FAITH: Testing Jesus
One important thing about faith is whether the person or system you have placed your faith in is trustworthy. A person can have complete confidence that the ice on the surface of a deep lake will hold his weight, it matters not how sincere his faith or how strong his confidence, what matters is whether the ice is thick or thin.
The lawyer who tested Jesus was a religious lawyer, he proscribed how the ancient law should be applied to the contemporary situations of daily life. Such lawyers were necessary, Moses gave the law to nomad people travelling through a desert, the same law was now being obeyed by citizens living a settled existence under Roman rule.
He asked a question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" and was answered by another question. Jesus asked: "What does the law say?" The lawyer's answer strikes a chord deep within everyone of us: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Most of us like that answer, we would like to have the kind of faith that enables us to love God so completely. Notice that the lawyer included loving with your mind, that included thinking the faith issue through, instead of blindly believing all the should and must of any religious system.
Jesus agrees with the lawyers answer; this is a bit of an anti-climax. The lawyer had hoped to discover whether Jesus was trustworthy or not but instead Jesus is examining what faith the lawyer already has.
Searching for faith is sometimes like that. A person looks for faith, and asks questions which they hope will show whether Jesus is trustworthy or not; instead of being rewarded with a quick solution, he or she is sometimes confronted by more questions. Perhaps it depends on the person's attitude towards Jesus, some people came to hear Jesus longing for a new religious leader, they had no difficulty in deciding he was worthy of their confidence. Others, like this lawyer of religion came fearfully, perhaps even aggressively, because putting confidence in Jesus would challenge the faith he already had, and perhaps necessitate life-style changes he didn't intend making.
Thinking about the search for faith, we can perhaps be comforted by the approach Jesus took. He did not attack or destroy the lawyer's faith, instead by questioning he called for the strongest part of the faith that the lawyer already held. Thinking people can receive faith in this way, by looking at what they already believe and what they hold dear, being freely allowed to investigate what is good about their own religion and then looking towards Jesus to enhance complete and orientate what is still needed.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, questions people had never asked were answered. God gave life to the dead body of Jesus, he came alive and was seen by hundreds of believers. People who had placed confidence in Jesus were convinced that God, the judge of all, had credited them with the right-ness of Jesus and that the life they now lived was eternal and would continue in the presence of God.
Perhaps, and it is only a perhaps, all faith-seekers can be divided into two groups, people who believe that God has spoken through Jesus and want to hear what he said, , and people who are afraid that God has spoken through Jesus and are afraid to hear what he said. Jesus treated all who came to him with gentleness, not destroying what faith they had but showing them how he completes and perfects their faith.
It was to this questioning lawyer that Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, the story illuminated something that was lacking in a strictly legal and prohibitive approach to religion. It challenged the lawyer to do more good, and do good to more people. Like many of today's seekers the lawyer left the place of his meeting with excitement, he had been shown a way to love God by loving his neighbour. Like many of today's seekers he may have had some trepidition. People who already trust Jesus but long to have their faith developed come to him seeking more faith, Jesus questions us, and challenges us. We go away exhilerated that we really experienced Jesus and also feeling trepidation, what will this stronger faith be like, what will happen when we begin to live the way Jesus has shown us?
(Luke 10:25-37)
The lawyer who tested Jesus was a religious lawyer, he proscribed how the ancient law should be applied to the contemporary situations of daily life. Such lawyers were necessary, Moses gave the law to nomad people travelling through a desert, the same law was now being obeyed by citizens living a settled existence under Roman rule.
He asked a question, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" and was answered by another question. Jesus asked: "What does the law say?" The lawyer's answer strikes a chord deep within everyone of us: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Most of us like that answer, we would like to have the kind of faith that enables us to love God so completely. Notice that the lawyer included loving with your mind, that included thinking the faith issue through, instead of blindly believing all the should and must of any religious system.
Jesus agrees with the lawyers answer; this is a bit of an anti-climax. The lawyer had hoped to discover whether Jesus was trustworthy or not but instead Jesus is examining what faith the lawyer already has.
Searching for faith is sometimes like that. A person looks for faith, and asks questions which they hope will show whether Jesus is trustworthy or not; instead of being rewarded with a quick solution, he or she is sometimes confronted by more questions. Perhaps it depends on the person's attitude towards Jesus, some people came to hear Jesus longing for a new religious leader, they had no difficulty in deciding he was worthy of their confidence. Others, like this lawyer of religion came fearfully, perhaps even aggressively, because putting confidence in Jesus would challenge the faith he already had, and perhaps necessitate life-style changes he didn't intend making.
Thinking about the search for faith, we can perhaps be comforted by the approach Jesus took. He did not attack or destroy the lawyer's faith, instead by questioning he called for the strongest part of the faith that the lawyer already held. Thinking people can receive faith in this way, by looking at what they already believe and what they hold dear, being freely allowed to investigate what is good about their own religion and then looking towards Jesus to enhance complete and orientate what is still needed.
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, questions people had never asked were answered. God gave life to the dead body of Jesus, he came alive and was seen by hundreds of believers. People who had placed confidence in Jesus were convinced that God, the judge of all, had credited them with the right-ness of Jesus and that the life they now lived was eternal and would continue in the presence of God.
Perhaps, and it is only a perhaps, all faith-seekers can be divided into two groups, people who believe that God has spoken through Jesus and want to hear what he said, , and people who are afraid that God has spoken through Jesus and are afraid to hear what he said. Jesus treated all who came to him with gentleness, not destroying what faith they had but showing them how he completes and perfects their faith.
It was to this questioning lawyer that Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan, the story illuminated something that was lacking in a strictly legal and prohibitive approach to religion. It challenged the lawyer to do more good, and do good to more people. Like many of today's seekers the lawyer left the place of his meeting with excitement, he had been shown a way to love God by loving his neighbour. Like many of today's seekers he may have had some trepidition. People who already trust Jesus but long to have their faith developed come to him seeking more faith, Jesus questions us, and challenges us. We go away exhilerated that we really experienced Jesus and also feeling trepidation, what will this stronger faith be like, what will happen when we begin to live the way Jesus has shown us?
(Luke 10:25-37)
posted by Jessie Coates at 12:17 AM
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