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Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The Cornerstone

Luke 20: 1-18
Jesus entered Jerusalem with much fanfare from his followers and under the watchful eyes of the treacherous Pharisees. Those who followed him took audience in the temples as Jesus told of his father, forgiveness and righteousness. His words dripped with truth, hope, and redemption and Jesus' numbers grew. The investment he made to humanity returned thousands of times over as people flocked to hear him and believe. He spoke of prophesy, his impending death and God’s love. More and more people came to God through Jesus ministry.
The Pharisees did not believe that Jesus was God in human form. They could not listen to the words of blasphemy from a nomad’s mouth and could not understand this man’s grip on the populations. They questioned him, but were shamed speechless lest their words would condemn them.
Jesus continued to preach and teach, knowing full well he would suffer the wrath of the scorned religious leaders. He knew what was coming, but he was urgent to get the truth out. The Pharisees questioned Jesus authority for running out the money changers and his message of hope for the masses. What could Jesus do but speak God’s plan, not to put the leaders in their places, but to make sure they had a chance to connect with God. He also could not stand by and let the leaders persuade the crowds otherwise.
The parable of the vineyard was a tale the must have cut the leaders deep. How God’s prophets had been killed by the very people he had loved. For their sakes, we can only hope that the religious men’s eyes were opened to the truth as a result of Jesus’ reasoning and chastisement. Terribly, some did not listen, but chose to continue looking for a way to destroy Jesus. Those are the ones that will spend eternity in horrible regret. However, some were saved and will continue to be saved because Jesus thought the event important to tell.
Have you ever experienced opposition while sharing the Gospel?
How did you respond?
Was it out of love for the lost and with a sense of urgency for the very people who made fun of or questioned you?
Was it out of spite and malice for the hurt you felt?

Remember, everything Jesus did was for us. Everything Jesus suffered was because of us. He is our example demonstrating that the salvation of the world comes before our feelings. The bigger picture is more critical than our points of view.

For those who have never believed in Jesus:
Have you heard the Gospel before and have chosen to ignore God’s gift?
Is this the first time you have had a chance to hear just how much God loved you?
If you’ve never done so, but you know that you need to accept Jesus, won’t you invite him to be your savior now? The simple plan in the margin can help.

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