Lent Day 42.
Jesus spent most of Tuesday during Holy Week at the temple.
He’s challenged.
Questioned.
Debated.
The Pharisees and Saducees, who never got along (much like Democrats and Republicans, I’d imagine), find themselves united under a common cause: Get rid of Jesus!
They are afraid of Him.
We always fear what we can’t figure out, don’t we?
The result is always the same – eliminate the feared from our life as quickly as possible.
Jesus isn’t afraid.
He has it all figured out.
He knows where this is headed – where He is headed.
However, this is a last chance stop at the temple to give these leaders One. More. Chance.
He doesn’t take a bite on the lure they throw Him.
He doesn’t let them push His buttons.
He won’t respond in the way they want to see Him respond.
He doesn’t back down, either.
They keep trying to push Him into a spiritual corner; but…
…all day, Tuesday, He’s a perfect example of Proverbs 15:1:
What’s His modus-operandi?
Today, as it was most of the time they confronted Jesus, He answers with stories…and, with questions of His own.
Both are strategically designed to be a mirror for these spiritual guides.
Jesus really wants them to see inside their hearts.
He knows if they will just take a good, long look, they will see the truth about their own spiritual conditions.
In return, this is the first step in seeing the truth regarding what to do with Jesus.
If they see themselves, accurately, they see they need a Savior.
If they see their need, they will be able to see He’s their answer.
Jesus doesn’t want anyone to perish in their sin…
But, they don’t.
They are blind guides.
They leave the temple that night, still blind.
All day they’ve been with the man who has healed blindness over and over again…and they walk away from Him.
There are a few take-aways for me today, as I’ve thought about Jesus’ Tuesday in the temple.
1. Always seek to understand that which I’m afraid of…that very thing may be something I desperately NEED for personal spiritual growth.
2. Don’t run from the hard spiritual questions thrown at me…use them as a mirror into my own heart, as well as to clarify exactly what I believe.
3. Persist with those who are lost…they truly are blind.
3. Like Jesus, always be prepared to tell the story of the hope that is within me in gentleness and with a spirit of awe (1 Peter 3:15).
