JESUS' ENEMIES (40 OF 52)
Scripture: Matthew 12:27-38
This content is part of a series.
Jesus' Enemies (40 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part Twp
Christopher B. Harbin
Matthew 12:27-38
We like to rail against those we perceive as our enemies. We make up enemies that are not real to rail against. We conjure bogeymen, witches, wolves, and paint all sorts of images of creatures and people who are out to get and kill us. Normally, all this energy spent on conjured enemies is an exercise in barking up the wrong tree. Our real enemies tend to be much closer to home. Like the inherent truth in the phrase often attributed to the cartoon strip, Pogo, ''We have met the enemy, and he is us.'' Rather than looking far afield for our or Jesus' enemies, we might should look closer to home.
In the gospel narratives, Jesus was surrounded by enemies, but they were not those we so often describe as God's enemies. Our tendency is to portray as God's enemies those who do not go to church, who do not profess belief in God, who criticize organized religion, or who depart from our definitions of orthodox belief. What we find in the gospels does not support those very natural tendencies. Jesus did not participate in our penchant for condemning heretics and outsiders. He had completely other definitions for the enemies of God and the gospel he preached.
To be honest, in general, it was not Jesus who categorized people as his enemies. Instead, those opposing him fashioned themselves into his enemies. If we look at passages like the Sermon on the Mount, the center of Jesus' message, we find Jesus transforming those who arrayed themselves against him and against us into the recipients of our and God's love. Consequently, we can have no enemies as believers in and followers of Jesus. Jesus has no enemies. It is only those who fashion themselves into God's enemies who are so, yet only from their own perspective. Jesus taught us to make them neighbors and friends, a far cry from the category of enemies. It is what he taught, and it is also what he lived.
Today's passa ...
Series: Discipleship Part Twp
Christopher B. Harbin
Matthew 12:27-38
We like to rail against those we perceive as our enemies. We make up enemies that are not real to rail against. We conjure bogeymen, witches, wolves, and paint all sorts of images of creatures and people who are out to get and kill us. Normally, all this energy spent on conjured enemies is an exercise in barking up the wrong tree. Our real enemies tend to be much closer to home. Like the inherent truth in the phrase often attributed to the cartoon strip, Pogo, ''We have met the enemy, and he is us.'' Rather than looking far afield for our or Jesus' enemies, we might should look closer to home.
In the gospel narratives, Jesus was surrounded by enemies, but they were not those we so often describe as God's enemies. Our tendency is to portray as God's enemies those who do not go to church, who do not profess belief in God, who criticize organized religion, or who depart from our definitions of orthodox belief. What we find in the gospels does not support those very natural tendencies. Jesus did not participate in our penchant for condemning heretics and outsiders. He had completely other definitions for the enemies of God and the gospel he preached.
To be honest, in general, it was not Jesus who categorized people as his enemies. Instead, those opposing him fashioned themselves into his enemies. If we look at passages like the Sermon on the Mount, the center of Jesus' message, we find Jesus transforming those who arrayed themselves against him and against us into the recipients of our and God's love. Consequently, we can have no enemies as believers in and followers of Jesus. Jesus has no enemies. It is only those who fashion themselves into God's enemies who are so, yet only from their own perspective. Jesus taught us to make them neighbors and friends, a far cry from the category of enemies. It is what he taught, and it is also what he lived.
Today's passa ...
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