Vastly Superior

Meditations in the Season of Epiphany

February 14, 2022

Vastly Superior

“Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Luke 7:35 (NRSV)

Read: Luke 7:18-35

Jesus went about the land teaching, healing, and demonstrating new life in the Kingdom of God. Jesus let the people draw their own conclusions about his identity and his mission. In the healing of the Centurion’s servant and the raising the widow’s son from the dead, Jesus’ power and authority are clearly on display. When the disciples of John the Baptist arrived, “Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind.” (v. 21)

Luke records two responses to Jesus. “All the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right” (v. 29) But the “Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them.” (v. 30) Why the difference?

Luke is revealing one of the greatest obstacles in our quest to make the life in Christ our way of life. Our expectations about what God should be like, what God should do, get in the way of the truth of Christ. Even John the Baptist stumbled over his own expectations of what the Messiah would be like, what the Messiah would do.

When I am stumbling over my expectations, I am placing myself at the center of my life. When I place Christ at the center of my life, I will come to know that God’s way is right. His way requires that I do the hard work of truly knowing myself, but it is the only way I know to enter the Kingdom of God.

My Takeaway: When Jesus said, “. . . of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (v. 28), that was not a put down of John. John was the last of the prophets. John prepared the way for God’s Kingdom, God’s New Covenant relationship with His children, which is, in every way, vastly superior to that which preceded it. May God’s wisdom be vindicated by my life. (v. 35)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.