RQs: Continued Ministry in Galilee
The wisdom of God is justified however, for God is shown to be righteous in what He has done both in John and in Jesus, despite the fact that neither met the religious expectation of the day. Despite some misunderstanding of what the other was doing, God was working novelly and uniquely in both men at different times and in different circumstances. We must beware of the religious demands for conformity of methodology and expectation.
Religious pride and conceit blinds the religionists to spiritual truth, but the humble recognize their spiritual ignorance and need. Religion places great value in education, learning and knowledge, but the truth of the kingdom is often perceived by the uneducated and ignorant, the "have-nots" who in their simplicity recognize their need.
The yoke of religious activity is indeed heavy and laborious. Religious leaders are high-handed and demanding in their "authority." Religious activity allows for no rest. There is a constant demand for dedication and commitment, to be more involved and active in serving the organization and its leaders. Endless duties and ceremonies, services and rituals, are inculcated; go, go, go and do, do, do; unceasing performance and preservation of the traditions.
In the Sabbath rest of the Christian covenant (Heb. 4) we can enjoy God's activity, recognizing that Christianity is what God does, and not what we do. Jesus said, "Take MY yoke; learn of ME." The ontological dynamic of Jesus Christ is the essence of Christian activity. Come and receive. Do not settle for the wearisome and burdensome toil and labor of religious performance; accept instead the grace of God's activity in Jesus Christ, resting in His sufficiency.
"One greater than Solomon is here," Jesus went on to say. Jesus is the wisdom of God personified (I Cor. 1:24,30). The queen of the South, Sheba, had sincerely sought out the wisdom of Solomon, but the Jewish religionists did not know divine wisdom when He stood before them and spoke to them, and would thus be condemned even by the Egyptians which were such enemies of the Israelites in the judgment before God.
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Religious pride and conceit blinds the religionists to spiritual truth, but the humble recognize their spiritual ignorance and need. Religion places great value in education, learning and knowledge, but the truth of the kingdom is often perceived by the uneducated and ignorant, the "have-nots" who in their simplicity recognize their need.
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The yoke of religious activity is indeed heavy and laborious. Religious leaders are high-handed and demanding in their "authority." Religious activity allows for no rest. There is a constant demand for dedication and commitment, to be more involved and active in serving the organization and its leaders. Endless duties and ceremonies, services and rituals, are inculcated; go, go, go and do, do, do; unceasing performance and preservation of the traditions.
----------
In the Sabbath rest of the Christian covenant (Heb. 4) we can enjoy God's activity, recognizing that Christianity is what God does, and not what we do. Jesus said, "Take MY yoke; learn of ME." The ontological dynamic of Jesus Christ is the essence of Christian activity. Come and receive. Do not settle for the wearisome and burdensome toil and labor of religious performance; accept instead the grace of God's activity in Jesus Christ, resting in His sufficiency.
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"One greater than Solomon is here," Jesus went on to say. Jesus is the wisdom of God personified (I Cor. 1:24,30). The queen of the South, Sheba, had sincerely sought out the wisdom of Solomon, but the Jewish religionists did not know divine wisdom when He stood before them and spoke to them, and would thus be condemned even by the Egyptians which were such enemies of the Israelites in the judgment before God.
posted by GBT at
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
