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In those days Jewish women were not permitted to be regular disciples of a rabbi, but that social reality did not stop a number of them from following Jesus around and hanging on his every word and deed, just like the men were expected to do.
Among the women accompanying him and his disciples were Mary of Magdala, a town on the western shore of Lake Galilee, from whom Jesus had expelled seven devils, and whom he had healed of a variety of ailments. Also following was Joanna, who was married to one of Herod Antipas's top aides, Chuza, along with Susanna and many other women, who had the material means to serve men that way.
One day he and his followers were so hemmed in by crowds that they could not even get a bite to eat. Relatives who lived nearby heard about it and were aghast. They were also worried because some religious big shots from Jerusalem were standing around telling everyone that Jesus was only able to work miracles because he was demon-possessed. Even his mother was worried. "Something's wrong! He's acting crazy!"
She and his brothers sent a message inside that he should stop all the commotion and come home quietly with them.
On hearing the message, Rabbi Jesus addressed those gathered around him.
"Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?"
His listeners waited in hushed tones for the next surprising thing this wonder-working rabbi would say.
Looking intently around, he declared, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does God's will is my brother, my sister and my mother."
Despite his devotion to Mary, at this point Jesus is urging that the focus be on God's will, not on his mother or anyone else's mother.
Some may wonder how Mary could have had so much revealed about her son, and yet have a lapse such as this. Yet, wasn't her reaction typical for any mother whose son's social standing is threatened?
Jesus' natural family was always aware that he was an unusual person. They recalled the time that, at age twelve, Jesus had given his parents quite a shock.
Joseph and Mary had taken Jesus along on the annual piligrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem to attend the Passover celebration. Mary recalled that trip particularly vividly.
On their way back from the feast, mother and father were under the impression that the lad was walking with friends or relatives from Nazareth, when in fact he had decided to remain in the Temple, where he was discussing scripture with the expert doctors of the law. [bmmz1] Once Joseph and Mary realized that Jesus had not returned with them, they headed back to Jerusalem.
For three days, the frantic couple hunted high and low for him. When they finally found him sitting amid the learned men discussing scripture, they were surprised to see that Jesus' listeners were amazed at the depth of his answers to the questions of the experts.
His astounded mother exclaimed, "Son, why did you do this to us?! See here, your father and I have been looking everywhere for you! We were worried sick!" Jesus replied, "Why were you looking for me? Don't you know that I must be in my Father's house?""
That remark went right over their heads.
But he returned to Nazareth with them and was an obedient son.
As Jesus grew, both physically and mentally, people tended to think well of him – as did God, of course.
After making his point as to who his true family is, Jesus dealt with the men who were running him down as a demoniac.
He called out to them, "Explain to me, how can Satan cast out Satan? Or, put it like this: How can a kingdom divided against itself stand? Or a house? Right? I mean, if Satan attacks himself, it's over for Satan -- am I correct? You know as well as I do that no one can break into a strong man's house and rob him without first tying up the strong man.
"Now you listen to this carefully: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people, except for the blasphemy against God's Spirit. That one is never forgiven. You can say anything against the son of man, and it will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit won't receive forgiveness -- in this life or the next.
"If I use the Prince of Darkness to expel demons, who do your people use to exorcise them? They are going to have some serious concerns with you. But, if I use God's Spirit to expel demons, then God's kingdom is right here with you."
Many dread that they have blasphemed the Spirit, but a point of this teaching seems to be, "You can never get to heaven that way!" If you avoid God's Spirit, then you avoid his very essence. You avoid his wish to convince you that you're in terrible shape and need Jesus. So, as long as you avoid the Spirit, you avoid salvation. Maybe you will wait a second too long. That would be a sin that leads to death (see 1 John 5:16,17).
It is hard to justify even praying for someone who not only turns his back on Jesus, but wants nothing to do with God's Spirit.
Jesus turned from his accusers back to the disciples and the crowd. "Let me ask you: Can a good tree yield rotten fruit? A tree is known by its fruit, right? That's how you can tell what's going on. You'll know who's who by their fruits."
Turning back to his accusers, he said, "Snake spawn! You are so sick, there's no way you can speak positively at all. What the heart is full of, that's what spills out of the mouth.
"In other words, a good fellow pulls good things out of his stuff, but a bad fellow pulls bad things out of his pile.
"Remember this: On Judgment Day, people will be held accountable for every idle word they speak. Your own words will either uphold you or damn you."
At this, Jesus' hostile interrogators, rather than admit they were wrong, challenged him to prove his authority by showing them some sign.
With a deep sigh, Jesus replied, "In the evening, if you see a red sky, you say, 'Fair weather tonight.' But if in the morning you see a red sky, you say, 'Bad weather coming.'
