it is ONLY through faith in Jesus that we are righteous, holy, and accepted. Believing the “Jesus plus” message changes the gospel- which is NO gospel, for it takes out grace- so where would the good news be in that?! And the degree to which you accept the message of “Jesus period” is the degree to which you will experience freedom in your life!

Some people say “You better be careful how you preach that grace thing- you may lead people to sin” but the amazing thing about the gospel is, is that the more it sinks into your heart, the more the gospel moves you to want to please God all the more. The gospel empowers you not to sin. It asks you to fly, but the Spirit gives you wings to do it. It sinks into our heart, in our feet, and makes us want to move in the right direction.

That is the message of freedom in Christ- through Him taking our death penalty for us (that we completely deserve) God sees us as righteous and innocent in His eyes. When we understand to immensity and power of our freedom in Christ you want to go tell everyone about grace and willingly humble ourselves and serve others. We start doing the right things (which we may have already been doing before), but now for the right reasons, with a pure heart – because we are loved, and not to be loved. To do things in order to be loved leads to slavery, but to do things BECAUSE we are loved leads to freedom. And we have freedom in Christ!

The letter from Paul to the churches in Galatians has been so fun to study. After reading and studying it, it is so obvious that Paul is livid that the Galatians have been duped into believing that must earn their salvation/justification by becoming a Jew and following the Mosaic law. But Paul refutes that argument saying that it is through faith in Christ alone that justifies us. We are saved by believing in Christ period. We couldn’t earn salvation if we tried!! …and what will you do with that freedom? Will you live by and be guided by the Spirit? Or will you use that freedom to indulge yourself in sin?

LIVE BY THE SPIRIT, I SAY, AND DO NOT GRATIFY THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH. (Gal. 5:16)

It’s always a good thing to teach the book of Galatians. This is the 5th time now and I never seem to get tired of it. I’d have to say that this book covers in wonderful detail one of THE MOST important aspects of the Christian worldview. to use the words of Martin Luther from his preface to his commentary on Galatians.. “I mean the doctrine that we are redeemed from sin, death and the devil, and made partakers of eternal life, not by ourselves, and certainly not by our works, which are less than ourselves, but by the help of another, the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ” WOW. I cant say it any better than that! That makes me want to scream “PRAISE YOU GOD.” And for this truth HE is so worthy or our praise!
I am fully convinced that understanding the truths of Galatians, especially the idea that we are ABSOLUTELY FREE from the SLAVERY of having to earn God’s acceptance through our own works, is THE KEY to a lasting and vibrant relationship with Jesus, and THE KEY to experiencing the fullness of life that Jesus lived and died to give us. The unfortunate truth is that Luther’s words still ring true today as he says again in his commentary on this awesome book that there exists “a horrible profanation and abomination which has always raged in the Church of God, and still rages today, against this ONE SOLID ROCK which we call THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION.” Preach it brotha!

First of all I am so excited to be able to be able to blog about what God has taught me through the Gospel of Luke! What an amazing privilege it is to be doing what I get to do: Teach God’s Word as my job! I never want to take this aspect of what I do for a granted! I am so thankful to God for giving me this privilege, it truly is a privilege!

The Gospel of Luke and Acts take up about 1/3 of the New Testament so this is a great indication that the Lord has something profound for us to learn from these books. A key passage and theme woven throughout the Gospel of Luke is found in this passage:

“For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost” (Luke 19:10)

This is who Jesus was, he came for all types of different people. As I studied this amazing gospel I was struck by the answer to this question: Did Jesus really come for all people even the ones that are hard to love or seem unlovable? My answer to them would be, YES! Jesus came for those on the fringes of society. He came to save children, woman, prostitutes, cross-dressers, hindus, Tom Cruise, Madonna, Gentiles and Jews, Jesus came to seek out and save them and call them into His Kingdom. What a essential message this is.

Luke the physician and long time companion of Paul was the man who wrote this very chronological gospel to a gentile of all people. Theophilus is said to have been a Roman official at the time of receiving this letter and was struggling with probably a number of questions that Luke addresses. Questions about the Kingdom of God. Questions about his place as a Gentile in the body of Christ. Something to note is that Theophilus as a Roman official wouldn’t have associated with the poor, women, and those on the fringes of this very Roman social system. Thus this is one of the reasons why I think Luke pays such close attentions to these groups throughout this gospel. Theophilus needed to know that the Kingdom of God was for him and for all these others in society. By the end of reading this I think Theophilus would have had a pretty good idea that Jesus made room for all in his Kingdom!

