(Mark 12:13-14)
13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and do not care what anyone thinks; for You are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it ...TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:
To catch Jesus in some sort of error, before throwing a barrage of questions at Him, the Pharisees and Herodians (and scribes) actually insulted Jesus. The statements were an underhanded guise of "compliments", which would cause most people to become distracted by their own bravado. Or, if an astute person, with a level of integrity, realized the slight, they might want to address the details of these first, which would diminish whatever point was to be made later. Or, in brushing it off, the subtle insult might continue to gnaw away at their ability to stay focused on properly answering the question/s put forward.
Well! We ARE talking about Jesus, here! So not only did He remain humble and focused, He answered all of questions brilliantly. The first key lesson for us is that as we are asked questions, or as we are presented with an opportunity to share God's message of truth, we should be asking the Lord for His wisdom and guidance, and for Him to give us the right words to speak. As well, It helps to be prepared! In other words, we should be looking at His word, daily, so that we will be gaining more and more knowledge and understanding of both Him, and His truth.
Now for the second lesson. Since the devotion's topic is "relationships", I do want to dissect the deceptive flattery of the Pharisees and Herodians, because I know that I could easily fall into any of those reactive categories. Also, it would be helpful to understand what is true about Jesus, as it relates to our relationship with Him.
1st "COMPLIMENT":
"while You are truthful- You do not care what anyone thinks."
TRUTH:
- yes, the Lord God and His word is truth
THE TRUTH with the THEN, IF, AND, OR, BUT:
- He does care what everyone thinks
----- but He will not waver on truth!
- He knows what everyone is thinking, and because He does care
----- then He is timely in how and when He presents truth and directions.
.......... (Hebrews 4:11-13) Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we must answer.
2nd "COMPLEMENT":
"while You teach the way of God in truth- You are not partial to anyone."
TRUTH:
- yes, the Lord Jesus not only teaches the way of God in truth, Jesus is the way, and He is the only way!
THE TRUTH with the THEN, IF, AND, OR, BUT:
- He is impartial (to all people), judging with justice and fairness
----- but He cannot tolerate or accept sin or evil
----- and He will forgive all those who come to Him to humbly repent
.......... (Deuteronomy 10:17) For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe.
.......... (Acts 10:34b–35) ...God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.
.......... (Psalm 5:4) For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil can dwell with You.
- He is impartial, showing no favoritism based on race, wealth, status, or background
----- because He loves all people, suffered and died for all people, and desires that all come to know Him
----- and so, He saves and adopts anyone who chooses to follow Him
----- and, to those who follow Him, in His mercy- He withholds the eternal death and punishment that we so deserve
----- and, to those who follow Him, in His grace- He bestows eternal life and blessings, which we do not deserve
.......... (Ephesians 2:4-10) But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
- He is impartial towards His children, seeing us all as important, and giving each one of us purpose
----- yet, as He sees fit, being omniscient and caring, He gifts each of us differently and uniquely, so that we are equipped to serve the Lord and others
.......... (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
As we can see, those false compliments were loaded with details that one could spend days unpacking. I only scratched the surface! But because Jesus knew that they were trying to trap Him, He did not need to show off His vast knowledge, nor did He become defensive or offensive. While caring, and because He cares, Jesus peacefully, wisely, and considerately stayed on topic, and answered their questions, even though He already knew that they were not going to appreciate His answers.
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