Month: March 2014

Our last reading had Jesus out teaching people where John the Baptist had done his ministry. He got a message that his friend Lazarus was sick. His sisters sent word that, “The one you love is sick.” This phrase means that Jesus considered this man a close friend. I love this deeply human side of Jesus. He has his disciples who were his friends and some of them were very close with him.

But, there’s also this trio of two sisters and a brother who Jesus called friends. He simply liked to be with them and enjoyed their company. Isn’t that an awesome thought? Our Savior simply enjoys our company. Luke’s Gospel, gives us the story of the two sisters having Jesus over for dinner. Mary sat at his feet while Martha scurried around and did all of the work. Martha asked Jesus to intervene and he told her that Mary was doing the right thing, spending time with him instead of worrying about worldly chores. I don’t know about you, but those are words I should pay more attention to.

So, Mary and Martha have sent word that Lazarus was very ill. Jesus decides to wait two more days before responding. Of course, Jesus knows Lazarus is going to die, but as always, he has a plan. He tells the disciples they are heading back to Judea. The disciples aren’t happy about this and remind him the Jews in Judea tried to stone him when they were there last.

Then he drops the bomb on them and tells them that Lazarus has died.(Notice, he calls him a friend.) He tells them he’s happy he wasn’t there to prevent the death, because he wants them to believe. Then Thomas, who we love to remember as the doubter after the resurrection, shows a devoted, fearless side. He says he’s willing to die too.

When they got close and Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she ran out to meet him. I think the conversation that followed is one of the most beautiful in the Bible. She addresses him as Lord and then says that she knows that Lazarus wouldn’t have died if he would have been there, but here’s the HUGE faith statement: “But I know even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

Jesus asks her if she believes in him; she doesn’t miss a beat as she looks Jesus in the eye as she says, “I believe you are the Son of God who has come into the world.” Then Martha sends word to Mary that the Teacher is asking for her. The fact that she called him teacher is very significant because rabbis refused to teach women. Jesus spent a great deal of time teaching them. I’ll say it again, here, Christianity is unique.

Mary dashes out the door to find Jesus. (with a crowd following behind her) We would all be better off if we ran towards Jesus when he calls us. She falls at his feet, weeping. Mary always seems to get this right. She regularly placed herself at the feet of Jesus, another fabulous example for us all.

Then, Jesus wept. This action speaks so loudly for our compassionate Savior. He loved Lazarus. He loved Martha and Mary. He loved all people and he knew how devastating losing someone we love is. He knew that death is not the end and he knew that we will all be reunited again someday, but he also knew at that moment, the pain all of Lazarus’ family was experiencing. What a merciful God we serve!

He goes to the tomb and tells them to take away the stone. Ever efficient Martha, reminds him that there will be a smell at this point. He’s been dead four days. Aren’t we all guilty of letting our human understanding cloud our belief and faith in the Divine?

Jesus prays and then he calls Lazarus and out walks an alive and well Lazarus in his grave-clothes. Jesus tells them to take off the grave-clothes and let him go. That’s where we end it.

What did you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today’s reading picks up right after the healing of the blind man, yesterday. He uses a sheep and shepherd metaphor. The concept of a shepherd in the Old Testament was a royal caretaker of God’s people. God is called the Shepherd of Israel in several places, including Psalms, Isaiah and Ezekiel. God gave great responsibility to the shepherds or leaders of Israel.

Jesus says the sheep will follow him be cause they know his voice. The shepherds at the time did not drive the sheep from behind; they walked ahead and the sheep followed them.

The people are thoroughly confused, so Jesus explains his message. He tells them that he is the gate and those who came before him were robbers and thieves. He is not talking about Old Testament prophets here. He’s talking about the Pharisees and the chief priests. He says that he is the gate and those who enter through him will be saved.

He says he is the good shepherd and he will lay down his life for his sheep. Shepherds at the time would risk injury for their sheep, but they weren’t willing to die for them. Jesus says here that he is willing. This is all a foreshadowing of the cross. The disciples couldn’t have known it then, but I wonder if they revisited the conversation after the crucifixion.

