Strange News
Reading for Thursday March 16.
Mark 4:21-31
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, but chose Capernaum as his home base. Why?
Bethlehem was close to Jerusalem where the established clergy despised Jesus. At Nazareth, the town where his relatives still lived, the citizen tried to kill him. Him, but at Capernaum the citizens were astonished at his doctrine and great crowds followed him. Once the crowds pressed around him so much that he had to get into a boat and talk to the people from the boat, while the crowd stood between the mountains and the water and listened to him eagerly.
Even today the Spirit of Jesus goes where he is accepted and doesn’t stay where he is rejected.
From the boat Jesus talked to the people about what it was like for him to teach a spiritual truth. He had a great spiritual concept to teach and therefore had to look for minds that could understand and personalities that could cultivate the truth. He likened this to sowing seeds in four different kinds of soil; hard trodden down soil, shallow soil, weed infested soil and good arable soil. The hard trodden down soil were those sad persons too beaten down and too defeated to care about spiritual truths. The shallow soil was people who can understand a spiritual truth but can’t hold onto it. Hard times have left that personality without the ability to imagine him or her self different to the way they are. Then there is the weed infested soil that is able to grasp the concept in all its beauty and possibility, but the cares of life, desires for things and the deceitfulness of riches, crowd out the good teaching. You often hear people regretting the life style they live but saying that they are too pressured to do otherwise. Last of all is the mentality which hears and understands and begins to practice the teaching. From them come the results.
It’s a little like teaching liberation of slaves in a time when slavery was accepted. Some people couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen; others immediately grasped the goodness of the idea and begin to practice it. Through them the world changed
Jesus came into the Capernaum teaching that the Kingdom of God had come near. It was a heavenly concept a little difficult to understand, and even more difficult to practice. But the Prince of the Kingdom announced it. Wherever he went the sick were healed, the hungry fed, and nature calmed. The signs of the kingdom were evident.
People must have thought it impossible to become a citizen of that kingdom where God is the only ruler and all allegiance is voluntary, except for one thing; The Prince said he had come to make it a possibility for every person who chose to believe what he was teaching. It is still so, his death removed all barriers, his Spirit enlightens and strengthens all who voluntarily give allegiance to God. The kingdom already is, but the kingdom is still to come. What identifies the citizens of that kingdom is their allegiance to God and the brotherhood of Jesus. The kingdom has many enemies, and the citizens still struggle. Throughout the world we are united when we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” It will come; we have the evidence of it already. When it comes the hopes of every individual will be fulfilled. When the kingdom comes the Prince will know who has given allegiance and to those he will say, Enter into the joy of the Lord.
Mark 4:21-31
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, but chose Capernaum as his home base. Why?
Bethlehem was close to Jerusalem where the established clergy despised Jesus. At Nazareth, the town where his relatives still lived, the citizen tried to kill him. Him, but at Capernaum the citizens were astonished at his doctrine and great crowds followed him. Once the crowds pressed around him so much that he had to get into a boat and talk to the people from the boat, while the crowd stood between the mountains and the water and listened to him eagerly.
Even today the Spirit of Jesus goes where he is accepted and doesn’t stay where he is rejected.
From the boat Jesus talked to the people about what it was like for him to teach a spiritual truth. He had a great spiritual concept to teach and therefore had to look for minds that could understand and personalities that could cultivate the truth. He likened this to sowing seeds in four different kinds of soil; hard trodden down soil, shallow soil, weed infested soil and good arable soil. The hard trodden down soil were those sad persons too beaten down and too defeated to care about spiritual truths. The shallow soil was people who can understand a spiritual truth but can’t hold onto it. Hard times have left that personality without the ability to imagine him or her self different to the way they are. Then there is the weed infested soil that is able to grasp the concept in all its beauty and possibility, but the cares of life, desires for things and the deceitfulness of riches, crowd out the good teaching. You often hear people regretting the life style they live but saying that they are too pressured to do otherwise. Last of all is the mentality which hears and understands and begins to practice the teaching. From them come the results.
It’s a little like teaching liberation of slaves in a time when slavery was accepted. Some people couldn’t understand how such a thing could happen; others immediately grasped the goodness of the idea and begin to practice it. Through them the world changed
Jesus came into the Capernaum teaching that the Kingdom of God had come near. It was a heavenly concept a little difficult to understand, and even more difficult to practice. But the Prince of the Kingdom announced it. Wherever he went the sick were healed, the hungry fed, and nature calmed. The signs of the kingdom were evident.
People must have thought it impossible to become a citizen of that kingdom where God is the only ruler and all allegiance is voluntary, except for one thing; The Prince said he had come to make it a possibility for every person who chose to believe what he was teaching. It is still so, his death removed all barriers, his Spirit enlightens and strengthens all who voluntarily give allegiance to God. The kingdom already is, but the kingdom is still to come. What identifies the citizens of that kingdom is their allegiance to God and the brotherhood of Jesus. The kingdom has many enemies, and the citizens still struggle. Throughout the world we are united when we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” It will come; we have the evidence of it already. When it comes the hopes of every individual will be fulfilled. When the kingdom comes the Prince will know who has given allegiance and to those he will say, Enter into the joy of the Lord.
posted by Jessie Coates at 12:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home