Faith

 

    We all have faith.  Some people have faith in God.  Other people have faith in things, people, or themselves.  We all look to something for hope or motivation to keep moving forward.  Jesus teaches why faith is misplaced in anything other than God.

    When you approach God, it will not be heard if it is in an arrogant manner. You have to approach with humble faith.  The stronger the faith the stronger the results.  A Roman centurion went to Jesus with faith.  He didn't go for himself, but for his Hebrew servant.  He understood the cultural differences and was very humble about his position when he approached Jesus.  His humble faith saved his servant.  What some may not notice is that his faith also saved him even though Gentiles were not yet prospect.  Jesus was impressed with his faith.  

    Jesus came across a funeral march of an only son.  He saw the mother mourning.  She was a widow and now her only son died.  That is grief enough, but back then women didn't work or if they did it was not honorable.  She had no hope for a future.  All her hope and love died with her son.  Jesus knew this, so he raised the son from the dead for the mother's sake because he has compassion.  

    Jesus was popular, but not because of who he was.  He was popular because he was a spectacle and people wanted things from him.  His popularity made him hated by some.  They would question him to try to make him look stupid or like a fraud.  Of course that didn't work, so they hated him even more.  Jesus would use scripture, testimony, or a parable to answer tricky questions.

    Jesus gave John the Baptist credit for what he had done in his life because John was confused about why Jesus had come.  John, like most, was expecting a conqueror to get them out from under the Roman rule.  Jesus is a conqueror, but in the spiritual realm.   Jesus understood John's concern.  He was about to die for his faith.  He needed to know that it had purpose, so Jesus sent back a report of what he was accomplishing to give John peace.  John was accused of being a demon because of how he lived.  Jesus was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard because he observed God and not rigid rules.  People can twist good into evil whenever they want.

    Jesus' miracles also confuse some people.  If he could raise the dead, why did he raise a stranger and not his own cousin.  The reason was that the widow needed her son.  John had served his purpose and was now spending eternity in Heaven.  It would have been cruel to rip him away from that.

    Jesus never sought attention.  Attention sought Jesus.  The attention was a distraction that annoyed him.  He looked to find wisdom and found it in children.  He found it in a sinful woman seeking redemption.  He was eating at a Pharisee's house when she came in and cleaned his feet with her tears and hair and kisses.  She anointed his feet in perfume which probably cost her all that she had, but she did it out of love.

    The Pharisee's found it disgusting and honestly I would gag if I saw it too, but they were disgusted by the woman because she was a known sinner.  He also saw it as disrespect because Jesus knew that having the sinner in the his house made him
unclean".  Jesus used it as a teaching moment on love and forgiveness.  Her humble faith gave her the redemption she needed.

    The people watching were baffled by Jesus.  He forgave this woman. Who was he to be able to forgive anyone's sins?  It was all so confusing to them because they did not understand what true righteousness was.  What matters though is that the woman found peace.

Luke 7