The Lie That Destroys

Posted on October 11, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 5:1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.  7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. ESV

MY THOUGHTS
The plain truth is that deception has been around since the foundation of the earth. The liar began at the beginning, there in the midst of perfection, to lobby the minds and the hearts of those first two people to normalize deception.  And mankind learned from the “best worst.”  The Living Bible says it so clearly; “When he [satan] lies, it is perfectly normal; for he is the father of liars.[John 8:44].  And therein lies the “more” of the fearful and tragic outcome of this story.  Ananias and Sapphira were members of a community of faith.  They cared enough for that community that they were willing to sell their property for its benefit…but they bought the lie!

BEWARE!  We’ve been lied to…too!   We’ve accepted an abnormal “normal” that we’re just holding a little back from God.  That’s the ultimate lie. We’ve been fooled into believing we can give God just enough that it covers up the ultimate lie that we think we’re better than we really are.  The destroyer has found the perfect way to normalize that lie by corrupting the heart and mind of those who’ve been given the Spirit of the Lord.  BEWARE!

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The Parable of Investment

Posted on October 8, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 19:11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” ESV

This has turned out to be the most challenging of the parables I’ve looked at for this blog. I started reading it a couple weeks ago but I had more questions from this one story than any other I’ve studied.  Even the only “sure thing” I thought I understood became a question.  Was the identity of the nobleman God or Jesus?  Did it make a difference? Were the ten servants a separate group from the citizens who hated the nobleman?  It was mind-blowing enough that I’ve spent a few hours each previous week and had to put what I’d written on the back burner…again. There was so much I didn’t know that I could barely figure out what I thought I did know.

I’ve made some  progress because I think I’ve come to understand the “more” of this parable is not the simple, straightforward story of obedience I began with.  It’s about authority, money, investment, responsibility, relationship and risk.  Was God Himself the nobleman who gave each of the servants something of value for them to invest?  Was the Mina “Jesus?”  That made some sense because in the very next sentence there were those “citizens” who hated the nobleman and did not want him as their king.  The parable says ten minas to ten servants — each given “a” mina.  This parable has become my “mina”  to invest.  So…each servant is given the same “Jesus” to invest on God’s behalf √.  OK, that’s worth pondering.  That’s why the return on their investment mattered so much to the nobleman.  Each servant was expected to invest the “mina” he’d been given to benefit the nobleman’s kingdom.   Their investment was evidence of their relationship with, and trust in the authority of, the nobleman who’s now become their king.  And the nobleman’s responsibility is to keep an accounting of their investment. Finally the parable has gotten easier for me to understand.  The parable wasn’t about the nobleman’s money, he was already wealthy.  The nobleman risked His own wealth by trusting it to those servants.  Each servant had been asked to respond to the nobleman’s trust by investing in the potential of “a” mina to reproduce itself as wealth for the kingdom.   And then comes the shocking reality no servant wants to hear.   “A” mina so carefully protected that it’s kept “laid away” and never invested at all is far riskier than a small return because it devalues the nobleman’s authority, money, investment and responsibility in their relationship.

Previous blog links to read:
Investing
Potential
Memories

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The Whole of Chapter 4

Posted on October 4, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 4: 1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
— Sadducees position as priests is by permission of the Roman government
— Opposed new teaching
— There is no resurrection.
— Political and often Wealthy
— Sanhedrin High priests almost always a Sadducee.
— What were they annoyed about?
 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.
— Peter and John have been arrested for healing, not preaching the resurrection of Jesus
4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
— Two Sadducees very familiar with the politics of killing Jesus
7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
— Surprise here.The Cornerstone has three characteristics. It bears the total weight of the structure.It’s a prominent reference to identify the building.It ensures the accurate alignment of the whole building.Get it? THREE!
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
— A new and unorthodox teaching
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 
— Peter’s very different response to having been identified as Jesus friend this time.
14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.”
— Jesus was a threat to the Sadducees chosen by God
18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
— Now we know why the Sadducees were greatly annoyed.
21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.
— How could the Sadducees argue the physical evidence of a man healed by the name of the resurrected Jesus unless they admit there is a possibility of that resurrection?
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them.  24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?   26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’ [end of Psalm 2 quote]— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
— Their history was the power of prayer to effect the reality of God’s bold purpose for a resurrected Christ that would live in the hearts of His people through His Spirit unbound by time, money or circumstance.
31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

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By What Power?