Then he says he has other sheep that are not of this pen. He’s talking about people who aren’t Jewish. He says they too, will listen to his voice. This is a glimpse of the Gentile conversion that will happen later.

He says he can lay down his life and take it up again. No one can take it from him if he’s not willing. He has the authority given to him by God  to do this.

The Jews were again divided. Some said he was demon-possessed, but then others said he couldn’t heal the blind if he was possessed. Then the Jews ask him to tell them plainly if he is the Christ or not.

Jesus says he has told them, but they do not believe. His miracles performed in his Father’s name, speak for him. He tells them they don’t listen to him because they are not his sheep. He will give his sheep who follow him, eternal life and no one will be able to take them from him. Then he says the words the Jews can’t stand to hear: “I and the Father are one.”

They pick up stones at this point. They accuse him of blasphemy. They try to seize him, but again he slips away. Jesus could not be killed before the appointed time.

This time he goes to the place where John the Baptist was baptizing people in the early days. It would have been in the woods, far away from the temple and the Pharisees. He stays out there for some time. While he was there, many people came to him and many believed. The farther he was away from the “religious” people, the easier it was for common people to understand and accept his message.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, we get to see Jesus in action. As Jesus walks along, he comes across a man who was born blind. His disciples ask him if was it his sins or his parents’ sins that caused him to be blind. Jesus has a lightning fast response here. Neither. It was no one’s fault. This man was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him.

Let’s ponder that a moment. How often do we allow our own sicknesses and hardship be used to glorify God? How often to we think outside our own darkness to consider that our suffering may be used in some way to glorify God? This is a difficult concept for me and for most people, I suspect, but it’s worth thinking about.

Giving sight to blind people was part of Messianic prophesy found in the Book of Isaiah. Jesus was also fulfilling prophesy here. He spits in the mud and puts it on the blind man’s eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. The man does exactly as Jesus tells him. (Remember how important that is when walking with Jesus?) He comes out of the pool with sight. He is healed. (Just like we are when we listen to Jesus)

The man’s friends are skeptical at first. They can’t believe he’s the same guy, but he is. They take him to the Pharisees to show them because it was on the Sabbath. And herein lies the rub. We love to think of Jesus as this peace-loving guy who walked around spreading love and making peace signs. While Jesus did love everyone, he was an instigator when he saw injustice.

Jesus could have healed this man any day of the week, but nope, he chose the Sabbath. There’s no way this was coincidental. Jesus wanted to show the people and the Pharisees that they were wrong. Mercy and caring don’t take the day off. God is at work loving us everyday and so was Jesus, here.

This act divides the Pharisees which may have been what Jesus wanted. Faith is individual. If he could make them think as individuals instead of in the wrong-headed group, then they might be able to see the truth.

The Pharisees call in the man’s parents to make them testify that he was their son and was healed. They balk and take the easy way out. They admit he is their son, but will make him tell how he was healed. They were afraid of the establishment. Before we judge them too harshly, how often do we keep quiet when we should take a stand for Jesus? I think most of us have been guilty of that. I know I have. Fear of ridicule or judgement from people in charge, can be powerful.

The man tells them how Jesus healed him and he believes Jesus is a prophet. They call him in a second time for questioning and in exasperation he says, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner, but I know this, I was blind and now I see!” Let’s think about this guy for a minute. He’s been in total darkness his entire life. Jesus gives him sight. The Pharisees keep questioning him about the who and why. He doesn’t care about that. He can see! The Pharisees promptly kick him out of the temple.

What happens next is at the core of who Jesus is. He hears that the man was kicked out of the temple. Jesus seeks him out. Jesus seeks us out in the same way, when we are alone and scorned. Jesus asks him if he believes. The man says yes and worships him. His life is forever changed.

Then, Jesus goes in for the zinger. He tells the Pharisees that if they were blind they wouldn’t be guilty, but they are guilty because they think they can see. Ouch! How often do we “think” we are right when we may not be? Here’s where we end it for today.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Yesterday, the last verse was, “Many put their faith in him.” Apparently, although many people had made a formal profession of faith in Jesus, the rest of this chapter shows that they were not true believers. They start off by arguing the point that they have never been slaves to anyone which is quite ironic because Rome governs their every move. They are definitely not free.

