God's Passion (Matthew 23:37)
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. (Matthew 23:37 NLT)
The title of this passage in my Bible reads "Jesus criticizes the religious leaders". I think that may well be greatest understatement in the entire Bible. Jesus isn't giving a mild commentary of his dislike of the Pharisees.
And what you say has set Him off? Jesus is outraged at the effects the hypocrisy and religious oppression of the Pharisees has had on the people, His people. Verse 37 puts it all in perspective.
Jesus compared the anger He felt towards those who were harming His children to a mother hen longing to gather in her chicks to protect them from danger. While first off that may sound like a weak illustration, listen again to what He's saying here.
If you're a glutton for punishment, you should attempt to separate a mother from her babies. Better yet, go ahead and think about abusing one of her own children right in front of her. Afterwards, if you still happen to be alive, you might have caught a glimpse of God's all-consuming passion for His kids.
Jesus is weeping over the fact that circumstances are preventing His people from knowing Him. Not only that, those who should have been His greatest asset were His greatest opponents. Jesus had had enough of their outright hypocrisy and abuse of God's Law that He was literally overflowing with divine hatred for sin.
In fact, God hates sin so much that, like a mother separated from her child, He was willing to go to any length and pay whatever price necessary to get them back. With a determination to break through every barrier at any cost, God made the decision to offer His Only Son to the brutal torture of evil men.
God is so consumed with love for His kids that He gave everything in His power, sparing not even His own life, to rescue us from the power of sin and death. And even now, like a desperate mother broken by the thought of losing even one of her children, Jesus stands before the Father, pleading for more to come home.
Because of His undying love for us, Jesus will stop at nothing to win us. He is actively pursuing us this very moment, moving heaven and earth to bring another son or daughter home.
It's only right that we whom He has already won sould share His passion for those still lost. There is little difference between the hypocrisy of the Pharisees whose disobedience was separating God from His children and those who are indifferent towards those who are still far from God.
Jesus said, "he that is not for me is against me" (Matthew 12:30). Unless we are actively helping God recover those who are lost, we are of no more use than those who are actively opposing Him. To be like Christ is to share His passion for people and do everything in our power to represent Him well.
The title of this passage in my Bible reads "Jesus criticizes the religious leaders". I think that may well be greatest understatement in the entire Bible. Jesus isn't giving a mild commentary of his dislike of the Pharisees.
And what you say has set Him off? Jesus is outraged at the effects the hypocrisy and religious oppression of the Pharisees has had on the people, His people. Verse 37 puts it all in perspective.
Jesus compared the anger He felt towards those who were harming His children to a mother hen longing to gather in her chicks to protect them from danger. While first off that may sound like a weak illustration, listen again to what He's saying here.
If you're a glutton for punishment, you should attempt to separate a mother from her babies. Better yet, go ahead and think about abusing one of her own children right in front of her. Afterwards, if you still happen to be alive, you might have caught a glimpse of God's all-consuming passion for His kids.
Jesus is weeping over the fact that circumstances are preventing His people from knowing Him. Not only that, those who should have been His greatest asset were His greatest opponents. Jesus had had enough of their outright hypocrisy and abuse of God's Law that He was literally overflowing with divine hatred for sin.
In fact, God hates sin so much that, like a mother separated from her child, He was willing to go to any length and pay whatever price necessary to get them back. With a determination to break through every barrier at any cost, God made the decision to offer His Only Son to the brutal torture of evil men.
God is so consumed with love for His kids that He gave everything in His power, sparing not even His own life, to rescue us from the power of sin and death. And even now, like a desperate mother broken by the thought of losing even one of her children, Jesus stands before the Father, pleading for more to come home.
Because of His undying love for us, Jesus will stop at nothing to win us. He is actively pursuing us this very moment, moving heaven and earth to bring another son or daughter home.
It's only right that we whom He has already won sould share His passion for those still lost. There is little difference between the hypocrisy of the Pharisees whose disobedience was separating God from His children and those who are indifferent towards those who are still far from God.
Jesus said, "he that is not for me is against me" (Matthew 12:30). Unless we are actively helping God recover those who are lost, we are of no more use than those who are actively opposing Him. To be like Christ is to share His passion for people and do everything in our power to represent Him well.
Comments
Post a Comment