The rabbi continued, "You can read signs in the sky but you can't read the signs of the times."
Jesus was referring to the activities of John and himself, as well as political events that portended that the end of the Jewish state was drawing near.
"An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign," Jesus added. "But no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah."
Why would anyone need a sign to hearken to the truth? Only sick people who don't want to heed God for real demand "proof."
The phrase "evil and adulterous generation" means people who have sunk into bad ways by chasing after false gods (like Money) instead of staying faithful to their true lover, the God of Israel.
Jesus continued, "Just as Jonah spent three days and nights in a sea creature's belly, so will the son of man spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth."
He added, "The people of Nineveh will stand up on Judgment Day and condemn this generation."
That is, the Ninevites repented when Jonah preached God's impending judgment to them. But most Jews in Jesus' day did not repent; in particular the smug Pharisees and their Bible scholars (known as scribes) saw no need of repentance. They thought that obeying all the rules and regulations dreamed up by their experts meant they were safe.
Jesus declared, "See now, someone greater than Jonah is here."
By speaking in the third person, Jesus avoided saying directly that he was referring to himself when speaking of the son of man and someone greater than Jonah.
Jesus added, "On Judgment Day, the queen of the south will condemn this group. She came a very great distance to hear Solomon's wisdom. But now, someone greater than Solomon is here."
As he had been talking about demonism, Jesus added a few more words on the subject.
"Once a demon has gone out of a person, it travels through dry lands seeking rest, but can't find any. So it says, let me go back to my home. When it arrives, it sees that everything is nice and orderly. So the demon fetches seven more devils worse than itself, and they all set up house there. That person ends up far worse than before.
"This is how it will be for this evil generation."
In other words, John and Jesus came to help people straighten out so that their hearts would long to be saved. But, as a whole, the people did not really repent and so benefited for only a short while before catching hell. Not many years later Rome destroyed Jerusalem and less than a century after that annihilated the Jewish homeland. But, the real peril was what these people faced on Judgment Day, having despised God's Spirit and turned their backs on salvation.
At this point, a woman in the crowd shouted, "Blessed is the womb that gave you birth and the breasts that nourished you!"
But Jesus responded, "Actually, blessed are those who hear God's word and keep it."
NEXT PAGE:
Your anger is your real enemy
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/your-anger-is-your-real-enemy.html
Among the women accompanying him and his disciples were Mary of Magdala, a town on the western shore of Lake Galilee, from whom Jesus had expelled seven devils, and whom he had healed of a variety of ailments. Also following was Joanna, who was married to one of Herod Antipas's top aides, Chuza, along with Susanna and many other women, who had the material means to serve men that way.
One day he and his followers were so hemmed in by crowds that they could not even get a bite to eat. Relatives who lived nearby heard about it and were aghast. They were also worried because some religious big shots from Jerusalem were standing around telling everyone that Jesus was only able to work miracles because he was demon-possessed. Even his mother was worried. "Something's wrong! He's acting crazy!"
She and his brothers sent a message inside that he should stop all the commotion and come home quietly with them.
On hearing the message, Rabbi Jesus addressed those gathered around him.
"Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?"
His listeners waited in hushed tones for the next surprising thing this wonder-working rabbi would say.
Looking intently around, he declared, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does God's will is my brother, my sister and my mother."
Despite his devotion to Mary, at this point Jesus is urging that the focus be on God's will, not on his mother or anyone else's mother.
Some may wonder how Mary could have had so much revealed about her son, and yet have a lapse such as this. Yet, wasn't her reaction typical for any mother whose son's social standing is threatened?
Jesus' natural family was always aware that he was an unusual person. They recalled the time that, at age twelve, Jesus had given his parents quite a shock.
Joseph and Mary had taken Jesus along on the annual piligrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem to attend the Passover celebration. Mary recalled that trip particularly vividly.
On their way back from the feast, mother and father were under the impression that the lad was walking with friends or relatives from Nazareth, when in fact he had decided to remain in the Temple, where he was discussing scripture with the expert doctors of the law. [bmmz1] Once Joseph and Mary realized that Jesus had not returned with them, they headed back to Jerusalem.
For three days, the frantic couple hunted high and low for him. When they finally found him sitting amid the learned men discussing scripture, they were surprised to see that Jesus' listeners were amazed at the depth of his answers to the questions of the experts.
His astounded mother exclaimed, "Son, why did you do this to us?! See here, your father and I have been looking everywhere for you! We were worried sick!" Jesus replied, "Why were you looking for me? Don't you know that I must be in my Father's house?""
That remark went right over their heads.
But he returned to Nazareth with them and was an obedient son.