Jesus tells them that everyone who sins is a slave to sin meaning that the sinner is incapable of breaking free from sin on their own. He says the Son can set them free, but openly acknowledges that these people want to kill him. He tells them he has been in the presence of the Father.

They are so convinced of their own preconceptions of the truth, that they don’t really hear what Jesus is saying to them. How do we do today, with our preconceptions about our faith or about church? What about our preconceptions about religion in general? It’s easy to hang a sign of judgement on all churches or all denominations because of limited exposure we may have had to one or a few along the way. Preconceptions can have really negative consequences when it comes to dealing with God. It’s usually best to go into His presence with a clear mind and open heart to whatever He has to give us.

These Jews did not take that route. Their minds and hearts were closed and Jesus calls them out. He tells them they are children of the devil because they are oriented towards Satan and away from God. These are fighting words. The Jews were furious. Let’s be honest here, most people would be. No one likes to be called out when they are doing something wrong, but we have to remember that they honestly believed they were doing what was right.

But, that’s a price we pay if we want to walk closely with Jesus. He loves us madly and unconditionally, but he will call us out when we are in the wrong. Our hearts are convicted when we go in the wrong direction. While that’s not comfortable; it’s a necessary part of our faith journey.

They then accuse him of being demon-possessed and being a Samaritan. (Remember what the Jews thought about the Samaritans?) The debate at this point, has disintegrated into name calling on the part of the Jews. Jesus talks about seeing Abraham and they call him a liar because he’s not old enough to have seen Abraham.

Then Jesus utters the words that break the proverbial camel’s back. “before Abraham was born, I am!” This statement echos God’s great affirmation . He expresses his eternity of being and being one with God. These are his last words in this speech that began with “I am the light of the world.”

The Jews have heard enough and pick up stones. They plan on stoning him. But, Jesus slipps away from the temple grounds. Clearly, God had his hand on him. How else could he just slip away from this angry crowd?

What do you think about today’s reading and how quickly this crowd turned against Jesus? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

After yesterday’s showdown, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives, but at dawn, he appears at the temple courts and is teaching the crowds. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have hatched a plan. They interrupt his teaching and bring him a woman caught in the act of adultery. They tell him the law of Moses commands them to stone her. They want to know what Jesus has to say about that.

First of all, let’s remember that Jewish Law came from God, so it would have been fair. If there was a woman committing adultery, there was a man with her. Where was he? He would be judged the same way. Secondly, Jewish Law required corroborating witnesses. Where were they? Where was the evidence? Also, execution was required only if she was a virgin and then both parties were to be executed. Was she a virgin? Where was the man involved? Finally, the Romans didn’t allow the Jews to carry out death sentences. They were attempting to put Jesus in conflict with Rome.

Jesus was aware of all of this, stops teaching and begins writing in the dust. I would love to know what he was writing; we can only guess. They keep on badgering him and he’s silent. I picture the crowd just holding their breath. What will he say?

His words are some of his most famous and brilliant ever uttered, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Ouch! Silence follows. One-by-one, the accusers, starting with the oldest, walk away. No one is left, but the woman.

Here’s where we often get it wrong. He tells her that he doesn’t condemn her, BUT, he says, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” He doesn’t say that she should continue to participate in adultery. He doesn’t say she should do whatever she wants and he will never judge her actions. He says, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” “Go now;” not go later or when she decides the time is right.

We are always forgiven when we repent, but when we repent, we are not supposed to continue to commit the sin we have asked forgiveness for.

This is the second time we see Jesus talking with a woman. This is a beautiful picture of grace. This is why Christianity is unique. All of humanity is valued, not just a certain sex or a certain race, all of humanity. I wonder where the woman went after she left Jesus. Was her life changed forever? I would think it would be.

Then, Jesus speaks again to the people and says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” I love that verse. It makes me want to say, “amen.”

The Pharisees aren’t impressed and they press on, with the arguing and debating about who Jesus really is and where he’s really from. He never seems to lose his cool as he continues to answer their never ending accusatory questions and again I marvel at his patience.