Posted on October 1, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 4:1 And as they [Peter and John] were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.  5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 

My Thoughts:
The Sadducees were the party of high priests and wealthier elements of the population who served at the pleasure of, and collaborated with, the Roman authorities. Two of the familiar names in this passage are high priests involved in Jesus’s execution, Annas and the son-in-law of Caiaphas. Both are Sadducees and Sadducees did not believe in resurrection from the dead.  Peter and John aren’t in trouble for declaring Jesus resurrected but for declaring the man healed.  Power is the reason these ruling authorities are “greatly annoyed.” They’re annoyed by the evidence of a healed man they can’t refute and resurrection is the elephant in that trial room they can’t discuss.  They can’t argue about resurrection unless they admit the reality of it.  There are about five thousand who’ve heard Peter’s words and believed them.  Many of them had seen with their own eyes a demonstration of power the Sadducees have no answer for: A “good deed done to a crippled man, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”  

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From Ignorance to Restoration

Posted on September 27, 2023 | Leave a comment

ACTS 3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And (All this took about 450 years.)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of (Ro 9:4-5) the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, (because you have obeyed my voice.”)‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

MY THOUGHTS
Peter’s shifted his appeal to the Israelites.  His first sermon was to shock these men of Israel into recognizing their personal responsibility in the death of Jesus. God had sent the Christ appointed to them and they’d killed the “Author of life” by choosing to ignore what God had clearly taught them for the last 450 years.  Peter’s words were gracious compared to his previous accusation.  “I know that you acted in ignorance,” but “God having raised up His servant, sent Him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”  Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you!

I learned more about what Peter was trying to tell those Israelites about their identity and adoption by following cross references from v25, then writing them in the sequence they appeared, but separated by “—.“  Adoption is still a promise.  We too are Abraham’s “offspring.”  The Word is truth that reveals itself to be applicable to all generations of all people even when it’s sequence and its location in the Bible is reorganized by the scholars that referenced it.

“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. — But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God — let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. — And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. — For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”
(Romans 2:28-29 — Romans 2:17 — 1 Peter 3:4 — Deuteronomy 30:6 — 2 Corinthians 10:18)

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Posted in 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Deuteronomy, Light, New Testament, Old Testament, Romans, Wednesday

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The Parable of Separation

Posted on September 24, 2023 | Leave a comment

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

My Thoughts 
Remember how Genesis starts?  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  God was complete in that beginning but He had a greater purpose for all time — an eternal kingdom.  Jesus learned the necessity of separation in those early days of eternity as He watched His father define His kingdom by separating light from dark, day from night, land from sea and mankind from dust.

Jesus tells this parable about separation just a few days before His arrest.  It’s more than a story about judgment of behavior, it’s about relationship and firsthand experience.  Did you notice the odd truth all those contrasts in this parable revealed about those two groups?  Both groups were surprised to discover Jesus noticed their choices.  Both were surprised that what impacted their kingdom destiny in such a dramatic way was not just their choices but their relationship, or lack of it, with Jesus Himself. 

Jesus understood the inheritance prepared for the “blessed” was eternity with Himself in a kingdom created for them.  He’d seen it created firsthand.  Jesus’s warning to the “cursed” was separation from Him and a destiny of eternal punishment “in a land of forgetfulness and separation,” not inhabited” by God.  He could warn them of that absolute truth with certainty because He knew in just a few days He would briefly experience the reality of that separation firsthand.

a Leviticus 16:20-22 The goat shall bear upon himself all their iniquities, carrying them to a land cut off (a land of forgetfulness and separation, not inhabited)! AMPC

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The Whole Miracle

Posted on September 17, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 3:11 While he [the healed lame man] clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.  