One of those people groups that Jesus paid special attention to was women. He sought them out and loved them and set aside the social norm and went to them and gave them value. An example of this is the woman with the alabaster jar, whose story is found in Luke 7:36-50. She was the town prostitute and she totally defied the social norm herself and went into Simon the Pharisees home and showered Jesus’ feet with tears of sorrow and then annointed his feet with the contents of the alabaster jar. This jar and the oil or ointment that it contained was about a years worth of wages. This woman came in and gave Jesus all she had as a outward expression of what she felt inside. She was desperate for Jesus! And Jesus didnt tell her to leave but he let weep and anoint his feet and he was not ashamed of her but loved her and saw her heart, her desperate abandonment for Him. He forgives her and lets her go clean all her sins forgiven. What a huge risk this woman took for Jesus and look how Jesus repays her with forgiveness! I want to be like this woman having such an abandonment for Jesus that I wouldn’t care about what others thought of me.

Luke is full of stories of Jesus seeking out and loving those on the fringes of society! Read it and encounter the Savior moving close and loving those that society wouldn’t get close to! I’m challenged hope you are.

The book of Acts is such an amazing story of adventure and of power and of the Gospel of Jesus being proclaimed!
The main idea of the book of Acts is found in Acts 1:8
“But you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
And this is what is happening in the book of Acts. We know that Gods kingdom has come to earth first with Jesus, then with the giving of the Holy Spirit, and as a result of that, in Acts, we see the church is growing, people are getting saved, the Gospel is being proclaimed and the church is on the move. We see the Holy Spirit is active, miracles are happening, and the Holy Spirit is giving people boldness to do what people wouldnt normally do. But we also see hard things as well, there is opposition to the message of Jesus and there is still persecution happening.

Right from the start in Chapter 2 of Acts when the Holy Spirit falls on everyone and they start speaking, they’re speaking the tongues of other languages. There are people from all over the Roman Empire that are listed to be there when this is happening. Everyone is there! And we hear them telling the mighty words of God. They are preaching the gospel in a language they dont even understand- so what is the point?? The point is that the gospel is for everyone!!
Right from the get go- God has a plan to reach the entire Empire. It is much bigger than just with the Jews in Jerusalem.
It is that all would hear and receive the message of the Gospel!
And after we see the introduction and the power of the Holy Spirit falling on the people, We see the disciples going out and proclaiming the gospel. In Acts the primary role we see the Holy Spirit acting in is empowering the disciples to be witnesses and to proclaim the message of Jesus.
And it starts in Jerusalem (Chapt 1-7)
And then to Judea and Samaria (Chapt 8-12)
and then to the ends of the earth! (Chapt 13-28)

The book of Acts has so much to say to the Church today. And we really do see the Book of Acts happening now, in many places around the world we see the Holy Spirit moving and there is healing and the message of the Gospel being proclaimed and going out, but also we see persecution happening for Christians today. We are living in the same age that the people were in the Book of Acts, we serve the same God that the people in Acts were serving, and we have the same Holy Spirit that is moving in the people of Acts.

This is not something that happened two thousand years ago- it is happening now. God is alive and he is at work!

So we do Proverbs a little differently then we do the rest of the books, its a week by week assignment where the students will do theme traces, they have to choose 16 different themes to trace, and then they will compile all their verses on a particular theme and then interpret and apply it, and with this assignment they are asked to think through how the different themes apply to the various domains of society like, government, education, business, family, etc. So what we did in class was we looked at 3 or 4 differnet themes within the book and discussed them, the following is summary of each theme we looked at:
Summary of FOOLS:
So you see how looking at the topic of fools, and asking, what does the author of Proverbs have to say about them, you see that he has nothing good or redeeming to say about fools. He lists the characteristics of a fool, they are basically ignorant, arrogant, unteachable, quick-tempered etc. He compares where the choices of a fool leads and where the choices of the wise lead, as well as the difference between a wise man and a foolish man. So we get this really great list of what a fool is like, we are able to take a look at our own selves and see if we display foolish actions at times, for example, being quick to speak or not being teachable or not loving wisdom, but the great thing about Proverbs is that the author doesn’t stop there, lest we think its not that big of a deal to be a fool rather then be wise, he shows us where this foolish life style leads, and it leads to pain, destruction, death! Whereas the lifestyle of the wise leads to blessing, life, joy, clarity, direction, to God Himself! What I see with all this for my own life is that if I see myself displaying the marks of a fool, I need to take that very seriously as opposed to thinking its not that big of a deal, because it certainly is a big deal, it will lead to death! I want to take that very seriously if I see myself not being teachable, not loving wisdom, thinking I have nothing to learn, O Lord save me from that. Help me to love wisdom like the author of Proverbs does, help me to seek after wisdom to buy it, to realize its more valuable then gold or riches!

