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by Sandy Shaw
We have been reading in Luke chapter 19 of Jesus Christ riding into Jerusalem, and what that signified - the King of Kings riding on a donkey. It is the Messiah - the One anointed of God - the One for whom people have been waiting for 1,000 years - and they do not recognise what this means. They have no idea as to the significance.
Jesus was not going to give them what they wanted - what they were looking for - and within the week – ‘Hosanna’ which means 'Save us now' - turns to 'Crucify Him'.
So often Jesus draws near, rides into our lives, and sometimes we do not immediately recognise the significance.
The people wanted Jesus to deliver them from the Romans. Jesus comes to deliver us from sin. They thought the Roman government was the problem. The problem was not, and is not, political but spiritual.
Many think that if only we can get rid of one government and replace it with another, then most of our problems will be resolved. Not so. The issue is normally spiritual – rebellion against Almighty God and His Word, and very little will be rectified until that massive question is faced, and the necessary repentance and adjustments made.
Jesus reveals that the trouble lies in the area of worship - the individual person - the heart - our lives - and sometimes that is not popular, but it happens to be true.
"Deal with somebody else, Jesus - not me. Deal with that Jesus - not my situation."
Here we see a Jesus Who is angry with Righteous Anger, and He deals with sin, and not sin in the world but sin in the Church of the day.
We see a Jesus Who is angry - some do not realise that this same Jesus exists.
Chapter 20. Jesus was teaching the people, and preaching the Gospel. These are two very different areas. As Jesus was preaching and teaching the religious leaders tried to descend upon him like a ton of bricks, attempting to silence Him once and for all.
Never challenge Jesus. It is a highly dangerous thing to do, but some people do it in all kinds of various ways, and there can be tragic consequences, when that happens.
Verse 2. Tell us by what authority do you do these things? They meet face to face.
Who gave you this authority? What right had you to come into our Temple and do what you have done? Well, at least they recognised that Jesus did have authority, but it is so sad that they did not recognise that HIS AUTHORITY came from God the Father - and - that He was preaching and teaching in the Power of the Spirit.
Verse 3. I will ask you a question - the baptism of John - was it from heaven or from men? From God - or merely self-appointed?
If they could answer His question, then they could answer their own, because John said who Jesus was, and what authority He had - the authority and power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus does not answer every question, directly, right away, simply, in a straightforward manner, immediately - because He sees that there is a sinful twist on this occasion.
If Jesus had answered their questions, they would not have accepted His reply. They did not really want to know the answer.
We have all met people like this. They ask you a question, but they really do not want to know the answer. This for these leaders is a very real dilemma.
The problem was not political, nor was it intellectual, or philosophical. The serious problem was spiritual. It usually is.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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