My Thoughts:
For the first time in his life this lame man was strong. He’d just been miraculously healed but look at what verse 11 says, “he clung to Peter and John.” The miracle was more than physical healing.  It was the actual physical help he needed to stand on his own two feet for the first time.  That miracle was more than a sign of the “power or piety” of Peter and John’s faith, and certainly more than the faith of the crowd. What utterly astounded all the people that day was being eye witnesses of the truth of Peter’s words; “the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”   “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus” in their presence — despite their guilty denial.  And now every time they saw that healed man stand and walk they would remember the power behind the whole miracle.  Jesus, “the Holy and Righteous One…the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead” had shown them His desire was to heal both the lame and the guilty — by faith in His name.

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The Persistent Widow

Posted on September 6, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Why isn’t this widow called The Persistant Whiner?  I find myself whining about my own prayer list that seems to get longer and longer. It’s unusual that almost immediately I see the “more” of this parable for me. This simple story of a whining widow has made me realize how easy it is to have one foot in both camps. This parable has made me aware that I’ve been praying by a wrong set of rules from a judge who cares more about goals than God.  God, forgive me, that’s a depressing “more.”

I’ve begun to think of the requests on my prayer list as if they are goals that God needs to act on so I can check them off.  The power of prayer is not the achievement of a goal but the persistent pleading for “justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night.” Lord, change my heart so my prayers follow your rules and become a persistent part of what empowers your justice, not my shorter list.  Amen

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WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

Posted on September 3, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Directed focus is what struck me about this passage.  This lame man had been at this gate most days of his life.  He certainly had directed his focus on his faith that his needs would be provided for.  He organized his friends to get him to the gate at the right “hour” after the hour of sacrifice had been completed when he could expect the people coming to pray might notice him and have generous hearts.  Peter and John  have come to pray too which is interesting. The focus of their faith is no longer praying for God to accept the Temple sacrifices offered an hour earlier.  It’s been changed into thankful belief because Jesus has fulfilled that hour of sacrifice.  That was the act of God that had changed their own expectations of faith into belief. 

After all these years this lame man was like an unnoticeable fixture at that gate.  Did he expect his faith in their alms would make life on earth more bearable for him? Of course he did. What other choice did he have?  What God did for this lame man was use Peter’s words, “look at us,” to change his focus from the unnoticeable expectations of his faith into the new and miraculous reality of a very noticeable expression of his belief, “walking and leaping and praising God.”  

“Perhaps only medical men can fully appreciate the meaning of these words; they are peculiar, technical words of a medical man. The word translated feet is only used by Luke, and occurs nowhere else. It indicates his discrimination between different parts of the human heel. The phrase ankle-bones is again a medical phrase to be found nowhere else. The word ‘leaping up’ describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place, the articulation of a joint. This then is a very careful medical description of what happened in connection with this man.”    (The Acts of the Apostles, p97 — George Campbell Morgan)  The miracle was complete, God had changed the focus on expectations of faith for “all the people” and become the reality of belief and they were filled with wonder and amazement.”

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The Parable of Essential Trust

Posted on August 30, 2023 | 1 comment

Luke 18:9 He [Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This parable is actually titled “The Pharisee and the Tax Collector” but rather than compare the two men I choose to compare their motives.  Many of the parables I’ve studied so far are Jesus addressing the people who cannot see or hear because they have decided they already DO see and hear and are therefore blind and deaf.  

Simple Observations:
— The Pharisee is standing by himself. He is thankful he’s not like “other men.”  He essentially is justifying himself by reminding God how good he is.
— The tax collector has also separated himself.  He’s standing far off from his own people by working for the Roman occupiers.  His request is essentially to trust God’s mercy to help him deal with his sin.

The hardest part about Jesus’s recap of this parable is the truth that everything the Pharisee claims he is doing is essentially good and desirable. There’s not much information about the tax collector other than he’s essentially aware of his sin and believes God still desires to interact with him.  “Essentially” became the motivation and the keyword of my thoughts to ponder what is “more” essential in this parable.  

Point #1: Both men are Jews.
Point #2: Both men are isolated, one by his prestige, the other by his job for the Roman occupiers that betrays his own people.
Point #3: Jesus speaks the truth that will separate the Pharisee and the tax collector even “more:” God is “essentially” more interested in the awareness of a sinner’s desire to trust His mercy than He is in being instructed about the indicators He should use to dispense it.
Amen!

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