Skip to main content
Then they were trying again to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.
John 10:39 CSB
Jesus was having a convo with the Jewish leaders, and they didn't agree with what he had to say. In v 31 they were preparing to stone Jesus, kill him with rocks. 
In v 33 they tell us why - blasphemy - claiming to be God. 
This was not just some heated theological discussion going on here, they'd already seized him at least once, a group of men prepared to kill another becuase of who he claimed to be, becuase of his words. 
Words matter.
Ideas matter.
Jesus told them don't just listen to my words but see what I've been doing, my life speaks of who God is.
But for this group of people their ideas were the ones that should prevail. 
I don't think Jesus breaks their grip with strength, does a runner becuase he's stronger and faster, he shows them that he is God by just walking away from their grasp. A miracle worked not just in front of them, but in them. 
A group of people had Jesus in their grip. 
And then didn't.
So close to God. Yet so clouded by their own ideas of what God should be like they literally had him in their hands and didn't know it. 
I wonder as I meet someone, an image bearer of God, how easy it is to miss the divine, because this person doesn't fit my idea of what God should be like. 
#monday
#Godsgym

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

...four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus... Mark 2:3-4 NLT Great account of inventiveness and determination to get their friend to see Jesus. Love this. Do you wonder about the back story? Are these the same 4 people who bring this man food? Take him to the toilet every day. Clean him up. Does he live with one of them? Are they family? Are there whole families or groups of people in the background who have supported and cared for this man? A group of children who grew up seeing their parents love in action? Probably. Healing Help Hope These things are found in community. These 4 guys are the heroes here. The upfront people. One day it will be interesting to see who the background heroes are. #loveinaction #community #inthistogether #walkingeachotherhome #gospelofmark
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
Over and over God rescued them, but they never learned - until finally their sins destroyed them. Still,  when God saw the trouble they were in and heard their cries for help, He remembered his Covenant with them, and,  immense with love,  took them by the hand. He poured out his mercy on them while their captors looked on, amazed. Save us, God, our God! Gather us back out of exile So we can give thanks to your holy name and join in the glory when you are praised!  Blessed be God, Israel's God!  Bless now, bless always! Oh!  Let everyone say Amen! Hallelujah! Psalms 106:40-48 The Message. This song is about our God who never gives up on His people.  The people He loves.  He never gives up on us. He never gives up on you.  This psalm also repeats again and again how one person stood for the people, stood in the gap, all previews of Jesus, who stood in the gap for all of us. Our God never gives up. And He made a way. That's why He is worthy of ...