But, I suspect that verse thirty is the heart of it. “Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.” Jesus was a fisher of men. He wanted then, and wants today, hearts and souls. I think he put up with all of the maddening accusations and questions because he hoped that hearts would be forever changed and faith would take root as he stood there answering them and faith was at the heart of his mission.

What did you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

About six months later, it’s time for another feast, the Feast of the Tabernacles. Jesus’ brothers tell him he should leave Galilee and go to Judea so everyone can see all of the miracles that he performs. They tell him to get out and show the world his stuff. No one who wants to become famous acts in secret.

First of all, Jesus had brothers. Joseph and Mary had children after Jesus was born. We have no idea how many, but in this conversation, they don’t believe he’s the Messiah. They think he wants to be famous. Here again, we see humans focusing on worldly issues. Jesus was not of this world. His focus was not worldly, but heavenly.

He tells them that they should go, but he will not go because his time has not yet come. He goes on to say that the world hates him because he testifies that what it does is evil. The world here, means people opposed to God or the human system opposed to God’s purposes. Notice here, that Jesus doesn’t say that people are evil; he says what they do, their actions, are evil.

I think this is a super important point about how Jesus views humanity. People are not evil; their actions are. He’s not judging people; he’s judging their actions. He then encourages his brothers to attend the feast.

Everyone at the feast is looking for Jesus and whispering about him.

When the temple was completely full, Jesus shows up and begins teaching. The Jewish leaders are amazed at his knowledge because he never studied under a rabbi. He tells them that God is his rabbi. They again debate about him healing the man at the pool on the Sabbath. He points out that they allow circumcision on the Sabbath because that coincides with Jewish law. Why is healing someone any different? Why would an act of mercy ever be considered wrong?

At this point, some of the people in the crowd wonder if Jesus is really the Christ because the religious leaders are unable to counter his teachings. Some of the Jews believed that the Old Testament gave the origin of the Messiah and some did not. They knew where Jesus was from, so this was a problem for some.

Still, many in the crowd believe, which had to have been the reason Jesus continued to teach in the temple and argue with religious leaders. He knew he wouldn’t reach them all or maybe even most of them, but he wanted to reach some of them. Every soul counts. Jesus’ actions show that clearly. Believe it.

The Jews in charge kept trying to seize him, but couldn’t get their hands on him, because it wasn’t his time yet. They send the temple guards to seize Jesus, but they are in awe of his teaching and basically refuse to follow orders. Then the Pharisees say that the crowd is ignorant of Jewish scripture. That’s the only reason they would believe Jesus is who he says he is.

Then Nicodemus steps forward. Remember him? He was meeting with Jesus earlier. He defends Jesus. The Pharisees accuse him of being ignorant too, because no prophets come from Galilee. They were wrong on two counts. First of all, Jonah came from Galilee and secondly, God could send a prophet from wherever He chooses.

Once more, the religious leaders attempt to put God in a neat little box with a bow and God simply doesn’t work that way. That’s where we end today. What did you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today’s reading picks up the day after Jesus walked on water. The crowds are diligently searching for Jesus and finally find him. They are seeking him because he fed them physically with the fish and the loaves. He tells them they should not be searching for food that spoils; they should be searching for eternal life.

The crowd wants to know what they have to do to get this eternal life. Jesus says,”They must believe in the one God has sent.” Their reply is, “Give us a miraculous sign.” I’m annoyed at this point because I’m thinking, “Didn’t he just feed five thousand plus?” Of course, they may not be aware of the walking on water miracle, but seriously!

Jesus tries to explain to them that God gives bread from heaven. They are looking for the manna that their forefathers ate, but Jesus tells them that he is the true bread from heaven. He is the bread of life. They were looking for manna to feed them everyday like they were fed in the desert. Jesus fed them once. Moses fed them daily. They demand to see more.

Of course, Jesus is talking about the spiritual while they are focusing on the physical. They completely miss the point. He then goes on to talk about coming down from heaven and raising up people on the last day. The Jews start grumbling at this point because they know his parents are Joseph and Mary. They can’t fathom how it would be possible for Jesus to come down from heaven.

