Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Wed.'s Devo - Religious Spirits

Read John 7:1-29
After Jesus gave his controversial lesson on eating his flesh and drinking his blood he had to avoid Judea where the religious Jews wanted to kill him. Instead he hung out in Galilee which means "heathen circle". Interesting that he was safer in the heathen circle than in the religious circle. But the feast of tabernacles was coming and all Jewish men were to go to Jerusalem to celebrate it so Jesus' "brothers" wanted him to go and do his miracles in front of the crowd so he could be famous. It says that they didn't believe in him so they must have been trying to set him up to be arrested. Jesus' response was insightful. He knew their hearts and told them it was not time for him to die. Then he explained that the world didn't hate them because they were friends of the world. It hated him because he exposed it for the evil it was. So he told them to go to the feast without him. He knew he would never miss a feast but he wanted to go incognito.
People were looking for him and discussing his validity when Jesus appeared in the middle of the feast and went up to the temple and started teaching. The Jews were awed by his knowledge of the scriptures. Jesus explained that his wisdom didn't come from man's teaching but from God's and he didn't seek his own glory but God's. Then he stuck the knife in with: "Didn't Moses give you that law, and yet none of you keep it and by the way, why are you trying to kill me? (Isn't murder one of the 10 Commandments?)" There he goes again offending the religious. They accuse him of being demon possessed and innocently ask "who is trying to kill you?" Jesus must have just healed a man because he defends his actions by asking them a question. If it is OK to circumcise a man on the sabbath why is it a sin to heal a man on the sabbath? Aren't your judgments a little off?
The people start figuring out that Jesus is the one everyone is so upset about. If the Jews want to kill him so bad, why aren't they arresting him. Maybe they think he is the Messiah. But wait, they knew where Jesus was born and the scriptures say that they won't know where the Messiah will come from. Jesus, knowing what they were mumbling addresses it with his typical heavenly answer that no one can interpret without having a spiritual mind. You can read it in verses 28 and 29. One thing about Jesus, he knows the truth and is sticking to it: I am from God and God sent me.
I wonder if we stumble over little things in the word and let our fleshly mind try to figure it out? God cannot be figured out in our reasonable mind; only in our spirit. Lord, renew our minds and forgive us of religious spirits that offend your spirit.

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