Summary of Greed vs. Generosity:
Summary: The topic we looked at was Generosity verses Selfishness, and what the consequences of each are as well as how this relates to the poor and how God feels about how we treat the poor. What we see is that generosity leads to life and blessing, as backwards as it may seem the more freely you give, the more freely you will be blessed. It may seem that in order to get rich you need to cling to riches but the very opposite is true, the more you cling to your riches the more they will escape you and bring discontent and trouble to your friends and family, the more people will not want to be around you, the, more you will suffer want and strife. What one must see is that God alone is our Source not wealth and riches, when you really believe that then you’re free to be generous because you’re not clinging to your money for life, you know life is in the Lord alone. And as a result you are content and have plenty and people are drawn to you and you have eyes to see the needs of the poor and its your pleasure to give! Lord I want to be generous always, not just in the categories that I have determined but generous from the heart, so not just to tick it off my list that I gave my tithe, but to be generous with things I think are mine, like my time, my clothes, my personal spending money, things that have been given to me, etc. I want to be a truly generous person not just in theory.

Summary of God’s Character:
So I’ve looked a little more closely at what types of things, attitudes, people are an abomination to the Lord and why, as well as God’s sovereignty over our plans, his ability to know our hearts and search our motives. These are the predominant attributes of God that the author focuses on. I wonder why, he could have extolled God’s grace, or mercy, his power, his glory, etc, but instead he chooses to focus on what kind of behavior he despises and how God leads and directs our steps and knows our hearts. The book of Proverbs is a book about wisdom, in which begins with fearing the Lord, so it would be wisdom to hear what types of things are an abomination to Him and to fear him, and to not walk that way. It would be wisdom to find life in him not in selfish pursuits. It would be wisdom rather then foolishness to keep plans held with an open hand and heart rather then insisting on your own way, and it would be wisdom to humble yourself before God knowing that he sees your ways and motives, the fool would think he can hide them from the Lord or not be concerned that God sees. The author is teaching his “child” to fear God by highlighting these aspects of who God is, teaching him to stay far away from things that displease God, and to fear him and know that he sees all, and to trust that he is the one ultimately in control, not man! If these things are in place as a foundation it would affect how the reader puts into practice the rest of the proverbs and advice given in this book. If the reader begins to understand what God hates and tremble at walking this way, then when he reads the results of a wicked lifestyle and a righteous lifestyle he will pay attention and take this seriously.

We did a different assignment for the Gospel of Luke then what we had done for the previous books. Because the book of Luke had so many parables we went through them and examined each in more depth. We also noticed the theme of the Kingdom of God and learned more about what that might have meant to the Jew of Jesus’ day. We found out that their expectation and perception of the Messiah and of the Kingdom of God was quite different then was Jesus ushered in.

First, they did not recognize that the kingdom that was prophesied was necessarily connected with the Messiah. The general Jewish worldview was expecting something very different then what Jesus brought and taught. The Jewish mindset was that they were the chosen people and the Kingdom was a very physical type of kingdom.  This idea brought about and breaded more racism. They thought the kingdom was secluded to just Jews. Israel was under oppression from Rome and they thought that the new kingdom was going to be when Israel takes over Rome—they wanted their land back. The Messiah they anticipated—if he was going to be involved with ushering in the new kingdom—was to be a man who was a militant leader that literally led them out of oppression. However, the kingdom they expected was an immediate and obvious one where there was the resurrection of saved, saint like Jews. And their idea of the Kingdom of God was a life without sin—not the age of tension.

The Gospel of Luke is a special book written by a Gentile most likely to a Gentile. “Most Excellent Theophilus” is thought to be a high ranking Roman official who might have been struggling with his Christian walk because the Church during that time was full of lower class citizens (i.e. the poor, women, slaves, and sinners). But in this book the author pays special attention to the influences that these low class citizens had on Jesus’ testimony and ministry. It shows that Jesus did not discriminate nor did he treat differently the poor, outcast, sinner, or women–who were very discriminatorily looked down upon at the time. Jesus came to save everyone who would turn from their ways and repent. His grace and Kingdom was open to all who would humble themselves and follow after him!

This idea must have been crazy to a generation and society that was so focused on blood lines, citizenship, demographic, and place in society. It was controversial and real–The Kingdom of God was for all! This idea was so contrary to what the Jews believed, and the Gentiles probably didn’t know what to think.

