Friday, March 15, 2019

Choosing Not to Believe...

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13)
When Jesus went to the crowds in His hometown, he stopped using parables, because He was now dealing with people who had stopped their ears and hearts from listening. They came with the presupposition that He was nothing special, and had to prove Himself to them.  They did not believe what they heard about Him, so they would not believe what He said.  Matthew closes with this interesting observation: Jesus did signs not to generate faith, but to reinforce the faith of those who beleived and did what He said.  His coming, His Words, His character should be enough on their own. He knows our hearts, He speaks to our hearts, He can changes our hearts, if we choose to trust Him and allow Him to. Or we can choose to not believe, remain unchanged, and miss out on all He wants for us.  The choice is yours.  Choose wisely.  

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