Thursday, November 4, 2010

whose authority

Good morning friends,
Luke has already told us that the religious leaders are trying to trip Jesus up and find a way to kill him. He knows that he is going to be arrested and executed, but he's also trying to be somewhat careful, it seems. The leaders ask who gave him the authority for his miracles and teaching. They are trying to get him to say something that will clearly be considered blasphemy. Jesus turns things around on them by asking about John's baptism, whether it was from God or from human origin. The leaders don't try to figure out what the true answer is to that question; they just try to figure out what answer will serve their purpose.

That's really the problem and the reason Jesus' discussion with the leaders won't go anywhere; they are not willing to learn or be changed. They have already decided what they believe and anything that doesn't fit their expectations will be rejected. Last night at the Boulevard we were reading one of my favorite stories about close-mindedness versus openmindedness: John chapter 9. In the story Jesus heals a man born blind. The religious leaders interrogate the man about what has happened and in the end they kick him out of the synagogue. They can't face the evidence in front of them: Jesus has done something amazing by the power of God. The passages question to us is are we blind or do we see what's in front of us. When Jesus calls do we answer and accept the fact that we don't understand everything or do we ignore the calling because it doesn't fit our expectations?

May we always seek the truth even when it challenges us.

God bless,
Sam

Luke 20: 1-8

One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders 2and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” 3He answered them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: 4Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” 5They discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us; for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

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