The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Matthew:11:1-19

kjv@Matthew:11:1 @ And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

kjv@Matthew:11:2 @ Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

kjv@Matthew:11:3 @ And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

kjv@Matthew:11:4 @ Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see;

kjv@Matthew:11:5 @ The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

kjv@Matthew:11:6 @ And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

kjv@Matthew:11:7 @ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

kjv@Matthew:11:8 @ But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

kjv@Matthew:11:9 @ But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

kjv@Matthew:11:10 @ For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

kjv@Matthew:11:11 @ Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist; notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

kjv@Matthew:11:12 @ And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

kjv@Matthew:11:13 @ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

kjv@Matthew:11:14 @ And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

kjv@Matthew:11:15 @ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

kjv@Matthew:11:16 @ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

kjv@Matthew:11:17 @ And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

kjv@Matthew:11:18 @ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

kjv@Matthew:11:19 @ The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Today's notes:This Generation

Context:

Before - laborers sent and given power
After - upbraiding the cities

What is man believing/doing?:

Jesus' disciples going out as commanded
John imprisoned awaiting kings judgment
Disciples of John serving his needs
John and or disciples of seeking verification of Jesus as one promised
people's initial interest in John clarified by their own motives/intentions
public's duplicitous perception of John/Jesus putting them in an impossible predicament

What is making man to believe/do as he is doing?:

disciples - obedience and empowerment
John - standing up against king's adulterous marriage to brother's wife when no one else would
John's disciples - respect and devotion to prophet
people - myriad of expectations concerning Messiah and prophets in general
public - self justification, defense mechanism against their intentions being called into question, straw man logic

Notes:

Did John have doubts about Jesus? Perhaps it is not as much doubt as it is a need for confirmation. In this sense perhaps he did as we all do. Maybe he like Jesus is sending his remaining attendees out in preparation of their next stage. We may never know for sure, my guess is everyone even prophets suffer from the imbalance of self constructed expectations.

The thing to admire here is that Jesus is not angered or frustrated by any of this as if it is expected. His knowing the nature of man has immense advantage over us not knowing or fabricating His.

With prophets, the infallible word from God they momentarily issue on command does not have to be indited by the fallible lives and extracurricular motives they humanly posses; else there would be no such thing as a human born prophet. Oddities can be pointed out in most every known prophet (Moses/David/Jonah/Elijah etc..). Is it their lifestyle that makes what they say God's infallible word or is it that they utter God's infallible word when impressed upon by God?

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

People act as if they want to believe, but purposely put obstacles in front of their believe so that they don't have to follow through with it. Belief demands change and action and immediacy, commitments from us that are seldom paid. The sense of contradiction is logically transferred on to the object of belief rather than the obstacles self constructed.
We are all prone to this measurement of false expectation defense mechanism, likely even great prophets.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Matthew:11:1-19
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Matthew:11:1-19 rwp@Matthew:11:1-19 mhcc@Matthew:11:1-19
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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