Jesus than tells them they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to gain eternal life. At  this point, the crowd decides he’s nuts. How can they eat his flesh and drink his blood? Jesus is looking towards the cross that he knows is coming. He’s referring to the sacrament of the Last Supper. The crowd can’t possibly know this and the disciples can’t understand it either. But, I wonder if this large group of doubters remembers this conversation after the Resurrection?

Clearly, the Apostle John remembers, because he wrote it down. What must they have thought about this truth on the Easter side of the Last Supper and the Cross?

Many of the disciples who had been following him, desert him at this time. His words are simply too shocking for them. We have to remember that there were more disciples than the twelve who were specifically called. There were others who followed Jesus too. Many of those chose to leave.

Then he addresses the twelve and asks them if they will leave too. Peter tells him , “We know you are the Holy One.” Outspoken Peter, nails it this time.

Then Jesus tells them that he has chosen each one personally, but one of them is a devil. I’ve always wondered about Judas. Did Jesus know from the very first that Judas would betray him? Did the disciples ever discuss among themselves who “the devil” was? Did any of them ever ask Jesus along the way?

The fact that Jesus allowed Judas to remain in his company day in and day out is close to unfathomable to me, but Jesus knew what his mission was and he never wavered from it. What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

In today’s reading, Jesus is busy performing miracles. The first one he performs is the feeding of the five thousand. This is a very familiar story to most Christians and is one of only two miracles that appear in all four Gospels. The other is the greatest miracle, the resurrection.

John tells us it was some time after the showdown with the Jewish leaders and Jesus has put some distance between himself and Jerusalem. The text tells us that he has crossed to the far side of the Sea of Galilee. At this point, there are crowds that follow him everywhere because of the miracles he had performed on the sick. They wanted something from him.

I think we can all plead guilty to leaning into Jesus when we want or need something. These people simply had the opportunity to follow him physically. Are we any better today than they were? Do we follow him closely all of the time or more often, when we are in need?

Jesus sees the huge crowd. There are five thousand men; that doesn’t even take into account the women and children. He knows it’s getting late, so he decides to test poor Philip. He asks him where they can go to buy bread to feed these people. The all too human and practical Philip, states the obvious. They don’t have enough money to buy food for this crowd. It would take eight months wages to have enough money. Philip was leaning on human understanding, but he was speaking to the Divine. How often are we guilty of doing the same?

Andrew doesn’t do much better when he says, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far can they go among so many?” Again, the human, leaning on human understanding is speaking to the Divine who is capable of anything.

This is such a common response for us, though, isn’t it? We pray to a God who created the universe, who spoke the stars into existence, is there anything that He can’t do?

Jesus tells them to have the people sit down. He takes the loaves and fish and gives thanks. He didn’t focus on the fact that there wasn’t enough in front of them. He gave thanks for what they had. When we put our needs into God’s hands, there will always be enough. This miracle is a concrete example of why we should have faith. God will provide and quite often with way more than we need. There were twelve baskets left over.

Can you imagine the whispers in the crowd as the word of what had happened spread like wildfire? Can you imagine what Philip and Andrew were thinking?

The people knew immediately that Jesus was something special and were going to force him to be their king. This was not what he wanted. Jesus believed that the world’s version of kingship came from the devil. So, he withdrew to a mountain by himself.

We see Jesus do that fairly often. He gets away from the crowds for some alone time. Maybe we should do the same.

It got dark outside and the disciples went to the lake and got into a boat. It doesn’t say why they didn’t wait for Jesus. Maybe if they had waited on him, there wouldn’t have been a strong wind to start with. They were about three-and-a-half miles out and Jesus approaches them, walking on the water. I think it’s important to note that he didn’t walk on water just a few steps. It was over three miles. There could be no doubt this was miraculous.

The disciples were scared to death. Then Jesus says one of my favorite lines; “Don’t be afraid. I am here.” Do we really need any other words from our Savior? They let him in the boat and immediately arrive at the safety of the shore.

Hmmmm, if we let Jesus into our boat, maybe we would witness the same.

What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Today, the showdown with the Jewish leaders continues. Yesterday, they argued about Jesus healing on the Sabbath and he tells them that he is the Son of God. He tells them that they should require no more testimony than that, but he knows they don’t believe him, so he talks about others who have testified about him.