As Jesus grew, both physically and mentally, people tended to think well of him – as did God, of course.
After making his point as to who his true family is, Jesus dealt with the men who were running him down as a demoniac.
He called out to them, "Explain to me, how can Satan cast out Satan? Or, put it like this: How can a kingdom divided against itself stand? Or a house? Right? I mean, if Satan attacks himself, it's over for Satan -- am I correct? You know as well as I do that no one can break into a strong man's house and rob him without first tying up the strong man.
"Now you listen to this carefully: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to people, except for the blasphemy against God's Spirit. That one is never forgiven. You can say anything against the son of man, and it will be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit won't receive forgiveness -- in this life or the next.
"If I use the Prince of Darkness to expel demons, who do your people use to exorcise them? They are going to have some serious concerns with you. But, if I use God's Spirit to expel demons, then God's kingdom is right here with you."
Many dread that they have blasphemed the Spirit, but a point of this teaching seems to be, "You can never get to heaven that way!" If you avoid God's Spirit, then you avoid his very essence. You avoid his wish to convince you that you're in terrible shape and need Jesus. So, as long as you avoid the Spirit, you avoid salvation. Maybe you will wait a second too long. That would be a sin that leads to death (see 1 John 5:16,17).
It is hard to justify even praying for someone who not only turns his back on Jesus, but wants nothing to do with God's Spirit.
Jesus turned from his accusers back to the disciples and the crowd. "Let me ask you: Can a good tree yield rotten fruit? A tree is known by its fruit, right? That's how you can tell what's going on. You'll know who's who by their fruits."
Turning back to his accusers, he said, "Snake spawn! You are so sick, there's no way you can speak positively at all. What the heart is full of, that's what spills out of the mouth.
"In other words, a good fellow pulls good things out of his stuff, but a bad fellow pulls bad things out of his pile.
"Remember this: On Judgment Day, people will be held accountable for every idle word they speak. Your own words will either uphold you or damn you."
At this, Jesus' hostile interrogators, rather than admit they were wrong, challenged him to prove his authority by showing them some sign.
With a deep sigh, Jesus replied, "In the evening, if you see a red sky, you say, 'Fair weather tonight.' But if in the morning you see a red sky, you say, 'Bad weather coming.'
The rabbi continued, "You can read signs in the sky but you can't read the signs of the times."
Jesus was referring to the activities of John and himself, as well as political events that portended that the end of the Jewish state was drawing near.
"An evil and adulterous generation wants a sign," Jesus added. "But no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah."
Why would anyone need a sign to hearken to the truth? Only sick people who don't want to heed God for real demand "proof."
The phrase "evil and adulterous generation" means people who have sunk into bad ways by chasing after false gods (like Money) instead of staying faithful to their true lover, the God of Israel.
Jesus continued, "Just as Jonah spent three days and nights in a sea creature's belly, so will the son of man spend three days and nights in the heart of the earth."
He added, "The people of Nineveh will stand up on Judgment Day and condemn this generation."
That is, the Ninevites repented when Jonah preached God's impending judgment to them. But most Jews in Jesus' day did not repent; in particular the smug Pharisees and their Bible scholars (known as scribes) saw no need of repentance. They thought that obeying all the rules and regulations dreamed up by their experts meant they were safe.
Jesus declared, "See now, someone greater than Jonah is here."
By speaking in the third person, Jesus avoided saying directly that he was referring to himself when speaking of the son of man and someone greater than Jonah.
Jesus added, "On Judgment Day, the queen of the south will condemn this group. She came a very great distance to hear Solomon's wisdom. But now, someone greater than Solomon is here."
As he had been talking about demonism, Jesus added a few more words on the subject.
"Once a demon has gone out of a person, it travels through dry lands seeking rest, but can't find any. So it says, let me go back to my home. When it arrives, it sees that everything is nice and orderly. So the demon fetches seven more devils worse than itself, and they all set up house there. That person ends up far worse than before.
"This is how it will be for this evil generation."
In other words, John and Jesus came to help people straighten out so that their hearts would long to be saved. But, as a whole, the people did not really repent and so benefited for only a short while before catching hell. Not many years later Rome destroyed Jerusalem and less than a century after that annihilated the Jewish homeland. But, the real peril was what these people faced on Judgment Day, having despised God's Spirit and turned their backs on salvation.
At this point, a woman in the crowd shouted, "Blessed is the womb that gave you birth and the breasts that nourished you!"
But Jesus responded, "Actually, blessed are those who hear God's word and keep it."
NEXT PAGE:
Your anger is your real enemy
https://secretpath191.blogspot.com/2020/11/your-anger-is-your-real-enemy.html
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