Outwardly every time he turned around, there they were, that Jewish religious/political group that hounded Jesus, the Pharisees. They were persistent, and ultimately, they conspired to have published Jesus put to death.
In the Gospels there are 89 references to the Pharisees (Matthew-31, Mark 12, Luke-27 and John 19) and the majority of them usually do not talk to a comfy relationship; there are four references to the Pharisees as a "brood of vipers," which helps you to identify the sort of relationship they had. Yet, there are three references, all found in the Gospel of Luke, to Jesus having dinner using a Pharisee. This openness https://www.facebook.com/Pastorchrisonline to truly have a meal with his enemies is indicative of Jesus' readiness to love his enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). Humanly speaking, we do not frequently break bread with those we hate or mistrust - to share a meal is close, something reserved for our friends and trusted comrades. However, there we have it; Jesus going from his approach to dine along with his enemies. This is a message that we at Christ Embassy must come to understand. This openness to share a meal with those who hated him speaks volumes of Jesus' desire for all of us to keep interacting with those with whom we differ. Before we have the chance to make decisions that result in further isolation we're isolated. It is, consequently, more essential more than ever before to heed the call of Christ and actively strike "our enemies." This call to encounter our enemies is not restricted to Christ 's example of eating together with the Pharisees; it extends to what Christ decided not to do. With infinitely less effort than it takes my fingers to snap, Jesus Christ, God-made-man, could have wiped the Pharisees from the face of the earth. Not only that, he might have removed all memory of them whatsoever. It truly is not so difficult to feel justified in our hatred of "our enemies," but the only real one who is really justified gave a living example of mercy to us. As opposed to obliterating the Pharisees, Christ ultimately died for them, and shared a meal together. Jesus shows us that with "our enemies" sharing a meal is not the limit of how far we may be requested to go - for "our enemies, perishing " is not outside the realm of chance. Yours in the Lord - The Christ Embassy
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July 2017
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