In the previous blog post, I referred to the fact that the #1 issue for most voters in this year's election in the US is inflation. For those who claim to be born-again Christians and put inflation at the top of their concerns when they vote, this is an alarming sign. In that post, I left out a passage from the Gospels that illustrates my point.
Jesus' disciples forgot more than bread - Matthew 16. 1-12
After miraculously feeding 4000 men, plus women and children, related in Mt. 15.32-39, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee with his disciples and was met by Pharisees and Sadducees when He landed on the other side. They demanded that Jesus show them a sign, but Jesus told them that the only sign they would get would be that of the prophet Jonah. (Mt. 16.1-4)
When Jesus was with His disciples, He said, "Watch out and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Mt. 16.6) This led to the disciples' discussing the fact they had forgotten to bring bread. In verses 8-11, When Jesus heard this, He confronted them with the rebuke, "You of little faith! Why are you discussing among you that you do not have bread?", reminding them that they had just witnessed His miracle of feeding 5000 men, plus women and children, with 5 loaves and 2 fish, with 12 baskets of food left over. They had just seen Him work a similar miracle with 4000 men, plus women and children. "Why is it you don't understand that when I told you, 'Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees', it wasn't about bread?", He challenged them. Mt. 16.12 says, "Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the yeast in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Like these first disciples, we are so tied to our physical existence and material needs that these matters occupy the first tier of concerns on our minds. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told His disciples to not worry about what they would wear or eat and to put the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first, a lesson He repeated many times in many ways before His death and resurrection. They never seemed to get it, and this is one of them times it was evident they hadn't. And if our biggest concern right now is inflation, the price of fuel, and our 401(k) balance, then we haven't learned that lesson yet, either.
Hozzászólások