Skip to main content

164. He Set His Face Like a Flint


Isaiah 50:4-9, Luke 9:51-56
Key Verse: "Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I set my face like a flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."
Isaiah 50:7

These are brave words for someone who knows that His mission is to suffer and die for the sins of the world. The last leg of Jesus’ Journey has begun. He knows what awaits Him at His destination, but out of love for you and me, nothing can distract Him from His purpose. He is a man, no, a God, on a mission to redeem humanity. He will not be deterred.

Then, there is James and John, Sons of Thunder, who still want to take the world by storm. We respond so quickly to insults. They just couldn't believe that the people in the village, to which they had been sent for accommodations, wouldn't welcome Jesus, even if they were Samaritans! It was a, "Do you know who I am?" moment if ever there was one for these two disciples, but settling the score between Samaritans and Jews was not why Jesus had come.

Jesus wasn't interested in getting embroiled in any more conflict right now. There would be enough of that to come. So, I suppose we are left to wonder, why, if Jesus knows all things, did He send a couple of His disciples ahead, to a village where He would not be welcome?

I have two thoughts here. First of all, it could be said that Jesus was willing to stay at their village. Jesus would not be able to be accused of participating in the prejudice that Jews held against Samaritans. Most Jews would have just gone around the village with their noses in the air, thinking too much of themselves to ask for accommodations. Jesus doesn't make the distinctions that Man makes. His grace is for all.

Secondly, it was an opportunity for, at least James and John, and probably the other disciples, to learn the art of turning the other cheek. Proverbs 19:11 says: "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." They would have to overlook much bigger offenses in the years to come. They'd better start now, while the Master is with them or they would risk walking into more trouble than they could handle, detracting from God's glory.

We could practice this art as well. It is part of the gift of love that God calls us to display. We don't always have to get our way just because we can. As Christ did not deserve to die, but chose to do so for you and me, so, we too can die a little to ourselves in love for another. We can be hospitable to those who would not welcome us, and we can be forgiving when we are not welcomed by them.

Hymn: "Christ Be My Leader" 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Little Light of Mine

Scripture: Psalm 130 Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab. It’s the first Sunday of Advent. Today we lit one candle and heard the passage, in Isaiah 9, about the great light! We have heard that the great light is the child born to us on Christmas day. It is Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Christmas is a day we will truly celebrate as we have for years and years, and our ancestors before us for centuries. Christmas is coming! Advent means coming! It is good to spend the next few weeks reflecting on all that it means for us. We begin from the depths of darkness. The world is still suffering the effects of sin. We are still suffering the effects of a world broken by sin. And not just the consequences of our own sins. According to Romans 8:22, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The fires in California, the floods and storms on the East coast, and all the other natural disasters we hear ab...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more