Matthew 11: To Whom the Son Wills

Matthew 11:27Amplified Bible
Classic Edition (AMPC)

 

27 All things have been entrusted and delivered to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to make Him known.

Knowing the heart of Abba is possible as Jesus wills to make Him known. 

Imagine the possibilities...

We would never struggle with skewed self-worth.

Luke 12:6-7
ESV 

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

We would never slander or gossip about or judge our brother/sister.

James 4:11-12
ESV

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?



We would do more than merely calling ourselves a "Christian."  We would BE Christians.

James 1:22-27
ESV

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 



Revenge, hatred, murder and mistreatment would cease.
 
Romans 12:17-21
ESV

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.



We would stop living like there are no consequences to our actions.


Galatians 5:16-26
ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.


Jesus, please reveal the Father's heart to us.  Will us to know His Holy Perfection.  Empower us to live as sons and daughters of the King of the Universe, the Creator of all things, visible and invisible!  We need the Father to be King of our nation.  We require His power to interact with each other equitably and with holy love.  Help us to see and know the Father, in Your Name, Jesus, AMEN!!!

Luke 7: Do You See This Woman?

Luke 7:44

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

44 Then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.



Jesus was eating with the Pharisee, Simon, who had been mentally questioning Jesus' prophet status because a prophet "would surely know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him" (Luke 7:39) This woman had a past tainted with sinful activities. Simon knew, Jesus knew it.

The difference was the reaction of the two men. Simon was focusing of what he knew of the woman. Jesus was focusing of what He knows of the woman.

Do you see it?

One man's focus was on the past. The other man's focus is on the present.

I have a new understanding of Simon after rereading this Scripture. In Luke 7:40, Simon refers to Jesus as "Teacher" and seems willing to hear what He has to say. This attitude is different than I had imagined. 

In my mind, I had imagined Simon as attempting to find a fault in Jesus. Right now, I see a man who was seeking to understand Jesus' radical behavior. Think about it. In the culture of that time, 

"this was a service which the wife was expected to render her husband(Yer. Ket. v. 30a); according to Rab Huna, it was one of the personal attentions to which her husband was entitled, no matter how many maids she may have had; likewise, according to the Babylonian Talmud (Ket. 61a), besides preparing his drink and bed,the wife had to wash her husband's face and feet"

(Hirsch, Nowack, Schechter 2011)

What's awesome about Jesus attitude is that although He is aware of the woman's past, He doesn't hold it against her. He knows how grateful the woman is for being set free from the torment of wrong choices. Simon doesn't see her gratitude, because he doesn't know the woman's heart. He judges her actions based upon what he knows, her past. Jesus judges the woman's actions upon what He knows, her heart in the present.

I think what we have to learn in this passage is profoundly simple. Don't focus on someone's past like Simon did. Be like Jesus and focus on the present; focus on a person's heart.

We are not Jesus. We can't read another person's heart. The only way we can get to know a person's heart is by building a relationship, which takes a time commitment. If we want to be like Jesus then we need to stop and talk to "the woman" see her in the here and now. Hear her heart, and see the gratitude that flows from it. Don't assume you know what she does or does not do (for the bad or for the good).

Lord, I ask that we would see each other in the Light of Your Presence (the present). Convict us if we are tempted to see each other by their past. We ALL have a past, but if we have submitted ourselves to You, in faith then we can "go (enter) into peace [freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin]" (Luke 7:50).

Jesus, I am filled with gratitude that You have forgiven my past. I thank You that Your Peace fills my soul. I thank You for Your Spirit, which guides my path. I thank You for Your intervention in my life. You are my Perfect Friend and the Lover of my soul. I thank You for loving "the woman" right out of me! In the great and holy Name of Jesus, AMEN!!!



                                References

Hirsch, E. G., Nowack, W., & Schechter, S. (2011). Feet,

     Washing Of. Retrieved July 11, 2016, from

     http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6051-feet-

     washing-of