This idea, ironically enough, was also contrary to what my perception of what a Christian was supposed to look like. I may be naive, but I do not think that I am the only one to have a different attitude towards those who might not be all put together and look ‘Christian like’. I am human, and I would go so far as argue that most if not all humans judge by appearance and action, unless trained to do otherwise. I have been driven by my eyes and my worldview to judge others that look, act, and believe something different then myself. This reminds me of the parable with the person judging the someone with a speck in their eye when in fact they have a log in their own eye (6:39-42). The truth is, I am not perfect and I have plenty of crap in my own self, thus I am not fit or qualified to judge or condemn others.

–> Holy Spirit please train me not to judge by appearance; help me to avoid judging and condemning others, without first removing the filth from my own life. And may I, in my treatment of other sinners, remember that I too acted as they did in a sinful manner, but it was by Your Grace that we are all saved. Amen.

For the study of the book of Luke we did a different assignment than usual, we focused on studying the parables of Jesus found in this gospel as well as the theme of the kingdomof God. Luke wrote the book to a man named Theophilus. He must have been a wealthy upper class man because of the title that Luke uses when addressing him, “most excellent” (reminds me of that 80s flick: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). The upper class of Romans had virtually nothing in common with other classes in society because of the extreme wealth they held. I can imagine that this was difficult for Theophilus when he became a follower of Christ. The church consisted of slaves, lower class free men, women, and the poor of the poor. Luke pays special attention to two groups during Jesus’ ministry: the poor and women. Women were viewed in Jewish, Roman and Greek culture as second class citizens. Jesus gives special attention to women: the woman with the alabaster jar, Mary and Martha, Mary the Mother of Jesus, Anna the prophetess, woman with the lost coin, the women who are at the cross and witness the empty tomb and many others. Luke is merely pointing the many acts of grace, forgiveness and praise for women that Jesus accomplished. He chose to spend time with them, defend them and give them a secure place in his kingdom. The poor were elevated by Jesus and the rich were brought low. Luke wants Theophilus to see all classes, social groups and sexes as equals in the kingdom of God. Jesus sought after the lost who were poor, sick, widowed, rich, religious, women and children. The kingdom of God is welcoming to all these people — they are valued and useful to Jesus.

Once again, I feel like we flew though Luke, and there is so much more to learn. That will hopefully be motivation to keep studying even after SBS, there is so much to learn from each book!
The major theme of Luke that we studied was the kingdom of God. Luke wrote his gospel to a man named Theophilus, who was probably a Roman official, and brings out many important points about the kingdom of God that were important for Theophilus to know. It is possible that Theophilus was a new believer, and/or not very familiar with the ways of Christ and how to live in his kingdom. Thus, Luke includes these answers in his gospel in order to help Theophilus.
A huge truth in Luke is that Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). At one time we were all lost, thus, this shows that Jesus came to seek and save every single person. Luke covers different levels of society and clearly reveals that Jesus came to save everyone: sinners, people that seem like they have it all together, sick, healthy, rich, poor, men, women, and children. The kingdom of God is for everyone!
This really hit me when I considered the way I look at people compared to how God sees people. Jesus values and loves everyone. In Luke he hung out with the people who were rejected because of what they did or who they were. Jesus having dinner with the tax collectors would be like him today eating pizza and watching a movie with our neighbor who stole a bunch of money from us, and didn’t get punished or pay us back. Him touching and healing people like lepers who were considered unclean is like him touching someone with TB or some other extremely contagious disease. It’s unheard of! It doesn’t make sense! Yet that’s how much Jesus loves people! He accepts them and values them regardless of what they’ve done or what they look like or are sick with or WHATEVER, you fill in the blank.
I love how Jesus shows his love like this, and that this is STILL how Jesus feels about people today! Its so awesome, his love for us. I am so excited that the words “Jesus loves me” are becoming not just words, but filled with meaning! He has showed his love, and continues to show it. Wow. It makes me want to keep learning even more, but it also challenges me to see people and value them the way God does. Not just the people who are easier to love, but everyone. You can fill in the blank there too.

The gospel of Mark is about Jesus life on earth, what he did and taught. The way we see the book, however, is drastically different when we view it from the original reader’s standpoint. Mark wrote the book to a specific audience, and knowing this makes the message of what Mark wrote, and his reason for writing it, become clear.
Mark wrote his gospel to Christians who were experiencing severe persecution under Roman rule. Their lives were threatened every day. With one command they could’ve been sent to the arena, to be devoured by lions, or be covered in wax and lit as a torch for Nero’s garden parties. Mark writes his gospel to bring a message of hope in the midst of their persecution.
The major theme of this book is suffering. We can see the suffering of Jesus over and over again, and hear Jesus warning his followers that the same will happen to them. The message is not to create fear, however, but to bring hope that, though persecution would come, Jesus would never leave. He goes before his followers and thus understands the pain of persecution.
I learned in this book that though following Jesus means persecution, Jesus will be with me no matter what. He will never abandon me, and I can find comfort in the fact that he understands what it is like. I can be thankful too that Jesus went through all he did because he loved me and though I may have hard times, there is hope within the situation, and hope of eternal life to come. Jesus is always there and provides comfort and peace.

