As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“I love the way Jesus responds to Mary’s beautiful, useless gesture and recognises it as something that is always worthwhile, something that will live forever, for all the carping and criticism of Judas, then and now.” - Malcolm Guite
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(Luke 4:16-30 with Isaiah 61:1-2)
Jesus applied Isaiah 61:1-2a (below) to Himself. At first, this garnered praise from the synagogue crowd, but their praise quickly turned to scoffing. The Isaiah passage reads:
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Yeshua was in His small hometown, Nazareth. He had probably read the Scriptures aloud in the local synagogue many times before, and would have been known to all. Yet this was the first time He read thusly after His ministry had been launched and His fame widespread.
This week, the Western world pauses to remember the birth of the One who divided time, and all of history, by His first coming—our Savior and the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ.
As we stop and worship this baby in Bethlehem’s manger once again, let us remember that He, eternal God, came to Earth to become a man, to die for our sins and to rise again. The events of Christmas were an essential step in that process but, of course, they do not tell the full story.
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(Numbers 28:11, Isaiah 12:3-4, and John 4:1-42)
Jesus’ meeting with the Woman at the Well is a popular text for preaching and teaching, rich with application. Space forbids me from addressing the many details about this meeting; I have chosen instead to focus upon a few questions rarely raised. I have already answered the question: “Why was Yeshua so forthright about His Messiahship with the Woman at the Well, but not others?”
Today we will ponder two more questions.
Discussion