Faith Through the Journey

Our Sunday school class has been studying the life of Jesus for quite a few months. In recent weeks, we have been going through Jesus’ last week on earth before His death. Just thinking about all He was yet to face and all He had yet to accomplish before that pivotal event could have made Jesus very “tasky”. Tuesday alone takes up chapters in each of the Gospels. The Pharisees were STILL trying to trap Jesus, wanting to discredit Him in the Temple and cause the people to finally turn away from Him. Jesus also knew He had a very limited time left with His disciples, to whom He would entrust the gift of the Gospel to be spread throughout the ages still to come. One of those disciples would ultimately betray Him to those same Jewish officials who were beaten by Jesus every time they went to battle with Him. And there were the “ordinary” people, those who just wanted to be close enough to Jesus to hear what He had to say. It never ceases to amaze me how Jesus could keep His temper in check and not tell the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders EXACTLY what He thought of them–and it would have been quite true! The fact that Jesus also didn’t try to right every wrong He saw, heal everyone who needed healing, and maintained His focus and calm demeanor even when He knew exactly what was ahead for Him is truly remarkable. Yes, He was the Son of God, but while He was on earth He chose to confine Himself to a human body and become a man in every way. His prayer in the Garden two days later showed exactly how human He was, agonizing over what He was about to face, and asking God if there wasn’t some other way to achieve God’s magnificent plan of redemption for all mankind. Fully God yet fully man, Jesus moved on toward His final earthly destiny.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, I wonder what the people thought who had seen Him in the Temple that Tuesday. Did they remember all of the words Jesus spoke? Did the Pharisees keep the trust of the people or did the people who heard Him secretly, or openly, follow the disciples who later led those who wanted to learn more of  Jesus’ teachings? There were probably some of each, just as there are today. When people encounter the truth about Jesus, some respond with gladness and a desire to know and follow Him. Others listen and then walk away, skeptical that His words could really change their lives.  Still others  return to the comfort of their religious practices, trying to make their own way to God instead of embracing the truth that Jesus shared that day in the Temple: that to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as much as we love ourselves is more important than all the sacrifices and offerings we try to bring. Our own best human efforts will always fall short of God’s perfect standard of holiness. What we DO will never be as important as our pure love for God and others. Those who heard and followed Tuesday’s message understood Jesus’ heart, that His greatest desire was to bring men and women to eternal life in heaven with Him.