Selwyn continues to look at some ‘of the things Jesus did which upset those who were strict observers of religious rituals’. The issue is that some religious people judge a person’s worth by how well they follow or don’t follow, religious traditions; and, they fail to understand that a person’s real spiritual health depends upon [...]
Selwyn , today, covers the case when Jesus’ disciples were criticised for collecting and shelling grain on the Sabbath. I think the important point is that while Jesus ”respected the Sabbath, but He did not worship it; He worshipped God.” Perhaps this is a key test with many of the traditions that grow up regarding Christian life [...]
Selwyn now looks at another tough saying of Jesus, based on (Matthew 6:1): “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.” He starts by saying that “Jesus was never more cutting than when He focused on the tendency (of some) to be more interested in human praise [...]
Selwyn’s message is fairly straight-forward but it’s application is sorely missing in many churches. I think the key statement is: “We should watch very carefully that we relate to one another on the basis that every person who belongs to Christ also belongs to everyone else who belongs to Christ. And we must do all [...]
One point I liked today is: “When Jesus healed Jews He usually instructed them not to tell anyone; when He healed a Gentile He instructed him to make the news known. Why? It can only be because He wanted the news spread among the Gentiles that the Jewish Messiah was here to minister to them also. [...]
I could not find a lot to say about today’s study. Perhaps, Selwyn’s conclusion says it all: “The demarcation lines between Jew and Gentile were being smudged. The unbelievable was happening – Jews and Gentiles were marching arm-in-arm into the kingdom of God.” Jesus came and fulfilled the main Jewish prophecies: He is the perfect [...]
Friend of sinners
Good Jews at the time of Jesus avoided sinners – because a sinner’s lack of purity could contaminate their ‘purity’ and thereby make them unclean. However, Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them – a sign that He welcomed them into His company. Let’s put this a slightly different way – Jesus welcomed those sinners [...]
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