Mark has been a great study this week. Mark has two historical backgrounds to consider when reading it. First one must consider the Jewish cultural, religious and political setting around 30-33 AD. Secondly, one must consider the setting and people to whom the gospel of Mark was written. Well, it isn’t explicitly stated if you are wondering. Mark wrote down this gospel in around 66 AD directed to the church in Rome. At this time the church was suffering a severe state sanctioned persecution under Emperor Nero. Nero burned down much of Rome by starting a fire, and then blamed the Christians. Christians were rounded up and killed in the Coliseum for sport or dipped in hot wax and used as human torches at Nero’s garden parties. Nice guy. With this kind of persecution in mind the gospel of Mark takes on a whole new dimension. You can ask: Why did Mark include these stories in the gospel and not others? Why are they in the order that they are in? (Mark doesn’t place stories in perfect chronological order, like Luke) I learned so much just by asking these questions with the original reader in mind.

The book can be divided into two parts: the veiled Messiah and the unveiled Messiah. Up until Chapter 8 verse 29 Jesus is ‘veiled’ to his disciples and the crowds, you see glimpses of his Messiahship but he doesn’t openly reveal his identity. At this point Jesus asks the disciples directly, “But who do you say I am?”, and Peter answers, “You are the Messiah.” Before this moment Jesus repeatedly has told individuals to not tell others about him or what he has done for them.  There are several reasons for Jesus to do such a thing but the critical point is that Mark emphasizes this theme to make a beautiful point. After the disciples agree that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus openly talks about his coming death and resurrection: he is unveiled. What does this all have to do with the church in Rome? Well the Christians were hiding and keeping it a secret that they were Christians (veiled), but they were also being found and betrayed (unveiled) by their neighbors and friends to whom they had proclaimed the gospel. I think that Mark was paralleling Jesus to the church. Like a light hidden under a bushel, it is ONLY hidden in order to be revealed later. This is the meaning of the parable: Hide your light until the right time and then let it shine. Letting it shine means being exposed (proclaiming the gospel), and a probable death in the Coliseum. Mark wrote this gospel to encourage the believers to continue to proclaim the gospel, being veiled for a time and then take a chance and reveal it to others. What a courageous calling to keep preaching despite the persecution. Christ is the suffering and serving king!

For the longest time I didn’t want to be a Christian because I thought I had to have it all together and be perfect.  I don’t know where I got that idea from but somehow it was ingrained in my understanding of Christianity. 

Reading Luke it was a reminder to me again that Jesus never came to save people who had it all together.  He is constantly hanging out with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, sick and deseperate.  It seems that when we are sick, poor or in a mess it is easier to see that things are not right.  It is in those moments that I remember that I need God.    So it is with the people Jesus is interacting with in this book.  They knew they were on the outside, despised by their community:

They were prostitutes – not exactly someone you invite home to dinner;

Tax collectors – people who were choosing to make money out of their own people;

Children – really what do they have to offer?

But they were all accepted and welcomed by Jesus.  They were also willing to do outrageous things to show their love for Jesus.  The woman with the jar of perfume threw herself on the mercy of Jesus when she wept on his feet and poured out her perfume on him.  What a scandal – this man of God being treated like this by a prostitute in the presence of the religious elite.  Honestly I think she had nothing to lose – she knew she needed Jesus and the community had already labeled her a whore.  

The woman with the bleeding issue – she should never have been in the midst of all those people.  It was totally culturally unacceptable – just by being there she was making all the others unclean too.  By reaching out and touching Jesus she was taking a huge risk.  But again what did she have to lose.  She had spent all her money on doctors, had nothing left and was still sick and because of it isolated from her community.

It seems that it is when we have nothing to lose that in fact that is when we really have everything to gain.   That is when we gain love, acceptance, hope, healing, new life!

Jesus came to find the lost, the sick, the sinners.  He welcomed them, made them feel loved and accpeted.  

I think perhaps our churches might look different if we really took this to heart.  My life might look different, my friends might be different, my lifestyle might be different!  DO I CARE MORE ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF ME OR THAT LOST PEOPLE ARE COMING TO KNOW JESUS?