He starts with  John the Baptist. He tells them that he knows they sent a delegation to John asking about Jesus and John told them that he was the Messiah. Jesus tells them that he doesn’t need human testimony about who he truly is. In other words, God doesn’t rely on humans to prove that he is God. But, Jesus is mentioning John’s testimony so that perhaps they will believe John’s word about him and be saved. The Jews had more respect for John’s word than Jesus’ word.

Jesus goes on to say that John was a “lamp that burned and gave light and you chose for a time to enjoy it.” The past tense may indicate that John had already been imprisoned or executed. But, the Jews never were truly comfortable with John’s message either.

Jesus says that he has an even stronger testimony than John’s. The miracles that he has performed should prove to them that he is from God.  But, they don’t know who God is.They studied every tiny detail of the scriptures hoping it would make them holy and righteous, but they missed the fact that the scriptures pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Then, Jesus gives them an unexpected twist. He tells them since they have put all of their faith in Moses and in what he had to say, Moses will be their accuser before God, not Jesus. He says if they really believed Moses then they would believe Jesus because Moses wrote about him. Jesus is probably referring to Genesis 49:10. “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.”

So what does today’s reading mean for us some two thousand years later? I think today’s reading is kind of hard for us to grasp because it’s basically a debate between Jewish scholars and Jesus, who was also a Jew. These arguments sound strange to my Christian ears. We’ve seen miracles surround Jesus since his mother Mary was visited by Gabriel. Why in the world are these Jews so hard-headed?

We have to keep in mind that we live on the Easter side of the cross and they didn’t. They believed in their hearts, that they were protecting Judaism, which was always under attack. They thought they were honoring God, because they were looking for something else, a different kind of Messiah. We too, can miss blessings when we look for something to fill our preconceived notions.

Jesus cared enough about these people to try and convince them of the truth. He could have refused to talk to them and who knows, maybe he did change a few hearts. We know the majority weren’t convinced, but maybe a few were. To Jesus, every soul counts. What do you think about today’s reading? I’d love to hear from you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Just as we suspected, the Jews were outraged by the healing of the man at the pool. Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath and that broke their laws. The Jews of that time didn’t refer to God as “Father;” the term was too intimate. When Jesus referred to God that way, he was saying that God was his father. This angered the Jews.

Jesus also said that the work of his Father didn’t stop on the Sabbath. He meant that God’s deeds of compassion didn’t stop because of the Sabbath or any other day. Deeds of compassion should be done on the Sabbath like all days and Jesus was doing them just like God does them.

The Jews did not object to the idea that God is the Father of all, but they had huge issues with the concept that Jesus had a special relationship with God, making him an equal.

Jesus goes on to say that he can only do the things he does because of his dependence on the Father. Jesus tells his persecutors that God has revealed His plans and purposes to him and Jesus is obediently carrying them out.

He then continues to blow their minds and stir their anger by saying that he has the ability to judge the dead and raise the dead. The Jews believed that God was the only one with the ability to judge and raise the dead, period. This was a very firm and important belief to them. This teaching sounded like blasphemy to them, hands down. They believed that his claims were impossible, wrong and perhaps even evil and he had to be stopped.

Jesus also tells them that he can also give the spiritually dead life, now.

He ends the conversation by discussing judgement. Although salvation comes from God, in response to faith, judgement is on the basis of works. There’s a fine distinction here. He’s not talking about the concept of eternal life, but judgement on those who have done “good” and those who have done “evil.”

Jesus stresses again his dependence on the Father. He judges as he hears from the Father. He says, “By myself I can do nothing.” This makes his judgement fair.

Jesus was talking about some radical concepts. In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders saw him as a prophet, then they saw him as a nuisance. After this conversation, they saw him as an enemy to their faith. They really began looking for a way to kill him and shut him up for good.

The Jewish leaders were looking for a different kind of Messiah, not Jesus. They looked for something different and wanted something different, so they missed the gift right in front of them. How often do we make the same mistake? We are searching for, or waiting for something different, something we think we need, and we miss beautiful gifts and opportunities that are put right in front of us. Food for thought.

What do you think about today’s reading?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