Monday, March 22, 2010

Read Mark 11:27-33

In this passage the leaders and teachers of the Temple in Jerusalem wanted to know by what authority Jesus acted. They knew what he had been doing. He healed the deaf and the blind and the woman who bled; he cast out devils, he restored life to dead people; he ate with sinners and ignored Sabbath rules; he accused the scribes and Pharisees of hypocrisy and insisted that a real leader must be a servant to others. Finally, when Jesus came into Jerusalem for the last time, he came as Zechariah had predicted the Messiah would come - riding on a donkey, and the people shouting Hosanna. (Save us!)
The scribes and Pharisees knew the scriptures. They knew well Isaiah’s image of the humble servant who would save Israel. They knew that Jesus’ words and actions linked him to Isaiah’s servant and implied a special relationship with God. He was a threat to them, to their power, to their way of life. They had to stop him. So they demanded to know by what authority he acted. Today we would ask, “Who do you think you are?”

Jesus saw the trap and asked, “Who do you think John the Baptist was?” Now they were trapped. If they answered, “He was a nobody,” then the people would be angry, because John, like his cousin, had many followers among the poor and the powerless. But if they answered, “He was a messenger of God,” then Jesus might ask, “Well then, why didn’t you listen to him?”
So Jesus let the Pharisees and scribes know that if they could not humbly consider the relevance and validity of John’s words, they surely were not ready to question his.

Prayer

Lord, let us be both humble and bold, like John and Jesus, when we respond to your grace.

Peter Loan